US politics

By Michael Slager | (Informed Comment) | – – The mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where a former student gunned down 15 children and two teachers has prompted some of the teenage survivors of the massacre to speak out. Lina Crisostomo, 17, a student at Stoneman Douglas, argues that sitting on the […]

Donald Trump

The “Iran deal”: when American and Iranian arch-conservatives are on the same side

contributors

By Kourosh Ziabari | (OpenDemocracy.net) The domestic critics of the Iran deal and its Republican misanthropists in the United States are making a similar mistake. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran Deal, is a UN-endorsed agreement that caps Iran’s nuclear activities, subjects them to the full safeguards of the International […]

Donald Trump

Dr. Strangelove in the 21st Century: Trump’s Pentagon lowers Nuclear Threshold

Rajan Menon

( Tomdispatch.com) – If you’re having trouble sleeping thanks to, well, you know who… you’re not alone. But don’t despair. A breakthrough remedy has just gone on the market. It has no chemically induced side effects and, best of all, will cost you nothing, thanks to the Department of Defense. It’s the new Nuclear Posture […]

Donald Trump

Could Trump’s Fragile Ego spark Korean or Iran War?

contributors

By Bandy X. Lee and Jeffrey D. Sachs | (Project Syndicate) | – – Donald Trump is not the first leader with a severe personality disorder – characterized by intolerable feelings of inadequacy and an overwhelming need for approval – to gain power. But such leaders have usually gained control in smaller countries that lack […]

Afghanistan

Despite Trump Surge, Taliban Attack Afghan Army Post, Killing 18 Soldiers

contributors

TeleSur | – – A bomb attack also took place in the capital Kabul killing at least one person. Islamic State group in Afghanistan claimed responsibility. Taliban militants have attacked an Afghan army post and killed 18 government soldiers, the defense ministry said Saturday, while a suicide bomber in the capital killed one person and […]

Donald Trump

Grievance Politics for Insecure Majorities: Trumpism Worldwide

contributors

By John Feffer | (Foreign Policy in Focus) | – – It’s about propping up “besieged majorities” in multiethnic countries. Washington and New Delhi are having a mutual lovefest these days. Donald Trump is popular in India — where only 17 percent of the population considers the president “intolerant,” compared to a global average of […]

Guns

Marco Rubio dismisses High-School Shooting Survivors as out of Mainstream

Juan Cole

TeleSur | – – The event, hosted by CNN, offered a rare opportunity for people directly affected by the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School tragedy to confront the pro-gun lobby. Survivors of last week’s mass shooting at a high-school in Parkland, Florida, confronted Republican Senator Marco Rubio and National Rifle Association (NRA) spokeswoman Dana Loesch […]

Militarization

Generational Wars and Short Memories: The 9/11 Hijackers Were Iraqis, Right?

Rebecca Gordon

San Francisco (Tomdispatch.com) | – I was teaching the day the airplanes hit the World Trade Center. It was the second meeting of “The Communist Manifesto for Seminarians,” a course for my fellow graduate students. By the time I got to class, both towers had collapsed. A few hours later, Building 7 came down as […]

Corruption

Top Ten Signs the US is the most Corrupt nation in the World (2018 Edn.)

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Revised Those ratings that castigate Afghanistan and some other poor countries as hopelessly “corrupt” always imply that the United States is not corrupt. This year’s report from Transparency International puts the US on a par with Austria, which is ridiculous. All kinds of people from politicians […]