Among authoritarians, economics exists for the sake of political extraction, and private wealth is only permitted on condition of complicity
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Government = Protection Racket for the 1 Percent
The evidence of income inequality just keeps mounting. According to “Working for the Few,” a recent briefing paper from Oxfam, “In the US, the wealthiest one percent captured 95 percent of post-financial crisis growth since 2009, while the bottom…
The Limits of ‘Protest Tourism’ in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank
(By “Jill Saunders”) “Jill Saunders”, a pseudonym, frequently attends the weekly demonstrations in the Palestinian village of Nabi Saleh. In this reflective piece, “Jill” questions […]
Top 5 Reasons Solar Energy will Save the World
(By Juan Cole) 1. The research and development monies now going into solar energy are great enough to fuel innovation and bring down prices rapidly. […]
A War of another Kind: Joint US-Yemeni Strikes on al-Qaeda kill 68
(via AFP) Dozens killed as Yemen, US mount air war on Qaeda (via AFP) An “unprecedented” US and Yemeni aerial campaign in Yemen killed at […]
High Inequality Results in More US Deaths than Tobacco, Car Crashes and Guns Combined
In 2009, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) published a study that revealed what seems to be a shocking truth: those who live in societies with a higher level of income inequality are at a greater risk for premature death. Here in the United States,…
The Romantics and the Orient: What English Poetry owes to the Middle East
(By Samar Attar) Many times I have asked myself how can I concentrate on the British Romantic Poets when people in Syria, the country of […]
How Torture became Normalized in America
(By Rebecca Gordon) The US military involvement in Iraq has more or less ended, and the war in Afghanistan is limping to a conclusion. Yet […]
Triumph of the Immigrant American Spirit: Meb Keflezighi and the Boston Marathon
(By Juan Cole) Yesterday Boston responded with its vigorous spirit of community and transcendence to the cowardly terrorism that marred the Boston Marathon in 2013, […]
Rebel In-Fighting Endangers Syrian Civilians in their Territory
(By Issam Abdel Hamid) Ordinary people say their lives are at risk due to disputes between rival rebel groups. Tensions between Syrian rebel forces stationed […]
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