East or West? Iran’s uncertain future
When Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to Iran after 15 years of exile forty years ago this month, he rode high on the slogan: “Neither East, nor West – but the Islamic Republic!” Khomeini...
Category: Politics
Abortion is health care. Pass it on.
Abortion is in the news in the U.S. this week as two states pass legislation designed to reduce barriers to access for patients who need later abortion. The right is screeching about baby killing,...
Rules of the Road: How China’s Belt and Road Initiative Compares to the IMF
In the latest edition of Foreign Affairs, Oriana Skylar Mastro writes that China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is being financed via loans given to developing countries “without the usual...
How is Theresa May still standing?
It has to have been the worst week in her dismal career, but somehow Theresa May is still Prime Minister. In a culture where politicians and others in leadership positions frequently fall on their...
#WednesdayWisdom: Hey, capitalist pigdogs: Your shutdown is your fault
In case you missed it, there’s a little thing called the longest government shutdown in history going on in the richest nation in the world right now — and it has to do with the sentient wig we...
Is Trump’s planned Syria withdrawal really a case of practical realism?
U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from Syria, where at least 2,000 U.S. troops are supporting Kurdish-led forces in their multiple offensives against the Islamic State (ISIS),...
When is a major incident not a major incident?
If a government minister declares a major incident, you imagine something life-changing and devastating has happened. A bomb has gone off or a train has derailed, a coach has crashed or people have...
Divide and Conquer: The Corporate Coup d’Etat
Thanks to Canadian filmmakers Mark Archbarand and Jennifer Abbott’s 2003 doc The Corporation (which was subsequently turned into the book The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and...
If Brexit means Brexit, then May should mean May
If there’s one thing I’ll never forgive Jacob Rees-Mogg for, it’s for making me very somewhat glad that Theresa May retained her seat as Prime Minister. This week, as a bunch of men achieved...
Spare me the Bush hagiography
President George H.W. Bush had a massive Washington sendoff yesterday, complete with heartfelt speeches and a dazzling array of hagiographic headlines; to read about the former president today, one...