Comparative Politics

How unfortunate the end of the Afghanistan War was. We abandoned our allies AGAIN and people still facing the repercussions as we enter possibly another conflict in the Middle East. We have learned nothing.

Interesting that they just passed this new piece of climate legislation and no one is speaking about it. Will eliminate chemical from all consumer and industrial products that is 20 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in our atmosphere.

I hadn't heard this.

UN suspects Russia blew up two pipe lines and have vowed a united front to combat Russia's underhand war tactics.

I don't know about this one. The Nord Stream project cost the Russian state tremendous amounts of money. For the duration of the war, Russia has been tempting Germany, the primary consumer of Russian gas, with the proposition that if they stop providing aid to Ukraine, they will turn the faucets back on and let the Germans have gas. Now suddenly that diplomatic advantage is gone. For all the Machiavellian plans the Kremlin cooks up, this doesn't feel like their work. If the Russian pipeline was sabotaged, it would have been done by a faction opposed to Russian interests.

Has there been any news on this since Sept 22? All I've heard is about efforts to stem the leaks.

UK Interior Minister Suella Braverman resigned on wednesday due to a controversy regarding her sending an official document from her personal email. She is the second cabinet member to resign in the past week. Braverman wrote. "I have concerns about the direction of this government. Not only have we broken key pledges that were promised to our voters, but I have had serious concerns about this government's commitment to honouring manifesto commitments, such as reducing overall migration."

Precisely what got Hillary Clinton in trouble. And, as with Clinton, was this tempest in a teapot a foil for, as Braverman suggests, just getting rid of her? Maybe we should discuss the challenges of totally separating work from personal internet-based communications! You'll likely face this in your adult life.

Former German Chancellor is suing the German parliament because his privileges of funding were rescinded because of his close ties to Russia's energy companies.

I wondered what those privileges were: Schröder -- who served from 1998 to 2005 -- had lost the right to funding he previously received for his office space and staff.

Unsustainable workloads and low morale among family doctors, according to MPs, must be addressed immediately. The lack of medics in any general practice is endangering the safety of millions.

What's the solution--higher taxes so the publicly funded health system can take care of its people? What is getting in the way of this is central to the current turmoil in Britain. It would be interesting/fun to dig deeper.

South Africa is a water scarce country. Its water resource are comparatively small for a nation with its population, and this deficit has caused water scarcity many times in the past. However, this time the water shortage is not due to low supply, but rather poor management. South Africa has woefully insufficient infrastructure spending, and facilities have not been majorly improved since the seventies. Current estimates put the share of municipal non-revenue water as high as 41%, i.e. 41% of the water that leaves reservoirs and treatment facilities is lost to leakage before it reaches consumers.

Question that might require research to answer: WHY does South Africa have woefully insufficient infrastructure spending? And WHY have facilities not been majorly improved since the seventies? The answers to these questions might point to solutions or to deep seated ways of thinking that get in the way of South Africa's ability to provide basic services to its population.

While Mexico is democratic and civil society is prevalent, corruption in the government and the danger posed by cartels mean big problems for activist who oppose either. Lacking government sovereignty has made it much easier for the country's cartels to carry out murders and corrupt judges have made the possibility of consequence slim.

Important article, Matteo. I'm not clear what you mean by "Lacking government sovereignty." I think you are referencing the fact that the cartels have more firepower than the police, so they can strong arm what they want? And corruption, of course, is rampant, in and out of government. How might a country with these problems return to a rule of law? It's an important question for the US as well, in the area of gun violence. Countries that have substantially lower levels of gun violence than the US have all sorts of (not necessarily the same) measures in place to keep gun violence down. Is there something about the political culture of the US that makes this impossible? Or is there a way to change the culture?

The UK is a parliamentary democracy and after Boris Johnson resigned, Liz Truss took his role as prime minister. After a series of terrible decisions, the lowest approval ratings in history, failed budget plans, and market turmoil, she has resigned.

