Z Nightly Commentaries
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Recent Z Nightly Commentaries
Weisbrot: What About the Trade Deficit?
May 15, 2002
The much-feared Federal budget deficit is back in the news: the latest projections show it could be twice as high in the coming year as previously thought. Should anyone be worried?
Wise: Anti-Semitism, Real and Imagined
May 02, 2002
Watching former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speak to Congress a few weeks ago, I must admit, I was almost sucked in. No, not by his distorted version of reality in the Occupied Territories, nor by his opportunistic and transparently disingen
Weisbrot: The Myth Of The Global Economy
Mar 31, 2002
Now that the US recession is over (Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has pronounced it), it is worth glancing back at the widespread concerns of a global economic slowdown that prevailed just a few months ago. These fears turned out to be overblown
Weisbrot: Imf Playing With Fire In Argentina
Feb 22, 2002
Imf Playing With Fire In Argentina
Wise: Selling the Police: Reflections on Heroism and Hype in America
Feb 06, 2002
An e-mail arrives in my inbox, recommending a website that seeks to explain--one might say rationalize--the mutiple killings of black men by Cincinnati police over the past few years. Its sender, who feels I should "get my facts straight," takes issue wit
Wise: Rationalizing Racism: Panic And Profiling After 9/11
Jan 16, 2002
Random security checks. ThatÕs what theyÕre called anyway: those extra bag searches and body scans being done at airports across the U.S., presumably to deter a new round of terrorist attacks. On each flight, a handful of passengers are pulled aside and g
Wise: Playing the World War Two Card: Nostalgia in the Crusade Against Terrorism
Dec 16, 2001
Traveling through airports, as I often do, can prove to be quite an educational experience. Therein, one can engage in people watching, examine the culinary habits of corporate types and tourists, and occasionally gain insight into the mindset of ones fel
Weisbrot: The New Economy?
Dec 08, 2001
In economic history, great myths are often made and sustained not so much by the difficulty of the subject matter, but by the failure of the discussants to look at the readily available data. America's longest business cycle expansion, which has now been
Weisbrot: What Everyone Should Know About Nicaragua
Nov 09, 2001
The United States' first post-September 11 foray into Latin American politics -- in Nicaragua's election -- provides a glimpse of how Washington's new "counter-terrorism" policy may play out in this region.
Wise: Holding Terrorists Accountable? It Depends on the Color and the Cause...
Nov 04, 2001
Members of his terrorist organization and network have killed Americans, on American soil. Those inspired by his message have engaged in a mass atrocity: blowing innocent people out of their offices as the building where they worked crumbled to the ground
Weisbrot: Protecting Pharmaceutical Companies from the Threat of Bio-Terrorism
Oct 29, 2001
Some principles are so important that they cannot be violated even in a time of national emergency. One of those, it now appears, is the principle of patent rights for multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical companies.
Wise: WhoÕs Being Na•ve? War-Time Realism Through the Looking Glass
Oct 28, 2001
To hear those who support the current air assault on Afghanistan tell it, those of us who doubt the likely efficacy of such a campaign, and who question its fundamental morality are not only insufficiently patriotic but dangerously na•ve.
Wise: Who’s Being Naïve? War-Time Realism Through the Looking Glass
Oct 28, 2001
To hear those who support the current air assault on Afghanistan tell it, those of us who doubt the likely efficacy of such a campaign, and who question its fundamental morality are not only insufficiently patriotic but dangerously naïve.
Weisbrot: Trading on Tragedy
Oct 12, 2001
Every crisis and tragedy is an opportunity for some, as any ambulance-chasing lawyer can tell you. We expect the Pentagon to lard its already bloated budget, and Attorney General John Ashcroft to chip away at the Bill of Rights, all in the name of the War
Weissman: The Big Bank's Dirty Little Secret
Oct 10, 2001
What is the purpose of law enforcement? To enforce the law, and make public the results. What deterrent effect does law enforcement have if the public is not aware of the results of the law enforcement? Not much.
Wise: Some Folks Never Felt Safe: The Truth Behind National Unity
Oct 08, 2001
"We stand united," comes the proclamation from America's political leaders and national media. "Americans are pulling together like never before," say still others, in the wake of the horrific attacks of September 11.
Weissman: Respond to Violence: Teach Peace, Not War
Sep 15, 2001
Open the Washington Post to it's editorial pages, and war talk dominates.
Weisbrot: IMF "Rescue" Won't Help Latin America
Sep 07, 2001
When I was a child growing up in Chicago, we heard stories of lifeguards who saved panicked, drowning beach-goers by first knocking them out with a punch to the face, then hauling them to shore. This seemed like a risky strategy to me, and I never knew if
Wise: Reflections on Zionism From a Dissident Jew
Sep 05, 2001
So itÕs official. The U.S. has withdrawn from theÊWorld Conference on Racism, being held inÊDurban, South Africa. And thoughÊthe cynical and historically observant might suspect that this decision was merely in keeping withÊour longstanding unwillingness
May 16, 2002
WebsterÕs New World Dictionary defines democracy as, among other things, Òthe principle of equality of rights, opportunity and treatment, or the practice of this principle.Ó Keep this in mind, as weÕll be coming back to it shortly.