Juan Cole: Cyberpunk Nation

The opening weeks of the second Trump administration have produced daily headlines that read — no, this is not hyperbole! — like science fiction. The spectacle of a South African tech billionaire and his cronies staging a twenty-first-century cybercoup with the acquiescence of an aging lunatic of a president beggars belief. Elon Musk has given… Read More Juan Cole: Cyberpunk Nation

Dilip

There are 1,000 grotesque memes of J. D. Vance: they’re all more likable than the real thing

Angry, rude and addicted to web troll-ery, the vice-president has the Make America Awful Again portfolio. Seems a perfect fit Marina Hyde You may well be aware that Backpfeifengesicht is the German word for a face that is worthy of being slapped. Even so, how has this not been internationalised? Or at the very least Americanised, where… Read More There are 1,000 grotesque memes of J. D. Vance: they’re all more likable than the real thing

Dilip

It’s the age of regret: gen Z grew up glued to their screens, and missed the joy of being human

A generation who came of age online now feel deprived of real connections. The upside is they are doing something about it Gaby Hinsliff It’s the love-hate relationship that defined a generation. We think we know all about teenagers and the phones to which they’re so umbilically tied: sleeping with them under the pillow, panicking… Read More It’s the age of regret: gen Z grew up glued to their screens, and missed the joy of being human

Dilip

The Mask is Off. After Ukraine, imperialism is now the norm

NB: Whereas I agree with Professor Mehta’s arguments about the sinister significance of Trump’s treatment of President Zelenskyy; the following is where I disagree. He says the Russian invasion of Ukraine was only the second time since World War II that one country had claimed an entire other country… It was a war to erase… Read More The Mask is Off. After Ukraine, imperialism is now the norm

Dilip

Surviving Hard Times

The Last Generation of Black Americans Under Jim Crow and the Culture of Racism in America By Douglas H. White Today, racism remains a poisonous force in America. Fascism and authoritarianism are on the rise and President Donald Trump is giving voice to such hate, making it state policy and central to his presidential agenda. Recently,… Read More Surviving Hard Times

Dilip

The Vietnam Women’s Movement for the Right to Live: a non-communist opposition movement to the American war in Vietnam

An Thuy Nguyen This article examines the political and diplomatic struggles in urban South Vietnam from the perspective of women in the Vietnamese Women’s Movement for the Right to Live (WRL) during the Vietnam War. This movement was a timely response to the American war of aggression, which had destroyed the fabric of South Vietnamese… Read More The Vietnam Women’s Movement for the Right to Live: a non-communist opposition movement to the American war in Vietnam

Dilip

Norman Solomon: How the Warfare State Paved the Way for a Trumpist Autocracy

Costs of War Project at Brown University indicated that the “war on terror” persisted on several continents. “The war continues in over 80 countries,” said Catherine Lutz, the project’s co-director. The war’s cost to taxpayers, the project estimated, was already at least $8 trillion…. Supplementing the automatic $3.8 billion in annual U.S. military aid to Israel, special new… Read More Norman Solomon: How the Warfare State Paved the Way for a Trumpist Autocracy

Dilip