Monthly Archives: July 2019

10 of the candidates running in the Democratic Party primary race went on stage on 31 July for the latest televised debate. Facing off against several establishment figures who argued for traditional centrist proposals, Bernie Sanders made waves with his full-throated advocacy for bold progressive action, including a call for an end to the war in Afghanistan. But it was radical healthcare reform that dominated the debate. And Sanders led the way.

Sanders laying the smackdown

One of the most memorable parts of the debate came when one of the various unmemorable centrist Democrats on stage tried to dismiss Sanders’ Medicare-for-all proposal as unrealistic. Sanders was listing all the things that could easily be covered when congressman Tim Ryan interrupted him by claiming Sanders couldn’t be sure that universal care could be that comprehensive. But Sanders quickly replied, “I do know that; I wrote the damn bill.”

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When it comes to carbon emissions, the transport, energy and food industries are usually (and rightly) in the crosshairs of progressive activists and media commentators. But a recent study reveals that there is another major culprit: the US military. In addition to its record of violating human rights, national sovereignty and international law, it turns out that the US military is also a major producer of carbon emissions as well.

A carbon behemoth in its own right

The study from three UK-based academics shows that, if the US military were its own country, it would be the 47th biggest greenhouse gas emitter in the world, ranking between Peru and Portugal. Summarizing their findings in the Conversation, the researchers say their report “shows that the US military is one of the largest polluters in history.”

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The last few months have seen US aggression toward Iran creep dangerously close to war. Washington’s propaganda line is generally that Iran is the major aggressor in the Middle East. But amid this saber-rattling, Donald Trump has just given the latest in a long line of free passes to what is perhaps the region’s biggest villain.

Free pass to Saudi Arabia, yet again

On 24 July, Trump announced a veto over resolutions passed in the Senate to block weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

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19 July 2019 marks the 40th anniversary of the successful culmination of the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua. On that date in 1979, Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) guerrillas declared victory after ousting the US-backed Somoza dictatorship and embarked on a path of social reform and national independence. Washington, however, never accepted this disobedience in its ‘backyard’ and soon began waging a proxy war via its CIA-backed right-wing ‘Contra’ terrorist force.

Although the Contras are no more, four decades later the US campaign of destabilization and attempted regime change continues.

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On 14 July, Donald Trump sent out a series of menacing tweets telling progressive Democratic congress members to “go back” to their home countries. His targets – Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley – are all US citizens. Only Omar was not born in the US.

The tweets added yet another thread to the rich tapestry of Trump’s fascist credentials. And he has not only refused to retract or apologize for them, but has been adding further fuel to the flames. At his latest rally, for example, he defiantly doubled down, issuing a further set of attacks and insults toward the four congress members – and Omar in particular. But it was the reaction of the crowd that was perhaps most worrying.

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After defeating a right-wing challenger in 2017 to succeed supposed ally Rafael Correa, Ecuadorian president Lenín Moreno lurched strongly to the right once in office. This year, for example, he has handed Ecuadorian citizen Julian Assange to British authorities and supportedWashington’s coup attempt in Venezuela.

Domestically, meanwhile, he oversaw a shocking economic reversal in March. Where his predecessor had opposed submission to Washington’s neoliberal international institutions, Moreno entered into an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – an organization notorious for its coercive imposition of austerity measures in exchange for loans across the globe. Now, a leading research institute in Washington has exposed the likely brutal realities of this deal.

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