Once upon a time, the tutelary gods of nationalism and internationalism met for a chat. They had a superb perch above the clouds. From there, they could see everything happening on the Earth below and they set to arguing, as they so often did. Sophia, the goddess of internationalism, began by proudly pointing to the […]
John Feffer, Foreign Policy in Focus
Posted inOp-Ed
John Feffer: The Party of January 6
The defeat of Donald Trump in 2020 was supposed to put an end to America’s delusional national politics. The quashing of the January 6 insurrection — and the brief, near-unanimous revulsion among members of Trump’s party for that violence — provided some hope that the fever dream had passed. But the last year demonstrated quite […]
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John Feffer: The “Selling” of Degrowth
December 20, 2021 – Over the last three decades, a growing number of scientists and ecologists have argued that economic growth has long outstripped the capacity of the planetary ecosystem. They have developed numerous sophisticated models to demonstrate their point. They have boiled down the technical information—about the availability of mineral resources, the limits of […]
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John Feffer: The Embarrassment of Riches
The rich have always flaunted their wealth. It was rarely good enough to enjoy financial success, you had to be conspicuous about it. They build enormous homes for everyone to gawk at. They throw lavish parties. They commission paintings, statues, biographies. They endow institutions so that their names can live on in granite forever. At […]
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John Feffer: The Delta Variant of Global Stupidity
You’d think that the whole world could unite against a deadly virus. COVID-19 has already sickened over 200 million people around the world and killed over 4 million. It has now mutated into more contagious forms that threaten to plunge the globe into another spin cycle of lockdown. Avoiding global catastrophe from the more infectious […]
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John Feffer: What’s Up with the Herd?
The problem with the current pandemic is that we don’t know if we’re coming or going. It’s as if we’re swimming far from shore, overwhelmed by one wave after another, and we’re unsure if we’re heading toward land or away from it. China was the early face of COVID-19, but it hasn’t faced many infections […]
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John Feffer: Death and the Economy: A Dialogue
May 14, 220 – Welcome to Chewing the Fat, our weekly talk show here at WXYZ. Today, we have a special treat for you — two guests who will answer the question on everyone’s mind. Should we stay at home in virtual quarantine or should we head out the front door and reopen the economy? The coronavirus […]
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John Feffer: Did the Fall of the Berlin Wall Produce the Trump Presidency?
Nov. 14, 2019 – The Berlin Wall fell 30 years ago. It was one of the few unambiguously joyous moments in modern history. This popular, nonviolent explosion of dissent effectively toppled East Germany’s despotic regime. And it signaled, if only symbolically, the end of the Cold War that had divided Europe for nearly half a […]
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John Feffer: Examining Trump World’s Fantastic Claims About Ukraine
Nov. 7, 2019 – In fantasy sports, participants draft their own dream teams out of the rosters of existing players. That’s what Donald Trump has done with Ukraine. He and his advisors have created a fantasy team involving a number of key players, including the Ukrainian president, the former U.S. ambassador, and the former vice […]
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John Feffer: Assassins Without Borders
Oct. 18, 2018 – Russia, North Korea, and Saudi Arabia are the latest members of a select international club. Assassins Without Borders has roots that go back, in the modern era at least, to the policies of the Soviet Union, Chile, Israel, Bulgaria, and the United States. All of these countries share a single trait. […]
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John Feffer:The GOP Wants Trumpism, Just Without Trump
Sept. 132, 2018 – The recent anonymous op-ed in The New York Times about the resistance to Trump within his own administration was supposed to reassure the American people. Don’t worry, the writer was saying: We the “steady state” are making sure that an unhinged president doesn’t blow up the world. Behind the scenes, the […]
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John Feffer: The Dictator Dating Game
July 12, 2018 – Voiceover: Here’s the star of the show and your host, Steve Bannon! Applause. Steve Bannon: Thank you! It’s great to be back in the limelight. And welcome once again to the Dictator Dating Game. It’s time to meet our eligible dictators. And heeeeere they are! Dictator number one is famous for […]
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John Feffer: Russiaburger: The Trump-Russia Scandal Explained
Feb. 14, 2018 – The discussion of the Russia file these days sounds like the review of a fast-food restaurant. Echoing that infamous catchphrase of Wendy’s that became a political meme in the 1984 presidential elections — Where’s the Beef? — the charges of cooperation between the Kremlin and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign have either […]
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John Feffer: The U.S. Has Treated Poor Countries Like Shitholes for Decades
Jan. 22, 2018 – The United States has never invaded Norway. It has never bombed Oslo. It has never rounded up Norwegians and thrown them in Guantanamo. Perhaps some U.S. diplomats have referred to the country as a “shithole” — because the food’s rather bland and the nightlife rather staid — but the important thing […]
Posted inOp-Ed
John Feffer: Worst. 100 Days. Ever.
April 28, 2017 – If I were a Trump supporter, I’d be furious at the coverage of the president’s first 100 days. The mainstream media has engaged in a bout of competitive schadenfreude as headline writers and columnists vie for the distinction of deriving the most pleasure from the administration’s failures. Pundits and journalists have […]
Posted inOp-Ed
John Feffer: Trump and Russia: Shortest Reset Ever
March 9, 2017 – John Feffer is director of Foreign Policy In Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies In Trump, the Kremlin got what it wanted — an America paralyzed by an incompetent administration at odds with more than half the country’s population. It has all the hallmarks of a compelling thriller. A U.S. […]