The Deepening Disaster in Venezuela

Via CNBC: Venezuela calls for mandatory labor in farm sector The government of Venezuela has issued a decree that “effectively amounts to forced labor” in an attempt to fix a spiraling food crisis, according to a new report from Amnesty International. A Venezuelan ministry last week announced Resolution No. 9855, which calls for the establishment […]
Leadsom Withdraws from UK PM Race

Or, more accurately, she withdrew from the race to be leader of the Conservative Party, which would have lead to her being PM had she won. The BBC reports: Theresa May set to be UK PM after Andrea Leadsom quits In a speech earlier on Monday setting out her leadership campaign platform, Mrs May – […]
The Philippines’ Disturbing new President

Via Guardian: Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte urges people to kill drug addicts Following a measured speech after taking his oath before a small audience inside the presidential palace, the outspoken leader paid an evening visit to a Manila slum and unleashed profanity-laden threats against drug traffickers in front of a crowd of about 500 people “These […]
On the Usage of “Radical Islam”

Via Vox: I worked in the CIA under Bush. Obama is right to not say “radical Islam.” When I directed the Political Islam Strategic Analysis Program at the CIA in the early 2000s, I frequently interacted with senior Bush administration policymakers about how to engage Muslim communities and, when doing so, which words and phrases […]
British Labour Party Leader Loses No Confidence Vote

In the latest example of the political backlash growing out of last week’s Brexit vote, Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party, lost a no-confidence vote among Labour’s Members of Parliament, but he says he will not leave office even as his position seems to become more and more precarious: LONDON — Britain’s […]
Brexit Vote Setting Off Infighting In Britain’s Labour Party

The outcome of the Brexit vote continues to reverberate throughout British politics. Already, of course, we’ve seen the outcome of the vote bring an abrupt and somewhat unexpected end to David Cameron’s time as Prime Minister, a move that could sweep pro-Brexit MP Boris Johnson into Downing Street. Now, there are signs that the vote […]
Plagiarism Plague in Russia

Via Slate: The Craziest Black Market in Russia. Apparently, a lot of Russians are paying for dissertations: In the past few years alone, there have been credible allegations of dissertation plagiarism made against Russia’s minister of culture, the governor of St. Petersburg, and the head of the country’s top federal investigating authority. Just in the past […]
Twitter War between Head of OAS and President of Venezuela

This is amazing, amusing, and very Twenty-First Century, via the BBC: Venezuela Maduro OAS: Latin American ‘traitor’ row escalates The head of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, has accused the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of being “a traitor”. In a series of Twitter posts addressed directly to Mr Maduro, Mr Almagro also […]
Same Sex Marriage in Colombia

Via the BBC: Colombia legalises gay marriage Colombia’s top court has legalised same-sex marriage, making the country the fourth in Latin America to do so. Civil unions had previous been legal. The rest of the region: Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay have previously legalised same-sex marriage. […] In Mexico, gay marriage is legal in the capital […]
Brazil’s President Impeached

With just a few months to go before the nation takes center stage, Brazil’s President is now facing impeachment: BRASÍLIA — Brazilian legislators voted on Sunday night to approve impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, the nation’s first female president, whose tenure has been buffeted by a dizzying corruption scandal, a shrinking economy and spreading disillusionment. After […]
Placing Trump in Comparative Perspective

I would highly recommend the following from Pippa Norris: It’s not just Trump. Authoritarian populism is rising across the West. Here’s why. (Norris is an expert on comparative politics and elections). It is a long piece (for a newspaper column/blog post), but is worth a read. Not to encourage skipping the essay, I will post […]