The Strenuous Comedy of Thor: Love and Thunder
Taika Waititi’s second Thor film doubles down on his trademark mix of silliness and somberness. It still works — but it might not survive another sequel.
19068 Articles by: Alex Press
The Japanese Left Has a Complex and Turbulent History
During the 1960s, the Japanese Communist Party faced a strong challenge from Japan’s New Left groups amid a wave of student radicalization. While the Communists’ staying power proved greater, neither old nor new lefts have succeeded in transforming Japan.
The GOP Is Dismantling Our Democracy. Democrats Are Letting Them Get Away With It.
Revelations from the January 6 hearings and the recent spate of Supreme Court decisions show that the Right is ready to dispense with democracy. Democratic Party leaders seem ready to let them.
The Japanese Communist Party Has Been a Vital Presence in Japan’s Politics
The Japanese Communist Party turns 100 today. Its activists challenged the authoritarian emperor system of prewar Japan, and it remains an important countervailing force in a deeply conservative and conformist political culture.
Bolivia’s Coup President Jeanine Áñez Has Been Brought to Justice
Ex-president Jeanine Áñez has been found guilty for helping to orchestrate the right-wing coup that brought her to power in 2019. The judgment is an essential step to protect the integrity of Bolivia’s democracy.
In This Michigan Primary, Gig Workers’ Rights Are on the Ballot
A newly created House district in Michigan is pitting the solidly pro-labor Democrat Representative Andy Levin against Representative Haley Stevens, a Democrat with a history of doing gig companies’ bidding and trying to smash worker protections.
The Democrats Didn’t Just Fail to Defend Social Programs. They Actively Undermined Them.
In the ’80s and ’90s, the Democrats took a jackhammer to education, housing, and social welfare. This isn’t the story of a weak party unable to defend its earlier gains, but a transformed party demolishing them in service of a new neoliberal ideology.
Ukraine’s War Economy Is Being Choked by Neoliberal Dogmas
States at war generally adopt interventionist economic policies to mobilize resources and manpower. Ukraine hasn’t followed suit, instead pursuing dogmatic free-marketeer measures that suit Western creditors more than its own population.
John Bolton Should Be Banished From Public Life
John Bolton bragged this week that he’s “someone who has helped plan coups.” It was a brazen display of antidemocratic imperial arrogance, making clear that antidemocratic meddling is par for the course in US foreign policy.
I Am Spending July 14 in Israel’s Bastille as a Political Prisoner
Salah Hamouri is a French-Palestinian lawyer imprisoned without charges by Israel. In an open letter to France’s president Emmanuel Macron, he denounces how Israel uses its “Bastilles” to crush Palestinians’ basic freedoms.
The Latest Uvalde Revelations Show Exactly What’s Wrong With US Policing
Trigger-happy behavior and racist practices have long been endemic in US policing — but as the new Uvalde video and other revelations of recent weeks have shown in gruesome detail, so are gross incompetence and violent extremism.
The Kurds Aren’t a “Security Threat” — They’re the Ones Being Attacked
Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has pushed Sweden and Finland to crack down on Kurdish groups in exchange for NATO membership. He cites his country’s “legitimate security concerns” — but it’s the long-oppressed Kurds who have most to fear.
Ukraine Needs Debt Forgiveness Now
Moscow’s invasion has pushed Ukraine closer to defaulting on its foreign debt, imperiling its economy and any future reconstruction. It’s time Western governments canceled that debt.
The Rise and Fall of the Blue-Collar Black Middle Class
Good union jobs built America’s blue-collar black middle class. But the percentage of black workers in manufacturing has been halved since the 1970s, yielding poverty and precarity. We can’t achieve racial justice without a movement to win those jobs back.
Lula Supporter Marcelo Arruda Is the Latest Victim of Far-Right Violence in Brazil
Over the weekend in Brazil, a leftist official backing Lula’s presidential bid was killed by a supporter of far-right president Jair Bolsonaro. It’s a chilling reminder of the far right’s willingness to use violence to fight the Left.
The Uber Leak Exposes Its Global War on Workers
The “Uber Files” leak reveals the power of the company’s multimillion-dollar lobbying effort — and how it worked with governments around the world to undercut workers’ rights.
Labor Must Take Up the Fight for Abortion Rights
In the labor movement, we are only as strong as the weakest among us. Revoking the right to abortion undercuts much of the workforce’s bargaining power — which means reproductive freedom is a cause the entire labor movement must champion.
Atlanta Is Building a “Cop City” on the Site of a Former Prison Farm
Atlanta is constructing a massive police militarization complex on the site of a former prison farm. Residents are overwhelmingly opposed — but business interests, police, and city government are pushing ahead with the proposed “Cop City.”
Ron DeSantis’s “Freedom” Branding Is a Laughable Sham
Ron DeSantis, the right-wing Florida governor and potential presidential hopeful, has taken to branding himself as the leading defender of precious American freedoms. But throughout his administration, he’s been at war with the First Amendment.
Border Hacker Exposes the Chaos and Cruelty of Barack Obama’s Immigration Policy
Despite his pledge to fix the US’s “broken” immigration system, Barack Obama’s punitive policies made life more difficult for migrants — and unleashed untold horrors throughout the hemisphere.