Students’ role in French protests shows depth of anger towards Macron

Angelique Chrisafis The depth of the domestic crisis facing Emmanuel Macron can be measured by the growing university barricades and packed student assemblies where angry young people have gathered in recent days to intensify protests and help teenage high-school pupils blockade their lycées. As long as the country’s youth largely stayed away from the two months of trade-union-led… Read More Students’ role in French protests shows depth of anger towards Macron

Mainstream, March 25, 2023

Letter to the readers, Mainstream, March 25, 2023 India: Lurches Closer to “Opposition-Mukt Democracy”!? | Sukla Sen Budgets 2023-24 Punjab Haryana compared | Sher Singh Sangwan Upcoming 2023 Karnataka Assembly Elections | PS Jayaramu Regenerating The Forest Ecosystem: Few Concerns | Suranjita Ray Saffron Clad Babas in Odisha’s Politics | Radhakanta Barik A Discourse on State of India’s Democracy | Arup… Read More Mainstream, March 25, 2023

A million lives later, I cannot forgive what American terrorism did to my country, Iraq

NB: George Bush and Tony Blair are as culpable for war crimes as is Vladimir Putin. If we can’t see this and say it, we are at an advanced level of Orwellian doublespeak. DS Sinan Antoon In early 2003, I was living in Cairo and carrying out research for my doctoral dissertation on a famous… Read More A million lives later, I cannot forgive what American terrorism did to my country, Iraq

Downfall of a British institution: London Metropolitan police found to be racist, sexist and homophobic

It may be an understatement to say this is a cataclysmic disaster that has befallen the Metropolitan police, the people it serves, the trust it has squandered and the bullied and overworked staff repeated leaders have let down. Lady Casey’s report details the fall of a British institution, tumbling harder than any organisation at the centre… Read More Downfall of a British institution: London Metropolitan police found to be racist, sexist and homophobic

The invasion of Iraq was a turning point on to a path that led towards Ukraine

Peter Beaumont n 20 March 2003, as bombs and missiles from the US-led coalition rained on Iraqi cities in the opening “shock and awe” campaign against Saddam Hussein, the tectonic plates of the post-Second World War international order shifted permanently. For those of us who covered the run-up to the war, the invasion and the long… Read More The invasion of Iraq was a turning point on to a path that led towards Ukraine

Juan Cole: The Meaning of Historic China-Brokered Deal Between Saudi Arabia and Iran

A major shift in global relations has recently transpired. To some in America, it may look like the second coming of the Evil Empire. Too much of the rest of the world, it’s a welcome chance for a renewed multipolar order, where the sovereign desires of nations are respected and new collaborations can be established.… Read More Juan Cole: The Meaning of Historic China-Brokered Deal Between Saudi Arabia and Iran

Psychopolitics: Neoliberalism & New Technologies of Power by Byung-Chul Han. Review (2017)

An examination of the internet age suggests that we should cultivate the heresies of secrets and silence Stuart Jeffries During a commercial break in the 1984 Super Bowl, Apple broadcast an ad directed by Ridley Scott. Glum, grey workers sat in a vast grey hall listening to Big Brother’s declamations on a huge screen. Then a… Read More Psychopolitics: Neoliberalism & New Technologies of Power by Byung-Chul Han. Review (2017)

Putin enables the lifestyle of Russia’s elite – until they lose faith, there is little hope of peace

Olga Chyzh A year into its war, Russia is not any closer to accomplishing its objectives in Ukraine. And yet, to the surprise of western observers, neither battlefield losses nor economic misfortunes have softened its initial demands of demilitarisation and regime change in Ukraine. If there is one thing that’s clear, even in the proverbial fog… Read More Putin enables the lifestyle of Russia’s elite – until they lose faith, there is little hope of peace

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