Authoritarianism has been on the march for years, but people powered revolutions are pushing regimes toward democracy on nearly every continent. ( Foreign Policy in Focus ) – Despite all the obstacles, Americans are voting in huge numbers prior to Election Day. With a week to go, nearly 70 million voters have sent in their […]
Pandemic Pivot: The Pandemic is a Wake-up Call for Truly Global Action
(Foreign Policy in Focus ) – If the current pandemic is a test of the global emergency response system, the international community is flunking big time. It has done just about everything wrong, from the failure to contain the virus early on to the lack of effective coordination thereafter. As the predicted second wave begins […]
The Mobster-in-Chief: Will the November Election Be Decided in the Streets?
( Tomdispatch.com ) – The white mobs didn’t care whom they killed as long as the victims were Black. They murdered people in public with guns and rocks. They set fire to houses and slaughtered families trying to escape the flames. In East St. Louis in July 1917, white vigilantes lynched Blacks with impunity. It […]
Has Trump done Irreparable Damage to US Partnerships Abroad?
Donald Trump used to care what the world outside America thought of him. ( Foreign Policy in Focus) – Before he ran for president, he was focused on turning his business into a global brand. The name “Trump” was supposed to connote all the luxury and success of the elite lifestyle. Trump hotels, Trump golf […]
The New Isolationism and the Distrustful Citizen: Covid-19 and the end of Geopolitics
( Tomdispatch.com) – I don’t trust you. Don’t take it personally. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a friend or a stranger. I don’t care about your identity or your politics, where you work or if you work, whether you wear a mask or carry a gun. I don’t trust you because you are, for the […]
The Attack of the Feds from the Deep: Autocratic Trump is Testing his Limits
( Foreign Policy in Focus) – Federal agents poured into Portland, Oregon this month to crack down on anti-racism protests. They beat up peaceful protesters and fired impact munitions at demonstrators, seriously injuring one of them. They drove around the city in unmarked vans pulling people off the street. Oregon officials at every level — […]
Trump wants to be on a New Mt. Rushmore– with Dictators Putin and Xi
( Foreign Policy in Focus ) – Donald Trump would dearly like to add his face to Mt. Rushmore as the fifth presidential musketeer. His fireworks-and-fury extravaganza on July 3 was the next best thing. Trump’s dystopian speech was almost beside the point. Much more important was the photo op of his smirking face next […]
In the U.S., the Second Wave of the Pandemic Is Already Here
(Foreign Policy in Focus) – If the United States had quick-thinking and efficient leadership, the pandemic would have infected about 100,000 people and killed only a couple thousand. That’s the experience of South Korea, times seven to account for the difference in population. If the United States had overwhelmed but reasonably sensible leadership, the coronavirus […]
What Will It Take to Defeat Trumpism? Learning Lessons from the End of the Confederacy, Nazi Germany, and Saddam’s Iraq
( Tomdispatch.com) – Let’s assume that Donald Trump loses the election in November. Yes, that’s a mighty big assumption, despite all the polls currently favoring the Democrats. If the economy begins to recover and the first wave of Covid-19 subsides (without a second wave striking), Donald Trump’s reelection prospects could improve greatly. The Republican Party […]