Trade

By Carlos M. Correa | (Inter Press Service) | – – GENEVA (IPS) – The pharmaceutical industry from the US and Europe scored a major victory with the adoption, in 1994, of a binding agreement on intellectual property (Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights – TRIPS) in the context of the nascent […]

Algeria

As Oil Prices Crater, Algeria needs an Actual Economy or big Trouble Looms

contributors

By Allan Christelow | (Informed Comment) | – – Like other oil producers, Algeria faces difficulties with the sharp decline in prices since 2014. But unlike oil producers in the Gulf region, Algeria has a strong tradition of public discussion, a tradition that has managed to survive the concentration of wealth in the hands of […]

China

As GOP fumes re: Iran, Russia & China are outflanking West with New Eurasia Silk Road

contributors

By Pepe Escobar | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – Let’s start with the geopolitical Big Bang you know nothing about, the one that occurred just two weeks ago. Here are its results: from now on, any possible future attack on Iran threatened by the Pentagon (in conjunction with NATO) would essentially be an assault on the planning […]

Banking

Are Arab Oil Monarchies divided over Iran Deal?

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) comprises Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. In recent years it has faced severe internal divisions, especially a Saudi-Qatar split over the Muslim Brotherhood, which Riyadh wanted to crush but which Qatar generally has supported. After […]

Banking

The Real Reason Critics Hate The Iran Nuclear Deal

contributors

Cenk Uygur | (The Young Turks Video) | – – “There’s something wrong with people’s reaction to the Iran nuclear deal. If what they’re saying is true then the deal makes no sense at all. They’re saying Iran will be more likely to get a nuclear weapon, but that simply isn’t true. Cenk Uygur delivers […]

Economy

European Companies poised for Iran Gold Rush but will Hill Keep US Out?

contributors

By Charles Recknagel | ( RFE/ RL) Many of the punishing UN, U.S., and EU financial and energy sanctions imposed on Iran in recent years to pressure Tehran to curb its nuclear activities are to be suspended or lifted in the wake of the deal struck in Vienna on July 14. But many other sanctions, […]

Economy

It’s the Economy, Stupid!: Tunisia’s fight against Terrorism requires a jobs program for its Youth

contributors

By Alexander Martin | (The Conversation) | – – To anyone who has followed Tunisia’s journey since it became a democracy, the horrific events in Sousse were shocking, but not surprising. This is a country still struggling to keep itself safe and address its internal destabilising forces. The 100 days since the Bardo museum attacks […]

BDS Occupied Territories

Is Congress Using Trade Rules to Blacklist Critics of Israel?

contributors

By Rachel Ida Buff | (Foreign Policy in Focus) | – – Legislation to fast track new trade pacts specifically targets supporters of the BDS movement against the Israeli occupation. In 1952, Abner Green — leader of a civil rights group called the American Committee for the Protection of the Foreign Born — served six […]

Acidification of Oceans

5 Radical Takeaways from the Pope’s Letter on Climate

contributors

By Janet Redman | (Foreign Policy in Focus) | – – Francis recognizes that there’s no way to stop climate change without confronting the way the world does business. That’s huge. Pope Francis just released an “encyclical,” a letter meant to serve as a guide to understanding our personal relationship to some of the most […]