In The News

TNI: Unused Citizen Power and Public Collateral

Ann Pettifor January 26, 2019
Citizen majorities who support action on climate change or a tax system that reduces inequality must find political courage to battle moneyed interests. Citizens in nations with sound taxation systems hold more power than they realize. Taxpayers can demand that public debt target the public interest – as former US President Franklin D. Roosevelt accomplished during the Great Depression and some...

NBC News: Jared Kushner’s Security Clearance

Laura Strickler, Ken Dilanian and Peter Alexander January 25, 2019
Jared Kushner is the president’s son-in-law whose work experience was in his family’s real estate development firm. Financial difficulties, complicated personal relationships and unexplained foreign contacts can present obstacles for obtaining a top-secret security clearance, and Kushner had to revise his application numerous times. Two career specialists raised concerns about potential foreign...

Al Jazeera: US Interference Denounced in Venezuela

January 25, 2019
The world is dividing into the usual camps over Venezuela’s president. The United States, Canada and Brazil suggest the election was flawed and Juan Guaido, who leads Congress, should serve as interim president until another election as dictated by the constitution. China, Russia and Turkey support incumbent dictator Nicolas Maduro who presides over an economy in shambles, and Venezuela's...

Reuters: Guaido Claims Venezuela’s Presidency

Mayela Armas, Angus Berwick and Corina Pons January 24, 2019
Venezuela’s Juan Guaido, head of the opposition-run Congress, declared himself as interim president soon after the United States, Brazil, Colombia, Canada and Costa Rica granted him formal recognition. Nicolas Maduro claimed to start his second term on January 10 following what many described as a corrupt election. Maduro quickly described the situation as a coup and broke relations with the...

Stratfor: Wall No Help on US-Mexico Border Dilemma

Scott Stewart January 23, 2019
The US government shutdown continues as the Donald Trump demands $5 billion to construct a wall along the US-Mexican border. Most analysts suggest a wall is unnecessary. Countries have reason to control borders, including crime control, but a wall will not end the greed behind delivery of illegal drugs and low-wage workers. Terrorists do not enter the United States from the southern border,...

New York Times: US Separated More Families

Miriam Jordan January 21, 2019
A US policy that separated more than 2700 children from parents seeking asylum at the border with Mexico shocked the world in 2018. A government inspector’s report reviewing the policies uggests thousands more separations may have occurred before the country’s zero-tolerance immigration policy was launched in spring 2018. With no explanations to parents, border agents placed children in shelters...

Washington Post: Trump-Putin Revelations

Anne Applebaum January 14, 2019
News reports increasingly suggest that Donald Trump is serving Russian interests – an assertion that follows reports of Russian meddling during the 2016 presidential election including a social media campaign. “Trump’s connection to Putin has been out in the open for years, long before he decided to run for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination,” explains Washington Post columnist Anne...