All posts tagged: Americas

The Dark Money Behind America’s Moral Politics

The Dark Money Behind America’s Moral Politics

Published by Sam Flores

American political life is filled with speeches about virtue. Candidates invoke family, faith, responsibility and the moral health of the nation. Then campaign season arrives, and the same system quietly asks a different question: Who can pay? That is the contradiction Americans can no longer afford to ignore. The Brennan Center found that dark money groups, nonprofits and shell companies put more than $1.9 billion into the 2024 federal election cycle. A politics that sells moral certainty while hiding financial power is not moral politics. It is branding. For a genuinely humanist politics, morality cannot be measured by speeches about faith, family or national virtue. It must be measured by honesty, accountability and the protection of human life. This contradiction is especially visible around Trump-era conservatism and well-funded pro-Israel lobbying. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) says its members help elect Democrats and Republicans who support the U.S.-Israel alliance, and it also states that its members and donors are Americans, not agents of the Israeli government. Those facts matter. Criticism of lobbying is not criticism of …

Trump names inexperienced ally Bill Pulte as intelligence chief

Trump names inexperienced ally Bill Pulte as intelligence chief

Published by Sam Flores

Federal Housing Finance Agency chief Bill Pulte – who is known for publicly attacking Trump’s political enemies – was named as the acting director of national intelligence (DNI), replacing Tulsi Gabbard. Read moreTrump intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard resigns Gabbard, herself a controversial pick for the job, resigned in late May, ending a tenure that saw her appear to be at odds with Trump over his war on Iran. The DNI – who heads the US intelligence community and serves as the president’s main advisor on intelligence issues – is legally required to have “extensive national security expertise”, which Pulte lacks. Trump hailed Pulte in a social media post announcing the appointment, saying he “has deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America, the safety and soundness of the Markets”. The president added that Pulte, who also leads mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, will continue to serve in his housing-related roles. Pulte, 38, has been described by some US media as the president’s “attack dog”. Pulte has accused Democratic Senator Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General …

Pro-Trump candidate lead in Colombia ‘part of Donroe doctrine’ asserting itself in region

Pro-Trump candidate lead in Colombia ‘part of Donroe doctrine’ asserting itself in region

Published by Sam Flores

Pro-Trump lawyer Aberaldo de la Espriella pulled ahead as a leader in Colombia’s race for the presidency in the first round of elections over the weekend, capitalizing on a growing appetite for heavy-handed crackdowns on criminal groups across Latin America. Speaking with FRANCE 24’s Mark Owen, Christopher Sabatini, Senior Research Fellow on the Americas at Chatham House, says that “this is really again a part of what’s unfortunately called the ‘Donroe’ doctrine asserting itself in partisan politics in Latin America”. Keywords for this article Source link

Centenary of Marilyn Monroe: ‘Just as relevant now as she was then’

Centenary of Marilyn Monroe: ‘Just as relevant now as she was then’

Published by Sam Flores

Oliver Farry is pleased to welcome Michelle MORGAN, Marilyn Monroe biographer. Author of The Seven Year Itch, and the Birth of an Unlikely Feminist. One hundred years after the birth of Marilyn Monroe, the actress remains one of the most recognisable cultural figures of the twentieth century. Yet, as biographer Michelle Morgan argues in this centenary interview, the enduring fascination with Monroe often obscures the complexity of the woman behind the image. Far from being merely the glamorous “dumb blonde” immortalised by popular culture, Monroe emerges as a determined, intellectually curious, and surprisingly modern figure who challenged the limitations imposed upon her by Hollywood and society alike. Keywords for this article Source link

How to handle armed groups? Colombians vote in presidential election

How to handle armed groups? Colombians vote in presidential election

Published by Sam Flores

Colombians are heading to the polls Sunday. With current president Gustavo Petro stepping down, the search for his successor is seen as a referendum on his leftist social policies and response to growing violence in the country. Left-wing candidate Ivan Cepeda, who says he will continue pursuing peace accords with armed groups, is leading in the polls. But he faces stark opposition from the more hawkish right. Trump-loving millionaire lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella and Paloma Valencia, who comes from one of Colombia’s most important conservative dynasties, both favor harsher crackdowns on guerrilla groups. Details by Caroline Baum. Keywords for this article Source link

“Fujimori never again!” Protesters fill streets of Lima ahead of Peru presidential elections

“Fujimori never again!” Protesters fill streets of Lima ahead of Peru presidential elections

Published by Sam Flores

In Peru, hundreds of demonstrators marched through Lima on Saturday to protest against Keiko Fujimori’s candidacy and her family’s political dynasty. They fear that, if elected, she will continue her father’s authoritarian regime. Keiko Fujimori came out on top in the first round of the presidential election and will face left-wing candidate Roberto Sánchez in the second round on June 7. Details by Eliza Herbert. Keywords for this article Source link

Colombia votes in presidential election pitting Petro allies against pro-Trump candidates

Colombia votes in presidential election pitting Petro allies against pro-Trump candidates

Published by Sam Flores

Colombians cast their ballots Sunday in the first round of the South American nation’s presidential election, choosing between candidates with radically diverging visions for the future of peace in a country haunted by decades of armed conflict.  The vote, seen as a referendum on outgoing President Gustavo Petro’s policies, comes 10 years after Colombia signed an historic peace pact with guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.  That agreement offered hope to break the nation out of a vicious cycle of fighting between rebel groups and the government but violence has roared back since then, coming to a head in the lead-up to the presidential vote. Criminal groups have increasingly launched drone strikes, armed attacks have plagued the race and last June, 39-year-old politician and presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe Turbay was fatally shot at a political rally. In a country where the fight for peace has long been a part of the political ethos, the question of how to address the conflict is once again dividing the country. There are 14 candidates on …

How to to end edemic violence in Colombia? Presidential elections to take place on Sunday

How to to end edemic violence in Colombia? Presidential elections to take place on Sunday

Published by Sam Flores

Colombia is going to the polls this Sunday. The presidential election is set to determine Gustavo Petro’s successor. Violence is at the heart of this campaign: armed groups are stepping up their attacks, and each candidate has their own proposals for how to prevent it. Violence is an endemic problem in the country that has been ravaged by conflict for decades. Story by Eliza Herbert and Antoine Fenaux. Keywords for this article Source link