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The Angry Tide of the Latin American far right
José Antonio Kast campaigning in Chile in October -- Equipo Kast, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Vijay Prashad The far right in Latin America is angry. Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro and Argentina’s Javier Milei always look furious, and they always speak loudly and aggressively. Testosterone leaks from their pores, a toxic sweat that has spread across the region. It would be easy to say that this is the impact of Donald Trump’s own brand of neo-fascism, but this is not true. Th

The Left Chapter
18 hours ago8 min read


Most International Airlines Servicing Venezuela Suspend Flights as US Intensifies Pressure
Simón Bolívar International Airport By Ricardo Vaz Multiple international airlines have suspended flights to and from Caracas amidst a heightened US military presence in the Caribbean, after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issuance of a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) Friday. Iberia (Spain), TAP (Portugal), LATAM (Chile), Avianca (Colombia) and Turkish Airlines (Turkey) were among the companies to cancel upcoming flights connecting the Venezuelan capital to internation

The Left Chapter
3 days ago4 min read


The Caribbean Faces Two Choices: Join the US Attempt to Intimidate Venezuela or Build its own Sovereignty
Kamla Persad-Bissessar with Marco Rubio, September 30, 2025 -- public domain image By Vijay Prashad US President Donald Trump has authorised the USS Gerald R. Ford to enter the Caribbean. It now floats north of Puerto Rico, joining the USS Iwo Jima and other US navy assets to threaten Venezuela with an attack. Tensions are high in the Caribbean, with various theories floating about regarding the possibility of what seems to be an inevitable assault by the US and regarding

The Left Chapter
4 days ago6 min read


Why Many of Us Have Problems Facing Death—and How to Get Through It
Responding to a population seeking practical knowledge and tools, the death literacy movement is filling a much-needed void by offering clarity, comfort, and confidence. Public domain image By Caren Martineau and Sarah Parker Ward Note by Caren Martineau: Having explored the implications of America’s aging demographic in my introductory article , I wanted to follow up with a piece that continues to provide information, clarity, and encouragement in support of personal and cul

The Left Chapter
7 days ago13 min read


Bluewashed: How the Beauty Industry Sold an Ocean-Friendly Illusion
As consumers flock to “reef-safe” and “ocean-friendly” skincare, beauty brands are selling a vision of ocean purity that is more marketing-driven than science-based. By Kate Petty The personal care industry has mastered the art of marketing eco-consciousness— evolving beyond familiar labels like “green,” “clean,” and “natural”—into a new wave of sea-inspired branding that claims to champion ocean conservation. Terms such as “reef-safe” and “ocean-friendly” evoke images of cry

The Left Chapter
Nov 179 min read


The Super Predator: How Humans Became the Animal Kingdom’s Most Feared Hunters
Humanity’s evolution into a super predator has reshaped ecosystems and instilled a primal fear in much of the animal kingdom. Representational image - public domain By John Divinagracia Hunting is considered critical to human evolution by many researchers who believe that several characteristics that distinguish humans from our closest living relatives, the apes, may have partly resulted from our adaptation to hunting, including our large brain size. Over time, however, the

The Left Chapter
Nov 126 min read


Trump’s Trade War: Truce Yes, But Road to Peace Still Uncertain
Trump and Xi Jinping, October 30, 2025 -- public domain image By Prabir Purkayastha The Trump-Xi meeting in Busan, South Korea today —30 October 2025— may have brought about a temporary relief in the US-China trade war. But unless we see the fine print of the agreement, it is difficult to assess whether this is a temporary truce or the beginning of a real rapprochement between the two nations. The jury is still out on that one and we will wait for a better understanding of wh

The Left Chapter
Nov 37 min read


From Tariffs to Tribute: The $350B Price of ‘Parity’
Image of the Anti-Trump protests via X By Atul Chandra On 29 October 2025, the carefully scripted pageantry of the US-ROK alliance in Gyeongju and Seoul met an unwelcome counter-narrative from the streets. While US President Donald Trump was being feted with a Silla-era replica gold crown and Korea’s highest honor, thousands of workers, trade unionists, farmers, and students and women’s collectives converged near the APEC venues. They chanted a unified dissent: “No kings”’

