Recent Blogs
I wrote this blog post the other day which said that the UK Labour party should completely reject the neoliberal dogma that the central bank (Bank of England in this case) should be independent of the elected government. The UK Independent just ran an article which brought up the questions posed in my blog post. Read more…
Nasir Khan, September 30, 2016 Russian think tank Katehon’s journalist Anastasia Zhukova interviewed me recently per telephone. The following is her summary of the interview: The Palestinian Authority (PA) has been under the virtual control of Israel and its authority limited to the West Bank. It has no control over the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Read more…
I am delighted that Jeremy Corbyn was re-elected leader of the Labour party in the UK. John McDonnell, Corbyn’s right hand man and go-to guy on economic policy, recently talked about the importance of monetary policy and that it should not be narrowly focused on inflation. That was excellent, but why in the world is McDonnell guaranteeing Read more…
The ‘end justifies the means’ Machiavelli’s axiom that was gleefully consumed by the powerful & that capitalism proudly lives by, is a ridiculous & mistaken denial of consequence. It leads to the desperation & violent terror of war on all its terrible scales & blindly guides our Titanic environmental collision. Those who do whatever to Read more…
In early September 2016, Donald Trump announced his plan for a vast expansion of the U.S. military, including 90,000 new soldiers for the Army, nearly 75 new ships for the Navy, and dozens of new fighter aircraft for the Air Force. Although the cost of this increase would be substantial―about $90 billion per year―it would Read more…
Green Time TV Looking Forward by Don Fitz Did you ever ask what a positive future for all of us might include? October Green Time episodes look forward to when MLK Blvd is fixed up as nice as the Delmar Loop, when solar panels can be a key part of efficient home energy use, when Read more…
Although the mass media failed to report it, a landmark event occurred recently in connection with resolving the long-discussed problem of what to do about nuclear weapons. On August 19, 2016, a UN committee, the innocuously-named Open-Ended Working Group, voted to recommend to the UN General Assembly that it mandate the opening of negotiations in Read more…
Nasir Khan, September 4, 2016 In response to my today’s post “Indian forces’ atrocities and murders in Kashmir continue” in a Facebook group (“Daring Facts”) one Mr Jaffar Safi wrote a comment. I am producing his comment, which was not directly related to my post but I replied to him where I tried to clarify Read more…
Check out the following headlines as captured by Google today: Now if Corbyn had said “I am wealthy” he would also have been mocked by the press: “Deluded Corbyn think’s he is ‘wealthy’ with net worth of 650K when Richard Branson’s is 3.8 billion!” “Corbyn thinks he is in the same class as Richard Branson Read more…
Shortly after the Democratic Party’s platform committee concluded its deliberations this July, Bernie Sanders announced: “Thanks to the millions of people across the country who got involved in the political process . . . we now have the most progressive platform in the history of the Democratic Party.” Although the Sanders forces didn’t obtain all Read more…
Nasir Khan, August 24, 2016 Dr Richard Falk looks at the present situation in Turkey under Erdogan from different angles, and he weighs in both positive and negative sides of the likely scenarios after the July 15 coup. Shifting political partners and allies is a common addiction of all power-hungry leaders. We who have the Read more…
Nasir Khan, August 21, 2016 This is a scholarly paper, originally in Swedish, authored by Lars Djerf in which he has concentrated mainly on the Arabic inscriptions on the Dome of the Rock (DR), their meaning and purpose in a wider political and religious context at a time when Islam had emerged as a dominant Read more…
Chomsky has been pursuing his simple method to generate the underlying structure of natural languages for several decades now. Gone are his social and political antenna, in his obsession for the minimalistic magic formula that will describe a natural language. Even Newton did not make his discovery alone, he was helped by the ideas of Read more…
Here’s a very brief quiz for readers of the UK media. Which newspaper just posted on online quiz desperately trying to equate Donald Trump and Jeremy Corbyn? Was it the farcically right wing Daily Mail or the “Labour supporting” Daily Mirror? Hint: not a single British newspaper with any significant readership editorialized against the failed Read more…
Green Time TV Our Future Environment by Don Fitz We can look backward to the way politicians and businessmen have ignored the need to plan for land usage and the harm of levees. Or, we can look forward to socialized medicine and creating clean energy. September Green Time episodes explore the need to do both. Read more…
Nasir Khan, July 31, 2016 From a Humanistic point of view, followers of all religions should be respected and their concrete good work for other people should be admired and acknowledged. In this connection, it is important to underline that such respect and admiration is not due to their inherent or internalised beliefs and dogmas, Read more…
