International Politics and Economy

Jungmin Choi As Elon Musk and his DOGE team set about dismantling government agencies, many Americans expected a strong response from Congressional Democrats. Instead, party leaders offered weak statements and little resistance to being refused entry to the very agencies they are tasked with overseeing. This lack of urgency amid what’s being called an administrative […]

Far Right

The growing Influence of Israel’s Ultranationalist Settler Movement

The Conversation

By Leonie Fleischmann, City St George’s, University of London (The Conversation) – Days after taking office, as he issued executive order after executive order to change the political face of America, Donald Trump also turned his attention to the war in Gaza. His proposal that Gaza should be cleared out and Palestinians should be relocated […]

censorship

Iran: Unchecked Repression of Dissent

The Conversation

Human Rights Watch – (Beirut) – Iranian authorities have continued their brutal, targeted repression even though the new Iranian president has promised change, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2025. The authorities have targeted human rights defenders, women, ethnic and religious minorities, and families of those arrested or killed in the 2022 protests. For […]

Corruption

The Moment Trump Won the 2024 election, the 8 Richest Men in the World gained another $64 billion

Tomdispatch

By Liz Theoharis and William D. Hartung ( Tomdispatch.com ) – With the return of Donald Trump to the White House, advocates for peace, social justice, racial and economic equality, fair immigration policies, climate renewal, trans rights, and other movements for change are bracing for hard times. The new administration will be doggedly opposed to […]

Nonviolence

Can nonviolent Struggle defeat a Dictator? This Database emphatically says Yes

George Lakey

The Global Nonviolent Action Database details some 40 cases of mass movements overcoming tyrants through strategic nonviolent campaigns. ( Waging Nonviolence ) – With Donald Trump set to take office after a fear-mongering campaign that reignited concerns about his desire to become a dictator, a reasonable question comes up: Can nonviolent struggle defeat a tyrant? There […]

Democracy

What I Learned after the End of History

Andrew J. Bacevich

( Tomdispatch.com ) – “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” So declared Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Ah, if only it had proved to be so. Although my respect for MLK is enduring, when it comes to that upward-trending curve connecting past to present, his view of human […]

censorship

Professor Katherine Franke on being Fired from Columbia Law School for Palestine Advocacy

Katherine M. Franke

Statement from Katherine Franke, January 10, 2025 For the last year and a half, as students at Columbia University and across the globe have protested against the Israeli government’s genocidal assault on Palestinians after the October 2023 attacks, a response that has resulted in horrendous devastation in Gaza, I have ardently defended students’ right to […]

Drones

European Union funding for Israeli AI, Tech, raises Fresh Concerns about Complicity in Genocide

Middle East Monitor

By Melike Pala | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – Israel’s use of artificial intelligence (AI) funded by European Union research programmes to target civilians is attracting a lot of criticism. Since the Israeli attacks on Gaza began on 7 October, 2023, the EU has provided over €238 million ($246m) to Israeli institutions for […]

Featured

NOLA Attacker was a Vet who fought the War on Terror against Extremists before Breakdown

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor – (Informed Comment) – I love New Orleans, and have been known to hit the jazz clubs on Bourbon Street into the wee hours myself. So what happened there is a gut punch, and I want to express my condolences to the families of the victims and to the community there for its […]