International Politics and Economy

By Alexander Hinton | – Far-right extremists have been in the news, with an alleged plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor and rallies like the one the Proud Boys held in Portland in September. With a hotly contested election underway in a polarized society, many people are concerned about violence from far-right extremists. But they may […]

Far Right

A Well-Armed and Unpatriotic Far Right

Tomdispatch

By Andrea Mazzarino | – ( Tomdispatch.com ) – It was July 2017, a few weeks before the “Unite the Right” Charlottesville riots, when white men marched through the streets of that Virginia city protesting the planned takedown of a confederate statue and chanting, “Jews will not replace us.” I was sitting at a coffee […]

Democracy

Sudan’s Revolutionaries insist Israel Deal must be ratified by Future Parliament, as Trump’s Strong-Arm Tactics threaten its Democracy

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Donald Trump held a press conference in the Oval Office with Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu on speaker phone in which he breathlessly announced that Sudan had agreed to normalize relations with Israel, following on Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates earlier this year. Egypt and Jordan had signed peace […]

Democracy

Their Germs and Guns, our Steel: Canvassers Risk it All for America

Rebecca Gordon

( Tomdispatch.com ) – “Look, folks, the air quality is in the red zone today. The EPA says that means people with lung or heart issues should avoid prolonged activity outdoors.” That was J.R. de Vera, one of two directors of UNITE-HERE!’s independent expenditure campaign to elect Biden and Harris in Reno, Nevada. UNITE-HERE! is […]

Democracy

Did Trump blackmail Sudan into Recognizing Israel by offering to remove Khartoum from Terror List?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdulla Hamdok announced Monday that the US had agreed to remove his country from the list of international supporters of terrorism, paving the way for Sudan to rejoin the international community and attract desperately needed international investment. Sudan’s revolutionary government has moved to ensure human and civil […]

Dissent

Is Turkey spying on Dissidents in the West?

The Conversation

By Mehmet Bastug and Davut Akca | – Turkey’s long arm and espionage activities against dissidents living in exile in Canada has become a growing concern. As revealed in a startling recent news report, 15 Turkish-Canadians have been targeted by the Turkish government within the scope of a “terrorism” investigation. Needless to say, the term […]

Islamophobia

How Islamophobia drove the Reception of the poorly fact-checked ‘Caliphate’ Broadcast

The Conversation

By Fahad Ahmad | – On Sept. 25, the RCMP arrested Shehroze Chaudhry, a Muslim man, for allegedly fabricating his affiliation with the Islamic State group (ISIS). Chaudhry — popularly referred to by his supposed nom de guerre, Abu Huzayfah — had been the subject of numerous news stories since 2017. Most notably, in 2018, […]

Arms Sales

Trump’s Art of the Arms Deal: Filling up the Volatile Middle East with High-Tech Weapons

William D. Hartung

( Tomdispatch.com) – The United States has the dubious distinction of being the world’s leading arms dealer. It dominates the global trade in a historic fashion and nowhere is that domination more complete than in the endlessly war-torn Middle East. There, believe it or not, the U.S. controls nearly half the arms market. From Yemen […]

Far Right

Plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor grew from the militia movement’s toxic mix of constitutional falsehoods and half-truths

The Conversation

By John E. Finn | – The U.S. militia movement has long been steeped in a peculiar – and unquestionably mistaken – interpretation of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and civil liberties. This is true of an armed militia group that calls itself the Wolverine Watchmen, who were involved in the recently revealed plot […]