Nasir Khan, July 26, 2016 At present, I have about three thousand Facebok friends who come from different parts of the world. This list also includes a few hundred friends from Pakistan or who are of Pakistani origin. Over the last few weeks, when Indian army unleashed its brutal crackdown in Kashmir, killing, blinding and Read more…
If asked to identify the world’s superpowers today, most people would name the United States, Russia, and China. Although many citizens of these countries maintain that this status is based on the superiority of their national way of life, the reality is that it rests upon their nations’ enormous capacity for violence. Certainly none has Read more…
Nasir Khan, July 16, 2016 Today Professor Raj Bhat, himself a Kashmiri, raised a few questions and asked for my response. I am repoducing his comment followed by my reply. Our readers will see that we two have different views on the Kashmir issue: Raj Bhat: Nasir Khan Sahab: I have raised human issues which Read more…
Green Time TV Preparing for Danger by Don Fitz Many dangers to the environment and human health could be lessened enormously if we would pay close attention to warning signs. August Green Time episodes explore warning signs for the US health care system, misuse of water and energy efficiency, as well as positive developments among Read more…
Nasir Khan, July 15, 2016 The partition of India in 1947 was because of a number of factors. As a child living in Poonch (Kashmir) I had seen the destructive blood-letting and communal frenzy. The so-called ‘Two-Nation Theory’ was a misleading and absurd idea to start with. But there was not only one party to Read more…
My friend wants to do graduate study in public affairs or public policy (Masters or PhD) at a university in the US. She is a Cuban-American, politically progressive but not radical despite my efforts, especially in relation to economic class. She is considering applying to Princeton and other universities, but will consider other schools that I recommend. Read more…
At the present time, an increase in U.S. military spending seems as superfluous as a third leg. The United States, armed with the latest in advanced weaponry, has more military might than any other nation in world history. Moreover, it has begun a $1 trillion program to refurbish its entire nuclear weapons complex. America’s Read more…
Nasir Khan, July 2, 2016 In his paper Luis Lazaro Tijerina fills in much-needed information to understand Russian and Syrian relationship. While discussing the salient aspects of the relationship, first, between the Soviet Union and Syria and, then, after the fall of the Soviet Union, between Russia and Syria, the author has provided a sound Read more…
Nasir Khan, June 23, 2016 The tragedy that started in 1947 in the shape of Pakistan and in the name of Islam has continued uninterrupted since then. In this country, Islam was transformed into a cult of ignorance and darkness and then into a cult of death and violence. Muslim leaders and politicians initiated their Read more…
This article by Julian Borger on Venezuela’s economy sates that “By IMF figures, it has the world’s worst negative growth rate (-8%), and the worst inflation rate (482%). The unemployment rate is 17% but is expected to climb to near 30% in the coming few years.” The IMF values that Borger reports are projections for 2016, not confirmed data Read more…
Resurrecting Occupy and Breathing Life into Shared Program by Taking it to the Streets There is a new initiative called People for a Shared Program (P4SP). As its starting point this new initiative uses a document co-authored and / or signed by 87 people, many of whom are well known and generally respected on the Read more…
Green Time TV Broken Systems – Real Alternatives by Don Fitz When systems break down, it’s time to develop new ones. July Green Time episodes explore systems of energy, health care, nuclear power, capital punishment, and animal agriculture. Residential energy efficiency can play a key role in reducing demand for electricity. In the first July Read more…
To see how terrible the western media is, just follow its Venezuela coverage. In a Washington Post op-ed, David Ignatius wrote “Delay would also allow Maduro’s supporters more time to organize militias to sustain the leftist movement organized by Venezuela’s volcanic dictator Hugo Chávez, who died in 2013.” Ignatius lies causally and extravagantly about the past while also Read more…
Zuñiga’s recent BBC article was horrible (and never corrected by the BBC). She used it to spread one unsubstantiated whopper after another. Now she takes to the Washington Post to write “In a country where inflation is soaring toward 700 percent and the economy shrank 10 percent last year…” Venezuela’s GDP shrank 5.7% last year. The Read more…
Nasir Khan, June 13, 2016 The massacre of so many innocent people at the hands of Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old US citizen was a deplorable and savage act. What made him commit such a horrendous crime is not clear. The pieces of information we saw on the telescreens show him to have been a mentally Read more…
Re: U.S. nudges the Vatican, other allies to help rescue Venezuela Dear Tracy Wilkinson: You wrote “Socialist, anti-U.S. governments have ruled Venezuela since Chavez came to power in 1999, prevailing over a brief 2002 coup that Chavez blamed on Washington.” The U.S. State Department’s Office of Inspector General stated that the Bush administration had “provided training, institution Read more…
