Poli Tik Tok goes to Germany
While the video-sharing app TikTok – subtitled “make your day” – shows short clips that users (read: mostly teenagers) can compose, distribute, and comment on, the online platform is increasingly…
World
An Interview About Oregon’s Measure 110, a brief victory for Drug Decriminalization
Morgan Godvin is an internationally recognized expert on the topic of drugs and justice. She was a leading activist behind Oregon’s drug decriminalization law - Measure 110 - that passed…
The Russian 2009 “Fourteen Points” for the European Security: Why the Proposal Was Rejected?
In 2009, Russian President Medvedev (President from May 7th, 2008 to May 7th, 2012) called for a new European security policy known as “Fourteen Points” as a new security treaty…
Warring Against Encryption: Australia is Coming for Your Communications
On April 16, Australia’s eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, issued with authoritarian glee legal notices to X Corp and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, to remove material within 24…
Handling — and Mishandling — the Iran Nuclear Program
One, erratic and often unhinged, blew up the U.S.-Iran accord that was the landmark foreign policy achievement of President Obama’s second term. He then ordered the assassination of a top…
The Kindness of Strangers?
I was channel surfing last evening and watched the Supreme Court's new case concerning homeless encampments etc. What got me was how the government's lawyer kept explaining how the homeless…
Why So Many Concerned People Have Difficulty in Understanding the US Discourse on Foreign/Security Policy?
‘When I use a word’, Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful voice, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean, neither more or less.’ ‘The question is’, said…
Censorship Wars: Elon Musk, Safety Commissioners and Violent Content
The attitudes down under towards social media have turned barmy. While there is much to take Elon Musk to task for his wrecking ball antics at the platform formerly known…
An Entirely Avoidable Humanitarian Crisis—US Embargo Continues to Inflict Immense Suffering on Cuba
Cuba provides an inspiring example of a very small country whose doctors have reached some of the most difficult areas of human distress and disasters to provide their medical services…
NATO’s Never-ending War: The 75-Year-Old Bully is Faltering
The western discourse on the circumstances behind the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), 75 years ago, is hardly convincing. Yet, that over-simplified discourse must be examined in…
Old Man World: Leftovers of the American Century
Let one old man deal with two others. I turn 80 in July, which makes me just over a year-and-a-half younger than Joe Biden and almost two years older than…
The Empire Owns Us
In today's America there is no need for a contract for millions of my fellow working stiffs. With many states like mine ( Florida) having 'Right to work laws', unions…
2024 Elections Around the World and Social Media’s Blind Eye to Election Integrity
The glamour of social media has surpassed the influence of conventional media in our daily lives. It’s a platform where people share moments from having lunch to updating relationship statuses.…
Universities for AUKUS: The Social License Confidence Trick
“Can we still see universities as places to learn and produce knowledge that, at the risk of sounding naïve, is for the greater good of humanity, independently transient of geopolitical…
UN Chief’s Statements Are Great, But What About His Contribution to Real Peace?
Several statements made from time to time by the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterrres are known to be extremely appropriate and are very widely quoted. To give an example his…
Iran-Israel Rivalry: Is it Ideology or Realpolitik?
Iran’s missile and drone attacks on Israeli territory this past week were unprecedented in many ways. Firstly, the direct attacks were a departure from Tehran’s decade-long shadow war, which saw…
Wars Are Causing Massive Distress, but for A Few These Mean High Profits
We all are aware of the enormous distress caused and the thousands of human lives lost in the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, but there are a few who look…
Kansas At last Allows Removal of Racist Property Covenants
At long last, on April 5, the Kansas state legislature passed HB 2562 by a vote of 123 to 0. The bill includes a provision concerning racial covenants attached to…
South Korea’s Election Outcome: Opposition Party Triumphs, President Yoon Faces Diplomatic and Domestic Challenges
Opposition party wins in South Korea’s election, posing challenges for President Yoon’s governance and foreign relations, notably with China. Despite this, Yoon’s alignment with the U.S. and Japan is likely…
Cracking Down on Fraudulent Immigration: Canada’s Battle Against Unlicensed Consultants
Fraudulent immigration consultants outside of Canada are on the rise, charging exorbitant fees to secure jobs in Canada for applicants seeking work permits and study visas. The Canadian government faces…
The Australian Defence Formula: Spend! Spend! Spend!
