The November 6 midterm elections should have been a ringing repudiation of Donald Trump and the Republican Party. And if not for the dismal state of US 鈥渄emocracy鈥 and the two-party system, it would have been.
Alan Maass
The unthinkable possibility of nuclear war is once again in the headlines after US officials reacted with shrill threats to the North Korean government claim to have tested its most powerful nuclear bomb yet.
This is the latest escalation in a game of nuclear chicken, with calculated provocations on all sides. But to judge from the mainstream media, it is only North Korea鈥檚 Kim Jung-un who is driving the world to the brink of a nightmare.
This is false.
Apparently, the universe does have a sense of humour.
After blaming his poor showing in the first presidential debate on problems with his microphone, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump鈥檚 candidacy is swirling around the toilet bowl due to comments that a different microphone did pick up.
Trump went into the second debate on October 9 with Hillary Clinton needing the impossible 鈥 for millions of people to forget the revulsion they felt when they learned about his casual misogyny unearthed in a 2005 recording.
The Republicans gathered in Cleveland over July 18-21 to ratify the verdict of primary voters and choose Donald Trump as their presidential nominee for the November elections 鈥 with Indiana governor Mike Pence his running mate.
A last-minute attempt by the 鈥淣ever Trump鈥 forces to obstruct his nomination was easily overcome when party officials rushed through a voice vote on convention rules. Despite Republican internal divisions, the Trump-Pence ticket emerged intact.
Despite having the entire Democratic establishment against him, the self-described democratic socialist candidate in the US Democratic primaries, Bernie Sanders, continues to make waves, backed by huge enthusiasm from supporters inspired by his call for a 鈥減olitical revolution鈥 against the corporate elite. Although Sanders fell short in the Democratic Iowa caucuses on February 1, he picked up 84% of the youth vote.
In the June 17 elections, anti-austerity Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) came a close second with 26.9% of the vote. The right-wing New Democracy came first with more than 29%, amid huge blackmail and threats from major governments and financial institutions, and will now attempt to form a coalition government.
The ring of mighty warships off the coast of Port-au-Prince is a stark symbol of the true intentions of the U.S. government in its "humanitarian" mission following Haiti's devastating earthquake.
Chris Harman, a leading British socialist and author of dozens of books and pamphlets on politics, economics, history and the Marxist tradition, died of a heart attack on November 6 at the age of 67.
Happy days are here again for super-bank Goldman Sachs.
Kurt Vonnegut聮s life and art were shaped by personal tragedies. His mother committed suicide. His sister and her husband died within days of each other, leaving three children. One of his sons suffered from schizophrenia.