Judging Mubarak
The Egyptian legal system might have acquitted the late Hosni Mubarak of ordering a brutal clampdown on protesters. The verdict of history won’t be so kind.
19416 Articles by: Jonathan Sas
Jonathan Sas has worked in senior policy and political roles in government, think tanks, and the labor movement. He is an honorary witness to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. His writing has appeared in the Toronto Star, National Post, the Tyee, and Maisonneuve.
When Coronavirus Made Italy Go Insane
Empty supermarket shelves and the spread of designer-brand face masks show that Italians are panicking about coronavirus. The spread of the virus demands a planned and coherent response — but the politics of fear are instead turning Italians against each other.
Today’s Social Democrats Should Be More Like Olof Palme
Swedish prime minister Olof Palme was assassinated on this day in 1986. He was an internationalist and the last social-democratic leader to really believe in a world beyond capitalism.
Joe Biden Jumped at the Chance to Help George W. Bush Sell the Invasion of Iraq
After September 11, George W. Bush decided to blaze a path of death and destruction in Iraq by invading. He was given crucial assistance by Joe Biden.
Canvassing for Bernie in Suburbia
Knocking on doors is a key part of a grassroots campaign, and can be extremely satisfying work for those involved. But as more gates and security systems transform the fabric of American cities, voters are increasingly out of reach.
Socialists Have Long Fought for Women’s Liberation
Socialist men can be important organizers in the struggle for both workers’ rights and women’s emancipation. Nowhere is that seen more clearly than in the life of German socialist August Bebel, who did more to win women’s rights than any other nineteenth-century politician.
Bernie Sanders Is Still Not George McGovern
Pundits continue to push the narrative that Bernie Sanders is just another George McGovern, too far to the left to win. He’s not, and by every measure he’s the most competitive candidate to run against Donald Trump.
A Brokered Convention Would Be a Disaster for the Democrats
All of Bernie Sanders’s rivals are open to giving the Democratic nomination to someone besides the candidate with the most delegates at the end of the primary. This is an absolutely horrible idea.
Olof Palme Was an Internationalist Hero
From South Africa’s ANC to Chilean socialists, in the 1970s, liberation movements around the world had few greater allies than Swedish prime minister Olof Palme. He used high office to speak out for the oppressed abroad — and to build an internationalist movement in his homeland.
Michael Bloomberg Got Rich With the Help of Some Criminal Bankers
Michael Bloomberg likes to present himself as a self-made tycoon. In reality, he’s a creature of Merrill Lynch, the now-defunct investment company that bet big on subprime lending and lost.
Joe Biden Is the Forrest Gump of the Democratic Party’s Rightward Turn
From crime to privatization to Wall Street, the story of Joe Biden’s career has been the story of the Democratic Party’s forty-year-long right turn. Every step of the way, he was there urging the party to push the rightward shift even further.
We Need Electoral Reform — and a Whole Lot More
The United States would be much better off with a multiparty, proportional representation system. But we shouldn’t delude ourselves that this “one quick fix” would root out the rot that pervades America’s political economy.
The Trump-Modi Lovefest Is Sickening
This week, Donald Trump went to India to sign a new arms deal with the far-right leader Narendra Modi. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the pair remained silent as Hindu nationalists unleashed a wave of violence against Muslims — targeting their homes, businesses, and places of worship.
The Agony and the Ecstasy of Chris Matthews
With his epic MSNBC meltdown over Bernie Sanders’s landslide win in Nevada, Chris Matthews became the anguished spokesman for a Beltway media scene that has been plunged into a world it can’t understand.
“Where Are We Supposed to Live?”
The AMLO government has enacted modest reforms to help struggling renters. But more radical solutions are needed to solve Mexico’s housing crisis. A report from Oaxaca.
Joe Biden Was a Leader in Building Up the Carceral State
These days, Joe Biden likes to tout his civil rights credentials. But he was central to the racist drive to lock people up and throw the key.
How Bernie Won the Las Vegas Strip
I organized workers on the Las Vegas strip for Bernie Sanders. I saw firsthand how his pro-worker platform and message of solidarity won the day, despite anti–Medicare for All scaremongering.
Michael Bloomberg Has a Long History of Islamophobia
From his surveillance program on New York mosques to his vocal support for Republican Islamophobes, Bloomberg’s record shows he is just as much a danger to American Muslims as Trump.
The UCSC Strike Is Working
Graduate student workers at the University of California Santa Cruz have been threatened with termination and even deportation for going on strike against an austerity-happy administration. But the punitive measures have only galvanized support for the striking workers.
Bernie Sanders Held the Line in Last Night’s South Carolina Debate
Bernie Sanders’s command of the agenda was on display again last night in South Carolina, as his challengers exhausted themselves trying to make their stale centrism seem compelling.