The Left Chapter
Nov 34 min read


People in the US go hungry as Trump spends millions to invade Venezuela
The Trump administration continues to escalate its threats of war against Venezuela, as millions in the US are set to lose essential benefits US Marines engaged in an amphibious training exercise, October 18, 2025 -- image via Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan on X By Manolo De Los Santos The United States government is in the grips of one of its longest-running funding gaps in history. The ongoing government shutdown has already stretched beyond 30 days and now, the food

The Left Chapter
Nov 15 min read


Rage Against the ICE Machine
Trump’s ICE forces are facing militant and organized opposition everywhere they turn. Screenshot via X By Sonali Kolhatkar A New York City woman wearing a navy blue polka-dot dress has gone viral for her defiant resistance to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a raid in lower Manhattan on October 21, 2025. Appearing as though she was on her way from work—the woman wore a navy blue blazer and brown shoes and carried a large handbag—the “polka-dot dress wo

The Left Chapter
Oct 296 min read


The Powerful Who Stand with Israel
Trump and Netanyahu with a number of US officials at the White House, September 29, 2025 -- public domain image By Vijay Prashad On 26 October, Caroline Willemen of Médecins Sans Frontières stated that Israel continues to use the need for humanitarian aid in Gaza as “means of pressure”. “The humanitarian situation in Gaza has not improved significantly”, she told the press, “as water and shelter shortages persist and hundreds of thousands of people continue to live in tents

The Left Chapter
Oct 284 min read


Does Brazil Have an App That Can Upend Digital Finance?
Washington’s unease is rising as Brazil’s Pix bypasses U.S.-dominated payment networks. The country’s digital payment revolution may soon be impossible to contain as other countries adapt their own models. By John P. Ruehl The Trump administration’s July 2025 decision to have the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) investigate Brazil’s “ attacks on American social media companies as well as other unfair trading practices ,” followed by the launch of 50 percent tari

The Left Chapter
Oct 227 min read


From Baghdad to Caracas: a Washington manual on sanctions and war
The recent US airstrikes in the Caribbean and military threats against Venezuela are a continuation of decades (or even centuries) of US policy on the region, not a departure from it. Trump on the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, October 5, 2025 -- public domain image By Manolo De Los Santos Over the last several weeks, Washington has escalated threats and hostilities against Venezuela, and US President Donald Trump openly confirmed that he authorized the CIA to carry o

The Left Chapter
Oct 217 min read


Venezuela Alerts UN to Imminent Military Threat Amid US Escalation
Samuel Moncada speaks at the UN -- image via video screenshot By Carlos Ron On Friday, 10 October 2025, Venezuela’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Samuel Moncada , delivered a serious and urgent warning during an emergency session of the Security Council, asserting that Venezuela’s peace and security —and that of the entire region— is under imminent threat of military aggression by the United States. The War on Drugs Pretext Hostility from Washington towar

The Left Chapter
Oct 165 min read


Trump’s military escalation against Venezuela repeats the Iraq War blueprint
With the suspension of dialogue between the US and Venezuela, the sighting of US B-52 bombers in Venezuelan airspace, and the further lethal US strikes in the Caribbean, the US seems to be accelerating its drive towards war with Venezuela Trump aboard the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, October 5, 2025 -- public domain image By Manolo De Los Santos The mood in the Caribbean grows increasingly tense, as the United States intensifies its military threats. Beneath the dece

The Left Chapter
Oct 165 min read


Twenty Years After Katrina, the All-Charter Schools System of New Orleans Is Failing Many Families
Despite claims by reform advocates of achieving success, Black children and parents continue to endure a punitive, impersonal, and...

The Left Chapter
Oct 614 min read


Exploring the High Rates of Social Violence in the Americas
For decades, the Americas have been the most violent part of the world outside active war zones. Many factors contribute to this, but...

The Left Chapter
Oct 47 min read


“We Will Blow You Out of Existence”, Trump’s Caribbean Spectacle
Image via X By Carlos Ron On 23 September 2025, US President Donald Trump delivered a dramatic address, explicitly threatening those...

The Left Chapter
Oct 36 min read


You Can Learn a Lot About Someone’s Mind From the Way They Talk
Scientists are uncovering how the hidden effort of talking affects everything from everyday conversations to spotting deception and fake...

The Left Chapter
Oct 315 min read


A fugitive’s freedom: Assata Shakur’s exile in Cuba
By Manolo De Los Santos The news of Assata Shakur’s death in Havana, Cuba, on September 26, was met with a deep sense of shared loss...

The Left Chapter
Sep 307 min read
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