Labor, Trade, & Finance Archives - Page 79 of 237

The Pentagon as a Global NRA

by Tom Engelhardt | Jan 13, 2013

In the U.S., the National Rifle Association (NRA), an ultra-powerful lobbying group closely allied with weapons-making companies, has a strong grip on Congress — it gives 288 members of that body its top “A-rating” — and is in a combative relationship with the White House. Abroad, it’s so much simpler and less contested. Beyond U.S. borders, the reality is: the Pentagon, with the White House in tow, is the functional equivalent of the NRA, and like that organization, it has been working tirelessly in recent years in close alliance with major weapons-makers to ensure that there are ever less controls on the ever more powerful weaponry it wants to see sold abroad.

Conn Hallinan’s 2012 “Are You Serious?” Awards

by Conn Hallinan | Dec 31, 2012

Each year Conn Hallinan’s blog Dispatches From the Edge awards news stories and newsmakers that fall under the category of “Are you serious?” Here are 2012’s winners. Conn Hallinan at the Foreign Policy in Focus blog Focal Points.

Deregulation and Free Trade a Win-Win for Mexican Narcotraffickers

by Michael Busch | Dec 24, 2012

The Mexican government’s heavily militarized fight against narcotraffickers has helped keep the country mired in violence and inequality.

Why Africa Is Turning to China

by Kwei Quartey | Dec 20, 2012

Many African governments prefer China as an economic partner over Western countries for a number of reasons. First, China’s own development experience has instructive value. Second, China fulfills Africa’s need for critical infrastructure more cheaply, less bureaucratically, and more quickly. And finally, China portrays Africa more positively as a partner in “mutually beneficial cooperation” and “common prosperity,” rather than a “doomed continent” requiring aid.

President Obama Stands Poised to Reward Assad’s Biggest Supporter

by Tom Andrews | Dec 12, 2012

Russia throws good money after bad at the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Reconnecting the Balkans

by John Feffer | Dec 11, 2012

Vojko Volk, Slovenia’s ambassador to Croatia, speaks about the challenges that Slovenia currently faces, especially economic.

Free Elections Encourage in Sierra Leone, But Most Left Behind by Western Development

by Michael Quinones | Dec 6, 2012

Voting is generally done by blocs, not by individuals, who benefit from a patronage system that resembles the special interest groups of First World lobbies.

Tunisia’s Labor-Led Siliana Uprising Honors the Memory of Labor Leader Farhat Hached

by Rob Prince | Dec 5, 2012

It was a protest against the government’s fixation with shifting Tunisia in a more religious direction while failing to address its appalling poverty.

We’re Not Broke

by Sarah Anderson, Phyllis Bennis, John Cavanagh, Chuck Collins, Karen Dolan, Scott Klinger, Miriam Pemberton, Emily Schwartz Greco, Daphne Wysham | Dec 5, 2012

These revenue-raisers and spending cuts would narrow the federal budget deficit by $881 billion per year, nearly eliminating it altogether.

Changing the Rules

by Martin Kirk et al | Nov 30, 2012

The rules aren’t broken—they’re fixed. They have created a social and economic system that does not work for the majority of the world’s people. The world’s 1,226 billionaires have more combined wealth than 3.5 billion people – half the entire planet’s population. The richest 10 percent of the world’s population takes 90 percent of the world’s income.