Following the Money in the European Debt Crisis

Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, and Italy are said to be cases of out-of-control people who now must get their houses in order – by way of huge cuts to government programs. Yet these cuts, known in the jargon as austerity measures, represent political crimes of equal if not greater magnitude to that burglary at the […]

China warns US on debt crisis destabilizing the global economy

Republican lawmakers are “playing with fire” by contemplating even a brief debt default as a means to force deeper government spending cuts, an adviser to China’s central bank said on Wednesday. The idea of a technical default — essentially delaying interest payments for a few days — has gained backing from a growing number of […]

WikiLeaks on Israel’s embargo plan against Gaza

Israel deliberately maintained the economy of the Gaza strip “on the brink of collapse” without “pushing it over the edge,” a leaked US diplomatic cable from 2008 shows. According to a cable from the US embassy in Tel Aviv dated November 3, 2008, Israeli officials told US diplomats of their intention to strangle the economy […]

The election has made the US more foreign

Twenty-five years ago this month I left New York for London. For me, years as a foreign correspondent have made America a foreign country to me. In Britain, even the conservative press has found the Tea Party and Republican Party difficult to understand. They happily bash President Barack Obama on their opinion pages while trying […]

IMF warns of explosion of social unrest in the U.S. and Europe

America and Europe face the worst jobs crisis since the 1930s and risk “an explosion of social unrest” unless they tread carefully, the International Monetary Fund has warned. [Similar to earlier warning by Moody's] “The labor market is in dire straits. The Great Recession has left behind a waste land of unemployment,” said Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the […]

Criticism of U.S. Military in Haiti

Watch the U.S. media and its coverage of the crisis in Haiti, and you get the impression that Washington is a benevolent power doing its utmost to help with emergency relief in the Caribbean island nation. But tune into news from other parts of the world and you come away with a very different view. […]