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Confederate Statues and ‘Our’ History

Eric Foner New York Times
When Mr. Trump identifies statues commemorating Confederate leaders as essential parts of “our” history and culture, he is honoring that dark period. (The dismantling of Reconstruction and rebirth of White Supremacy) Like all monuments, these statues say a lot more about the time they were erected than the historical era they evoke.

The Real Corruption in Brazil

Ruth Needleman Portside
Global capital despised Brazil's Lula and feared his return to power. In particular, the rich resented his nationalization of Brazil’s oil resources, making Petrobras the patrimony of all Brazilians. He strengthen the national bank and funded oil exploration that identified enormous oil reserves in the Atlantic off the country’ coast. Equally threatening were his efforts to establish a network of third world governments, especially in the Americas.

“Not One More Coup”: Slogan of the January 2016 World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil

Ruth Needleman Portside
“No impression should be permitted in Latin America that they can get away with this, that it’s safe to go this way. All over the world it’s too much the fashion to kick us around.” * U.S. President Nixon. Right now it is critical for the U.S. public to get some lessons on U.S. imperialism and Latin American history, and for progressive voices to condemn U.S. intervention in elections throughout Latin America and, in particular, in funding violence in Venezuela.

America’s Carbon-Pusher in Chief Trump’s Fossil-Fueled Foreign Policy

Michael T. Klare Tom Dispatch
Trump was always, at heart, both the pitchman of, and a con artist for, American abundance, or rather for a particularly American version of conspicuous consumption. His greatest pitch and what may be the greatest selling scam in history has gotten so little attention in these last six months: to open the gold-plated spigot on American fossil fuels and sell the country’s oil and natural gas abroad in far greater quantities than at present.