How the Vietnam and Gaza Wars Shattered Young Illusions About US Leaders

For vast numbers of Americans, disproportionately young, the monstrous warfare overseen by Presidents Johnson and Nixon caused the scales to fall from their eyes about the character of U.S. leadership. And like President Donald Trump now, President Joe Biden showed that nice-sounding rhetoric could serve as a tidy cover story for choosing to enable nonstop horrors without… Read More How the Vietnam and Gaza Wars Shattered Young Illusions About US Leaders

Hagia Sophia: Secrets of the 1,600-year-old megastructure that has survived the collapse of empires

Hagia Sophia was built as a church over a Roman temple, and was subsequently converted into a mosque and then a museum. Since 2020 it is used as a mosque once more By Ali Halit Diker, CNN Whether you’re a believer or not, visiting Hagia Sophia is a spiritual experience. The architectural genius of this… Read More Hagia Sophia: Secrets of the 1,600-year-old megastructure that has survived the collapse of empires

The US left Vietnam 50 years ago today. The media hasn’t learned its lesson

The myth that news coverage turned Americans against the war persists. In fact, it was largely complicit in perpetuating the conflict Norman Solomon The last helicopter liftoff from the roof of the American embassy in Saigon on 30 April 1975 marked the end of the Vietnam war. Fifty years later, mythology about US media coverage of… Read More The US left Vietnam 50 years ago today. The media hasn’t learned its lesson

The incredible tale of Anna Politkovskaya has taught me one thing: I could never be that brave

She faced endless opposition and threats to her life. This has become a reality for far too many journalists Maxine Peake A woman places flowers in front of a portrait of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, Moscow, 2009. Photograph: Pavel Golovkin/AP What drives someone to become a journalist? A good journalist, someone whose keyboard is a tool for exposing… Read More The incredible tale of Anna Politkovskaya has taught me one thing: I could never be that brave

Juan Cole: Israel’s Gaza Atrocity by the Numbers

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Gaza by the numbers: The UN Relief and Works Agency reports about the situation on the ground: The agency says that since the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unilaterally ended the Gaza ceasefire on the night of 17–18 March 2025, fighting has escalated sharply, killing and injuring hundreds of civilians,… Read More Juan Cole: Israel’s Gaza Atrocity by the Numbers

A lesson from Brazil – where gig workers have rallied against the right

Rodrigo Nunes, a senior lecturer in political theory, explains how despite harsh economic conditions creating fertile ground for ‘entrepreneur culture’, resistance has sprung up among delivery drivers Rodrigo Nunes On 1 April, Brazilian couriers organised a day of action in which thousands of workers engaged in pickets and protests in at least 60 cities, with places… Read More A lesson from Brazil – where gig workers have rallied against the right

Hridayesh Joshi: सिन्धु जल समझौते पर क्यों डरा है पाकिस्तान

Hridayesh Joshi: सिन्धु जल समझौते पर क्यों डरा है पाकिस्तान अपनी ज़मीन पर दहशतगर्दी रोकने के लिए भारत को हर मुमकिन कदम उठाना चाहिए। सिन्धु जल समझौते को स्थगित कर उसने एक कड़ा रणनीतिक और कूटनीतिक संदेश दिया है लेकिन मीडिया में कई जगह चीज़ों को बढ़ाचढ़ा कर दिखाया जा रहा है और गलत सूचना… Read More Hridayesh Joshi: सिन्धु जल समझौते पर क्यों डरा है पाकिस्तान

Cynical Theories

In the end, traditional liberal values are what Lindsay and Pluckrose are plumping for…. They conclude with a set of proposals for rethinking concepts such as ‘justice’ and ‘equity’, along lines allegedly more harmonious with reason, proof, logic, evidence, individuality, and choice, and less encumbered by group-think and by obscurantist, inflammatory collectivist rhetoric. Less propaganda,… Read More Cynical Theories