International Politics and Economy

The Era of Rupert Murdoch, a Blight on our Heating Planet and a Fomenter of War and Racial Hatreds, is Passing

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Australian-American press lord Rupert Murdoch, 92, announced Thursday that he would step down as the CEO of both News Corp and Fox News as of November. It would take a multi-volume book to detail all the horrible and catastrophic things Murdoch has done to the world. In Informed Comment, which […]

Climate Crisis

Welcome to the new Green Colonialism: One Last Shot at Reducing Global inequality and Saving the Planet

John Feffer

( Tomdispatch.com ) – In a fit of madness or just plain desperation, you’ve enrolled in a get-rich-quick scheme. All you have to do is sell some products, sign up some friends, make some phone calls. Follow that simple formula and you’ll soon be pulling in tens of thousands of dollars a month — or […]

Authoritarianism

The Legacy of Mahsa, a Year later: It Is Only the Beginning for Iranian Women

Fariba Amini

Newark, Del. (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – Imagine, you come from your small town to visit the capital. You have a whole plan to visit places, parks, and monuments. You want to have a good time with your friends and relatives. The night before you are together with your friends and family. You laugh, […]

Authoritarianism

Mahsa Amini: A Year into the Protest Movement in Iran, this is What’s Changed

The Conversation

Mahsa Amini: a year into the protest movement in Iran, this is what’s changed By Afshin Shahi, Keele University | = Iran’s rulers continue to enforce tight public controls as the anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the “morality police” approaches. Amini died after being arrested for allegedly breaching hijab […]

Authoritarianism

How Mahsa Amini’s Death became a Rallying Call for Thousands of Iranians

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

By Michael Scollon and Fereshteh Ghazi A combo photo shows Mahsa Amini (left) in the hospital on September 16, 2022, and her father and grandmother right after her death. ( RFE/RL ) – Sharmin Habibi recalls the circumstances of her husband’s killing at the hands of Iran’s security forces. But she could be […]

Arab World

Expansion of BRICS, the anti-G7, in the Mideast: Is the Oil Gulf no Longer Pax Americana?

Hamdullah Baycar

Exeter (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – BRICS, a group of five developing countries that include China, Russia, and India, has invited another six countries to join the bloc, making the group 11 if all accept the invitation. Among 40 interested states in membership, of which 22 had already officially asked for admission, BRICS leaders […]

BRICS

As US drags out Israel Normalization Deal with Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Drifts toward China

Nick Mehling

Cairo (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – With the announcement of the expansion of the BRICS bloc many were surprised to see traditional US allies like Saudi Arabia and the UAE inducted as new members. Pundits were quick to exclaim the monumental shift, heralding the move as Saudi Arabia charting an independent path and the […]

Anti-intellectualism

‘Era Of Repression’: Iran Purges Ranks Of University Professors Ahead Of Veil Protest Anniversary

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

By Hannah Kaviani Fereshteh Ghazi ( RFE/RL ) – Encouraging students to hold unauthorized demonstrations. Encouraging students to sing antiestablishment slogans. Encouraging female students to remove their head scarves. Undermining Islamic values and acting against the interests of the system. These are the list of reasons the Iranian authorities are using to increasingly purge the […]

Featured

War is not Inevitable, and Social Scientists are Finding Peace Movements more Effective

H. Patricia Hynes

Greenfield, MA (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – I am heartened each time I come across a study affirming that waging war is not an innate part of human nature, that we humans are just as likely to be peaceful as we are to be violent. To quote the revered anthropologist Margaret Mead, “warfare is only […]