Tag: Democracy
Elon Musk’s Real Threat to Democracy Isn’t What You Think
Elon Musk used to be a car guy—an eccentric visionary, sort of quirky and absurd, but mostly entertaining. For some reason, a key group of people in and around Silicon Valley took him seriously, but he rarely exhibited the kind of depth or power that would concern anyone outside his core businesses.
Now Musk is a media mogul whose decisions cost lives and affect the world. He seems more absurd than ever, yet we can no longer afford to dismiss … Read more
The golden couple at the heart of Europe’s Qatargate scandal – POLITICO
BRUSSELS — Eva Kaili and Francesco Giorgi had left nothing to chance.
The duo that would later become the most famous — many would say infamous — couple in the European Union capital had been gearing up for this moment for years.
As Qatar prepared to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, they were among the Gulf state’s fiercest advocates in Brussels, defending its record on human rights and fending off criticism of its treatment of migrant workers.
And now,
What London’s mayor learned when he took on the cars – POLITICO
It looked like group therapy. One late summer day, Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, sat with a group of faith leaders and clean-air campaigners in a small circle in the near-empty hall of a suburban church.
The moment was meant to be one of celebration, for Khan and for London. He was marking the creation of the largest clean air zone in the Western world through the expansion of restrictions on polluting cars to cover the entire British capital,
Atlanta’s “Stop Cop City” Movement Is Youth-Led Democracy in Action
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November 14, 2023
“When we can’t trust our leaders, regardless of political party, to exercise their power for our betterment, we the people have the power to do something about it.”
Environmental activists hold a rally and a march through the Atlanta Forest in March 2023.
(Andrew Lichtenstein / Getty)
Why It’s Important to Defend Representative Rashida Tlaib Against Censure, Whether or Not We Agree With Her
True to its increasingly repressive and authoritarian agenda, the House GOP Conference moved this week to censure my colleague Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib for political comments she made that were clearly protected under the First Amendment and the Speech or Debate Clause of the Constitution. Although I told Representative Tlaib I strongly disagreed with her benign interpretation of the offending phrase (“from the river to the sea”), I rose on the House floor nonetheless to defend her as a Member against … Read more
Peter Thiel Is Taking a Break From Democracy
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It wasn’t clear at first why Peter Thiel agreed to talk to me.
He is, famously, no friend of the media. But Thiel—co-founder of PayPal and Palantir, avatar of techno-libertarianism, bogeyman of the left—consented to a series of long interviews at his home and office in Los
Netanyahu’s Attack on Democracy Left Israel Unprepared
This summer I spent several days in Israel talking with people who were afraid for their country’s future. They were not, at that moment, focused on terrorism, Gaza, or Hamas. They feared something different: the emergence of an undemocratic Israel, a de facto autocracy. In January, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his justice minister had announced a package of judicial “reforms” that, taken together, would have given their coalition government the power to alter Israeli legal institutions to their own
Buchrezension: „Prequel“ von Rachel Maddow und „Democracy Awakening“ von Heather Cox Richardson
Rachel Maddows „Prequel“ und Heather Cox Richardsons „Democracy Awakening“ folgen Verschwörungen einheimischer Autokraten gegen Amerika.
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The Market Radicals Who Want to Put an End to Democracy
The rich have always sought loopholes. But today’s ultra-wealthy have invented new ways to bypass the bonds of democratic government and oversight altogether. This is the topic of historian Quinn Slobodian’s new book, Crack-Up Capitalism. It brings to light a series of neoliberal and libertarian-inspired attempts to “crack up” the traditional responsibilities of state governments through the establishment of various kinds of “zones,” such as free ports, tax havens, and special economic spaces, allowing market competition to be excluded … Read more
Big hopes but no quick fixes – POLITICO
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WARSAW — The campaign language ahead of this year’s Polish general election is apocalyptic — painting it as an existential battle for the soul of the EU’s fifth most populous country — but the likeliest outcome is a chaotic stalemate.
If the ruling nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) hangs on to power for a third term there isn’t much more it can do to wreck Poland without quitting the