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

Robert Kurz: The destructive origins of capitalism. The ‘military revolution’ in 16th century Europe

First posted February 16, 2018 There are innumerable versions of the birth of the modern era. Historians do not even agree about the date of this event. Some make modernity begin in the 15th and 16th centuries, with the so-called Renaissance (a concept invented in the 19th century by Jules Michelet, as the French historian… Read More Robert Kurz: The destructive origins of capitalism. The ‘military revolution’ in 16th century Europe

Dilip

The Soldiers’ Christmas Truce 1914 / Armistice Day, November 11, 1918: In Pictures

The Christmas truce, 1914 – Steven Johns A short history of the widespread but unofficial truce between British and German troops on the Western front over Christmas, 1914 during World War I. Despite the mass slaughter orchestrated by European governments, rank-and-file soldiers during World War I often attempted to resist the war effort and refuse… Read More The Soldiers’ Christmas Truce 1914 / Armistice Day, November 11, 1918: In Pictures

Dilip

Fossil fuel burning once caused a mass extinction – now we’re risking another

George Monbiot Budleigh Salterton, on the south coast of Devon, sits above the most frightening cliffs on Earth. They are not particularly high. Though you don’t want to stand beneath them, they are not especially prone to collapse. The horror takes another form. It is contained in the story they tell. For they capture the… Read More Fossil fuel burning once caused a mass extinction – now we’re risking another

Dilip

Iran: Thousands of Detained Protesters and Activists in Peril (HRW)

Human Rights Watch – (Beirut) – Iranian authorities have escalated their assault against widespread dissent and protests through dubious national security charges against detained activists and grossly unfair trials, Human Rights Watch said today. On October 31, 2022, the head of Tehran Province’s judiciary said that it had issued around 1,000 indictments against those arrested related to protests. On October… Read More Iran: Thousands of Detained Protesters and Activists in Peril (HRW)

Dilip

Migrant worker deaths: The dark underbelly of Qatar Football World Cup

Bharat Bhushan Two weeks before the football World Cup begins in Qatar, the forcible eviction of migrant workers from dozens of buildings in Doha’s Al Mansoura neighbourhood made headlines. The evictions were a bid to make Doha look like another international city in the first world. In some cases, the migrant workers were reportedly given… Read More Migrant worker deaths: The dark underbelly of Qatar Football World Cup

Dilip

Why is the Major Israel Lobby in America supporting Antisemitic Racists, Climate Deniers and election Denialists for Congress?

H. SCOTT PROSTERMAN Oakland, Ca. (Special to Informed Comment) – AIPAC and Jewish Republicans are a puzzlement. They are financially supporting over 100 racists, climate deniers and election deniers running for Congress, because they express unqualified support for Israel’s occupation, expansionist settlements and denial of Palestinian human rights. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), one… Read More Why is the Major Israel Lobby in America supporting Antisemitic Racists, Climate Deniers and election Denialists for Congress?

Dilip

One Billionaire emits a Million times more CO2 than an Average Person. Protesters block Private Planes at Amsterdam

JUAN COLE Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Oxfam has a new study, Carbon Billionaires: The investment emissions of the world’s richest people. Zeroing on 150 billionaires in the sample, a tiny proportion of the top one percent numerically but a significant proportion of the latter’s wealth holdings, the study found that together they had a stake… Read More One Billionaire emits a Million times more CO2 than an Average Person. Protesters block Private Planes at Amsterdam

Dilip

Chris Hedges: The Politicians Who Destroyed Our Democracy Want Us to Vote for Them To Save It

Freedom for millions of enraged Americans has become the freedom to hate, the freedom to use words like “nigger,” “kike,” “spic,” “chink,” “raghead” and “fag;” the freedom to physically assault Muslims, undocumented workers, women, African-Americans, homosexuals and anyone who dares criticize their Christian fascism; the freedom to celebrate historical movements and figures that the college-educated… Read More Chris Hedges: The Politicians Who Destroyed Our Democracy Want Us to Vote for Them To Save It

Dilip