opinion
Opinion pieces from the left, right, and everyone in between.
Profitable War
In his book, “Nineteen Eighty-Four,” George Orwell places the entire story against the backdrop of an endless war. According to Emmanuel Goldstein, a former partner of Big Brother and now enemy of the state, this is a purposely created non-ending war with either Eastasia or Eurasia in different combinations for mutual benefits of all three belligerents. Sometimes Winston Smith’s nation, Oceania, is in alliance with Eastasia fighting Eurasia; sometimes it is Oceania was in allied with Eurasia fighting Eastasia. There were also times when Eastasia and Eurasia teamed up on Oceania. Truth is it never really mattered.
By V. H. Eberle4 years ago in The Swamp
Impermanent Structures
Introduction Is our current political economic system self-defeating? When building off the insight that Keynes gives us, it becomes painfully obvious the paradoxical nature of capitalism (Marx also observes this). But, unlike Keynes, Marx advocates for leaving the capitalist system to its own devices which according to him will eventually be its own unraveling. Keynes advocates for action within the system by creating economic levers that manage the inevitable concentration of wealth produced by the neo-liberal economic system.
By Arjuna Fournier4 years ago in The Swamp
Labour Make Gains At Expense of Conservatives.
Labour made gains in the local elections last night. In Barnet, Wandsworth, and Westminster Labour took seats from the Conservatives. Wandsworth was hailed by Labour sources as a monumental loss for the Conservatives. Speaking in Barnet, Sir Keir trumpeted that Labour had "turned a massive corner".
By Nicholas Bishop4 years ago in The Swamp
The Twenty-second Amendment
The 22nd amendment was approved on February 27th, 1951, making permanent a tradition that has had a tremendous impact on the idea of governance in the United States of America. Although this is not the most well-known amendment, its significance in American history cannot be emphasised. This is because the 22nd Amendment requires...
By Zahid Khan4 years ago in The Swamp
Ignorance Is The Biggest Threat To Our Democracy
Full credit to Barack Obama, our 44th US President who took some time to post a long piece online this week on Medium. I'm not suggesting that Obama's sentiments were incorrect - because I have a lot of nerve, but not the nerve to do that.
By Bonnie Joy Sludikoff4 years ago in The Swamp
To Conservative Men, From a Liberal Woman
Psst. Over here It’s me, the spiky-haired liberal woman with the “SNFLAK” license plate (SNOWFLAKE: get it? See, not all of us libs take ourselves too seriously). Before you roll your eyes and turn away, let’s acknowledge one thing we have in common: you and I both get a daily drenching from the firehose that is media.
By Jan M Flynn4 years ago in The Swamp
Hillsborough disaster
For those not born or not in the uk the disaster might not be so well known. It was the semi final of the fa cup and was between Liverpool and Nottingham forest. It had long been tradition for semi finals to be played at neutral grounds, now its Wembley for semi finals and final.
By ASHLEY SMITH4 years ago in The Swamp
Iran Nuclear Deal
In 2015 under the Obama administrator, the United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, and Germany worked with Iran to create the Iran nuclear deal or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to limit Iran's nuclear power activities. In this deal, Iran promised to reduce its stockpiles of uranium by 98% for the next 15 years. In return, most of the sanctions that were imposed from the United Nations (UN), United States (US), and European Union (EU) were lifted to help bring economic stability. If Iran did not violate the deal, the sanctions would stay removed (BBC News, 2015), which led Iran to gain access to more than $100bn in frozen assets, resuming to sell oil, and using the global financial system for trade (BBC News, 2019).
By The Clarkbar844 years ago in The Swamp
President Biden Is The Greatest President the World has Ever Seen
Putin has walked down a dangerous path with no return. First and foremost, Putin's unprovoked attack on Ukraine has deeply affected the World. Putin’s implied threat of using nuclear warheads places a gun on the heads of world leaders. The world is held hostage. Putin is probably gloating over this political move. But world leaders will not forgive or forget.
By Zante Cafe4 years ago in The Swamp
Freedom Means Responsibility
Widely traveled, I say with certainty there is no better place to live than the United States (in my humble opinion). Americans have freedom to travel across the country and outside of it, at will. The pandemic over the last two years has placed some restrictions on the American people we are not used to; however, we're not oppressed nor experiencing the destruction of homes, schools, hospitals, churches, and apartment complexes. We don't have soldiers rampaging towns, raping, murdering, and committing genocide, as the Ukrainians currently are at the hands of the Russians. We can't imagine explosive mines on our streets, yet the Russians have mined the cities of Ukraine as they exit. Obviously, Putin is committing war crimes, and just like the Nuremberg trials so many years ago, those guilty should be found and tried.
By Andrea Corwin 4 years ago in The Swamp
Ukraine and conflict backgrounds
Despite the cold winter, the Ukrainian file is witnessing a sharp rise in the conflict at home, in the region and at the global level. What is happening in Ukraine does not belong to it alone. Rather, it is only the small key to the gate of international conflict, and one of the very hot points of conflict for the sharing of new influence in the world, especially between the Russian and American poles, and the latter with the European West. Because everyone is afraid of the growing awakening of the Russian bear, which is trying to restore the situation to before 1997, and end the American presence in particular and its followers in general in NATO in the far southeast in Europe (Poland, Romania and Bulgaria), and in return the United States is trying to stretch in the back garden of the Russian Federation, The imposition of new facts on the Russian territory, and the control of a section of the influence of the old Moscow in the time of the former Soviet Union.
By Phil Foden4 years ago in The Swamp
