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THE ANGRY ARAB: Machinations in the Gulf
Trump was too busy nursing his grudge to bother with overseas matters, but both his son-in-law and secretary of state rushed through a package of foreign policy initiatives and policies, writes As`ad AbuKhalil.
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To the Inaugural Poet
This poem is a response to the Inaugural Poet’s address which featured near the end the line: “The new dawn blooms as we free it”.
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NYC mayoral candidate Andrew Yang blasted for comparing BDS to ‘fascist boycotts’
One-time presidential hopeful faces backlash over op-ed saying BDS movement ‘rooted in antisemitic thought and history’.
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Leith Mullings, 1945-2020: Anthropologist behind the Sojourner Syndrome
Leith Mullings, an anthropologist whose work on what she dubbed the Sojourner Syndrome created a baseline understanding of the “weathering” that the amplified stresses of race, class, and inequality have on African Americans, and in particular African American women, died of cancer on December 12.
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Capitalism, romanticism, and nature
Robert Sayre and Michael Löwy’s Romantic Anti-capitalism and Nature is an extremely interesting book—enjoyable, informative, and intellectually stimulating.
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Nothing to learn from East Asia?
Although most East Asian economies have successfully contained the pandemic without nationwide ‘stay in shelter lockdowns’, many governments have seen such measures as necessary. But lockdowns are blunt measures, with inevitable adverse consequences, especially for businesses and employment.
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‘We’re taking responsibility’: Sixty teens announce refusal to serve in Israeli army
Dozens of Israeli teens sign public letter objecting to military service over Israel’s policies of apartheid, neoliberalism, and denial of the Nakba.
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Anger grows within Labour over role of ex-Israeli military intelligence official
Senior figures raise concerns over appointment of Assaf Kaplan, who formerly served in unit accused of blackmailing Palestinian civilians.
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Media Elevate Eugenicists, sideline disabled voices in discussions of Covid rationing
In the sticky conversations around rationing life-saving treatments and vaccines during the Covid pandemic, corporate media have elevated some experts without disclosing their troubling views on disability, aging and the value of human life. Meanwhile, media outlets have largely sidelined the voices of disabled activists and others who could speak on behalf of those most affected by the pandemic.
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Biden’s ‘Secretary of State for regime change’ indicates no change in U.S. foreign policy
The new secretary of state served as a senior foreign policy official in the Obama administration–a period marked by increased global conflict and wars in the Middle East.
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Biden nominees call for tough stance on China during confirmation hearings
During Tuesday’s confirmation hearings before the Senate, nominees for positions in Joe Biden’s cabinet expressed their support for a tough stance on China.
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The class composition of the Capitol rioters (First Cut)
The extensive commentary I have read on the Capitol Seizure of January 6 has not, to my knowledge, focused on two aspects of the event: The first is the class composition of the rioters. The second is the actual cost of the event.
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Capitalism and the Telos of the Neoliberal Civilizing Mission
In 1931 the British Colonial Office submitted a special report to the Council of the League of Nations on the “Progress of Iraq” in the previous decade. Since the First World War had ended with the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire and the confiscation of its territories, Iraq had been governed as a British mandate, under the supervision of the League.
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COVID-19: How the world fought in 2020
In December 2019, China’s Wuhan city witnessed an abnormal rise of what was initially thought to be cases of pneumonia, as identified by the Wuhan Municipality Health Commission. However, upon further investigation by Chinese officials, a novel coronavirus was identified. By then the city’s health system was already dealing with dozens of cases of coronavirus.
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Illicit Financial Flows: Africa is the world’s main creditor
Contrary to the dominant discourse, it is actually the case that the 54 African states finance developed countries and not the other way round.
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TNCs reviving TPP Frankenstein
The incoming Biden administration is under tremendous pressure to demonstrate better U.S. economic management. Trade negotiations normally take years to conclude, if at all. Unsurprisingly, lobbyists are already urging the next U.S. administration to quickly embrace and deliver a new version of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
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Burying Pinochet
The Chilean media were quick to label the October 2019 popular uprising an ‘estallido social’, a social explosion. As the cry of ‘Chile despertó!’– Chile woke up!–rang out in the streets, the refrain in television studios was that ‘no one saw this coming’.
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Aaron would have been 34 years old
November 8, 2020 would have been Aaron’s 34th birthday, but instead we mourn our friend and wonder what could have been, had he not taken his own life seven years ago after being terrorized by a career-driven prosecutor and U.S. Attorney who decided to just make shit up, make an example out of Aaron, impress their bosses and further their own careers.
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Struggling for ecosocialism in the time of Elon Musk
Elon Musk has been pronounced the wealthiest person on earth, slightly overtaking Jeff Bezos. Musk is known for his unhinged outbursts online and generally bizarre behaviour. In this respect, he epitomises the increasing craziness of capitalism.
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“What abyss are we talking about?”
The essay published by Timothy Snyder in the New York Times Magazine on January 9 has a beautiful title, even if it is not very original.