Real GDP contracted in the second quarter of this year by a 0.9% annualised rate (or by 0.2% quarter over quarter). That meant the US economy had contracted for two successive quarters, and so ‘technically’ (by that definition) was in a recession.
Analysis
Texas abortion ban turned one woman’s pregnancy into a “dystopian nightmare”
“Anti-abortion zealots should be forced to read this…” asserted one journalist. “They are responsible for her suffering.”
The new progressive wave in Latin America: Between moderation and an intolerant right
The radical Uruguayan journalist and chronicler of Latin American social movements Raúl Zibechi is much less enthusiastic about new progressive governments. In the article below, Zibechi points out the real constraints, both external and self-imposed, that these governments will face.
‘Blatantly unconstitutional’ South Carolina bill would criminalize sharing abortion info online
Earlier this month, a coalition of reproductive rights groups filed a lawsuit in state court challenging the legislation, which Center for Reproductive Rights president and CEO Nancy Northup said is causing “mayhem at an unimaginable scale.”
Mass struggle in Sri Lanka forces president’s resignation
Hundreds of people streamed into the palace and quickly made themselves at home—diving into his pool, drinking his whisky, working out in his gym and cooking in his kitchen, marveling at the luxuries enjoyed by the man who oversaw the collapse of the country’s finances.
Trump’s scandals: Watergate on steroids
Until Donald Trump became president in 2017, former president Richard Nixon—the only president in U.S. history to resign from office—was widely regarded as setting the high-water mark for abusing the power of the U.S. presidency.
Energy: The recession trigger?
Far from forcing Russia to submit to NATO demands, any oil price cap is more likely to drive the oil price to near $200/bbl. That would trigger a global slump.
Britain: The removal of Boris Johnson – self pitying and delusional to the end
The resignation speech showed how delusional and self-pitying Johnson is. Like the spoilt, entitled rich kid he is, his removal was everyone’s fault but his own.
Towards a new permanent global war? NATO’s “new strategic concept”
Washington has thwarted any hint of EU autonomy and has turned the vast majority of European countries into faithful servants of the project of recomposing its hegemony against its main strategic enemies.
A troubled summer in US politics
The purpose of this report is to look at the current economic situation, developments in bourgeois politics, the general social crisis, and finally the state of the working-class and social movements.
Japan: the ‘new capitalism’ updated
The Japanese economy contracted in Q1 2022. Record Covid-19 case numbers led the government to introduce quasi-state-of-emergency measures, which along with rising inflation caused private consumption and investment to fall. In Q2, the economy was still struggling.
The Supreme Court and the façade of U.S. democracy
It’s not just that the decision goes against the will of, according to opinion polls, seven out of 10 or more Americans, or that it will devastate and worsen the lives of millions. It’s the result of a government system set up in the Eighteenth Century that is increasingly anachronistic in the Twenty First Century.
Elections in Colombia: They won a great victory, but did they win control?
Petro and Márquez will inherit a huge public debt, one of the largest in the history of Colombia, and acute social inequality. It is a situation of social emergency that requires rapid short-term measures, but it will also be necessary in the medium and long term to undertake a major structural reform, a reform of the system, and a change of economic model.
Abortion rights: turning back the clock—way, way back
There is no denying that we face a dismal situation, in which many millions of pregnant people have been stripped of their reproductive rights, while the right wing is chomping at the bit to attack a host of other civil rights.
Labor Notes conference: A force to be reckoned with
Four thousand trade unionists gathered in Rosemont, Illinois, this past weekend. The occasion was the conference of Labor Notes, a left labor magazine and current. The purpose of this article is to explain why this conference was such an important event.