The skin toasted Australian Minister of Defence, Richard Marles, who resembles, with each day, the product of an overly worked solarium, was adamant. Not only will Australians be paying a…
The Forgotten War—8.5 million people displaced in Sudan
The latest civil war which erupted in Sudan in mid-April 2023 has very recently completed one year. On this occasion the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated that there is a…
Haiti Today, America Tomorrow? When Democracies Die, Mobs Take Over
Haiti has descended into chaos. It’s had no president or parliament — and no elections either –for eight long years. Its unelected prime minister Ariel Henry resigned recently when gang…
Senator Cardin Must Help End the Blockade of Cuba
by Rev. Deborah McEachran and Rev. Dr. Eliezer Valentín-Castañón Cuba is going hungry. The costs of food and other basic necessities are skyrocketing. Rolling blackouts periodically plunge the island into…
Two Tales of Subsidies
The Secretary of the US Department of the Treasury, Janet L. Yellen visited the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from April 3rd to April 9th, 2024, for bilateral meetings aimed…
Citizenship: Concept and Consequences
Citizenship as a concept The term “citizenship” is usually used either in academia or news as a synonym of nationality and national affiliation (from the Anglo-Saxon, West European perspective followed…
Faulty Assurances: The Judicial Torture of Assange Continues
Only this month, the near comatose US President, Joe Biden, made a casual, castaway remark that his administration was “considering” the request by Australia that the case against Julian Assange…
Europe Should Strive for an Independent Role of Peace
Europe is widely and generally seen by people all over the world as a region of high levels of education, scholarship and democracy. Certainly many reputed scholars and prestigious centers…
A Thing of the Future and a Thing of the Past, Robotaxis and Land Lines
Ahead of the 118th annual San Francisco 1906 Earthquake Commemoration on April 18, a speak-out/press conference was held across from historic Portsmouth Square in the City’s Chinatown to express grievous…
Israel vows “response” to Iranian strikes, as Gaza genocide continues
Forty-eight hours after Iran launched an airstrike on Israel, Israeli officials offered indications Monday that Israel is preparing military strikes on Iranian targets, as the US-provoked war in the Middle…
Nuclear weapons guarantee catastrophe on our planet To speak in favour of Nuclear weapons is irresponsible
Speaking in an election rally in Pipariya town in Hoshangabad Parliamentary constituency in Madhya Pradesh on 15 April 2024 the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has made a mockery of…
Saul Bellow – Literature and Racism Or At War with the 60s
“What they wouldn’t do, the white folks, to keep you from having a history, the better, after all, to protect theirs.” The Man Who Cried I Am, John A. Williams…
On Tax Day, Anti-War Activists Protest for a Peace Economy
Tax Day is always one of protest when anti-war activists and frustrated taxpayers demonstrate objections to their hard-earned money paid in income-tax, being used to fund and support America’s never-ending…
30 Years Since The French Genocide In Rwanda
Its been 30 years since the French genocide in Rwanda and due to misinformation being spread its time to take a hard look at what really happened in 1994. The…
Property and Debt in Ancient Rome
The Roman concept of property is essentially creditor-oriented. As Rome’s power grew, practices quickly became predatory. Traditional societies usually had restrictions to prevent self-support land from being alienated outside of…
Biden condemns Iran’s strike on Israel: A case study in imperialist hypocrisy
The imperialist powers have responded to Iran’s strikes on Israel Saturday with an outpouring of condemnation. “I condemn these attacks in the strongest possible terms,” US President Joe Biden declared,…
Misinformation Undermines Life in the Age of Digital Revolution
In this era of an Artificial Intelligence-fuelled digital revolution, misinformation has emerged as a potent weapon wielded by both ruling and non-ruling elites. Their aim is often to undermine truth,…
Building Global Labor Solidarity: Where We Are at Today (early 2024)
Encouraged by Flora Tristan’s exhortation—greatly amplified by Marx and Engels—“Workers of the World, Unite!” (Armbruster-Sandoval, 2013), activists have been encouraging workers to build international labor solidarity to empower each other…
When Leaders Chase A Mirage!
