Then Rashida Tlaib won a hard-fought Democratic primary race for an open seat representing Michigan in the US House of Representatives, she signaled that she will go to Congress as what she has always been: a speak-truth-to-power activist. “I will fight back against every racist and oppressive structure that needs to be dismantled,” Tlaib declared in her victory speech early Wednesday morning. Tlaib is serious about structural change. She’s a champion when it comes to resistance to Trump and Trumpism. But she is determined to move beyond resistance and usher in a new era of progressive governance—one in which civil-rights protections are…

Candidate Donald Trump campaigned against Washington’s foolish Middle East wars. President Donald Trump is threatening Tehran with the equivalent of fire and fury. After decades of American attacks on Iran, what Trump should be doing is changing course. The president erupted against Iran on Twitter earlier this week in an outburst that was even more hysterical than his tirade against North Korea last year. “NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE,” he tweeted. “WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED…

From militancy in the southern Philippines to hardline preachers taking shelter in Malaysia, politicized forms of conservative Islam are on the rise in Southeast Asia. Encouraged by governments and local elites who seek to draw legitimacy from local traditions, extremist thought is spreading among young people across the region. Nowhere is this more evident and more worrying than in Indonesia, the region’s largest and most populous Muslim state, home to 260 million people, 87 percent of whom are Sunni Muslims. A young democracy with a history of religious tolerance toward its Christian and Hindu minorities, Indonesia has nevertheless had to wage…

Iraqis disagree about many things but on one topic they are united: they believe they live in the most corrupt country in the world, barring a few where there is nothing much to steal. They see themselves as victims of a kleptomaniac state where hundreds of billions of dollars have disappeared into the pockets of the ruling elite over the past 15 years, while everybody else endures shortages of everything from jobs and houses to water and electricity. The popular rage against the political class that came to power in 2003 explains why the movement led by the populist-nationalist cleric…

The US is the richest country on Earth, the third largest, and one of only two superpowers (the other being China). So it makes sense that foreign policy for such an influential country might be complex. But it’s often bizarre, too. From the contradictory to the just plain strange, there are plenty of US policy decisions that can only be described as “weird.” 10Nearly Voting Against Itself At The United Nations https://listverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/10-cuba-resolution_000018961549_Small-300x177.jpg 300w, https://listverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/10-cuba-resolution_000018961549_Small-407x240.jpg 407w, https://listverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/10-cuba-resolution_000018961549_Small-364x215.jpg 364w" sizes="(max-width: 632px) 100vw, 632px" style="border:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;margin:0px;padding:0px;max-width:100%;height:auto;transition:opacity 0.25s ease-in"> Every year, the countries of the United Nations gather to pass judgment on the continued embargo…