(The Conversation) – It has emerged that the four gunmen charged in the murder of at least 139 concert-goers at Moscow’s Crocus City Hall theatre were all citizens of the small post-Soviet nation of Tajikistan in Central Asia. Does their nationality have anything to do with their alleged terrorism? Many Russians probably think so. Tajikistan, […]
QKremlin? Russians say they Fear a NATO Invasion will Make their Children Gay
Montreal (Special to Informed Comment) – On October 17 the Russian Book Publishers Union sent a letter to the Russian Duma expressing concern thata proposed bill against “LGBT propaganda” could lead to the banning of numerous works of classic literature, including books by Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Ostrovsky and many others. The proposed bill is merely the […]
Russians flee the Draft as the Reality of War hits Home
Montréal (Special to Informed Comment) – The “partial mobilization” announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 21 has triggered mass protests throughout the country and launched a mass exodus of Russian citizens fearing the draft. Many who previously supported the “special operation” in Ukraine are now having second thoughts. But with the price of […]
Yes, EV’s Are Great for a Leisurely Road Trip, without the High Fuel Costs or Carbon Guilt
Montreal (Special to Informed Comment) – Road trips are arguably a part of North American culture, especially for those of us who grew up in the 1960s and 70s before air travel became common. Visits to relatives, camping trips, ski vacations, or simply aimless Kerouac-type voyages of self-discovery, are familiar memories for many in the […]
Chekhov’s Pistol: or, Putin’s All-Encompassing Security State
Montreal (Special to Informed Comment) – Anton Chekhov famously advised young playwrights that “If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired.” For the past twenty years Vladimir Putin—a deeply paranoid megalomaniac who has by now completely isolated himself from his own […]
Free at Last! How my Electric Car let me Escape the clutches of Big Carbon and Mideast Oil Dictatorships
Montreal (Special to Informed Comment) – As someone who regularly teaches courses on both Middle Eastern and environmental subjects, I have long been keenly aware of the double implications of participating in an economy that simultaneously destroys the planet while supporting human rights-abusing dictatorships. From the moment the first electric vehicles hit the market I […]
The Fundamentalist Religion of the Market and COVID-19
Discussions on the role of religion in the contemporary world generally fail to take into consideration an argument advanced by David Loy more than twenty years ago: namely, that the dominant faith system practiced across the globe today is in fact that of so-called “free-market” capitalism, a self-serving ideology forcibly imposed by a worldwide plutocracy […]
What does it Mean that South Ossetia is Celebrating Independence?
By Richard Foltz | – Tskhinval, Republic of South Ossetia (Informed Comment) – On May 29 South Ossetians celebrated the signing of their declaration of independence in 1992. Given that South Ossetia’s statehood has been recognized by only five UN member states, this event could hardly be expected to make international news. And yet, given […]
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