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The ‘Fragile’ Middle East and the Declining Power of the Petrostates

Patrick Cockburn The Independent
Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (l), US President Donald Trump, and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz.
Historic change is taking place in the Middle East and North Africa, but it has nothing to do with the much-trumpeted “historic” pact between Israel and the UAE. The 50-year misrule of the petrostates is ending and the results could be shattering.

Tapping the Enormous Electoral Potential of Low Income Voters

Frances Madeson Capital & Main
A voter registration booth at a memorial site for George Floyd.
What impact could 34 million poor nonvoters make if they started participating in elections? According to a new report commissioned by the Poor People’s Campaign, it could be massive and warrants the deployment of significant 2020 campaign resources.

Memo to the Left: Winning Votes is Not ‘Selling Out’

Loris Caruso Il Manifesto Global
We do not have to choose between “winning” or “bearing witness and representing." There is no contradiction. In order to bear witness and represent, people must put themselves forward as candidates for social and political victory,

How Physics Erases the Beginning of the Universe

Ethan Siegel Forbes
It’s one of the most remarkable achievements of science of all: that we can go back billions of years in time and understand when and how our Universe, as we know it, came to be this way.

The 'Great' Reopening: Setting America’s Schools Up to Fail

Belle Chesler Tom Dispatch
I expect to watch with terror as many of our nation’s schools, woefully unprepared, open in the midst of a pandemic. Exhausted and heartbroken, I will worry nonstop about the students and teachers walking through those doors.

The Summer QAnon Went Mainstream

Ali Breland Mother Jones
QAnon is an extremely useful right-wing political project that can be used to justify fighting against social progress. But the main catalyst of its current round of growth is probably the coronavirus.

Friday Nite Videos | August 21, 2020

Portside
Comedian Sarah Cooper Riffs on Trump at DNC. First Time Reaction | The Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter. Coup 53: The CIA, MI6 and the Plot Against Iran. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Full Speech at the DNC. Joe Biden: Acceptable Under the Circumstances.

Tidbits - Aug. 20, 2020 - Reader Comments: Defeat Trump, Kamala Harris; Dismantling of Post Office is Dismantling of Democracy; Joan Baez' Open Letter Tribute to Dr. Anthony Fauci; How to Vote Early; Don’t let Facebook determine the news you see; more...

Portside
Reader Comments: Defeat Trump, Kamala Harris; Dismantling of Post Office is Dismantling of Democracy; Joan Baez' Open Letter Tribute to Dr. Anthony Fauci; How to Vote Early; Don’t let Facebook determine the news you see; Lots of Announcements; more..