Monthly Archives: September 2020

The New York Times recently released an extensive investigation into president Donald Trump’s tax returns. The report shows what has long been apparent to even the most casual observer of US politics – that Trump is a serial tax dodger and also a lousy businessman who has lost billions.

But there is something even worse going on. Much of the shady tax manoeuvring that the New York Times uncovered is perfectly legal. And that, in turn, raises deeper, structural questions about the prevailing modern taxation system in the US and further afield.

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19 years ago, the US experienced the worst terrorist attack within its own borders in the country’s history. Shortly after, then-US president George W Bush launched the so-called ‘War on Terror’. This included the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq as well as a large number of covert military operations, including drone strikes and targeted assassinations.

The number of civilian deaths from these activities has been estimated in the millions. Meanwhile, the US lost thousands of soldiers and the UK hundreds in combat across the Middle East. Now, a new report has put the number of people displaced from the ‘War on Terror’ in the tens of millions. And this raises serious questions about the true motivation that lies behind this and other aspects of US foreign policy.

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US activist and lawyer Kevin Zeese, renowned for his role in opposing US imperialism and the ‘War on Drugs’, has died at the age of 64. Most recently, he was a central figure in the ‘Embassy Protection Collective’ – a group formed to defend the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington, DC from right-wing agitators who attempted to seize the embassy on behalf of the coup leaders’ US representatives. He was one of the final four embassy protectors who were arrested following a raid of the building by US Secret Service police.

The Canary wishes to express its heartfelt condolences to Zeese’s family and his huge network of comrades, friends, and fellow travellers in the struggle for a better world. His death represents a sad loss for the peace movement and US progressive politics more broadly. But he leaves behind a legacy of activism and intellectual insight that will remain as a lasting symbol of his life’s work and serve as an inspiration to those who strive for a better world.

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