Author: Dilip

I'm a scholar, writer and teacher; and my blog is designed for intellectual exploration. It carries no advertisements and requires no cash subscription

French anger spreads after Macron forces pension age rise

Strikes escalate and MPs call for protection as interior minister warns protesters against wreaking havoc Angelique Chrisafis in Paris Refinery strikes have escalated in France as the interior minister spoke of protesters wreaking havoc across the country and some MPs called for police protection, amid anger at the government pushing through a rise in the pension age without… Read More French anger spreads after Macron forces pension age rise

Dilip

Formula Pinochet: Chilean Lessons for Russian Liberal Reformers during the Soviet Collapse

Tobias Rupprecht Journal of Contemporary History: Vol. 51, No. 1, Special Section: The Dark Side of Transnationalism (January 2016) Numerous references to the Chilean military dictator Augusto Pinochet run through Soviet and Russian political discourse from the 1970s to the late 1990s. Official representations of Pinochet, a carefully constructed bogeyman of Soviet domestic and foreign… Read More Formula Pinochet: Chilean Lessons for Russian Liberal Reformers during the Soviet Collapse

Dilip

Victor Jara murder: ex-military officers sentenced in Chile for 1973 death

First posted July 04, 2018 In Chile, a fascist junta in two years, wiped out 30,000 of the population, imprisoned 200,000 and left 22,000 widows and 66,000 orphans…the operation under the management of Augusto Pinochet, was fired off by a collective comprising the CIA, the State Department and American business interests. Read about Milton Friedman’s contribution here.… Read More Victor Jara murder: ex-military officers sentenced in Chile for 1973 death

Dilip

More than a referee? Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar prying on House committees

The actions of the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha could impede the independent functioning of the parliamentary committees Bharat Bhushan Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and Vice President (VP) of India Jagdeep Dhankar has done something unusual. In an unprecedented move, he has appointed eight officers from his personal office to 12 parliamentary standing committees… Read More More than a referee? Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar prying on House committees

Dilip

Food corporations paid shareholders $53.5bn while millions went hungry

Without food sovereignty, private businesses will continue profiteering at the expense of the planet Davi Martins Imagine being able to provide food, shelter, medicine and clean drinking water for the 230 million most vulnerable people on Earth, and still having a cool $2bn in spare change. That’s the equivalent of the entire economic output of… Read More Food corporations paid shareholders $53.5bn while millions went hungry

Dilip

The trouble with patriotism

Can patriotism be virtuous? Although philosophy has increasingly struggled to justify it on moral grounds in recent decades, patriotism remains a powerful source of self-identification and political participation. Simon Keller and Mitja Sardoč Mitja Sardoč: Despite its centrality in the pantheon of political ideals, patriotism remains a contested concept that continues to divide its advocates and… Read More The trouble with patriotism

Dilip

The Dollar and Empire

How the US dollar shapes geopolitical power Herman Mark Schwartz What does the US dollar’s continued dominance in the global monetary and financial systems mean for geo-economic and geo-political power? In a recent article, Yakov Feygin and Dominik Leusder question whether the United States actually enjoys an “exorbitant privilege” from the global use of the USD… Read More The Dollar and Empire

Dilip

Myanmar is a failing state, led by a junta fuelled by Russian arms, says UN rights envoy

Myanmar is a “failing state” and the crisis is getting exponentially worse, a UN special rapporteur for the country has warned, urging countries to adopt the same unified resolve that followed the invasion of Ukraine. “The same types of weapons that are killing Ukrainians are killing people in Myanmar,” Tom Andrews, special rapporteur on the… Read More Myanmar is a failing state, led by a junta fuelled by Russian arms, says UN rights envoy

Dilip

More than £75bn wiped off FTSE 100 amid Credit Suisse crisis

More than £75bn was wiped off the FTSE 100 on Wednesday, as Swiss authorities stepped in to reassure panicked markets over the health of the embattled European banking giant Credit Suisse. The Swiss central bank and its financial markets regulator issued a joint statement on Wednesday evening, pledging to provide emergency funding if necessary. They… Read More More than £75bn wiped off FTSE 100 amid Credit Suisse crisis

Dilip