In The News

Common Sense on the Border Crisis: RAND

Blas Nuñez-Neto May 4, 2019
Apprehensions of undocumented immigrants at the US-Mexico border rise despite the US trying family separations, deployed military personnel, Mexico sheltering asylum-seekers, a declared national emergency and strengthened border security. The policies do not work, and there is a humanitarian crisis. “This massive surge in migration is driven almost entirely by families and children from Central...

Harris Questions Barr on Mueller Report: SFGate

Filipa Ioannou May 1, 2019
Senator Kamala Harris grilled William Barr, US attorney general, during the Senate Judiciary Committee about the Mueller report. Barr could not decisively answer yes or no if anyone at the White House had suggested he open an investigation into anyone. He admitted having discussions with White House staff about “matters out there” and used a series of negatives, suggesting those at the White...

Why Venezuela Matters: New York Times

Megan Specia April 30, 2019
Maduro has presided over Venezuela's corrupt and mismanaged government since 2013, with violence, hunger and hyperinflation. Maduro refuses to engage in peaceful transfer of power. Venezuela, with ample oil supplies, should be among the world’s wealthiest nations. Yet 30 million citizens must contend with unreliable food, electricity, medicine and other basic supplies. Maduro curtailed power...

The Mueller Report

Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller, III April 18, 2019
The US Department of Justice has released the Mueller report, with fewer redactions than anticipated by most analysts. The report details a systematic campaign from Russia to interfere in the 2016 US presidential election on behalf of Donald Trump. The US attorney general in an initial summary and a press conference suggests that he regards the US president as exonerated, an opinion embraced by...

Assange Arrested: Reuters

Guy Faulconbridge, Kate Holton and Costas Pitas April 12, 2019
Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, took refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy in London seven years ago after Sweden issued an arrest warrant for a rape charge. British police arrested him after Ecuador ended asylum; a judge convicted him on skipping bail. “Just hours later, U.S. prosecutors charged Assange with conspiracy in trying to access a classified U.S. government computer with former U.S....

Capitalism or Socialism? Common Dreams

Robert Freeman April 8, 2019
The United States prepares for the 2020 presidential election and Republicans as the party in power insist that their opponents, the Democrats, are increasingly socialist and want to upend the capitalist system. Proper economic governance cannot rely on all capitalism or all socialism, and the definitions suggest that successful and prosperous countries rely on a combination of both. “Tools of...

Putin’s Moves in Venezuela: Bloomberg

Eli Lake March 27, 2019
Venezuela is in crisis with corruption, food shortages and power outages. The international community remains divided over a remedy. The United States supports new leadership, represented by Juan Guaido, president of the National Assembly, after a disputed election. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov describes such support as a US-led coup and supports the Nicolas Maduro regime, in power...