Politics

By Anne-Ruth Wertheim A special postcard Note 1) Translation in English: Penny Sandford & Wiesje Wijngaarden On 18 December 1944 my mother, my sister, my little brother and I were deported to a Japanese internment camp for Jews. By sending him a postcard my mother wanted to notify my father, who had been interned in […]

Far Right

Globally and in El Paso, Far-Right Language is Changing, Provoking More Violence

The Conversation

By Arie Perliger | – The recent shooting attack in which a young white man is accused of killing 22 people in a Walmart in El Paso fits a new trend among perpetrators of far-right violence: They want the world to know why they did it. So they provide a comprehensive ideological manifesto that aims […]

Donald Trump

1917: The Racist, Right Wing Age of Delirium that Trump Resurrected

Tomdispatch

By Adam Hochschild | – (Tomdispatch.com) – Along rivers prone to overflowing, people sometimes talk of preparing for a 100-year flood — a dangerous surge of muddy, debris-filled water so overwhelming it appears only once a century. In our political world, we are now seeing a 100-year flood of toxic debris. The sludge washing ashore […]

Donald Trump

The Politics of Fear is intended to make us Dumb and Tribal, if we Let it

The Conversation

By Arash Javanbakht | – People have always used fear for intimidation of the subordinates or enemies, and shepherding the tribe by the leaders. Recently, it appears that Pres. Trump has used fear by suggesting in a tweet that four minority congresswomen go back to the places they came from. There is a longstanding history […]

Donald Trump

Notorious Moments in Modern History when Dictators Sent their own Citizens “Back”

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump’s crowds have started chanting “Send her back!” referring to Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), a Somali-American who came as a refugee when a child and was naturalized. The idea that some citizens are less loyal or less patriotic or less deserving of residency than other citizens is not new in […]

Far Right

Why Tucker Carlson is Wrong to attack Ilhan Omar for her Dissent

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Tucker Carlson has veered further and further toward unadorned white nationalism as Rupert Murdoch’s declining “Fox News” has failed to find viewers in the younger generation and risks losing cultural influence. Having positioned itself on the right of the Republican Party, once it lost the Young Republicans it had no […]

Elections

Can Democracy meet Challenge of Far Right Populism, from Brazil to Italy to India and US?

John Feffer

(Foreign Policy in Focus) – Democracy faces a global crisis. And this crisis couldn’t be coming at a worse time. If you’re a supporter of Donald Trump — or Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil or Matteo Salvini in Italy — you probably think that democracy has never been in better health. Recent elections in these countries […]

Climate Crisis

After Immigration, Europe’s Next Big Left-Right Divide is Climate Action

Clean Energy Wire

By Rachel Waldholz | – ( Clean Energy Wire) – The European elections delivered major gains for Green parties in several countries, as voters signalled a strong desire for more aggressive action on climate change. In Germany, the Green surge was especially strong. The party doubled its support, coming in second to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s […]

Donald Trump

On Anniversary of D-Day: Would Trump have bothered, or Been on Other Side?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – I grew up in the shadow of World War II. It ended only seven years before I was born. I had an uncle who had been at the Battle of the Bulge. My father was too young to serve, but was inspired by the fight against fascism and joined as […]