To anyone who values honest journalism, it was nice to see that this Reuters article did not let a statement by Venezuelan opposition leader, Henrique Capriles, totally mislead readers. The Venezuelan opposition is claiming they are being denied their constitutional right to a recall referendum against Nicolas Maduro. As I explained in some detail here, if Read more…
Nasir Khan, May 28, 2016 All human children are born in the same way, according to the physiological and biological reproductive system of human beings. Right from their infancy, they learn about the customs and rituals of their societies through their parents and other close relatives. Of course, they follow the religion of their parents Read more…
The international media and the president of the OAS, Luis Almagro, are demanding that Venezuelan president Nicholas Maduro allow a presidential recall referendum to take place in 2016. Why are they demanding that it take place in 2016? Both government critics and supporters appear to agree that if a recall vote is held before January Read more…
This BBC article by Mariana Zuniga says “This situation might be bearable if the Venezuelan oil-dominated economy was performing well, but it is expected to shrink by 8% this year after contracting by 5.8% in 2014.” The article doesn’t say – which is terrible reporting – but the prediction of 8% contraction comes from the IMF Read more…
Democratic socialism used to be a vibrant force in American life. During the first two decades of the twentieth century, the Socialist Party of America, headed by the charismatic union leader, Eugene V. Debs, grew rapidly, much like its sister parties in Europe and elsewhere: the British Labour Party, the French Socialist Party, the Swedish Read more…
Today’s NYT editorial “The Left on the Run in Latin America” underscores that there never really was a “good left” as far as U.S. elites were concerned. For years, Brazil’s left government was part of the “good left” that received vastly better press than Venezuela and other ALBA countries. It would have been very unwise Read more…
Kurdistan is currently divided between four countries: Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey. In each of the parts of Kurdistan, Kurdish identities and cultures have been repressed for generations. This book, by Eliza Egret and Tom Anderson, gathers together first-hand accounts of the struggles for a new society taking place in Bakur and Rojava – the Read more…
Nasir Khan, May 20, 2016 Humans created god by attributing many of their own qualities unto an imaginary ‘being’. But they also gave him a bit more than what they themselves were: they made him all-powerful and all-knowing! So are the fictional places that human beings created in their grand fantasies called Paradise, Hell and Read more…
Green Time TV Tough Environmental Decisions by Don Fitz The survival of humans requires confronting very difficult environmental dilemmas. We have the ability to change the flow of rivers, but is it a wise thing to do? How can we retrofit buildings so they use much less energy? Do we really want or even need Read more…
Go to source. I admit: It’s all speculation. On April 4th, I wrote on Facebook: “My prediction: the next President of the United States will be someone who is not yet in the race. (e.g., Possible alternative Dem ticket: Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren.) How crazy am I?” This wasn’t just a wild guess. It Read more…
Barring some unforeseen catastrophes, the well-greased campaign of Hillary Clinton is closing in on the Democratic nomination, while the “insurgent” campaign of Donald Trump rolls toward the nomination for the Republicans. As he has always said he would, Bernie Sanders will endorse Clinton, at the same time that he steps up his attacks on Trump. For tens of Read more…
The Right are winning – not because of their great policies and institutions – but because the Left is losing. But why is the Left losing? This is the six million dollar question! Furthermore, there is no one answer to it. The Left is losing for many many different reasons and we could analyse this Read more…
Go to source “Ideology, after all, is more influential than laws.….[N]o one…would dream of making legislation to force people to read certain books and prevent them from reading others.”1 –Literary critic H. Bruce Franklin The treatment of the movie Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe is an astounding example of ideological discipline performed by the American Read more…
Nasir Khan, May 6, 2016 “The point of modernity is to live a life without illusions while not becoming disillusioned.” ― Italian thinker and politician Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937) Modernity means many things to different people. But in learned discourse, it refers to the collective body of particular socio-cultural norms and attitudes that emerged when the Read more…
Ever since the foundation of the American Republic, there has been both praise for and suspicion of the role the press plays in U.S. political life. Thomas Jefferson famously remarked that, if it were left to him “to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I would not Read more…
I have posted a visualization of Eqbal Ahmad‘s paper from 1980, “Postcolonial Systems of Power“, as part of my “History from Below” visualizations (earlier I did one on Mubarak Ali‘s English books broken down and catalogued by chapter). This particular paper with its lists of systems, countries and regimes is a natural candidate for a Read more…