If human agency, driven by a model of economics and development gone berserk, is a major driving factor in the changes upon us, there is plenty to be learned from this region and many like it.
Archive | News
News updates or analysis.
What media like best about Elizabeth Warren: She’s not Bernie Sanders
If Warren ever finds herself without media’s bête noire to draft off of—assuming her policy stances remain the same—the media headwinds can be expected to get much more intense for her.
How can Sweden be a peace broker for the war in Yemen if it’s also selling the arms that make it possible?
Sweden might have some credibility if it banned weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. It is not enough to be moved by the tragedy in Yemen. Action is necessary.
Why the world is watching the fate of an Iranian tanker in the Mediterranean
The British, it is clear, seized the Iranian tanker at the urging of the United States. There was no previous British warning that it might enter in such a muscular way into the U.S. attempt to suffocate Iran.
A tale of corruption by the United Auto Workers and the Big Three American automakers
What follows is a somewhat complex tale of what happens when a labor union, structured to be unaccountable to the rank-and-file membership, embraces a system of labor-management cooperation rather than a class-conscious understanding that workers and their employers are adversaries with fundamentally opposed goals and desires.
Warnings ancient and modern
Before the Berlin Wall was torn down we all made sarcastic jokes about its official designation by East German (GDR) party leaders as “anti-fascist protective barrier”. But hearing racist ranting by AfD leaders now hoping for victories and seeing gangs of marching thugs with barely–paraphrased Nazi slogans we must wonder if perhaps that scorned terminology […]
Why Kashmir is suddenly a potential global point of conflict
Before India’s Home Minister Amit Shah introduced the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Bill in the Indian Parliament, his government sent tens of thousands of Indian troops into Kashmir. There is no official number, but it is often said that there are nearly 600,000 Indian troops in the state. That a population of 12 million people […]
Trump’s ‘diplomacy’ in Iran is a cynical farce
The problem for any negotiations is that the U.S. position is untenable. The U.S. wants to prevent Iran from exercising its right under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (1968) to enrich uranium even to low levels. It is this impossible position by Washington that will prevent diplomacy.
Iran simply won’t let itself be hemmed in by the U.S. and UK
The United States is leading a process to create a naval force that would patrol the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. has said it will send “command and control” ships to coordinate the escort naval vessels from different countries. But there are cracks in the coalition.
A fateful tug-of-war
On June 2nd Christian Democrat Walter Lübcke was shot dead in front of his home. Stimulated by fascist blogs, one of them that of a prominent adherent of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), the murderer, a dyed-in-the-wool fascist, had been plotting the attack ever since hearing Lübcke’s fierce reply to vicious anti-foreigner catcalls at a public event […]
Trump murdered the Iran Deal—and Europe isn’t too happy about it
During the July 14, 2019 meeting between France, Germany, and the UK to discuss their response to the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran Nuclear Deal, President Hassan Rouhani remarked that Iran is “always ready for negotiation.” Iran, he said, urges the U.S. to “abandon bullying.”
Why Trump caved to China and Huawei
Everything about the trade war between the United States and China is bewildering. Truces would come out of nowhere but then they would be set aside by U.S. President Donald Trump in a stream of tweets at odd hours. Regardless, Huawei and China are unlikely to blink. They have the upper hand.
Imperial overreach in Iran
In the last week of June 2019, as this article was being written, tensions between the U.S. and Iranian governments escalated sharply. On June 20, 2019, in response to aggressive U.S. actions, including the mobilization of troops, naval forces, and aerial provocations, Iran shot down a U.S. surveillance drone flying near the Iranian border.
Tech privacy pioneer Ola Bini released after 70 days of extrajudicial detention in Ecuador
After 70 days in preventive detention without formal charges, Ola Bini’s request for habeas corpus was granted, and shortly after, he was released from prison.
Venezuela: military uprising in Caracas (in development)
A military uprising is unfolding in Venezuela after a handful of the police and armed forces freed Leopoldo Lopez and blocked a highway in Caracas.
The south, the blackout and beyond: As chavismo mobilizes in Venezuela, the U.S. increases pressure
After two months, the images are clear: Chavismo has maintained its capacity for mobilization, while the right wing is in the process of losing what it had managed to regain on January 23.
Dossier 14: Brazil’s Amazon—the wealth of the earth generates the poverty of humankind
The destruction of the Amazon has serious consequences not only for Brazil, but for all of Latin America—and the world.
Brazilian president to commemorate 1964 fascist military coup
Brazilians took to social media following the news calling out Bolsonaro for “celebrating” the military dictatorship and its coup using the hashtag #DitaduraNuncaMais (No More Dictatorship).
Reconstructing the history of the electricity sabotage in Venezuela
Fictitious narratives spun by the opposition failed to go viral in social media—such as those showing images of people apparently collecting water from the Guaire River, which is not suitable for consumption. A report made by the Catia TV team, debunked this false story.
Urgent call to celebrate May Day in solidarity with Venezuela
Come see the real “threat” posed by Venezuela—as living proof that another world indeed is possible.
