The Right is resurgent! The Left is Back! The Center is on the march! It’s always tempting to declare, on the basis of a few elections, that a political tendency is on the ascendant. I should know: I’ve done it myself. But the only commonality in the most recent consequential elections—France, the UK, and Iran—is… Continue reading What Do Voters Want?
The recent meeting of Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un in North Korea marks a new stage not only in their alliance but in their ideological convergence. This is no mere marriage of convenience. The two leaders have become so much closer in their political and economic sympathies over the last two decades that they… Continue reading Putin and Kim: A New World Order?
Poland is supposed to be one of the politically sane places in Europe right now. The far-right Law and Justice Party lost national elections last year to a centrist coalition and exited power after eight long years of democratic repression. Donald Tusk, who’d previously been the president of the European Council, once again became the… Continue reading You Think Trump Is Bad?
Imagine you are a country in the Global South. You suffer from a heavy debt burden. You’ve been trying for decades to catch up to the richer countries, but unsuccessfully, in large part because of that debt hanging around your neck like a giant millstone. And you are spending more and more of your precious… Continue reading The Global South’s Three Body Problem
The Wedding Jester written and performed by John Feffer directed by Josh Perlstein Date: Sunday, February 23 Time: 2:00 p.m. ET (doors open at 1:45 p.m.) Location: Yiddish Book Center (1021 West Street, Amherst, MA 01002) Tickets: $12 member/student admission; $15 general admission. Available here Accessibility: The Yiddish Book Center offers ADA-accessible parking spaces and… Continue reading The Wedding Jester
Ukraine can now use U.S. weapons to strike at targets inside Russia. That permission comes with numerous asterisks. The targets are geographically restricted to the northeast region across the border from Kharkiv, for instance, and Ukraine has only received the go-head to use short-range missiles. Other Ukrainian allies are less cautious. The Netherlands has authorized… Continue reading A Slippery Slope to World War III?
Benjamin Netanyahu’s face may soon be on Wanted posters around the world. In Israel, the prime minister has been charged with various counts of corruption. But now that the International Criminal Court has requested a warrant for Netanyahu’s arrest on war crimes, he may become a global outlaw as well. It’s not a done deal.… Continue reading He Fought the Law – Will the Law Win?
Japan’s recovery from the devastation of World War II was assisted by another war. Japanese manufacturers and the service industries around military bases received a big lift when they helped U.S. forces during the Korean War. A little over a decade later, South Korea got a similar boost when its manufacturers helped the U.S. military… Continue reading Tariffs on China: Trump Was Dumb, Biden Dumber
Everyone complains about the weather, but nobody does anything about it. This quip by the American essayist Charles Dudley Warner applies to fossil fuels as well. Everyone talks about ending fossil fuel production, but almost no one is doing anything about it. Take the example of the Biden administration. It has launched the most ambitious… Continue reading The Race to End Fossil Fuel Production
If Donald Trump wins the U.S. presidential election in November, all sorts of hell will break loose. Mexico will face a huge border crisis. China will be hit with a new wave of tariffs. Ukraine will begin preparing itself for abandonment. And Milorad Dodik will tear apart Bosnia. Perhaps you’ve never heard of Milorad Dodik.… Continue reading Europe Braces for the Next Ukraine