International Politics and Economy

By Lawrence Weschler | – The news that President Trump is planning to stage a “massive fireworks display” before a sizeable crowd on Independence Day eve at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial (notwithstanding the prospect of both wildfires in the tinder-dry surroundings and the further spread of Covid-19) has left me mulling over once again […]

Authoritarianism

What Will It Take to Defeat Trumpism? Learning Lessons from the End of the Confederacy, Nazi Germany, and Saddam’s Iraq

John Feffer

( Tomdispatch.com) – Let’s assume that Donald Trump loses the election in November. Yes, that’s a mighty big assumption, despite all the polls currently favoring the Democrats. If the economy begins to recover and the first wave of Covid-19 subsides (without a second wave striking), Donald Trump’s reelection prospects could improve greatly. The Republican Party […]

Nonviolence

Teach police nonviolence, scholars say, and how to work with local residents

The Conversation

By Jennifer Earl, James J. Nolan, Jessica Maves Braithwaite and Kirssa Cline Ryckman | – Scholars: Kirssa Cline Ryckman, Jennifer Earl, Jessica Maves Braithwaite, University of Arizona Police have a saying, “better to be judged by 12 than carried by six,” acknowledging they might face a jury if they use excessive force, but it’s preferable […]

African-Americans

The George Floyd protests aren’t just anti-racist – they are anti-authoritarian

The Conversation

By Lilian Bobea | — The massive protests that erupted across the United States – and beyond – after the police killing of George Floyd are billed as anti-racist mobilizations, and that they are. Demonstrators are denouncing police violence in minority communities and demanding that officers who abuse their power be held accountable. But I […]

Africa

Top 6 Reasons Trump’s Racist Attack on Ilhan Omar at Empty Stadium is a Lie

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – In his typically unhinged rant to a nearly empty stadium in Tulsa, OK, Trump attempted to use Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar to denigrate his Democratic rival Joe Biden. He said, according to the WaPo, “Likewise, Representative Ilhan Omar is going to be very much involved in a Biden government . […]

Democracy

War Zone America

Tomdispatch

By Andrea Mazzarino | – (Tomdispatch.com) – Recently, in this Black Lives Matter protest moment, my five-year-old son looked at me and asked, “Mommy, where did all the brown people go? Did the police here shoot them?” We’d just moved to the outskirts of a more affluent rural town from a city where my son […]

Inequality

Bailouts for Weapons Firms, Tent Cities for Vets: Covid Reveals U.S. Military Priorities

H. Patricia Hynes

Greenfield, Mass. (Special to Informed Comment) – On May 18, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) launched a Salvation Army-like charity drive asking the public for donations of money, food, and mobile phones to help an estimated 40,000 homeless veterans during the pandemic. More than one-half of all homeless veterans are African American and Hispanic, […]

African-Americans

Seattle’s BLM Autonomous Protest Zone and the Paris Commune of 1871: Anti-Capitalist Spirit still Lives

The Conversation

Oli Mould | – A new autonomous zone set up in Seattle by the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement bears some striking similarities with the Paris Commune of 1871. Despite its brutal ending, the seminal event in the French capital 150 years ago set the agenda for progressive urban politics and broader social justice movements […]

Dissent

Drones and Protesters: How High-Tech Surveillance Amplifies Police Bias and Overreach

The Conversation

By Andrew Guthrie Ferguson | – Video of police in riot gear clashing with unarmed protesters in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has filled social media feeds. Meanwhile, police surveillance of protesters has remained largely out of sight. Local, state and federal law enforcement organizations use […]