Articles

BY DEREK ROYDEN In the distant past, the one place that people could escape a marauding army was behind the walls of a castle. Though this usually protected them from any immediate danger, it created problems of its own. While under siege and waiting for outside help or for the attackers to leave in frustration, those behind the walls could ultimately run out of food and even potable water, which would lead either to surrender or a slow, terrible death. Although they’re never portrayed as such, in our own time, a form of siege warfare is applied to whole countries, usually poorer ones, through the misuse of sanctions. There are innumerable forms of sanctions: opprobrium, boycotts, embargoes, denial of service, travel bans, export bans, divestment, asset seizures, blockades, c...

BY DAVID SCHULTZ Photograph Source: Los Angeles Air Force Base Space and Missile System Center – Public Domain Capitalism has always been about the accumulation and the concentration of wealth.  Marx and Engels first described that phenomena in their 1848 Communist Manifesto.  Thomas Piketty has also reminded us of that.  But what they never focused on was the personalization of wealth in capitalism and what that means for society.  The latest rankings of the richest individuals in America reminds us of the persistence and personalization of wealth. Forbes just released its ranking of the richest individuals in the world.  Topping the list is Frenchman Bernard Arnault of LVHM, the fashion and cosmetics empire, with a net wealth of $211 billi...

BY RON JACOBS Photograph Source: Ministry of Defense of Ukraine – CC BY-SA 2.0 The war in Ukraine continues without mercy.  Like every war in my lifetime (and like almost very war in history), the day-to-day media coverage of the conflict is a barely concealed combination of lies, exaggerations and nationalist propaganda.  Beyond this are discussions of the weaponry and projections of their efficiency in killing humans and destroying their habitat.  This is true no matter if one is consuming western media or Russian media.  Of course, there are varying levels of censorship involved in each nation’s media, as well.  For example, no major mainstream media outlet in the United States seems willing to allow any calls for an end to arms shipments or even...