International Politics and Economy

by Lisa Song (ProPublica) – When Amira Chowdhury joined a protest in Philadelphia against police violence on Monday, she wore a mask to protect herself and others against the coronavirus. But when officers launched tear gas into the crowd, Chowdhury pulled off her mask as she gasped for air. “I couldn’t breathe,” she said. “I […]

African-Americans

Trump’s ‘When the looting starts, the shooting starts’ is Classic Fascism, Classic Racism

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – “Between 18 and 20 December 1922 Turin Fascism unleashed a 3 day terror campaign on a recalcitrant anti-Fascist labour movement.” So informs us Antonio Sonnessa.* Turin (Torino) was a site of resistance to Fascism. It had a powerful labor union, dissident newspapers, a Communist Party (Antonio Gramsci was there and […]

Far Right

From Jones’s Kool-Aid to Trump’s Clorox– Can we Finally leave the Death Cults Behind Us?

Waging Nonviolence

By Michael Nagler | – ( Waging Nonviolence) – When I compared the president and his followers to Jim Jones and the “Peoples Temple” cult two years ago I didn’t expect many would go that far. In fact, I hoped events would prove me wrong. Unfortunately, the comparison has become inescapable, and other writers have […]

Corruption

Congress’ Relief Package was for Small Business, but pro-Trump Millionaires Grabbed up the Lion’s Share

Jim Hightower

( Otherwords.org ) – Thanks to a specially carved loophole, one multi-millionaire claimed 339 times more than the average small business received. By Jim Hightower | May 20, 2020 Monty Bennett was just another faceless right-wing millionaire on the long list of high-dollar donors to Donald Trump — until he suddenly surfaced in April as […]

Cults

The Church of QAnon: Will Trumpian conspiracy theories form the basis of a dangerous new religious movement?

The Conversation

By Marc-André Argentino | – Followers of the QAnon movement believe in wild and dangerous conspiracy theories about U.S. President Donald Trump. Now a faction within the movement has been interpreting the Bible through QAnon conspiracies. I have been studying the growth of the QAnon movement as part of my research into how extremist religious […]

Arms Sales

Did Trump fire State Dept. Inspector to Protect Shady Arms Deal with Saudi Arabia?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The mystery deepens. Late last Friday, Trump summarily fired the State Department Inspector General, Steve Linick. While in US law as it now stands, the president has the power to fire pretty much anyone in the executive, if he fired Linick as an act of retaliation for one of Linick’s […]

Donald Trump

Male Face Masks have been the Height of Masculinity for Centuries: Why see Coronavirus Masks as Wimpy?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – A recent study of the way Americans are adapting to the coronavirus found that “Men more than women agree that wearing a face covering is shameful, not cool, a sign of weakness, and a stigma”. The study indicated that American men resist wearing face masks more than do women, partly […]

Donald Trump

I guess “Islam” doesn’t Hate us After All: Trump pins hopes for Vaccine on Muslim-American Slaoui

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump became president in part by playing on fears, resentments and outright hatred among some segments of the American public, especially of a racial and religious sort. He bashed Mexican-Americans as drug dealers and rapists, and recently blamed Chinese-Americans for the coronavirus. But no group came in for so fierce […]

Arms Sales

In the Midst of a Pandemic, Can we Afford to spend Trillions on War Industries?

Conn M. Hallinan

( Foreign Policy in Focus) – Camus’ novel of a lethal contagion in the North African city of Oran is filled with characters all too recognizable today: indifferent or incompetent officials, short sighted and selfish citizens, and lots of great courage. What not even Camus could imagine, however, is a society in the midst of […]