Naturally, they tend to fool themselves the most with others being fooled on a little lower scale. Ironically, this harsh reality spells bitter truth not just on the home front…
For US to Hold China Responsible for Any Gains Russia Makes in Ukraine War is Ridiculous
At a time when so many strains exist in international relations in the middle of several conflicts, it is important for senior diplomats to avoid making needlessly provocative statements which…
Does Europe Want A New Führer?
by Thomas Klikauer and Danny Antonelli A recent study revealed that there is an increasing desire for an authoritarian leader in Europe. As if Europe’s far-right, adjacent Neo-Nazis, and Europe’…
To Save Democracy, Check Deceptocracy
The progress of democracy has been one of the noblest chapters of the history of humanity. When true democracy progresses, this also leads to steadily increasing possibilities for equality and…
Secret Agreements: The Australian-Israel Defence Memorandum of Understanding
While the Australian government continues to pirouette with shallow constancy on the issue of Israel’s war in Gaza, making vacuous utterances on Palestinian statehood even as it denies supplying the…
Biden gives Israel “ironclad” backing against Iranian retaliatory strike
US President Joe Biden warned yesterday that Iranian retaliation in response to Israel’s highly provocative April 1 attack on Iran’s consulate in the Syrian capital of Damascus was expected “sooner…
Nuclear Weapons Are the Biggest Single Danger for Humanity and All Forms of Life
Hiroshima, August 6, 1945 : Father Kleinsorge, a German missionary, heard pathetic voices of people asking for water. When he managed to reach the place from where the voice had…
Requiem for The New York Times
NEW YORK: I am sitting in the auditorium at The New York Times. It is the first time I have been back in nearly two decades. It will be the…
The Decline of Extreme Poverty
One of the foremost accomplishments of the industrial age is the “immense progress against extreme poverty.” “Extreme poverty” is defined by the World Bank as a person living on less…
Escalation—Will Middle-East Crisis Worsen Further?
Deeply worrying as the Gaza and the overall Middle-East situation already is, escalatory events continue to take place. Israel’s strike on an Iranian Embassy building in Damascus which killed several…
Flicker of Hope: Biden’s Throwaway Lines on Assange
Walking stiffly, largely distracted, and struggling to focus on the bare essentials, US President Joe Biden was keeping company with his Japanese counterpart, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, when asked the…
There Is Only One Spaceship Earth
When I was in the U.S. military, I learned a saying (often wrongly attributed to the Greek philosopher Plato) that only the dead have seen the end of war. Its persistence through…
Dangerous Steps towards Space Warfare
In December 2019 when the Space Force was formed in the USA, President Trump called this a big moment and added that there are “going to be a lot of…
Armenia’s Escape From Isolation Lies Through Georgia
Surrounded to its east and west by hostile neighbors and devoid of allies, Armenia’s geopolitical situation faces severe challenges. A growing partnership with Georgia could help the small, landlocked country…
Twenty Years Commemoration Of The “2004 March Pogrom“ In Kosovo
Introduction This article deals with the question of political and human/minority rights in the region of Kosovo & Metohija twenty years after the "2004 March Pogrom“ and twenty-five years after…
Guantánamo Forever (Yet Forgotten)?
Last weekend my father, Larry Greenberg, passed away at the age of 93. Several days later, I received an email from the French film director Phillippe Diaz who sent me…
Monroeville, PA: “HSS Links to RSS ‘Lack Merit’”
Mayor Dr. Nick Gresock caves to HSS, requests negative comments about group be stricken from record I visited Monroeville, PA on 5 March 2024 to warn the municipality that the…
Aukusing for War: The Real Target Is China
The occasional burst of candour from US diplomats provides a striking, air clearing difference to their Australian and British counterparts. Official statements about the AUKUS security pact between Washington, London…
On NATO’s 75th Anniversary, 10 Reasons for Questioning Its Continuation
On 4 April NATO completed 75 years. This is an appropriate time for questioning, particularly from the perspective of the peace movement, its role, relevance and continuation. Bharat Dogra is…
International Palestinian Children’s Day– Not A Celebration
In recognition of International Palestinian Children’s Day, on April 6 healthcare workers along with human rights activists and others held a vigil outside of the prestigious UCSF Parnassus medical school…
The Unremarkable Death of Migrants in the Sahara Desert
Sabah, Libya, is an oasis town at the northern edge of the Sahara Desert. To stand at the edge of the town and look southward into the desert toward Niger…
How Elite Infighting Made the Magna Carta
Although the Magna Carta typically is depicted as the birth of England’s fight to create democracy, the 13th-century struggle was to establish what would become the House of Lords, not…
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