International Politics and Economy

By Nika Knight, staff writer | (Commondreams.org) | – – “One of the deadliest strikes against civilians in Yemen’s year-long war involved U.S.-supplied weapons” The year-long campaign of Saudi-led airstrikes in Yemen reached a new low last month with a deliberate attack on a marketplace full of civilians that killed over 100, including 25 children, […]

Corruption

Panama Papers: Snowden Calls on the UK to Demand Prime Minister Cameron’s Resignation

contributors

TeleSur | – – Snowden’s call comes after Cameron was implicated in the Panama Papers leak that exposed the offshore dealings of international elites and their fortunes. Edward Snowden called on the people in the United Kingdom to rise up and demand the resignation of Prime Minister David Cameron in the fallout of the Panama […]

Corruption

Syria: Al-Assad Family’s Massive Stolen Wealth in Panama Papers helps explain Revolution

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The revelation in the leaked Panama Papers that Mossack Fonseca and Swiss bank HSBC serviced the companies of corrupt Syrian billionaire Rami Makhlouf (first cousin of dictator Bashar al-Assad) long after the US imposed sanctions on him is a reminder of why Syrians revolted against the […]

Democracy

Why Are there no Iranian Suicide Bombers? Evolving Islamic Democracy Matters!

contributors

By Ali R. Abootalebi | (Informed Comment) | – – The emergence of political Islam in the mainstream politics in the Middle East and across other Muslim countries since the 1970s has impacted socioeconomic and political development in so many different ways. The return of religion–a symbol of traditionalism–to the mainstream debate about and the […]

Authoritarianism

Panama Papers Expose Massive Global Corruption Scandal (TYT)

contributors

Cenk Uygur | (The Young Turks Video Report) | – – “We’ve got a new bunch of leaked papers on some of the most prominent politicians and leaders worldwide. They are laundering money from out of their own countries into private bank accounts in offshore tax havens. Cenk Uygur, host of The Young Turks, breaks […]

Authoritarianism

The Panama Papers and Middle East Leaders’ Secret Bank Accounts

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – An anonymous source has handed over to a German newspaper massive amounts of data from the Panama-based, German-run law firm Mossack Fonseca. The firm specialized in providing clients with offshore accounts, which are typically used to avoid taxes or hide ill-gotten gains. Given the enormous problem […]

Campaign Finance

Why are American Elections so much worse than Everybody Else’s?

contributors

by Pippa Norris | (The Conversation) | – – The world is currently transfixed by the spectacle of American elections. From New York, London and Paris to Beijing, Moscow, and Sydney there is endless heated debate in the news media and across dinner tables about the factors fueling the remarkable success of Donald Trump, speculation […]

Colonialism

Beyond Victimhood: 5 Slaves Who Fought Back and Changed History

contributors

By Mohamed Hemish | ( TeleSur | – – March 25 marks the United Nations’ “International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery,” which aims to draw attention to the more than 15 million men, women and children who fell victim to the Transatlantic Slave Trade that lasted from the 15th through to the […]

Dissent

In attack on 1st Amendment, U of California outlaws criticism of Israel while ignoring Islamophobia

contributors

TeleSur | – – Pro-Palestinian groups argue that Muslims also need protection from Islamophobia on campus, an issue officials neglected to address. A University of California committee unanimously approved a statement Wednesday that cites anti-Semitism as a form of intolerance that campus leaders have a responsibility to challenge. The University of California is a public […]