Corruption

What we can Learn from Bolivia’s Struggle for Free Water: Review of Maude Barlow, “Still Hopeful After All These Years”

Review of Maude Barlow, Still Hopeful: Lessons from a Lifetime of Activism. ECW Press, 2022. When I was teaching Political Science, some of the most memorable events were the teleconferences that Noam Chomsky did with my students. During a discussion of international trade treaties, Noam singled out the work of Maude Barlow, then Chairperson of […]

Corruption

Iranian Protesters demand Justice after Deaths in Abadan’s Building Collapse

Global Voices

Written by Fred Petrossian | – ( Globalvoices.org) – Hundreds of Iranians took to the streets in Abadan, the capital of the southwestern oil-rich province of Khuzestan, demanding justice after a 10-storey Metropol building collapsed on May 23, killing at least 29 people. Officials said 37 people were also wounded and it remains unknown how […]

Corruption

Was Jared Kushner the anti-Jon Snow in the Saudi Game of Thrones?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – According to investigative journalist Vicki Ward, Jared Kushner, a minor New York hustler who managed to marry into the Donald Trump crime family, became the anti-Jon Snow in the Saudi game of thrones. That is, he enabled the worst possible ruler to come to power, and got a $2 billion […]

Corruption

Why did the Saudis invest $2 bn with Jared Kushner?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – On Sunday, David D. Kirkpatrick and Kate Kelly of the New York Times got a big scoop — they gained access to internal documents of the board that vets investments for the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund, called the Public Investment Fund. These memos demonstrate that the board argued against […]

Bernie Sanders

Democrats in Congress Want Windfall Tax on Big Oil, Consumer Rebates, and cheap Green Energy

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has introduced, and several other congressional Democrats have co-sponsored, a bill to curb big petroleum companies engaged in profiteering. Whitehouse said at his site, “We’ve seen this script before, and we cannot allow the fossil fuel industry to once again collect a massive windfall by taking […]

Corruption

It’s Not Just Inflation — It’s Price Gouging

OtherWords

By Lindsay Owens | – ( Otherwords.org) – If you’ve been slammed lately by higher prices on everything from groceries to rental cars and gas prices, you’re probably wondering what on earth is behind these skyrocketing costs. Corporations are quick to blame this new reality on the pandemic, but another major culprit is hiding in […]

Corporate Surveillance

Did the Pegasus Spyware Netanyahu used against Palestinians and gave to Saudis bring him Down?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Pegasus spyware made by the Israeli NSO company and backed by the Israeli state has been used extensively against Palestinians to keep them stateless, and former Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu used access to the software as an incentive for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to improve relations […]

Authoritarianism

How democracy gets eroded – lessons from a Nixon expert

The Conversation

By Ken Hughes | – Now that a full year has passed since the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol, the 2020 election and the republic, it’s evident that the attack never really ended. Instead, it spread out to other, less visible, more vulnerable targets. Donald Trump had hoped to reverse his election loss […]

Corruption

Could Dominion’s Lawsuit Finally Take down Fox Fable “News” for its Serial Lies?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis has struck down Fox Cable News’ motion to dismiss the libel lawsuit against it of Dominion, the maker of voting machines. Dominion alleges that Fox anchors repeatedly hosted Trump attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, who made false and inflammatory claims about Dominion voting […]