International Politics and Economy

(By Juan Cole) Trying to close down social media such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube has been a desperate ploy of dictatorial regimes throughout the world. It doesn’t work very well, since typically users find workarounds. But what is interesting is why authoritarian regimes make the attempt in the first place. At midnight last night, […]

Dissent

Has Consumerism forever Killed the American Revolutionary Spirit?

contributors

(By Lewis Lapham) [This essay will appear in “Revolution,” the Spring 2014 issue of Lapham’s Quarterly. This slightly adapted version is posted at TomDispatch.com with the kind permission of that magazine.] In case of rain, the revolution will take place in the hall.— Erwin Chargaff For the last several years, the word “revolution” has been hanging […]

Climate Change

BP Permitted back into The Gulf Despite all the Damage Done

contributors

(By Sarah Lazare) Four years after the Deepwater Horizon explosion, oil still washes up on the Gulf Coast shore, and residents and cleanup workers face health hazards from the millions of gallons that spilled and British Petroleum's chemical dispersant that followed. Yet, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday that BP — after pleading guilty to […]

Politics

RIP: Tony Benn – “We’ll never have Democracy as long as Big Business can buy Both Parties

Juan Cole

British socialist stalwart Tony Benn dies at 88 (via AFP) Political foes and allies paid tribute to Tony Benn, the totem of the British left who spearheaded the movement against the Iraq war, following his death on Friday aged 88. A Labour cabinet minister in the 1960s and 1970s, Benn was a widely respected… […]

Bashar al-Assad

Four Reasons Syria Refugees are a Bigger Story than Malaysian Air MH 370

Juan Cole

It is a tragedy that the 239 passengers on Malaysian Air MH 370 never made it to Beijing, and appear to have been the victims of a hijacking that went horribly wrong. But the hours and hours of US cable television speculation about the fate of the flight during the past seven days are a […]

Politics&Culture

What Ukraine Means to the U.S. 1% and to the 99% (Editorial Cartoon)

contributors

(By Paul Jamiol) Courtesy Jamiol’s World

Climate Change

Climate Change Is Increasing Extreme Heat Globally

Juan Cole

By Brian Kahn Follow @blkahn Despite reports of a global warming “hiatus,” a new study shows that the number of areas being affected by extreme heat are on the rise and that the hottest temperatures on the planet are also increasing. The idea of a …

Politics&Culture

The US isn’t a Police State, but it is a Managed Democracy

Juan Cole

Source: SecurityDegreeHub.com —— Related video: TheRealNews: “Obama Expands Militarization of Police” )

Climate Change

Renewable Energy Boom coming to the Middle East

Juan Cole

Middle East North Africa Area To See Renewable Energy Boom (via Clean Technica) The trade association behind the DESERTEC Concept of the same name has said that the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is likely to see their renewable energy assets more than double in capacity by the end of 2015. According to […]