International

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Donald Trump as president dumped the Paris Climate Accord, withdrew from the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, endorsed the 2017 blockade of Qatar by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and pushed for declaring the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization. The Brotherhood had been part of the 2011 uprisings against […]

Left Politics

In Difficult times, Let’s remember all the Progressive Victories, and keep Bending the Arc of History

James A. Haught

(Charleston, W.V.) – Enormous human betterment has occurred since The Enlightenment, chiefly because crusading liberals overcame conservative resistance, time after time. Modern democracy arose because America’s radical founders renounced the divine right of kings and took up arms against England and George III. They created government of the people, with no aristocracy. Slavery ended because […]

Authoritarianism

Top 6 Things Trump should be Indicted for aside from Cheating on Taxes

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) The Trump organization was indicted by a New York grand jury on Wednesday and the indictment is unsealed today, according to Shayna Jacobs, Josh Dawsey, David A. Fahrenthold and Jonathan O’Connell at WaPo. The Trump Org.’s CFO, Allen Weisselberg, was also indicted. Trump himself is not named, but the trial could […]

Arms Sales

America Dominant Again (in Arms Sales) . . . And Again… and Again… and Again

William D. Hartung

( Tomdispatch.com ) – When it comes to trade in the tools of death and destruction, no one tops the United States of America. In April of this year, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) published its annual analysis of trends in global arms sales and the winner — as always — was the […]

Authoritarianism

Fascism’s Global Spread is Real — As Real as the Spread of COVID-19

Foreign Policy in Focus

By Walden Bello | – ( Foreign Policy in Focus) – In the world’s largest democracies, far-right movements that embrace violence, reject democracy, and target the vulnerable are on the rise. By Walden Bello | May 5, 2021 The global spread of fascism is real, as real as the spread of COVID-19, and you better […]

Democratic Socialists of America

How ‘socialism’ stopped being a dirty word for some voters – and started winning elections across America

The Conversation

By Joshua Kluever | – The leftist Democratic Socialists of America, which helped congressional star Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez get elected in 2018, looks to be a big political player again in New York City’s 2021 municipal elections. The group has not yet endorsed anyone for mayor – the top prize in New York’s June 22 Democratic […]

Arms Sales

US Resuming Arms Sales to United Arab Emirates is Disastrous, Given its Wars on Yemen, Libya

Human Rights Watch

By Afrah Nasser | – Yemen Researcher, Middle East and North Africa Division | – ( Human Rights Watch) – United States President Joe Biden called in early February for “ending all American support for offensive operations in Yemen, including relevant arms sales.” At the time, I, like many human rights advocates who have been […]

Authoritarianism

Social Media and the Spread of Global Hate

John Feffer

( Foreign Policy in Focus ) – Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter helped right-wing populists take power. Can they now help rein them in? By John Feffer | April 14, 2021 One insidious way to torture the detainees at Guantanamo was to blast music at them at all hours. The mixtape, which included […]

Arms Sales

Empire of Killing Machines: America’s Arsenal for Sale

Tom Engelhardt

( Tomdispatch.com) – By the time you read this piece, it will already be out of date. The reason’s simple enough. No matter what mayhem I describe, with so much all-American weaponry in this world of ours, there’s no way to keep up. Often, despite the headlines that go with mass killings here, there’s almost […]