And now Rishi Sunak is PM! Maybe the UK will finally have a competent leader. Sunak's experience is right on point.

In a 2018 decision, Australia's previous administration recognized West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. This decision was reversed, however, on Tuesday, as the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has stated that Australia is in support of peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. Israel Prime Minister Yair Lapid has since denounced the decision, saying it was a "a hasty response to incorrect news in the media".

Ouch!

The City of Mexico, Mexico's largest state, approved same-sex marriage on Tuesday. There are now only 3 states left out of 32 in Mexico that have not approved same-sex marriage. Currently, Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina have the highest amount of same-sex marriages in Latin America

Woot!

Say's something about the unpopularity of Mexican politicians that Eugenio Derbez, a movie actor, outperformed most of Mexico's traditional opposition parties (PRI, PAN, PRD). However, the current president, Lopez Obrador, still rides on historically high approval ratings and is intent on framing himself and his party (Morena) as disruptors to the status quo.

Good find, Alec. It's weird - maybe not - that similar things have happened in Brazil (where one former president ostentatiously watched a Soap Opera after refusing to participate in a candidate debate); and Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a lead role in a popular TV show in Ukraine. Not to mention former president Trump, who came to fame as a result of his 14 years hosting the fake shark tank show "The Apprentice."

Economist, a very reputable British news source, discusses how Britain's recent political and economic instability has begun to mirror a political pariah of Europe, Italy. Both have seen political turmoil in the form of political resignations and 4 prime ministers in the past 7 years, as well as the standstill in British politics are all examples of this close comparison. It will be interesting to see whether the UK will be able to dig themselves out of this hole.

funny-ironic-sad. And on point. But now Rishi Sunak is the UK's new Prime Minister, former Finance Minister, first PM of color in UK history. Background: Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister on 25 October 2022. He was previously appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer from 13 February 2020 to 5 July 2022. He was Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 24 July 2019 to 13 February 2020, and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government from 9 January 2018 to 24 July 2019. source: https://www.gov.uk/government/people/rishi-sunak Fun fact: Sunak and his partner might be wealthier than the royal family.

These allegations are interesting considering the aid Germany has been giving Ukraine regarding weapons, technology, and refuge for Ukraine. It is even more interesting, however, how it took a comedy TV show to bring this to the attention of the German government.

Yeah, very interesting germany's stance with its oil dependency on Russia.

President Vladimir Putin is "doubling down" the security across all of Russia, especially along the border. This is due to the counterattack from Ukraine which has taken some of Russia's own territory but also continues to attack Russian settlements along the border of the country. To carry out President Putin's decree, all regional governors have been ordered to set up "operational headquarters" which are ordered to "meet the needs of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, other troops and troop formations"

Disrupting large events and especially important pieces of art has been a trend in climate activism recently, at least the most documented/reported. Although this tactic may get the conversation started, in my opinion, it drives away many people who could (but don't) climate activism.

Yeah, I agree -- it makes the climate movement seem irrational rather than scientific.

It's crazy/a little sad that this is what some people feel like they have to resort to in order to spread the word. I understand that they usually have the right intentions however this can also just be seen as something done for publicity/attention.

Interesting how Walker is attempting to harness feelings around safety and law enforcement to propel him to the senate.

This election seems like choosing the lesser of two evils for Brazil, whichever that may mean for them. Bolsonar has used far-right fiery rhetoric to denounce climate change, social reform, and the West, while Lula was unable to run in the last election because of corruption charges. Many analysts see this election as a tipping point for Brazil on many issues, including poverty, education, and environmental protection. Neither side was able to secure the win in the first round of voting, but Lula is in the lead and Bolsonaro came in at a much closer second than many pollsters anticipated. It will be interesting to see what the next 4 weeks will hold.

Brazil usually has a pretty high voter turnout (around 80%). I wonder if that will stay the same or if it will drop in this election.