- Fighting ISIS is a coalition stretching from U.S. soldiers to Kurdish militias
- Iraq government is dominated by Shia sectarians
- No alternatives to unfair Iraqi government are on the horizon
- ISIS will fall, but another version will arise if injustices remain
Women march for choice, against Trump - internationally
17 January 2017The Women’s March on Washington on 21 January, the day after Trump’s inauguration, started from a spontaneous call in social media. It has become a more formally organized initiative, as we see from the call below, and has also encouraged the holding of many more marches on the same day not only in more than 350 cities around the USA but also around the world, for example in Canada, Britain, France, Portugal, Sweden, Belgium, Italy, the Spanish state, Greece, Denmark, Mexico, Switzerland....
The prospect of a government led by Trump in the USA threatens women’s rights and equality in the US. But women around the world are also standing up to defend and extend their own rights. Even in countries where certain have been won they are constantly under attack, through frontal attacks for example on the right to choose or through austerity plans. This spontaneous and international movement shows that women are fighting back.
What Happened in Aleppo?
15 January 2017, byThe liberated neighborhoods of eastern Aleppo, under the control of neither the Assad regime nor the jihadist forces, fell in mid-December. Residents endured a continuous stream of air raids while pro-regime forces — hundreds of elite soldiers from the Republican Guard and the Syrian Fourth Division, with thousands of foreign fighters led by Iran and Hezbollah — advanced on the ground.
The new anti-choice onslaught under Trump
13 January 2017, byAfter electing a man to the White House who bragged about committing sexual harassment and assault, Republicans are now attempting to seize on Trump’s post-election momentum to wage an assault on the right of women to control their own bodies in the most fundamental ways.
The sigh of the oppressed creature?
11 January 2017, byThere is a spectre haunting Europe and the United States of America. It is the spectre of racism, xenophobia, nationalism and even fascism. Gallons of ink have been devoted to try and understand the triumph of Brexit and the victory of Donald Trump. Most commentators were astonished, as was I. But what lies ahead may be even more frightening. Far-right, anti-migrant, anti-Islam and sometimes outright fascist parties have been emerging across Europe and have made a serious impact notably in Germany, Austria, Italy and a clutch of Eastern European and Balkan states. It is suddenly more credible that the likes of Marine Le Pen and her Front National could be the next President of France. This is a fascist party led by her father for decades before she took the reins and decided to ‘sanitised’ the party, clearing it of most of its transparent pro-Nazi connections. But fierce hostility to migrants and to Islam remains at the heart of the FN and most French people know its history and what it really is.
“Out with Peña!” – Mass Protests Across Mexico against Gas, Electrical Price Increases
10 January 2017, byTens of thousands in every state in Mexico have for the last week joined protests against President Enrique Peña Nieto’s government after it raised prices on gasoline by between 14 and 20 percent and electric rates by 4.5 percent.
Who Put Trump in the White House?
9 January 2017, byTHE MEDIA STORY in the days following the 2016 election was that a huge defection of angry, white, blue-collar workers in the Rust Belt from their traditional Democratic voting patterns put Donald J. Trump in the White House in a grand slap at the nation’s “liberal” elite. But is that the real story?
The Green Party After the Election
5 January 2017, byTHE POLITICAL DYNAMIC augured well for a progressive third party challenge in 2016. With the two most unpopular major party candidates in history, and a large progressive vote mobilized for Sanders in the Democratic primaries, hopes were high that the Greens could do much better, perhaps reaching five percent or more to secure general election federal funding for the 2020 Green presidential campaign.
The Black Hole of Conspiracies—Hong Kong Under Beijing’s Factional Fight
4 January 2017, byOn 9th December, 2016 C.Y. Leung, the Chief Executive (CE) of Hong Kong, announced that he will not run for CE again after he completes his term next March. His excuse that this is due to family issues hardly convinces anyone. What is worth greater attention is how it seems to suggest that the Sing Pao Daily’s criticism and attack on the man and the so called “gang of four” may carry a certain degree of truth, or is at least effective enough to bring down the CE. The Sing Pao saga has become a window through which outsiders can have a glimpse of the inner party fight in Beijing and how it affects Hong Kong politics. Regardless of whoever wins eventually, however, it also spells the beginning of the end of “one country, two systems”.