A jokester once characterized Yale University as a hedge fund with a campus attached to it. One might say something similar of the country in which Yale is based.
Geography Archives: Americas
South America, Central America, United States & Canada
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.
China tech ban mirrors 1980s attempts to destroy Japanese competition
In the 1980s, the U.S. imposed a 100% tariff on virtually all Japanese electronics and forced Tokyo to sign a one-sided trade deal that reserved much of its domestic semiconductor sector for American companies.
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.
U.S. makes aggressive opening move on Russian chessboard
A regime change project in Russia was launched on Sunday with the return of political activist Alexei Navalny to Moscow. It was a highly symbolic event—except that Navalny was traveling by an airplane from Germany and not in a sealed train.
Max Blumenthal: Breach of Capitol security was like a military operation
The Grayzone founder notes that “such a disproportionate percentage” of the Capitol building attackers were former military, former law enforcement, or current law enforcement that began rappelling up the sides of the Capitol with ropes.”
Citing famine, UN urges reversal of terrorist designation for Yemen’s Houthis; U.S. refuses
Mark Lowcock of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned that recent labeling of Houthis as a terrorist organization by the U.S. would likely trigger a “famine on a scale we have not seen in 40 years.
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).
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’.
The U.S. recovery on pause, December brings new job losses
A meaningful working-class recovery from the recession seems far away.
Prepare for a surge in Global inequality
The evidence clearly is that the Covid-crisis has upended the fiscal conservatism that has been the hallmark of the neoliberal era since the 1980s.
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 […]
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.
The country where liberty is a statue
On 6 January, the world witnessed an interesting spectacle, an assortment of what appeared to be characters from fantasy television shows taking possession of the U.S. Capitol, where the legislature sits.
“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.
Twitter’s ban on Trump will only deepen the U.S. tribal divide
Anyone who believes locking President Donald Trump out of his social media accounts will serve as the first step on the path to healing the political divide in the United States is likely to be in for a bitter disappointment.
How a lawbreaking international coalition failed to overthrow Venezuela’s government
On January 5, 2021, the newly elected National Assembly took its seats in Venezuela’s capital. That day the Lima Group released a statement most of its members signed saying that they did not recognize the legality of the assembly.
American capitalism’s endless military drive
The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has announced that weapons exports have risen by 2.8% to $175 billion in 2020. In their annual briefing on U.S. arms sales, the Pentagon and State Department cold-bloodedly described this increase as an “accomplishment.”
International Commission of Inquiry to open hearings on racist police violence in the U.S. on MLK Day
The National Conference of Black Lawyers (NCBL), the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) and the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) have assembled a commission of experts from around the world to investigate racist police violence against people of African descent in the United States.
The Rosenberg Orphans and the power of radical history
Orphaned after their parents were executed for espionage, the story of the Rosenberg boys is one all Americans should know.
