In OtherWords: June 21, 2017

This week in OtherWords, we take a closer look at foreign policy.

Olivia Alperstein observes that the president seems almost over-eager to pick fights with allies and other countries, like Iran, that the U.S. has forged hard-won diplomatic agreements. But he seems to have nothing but kind words for countries like Saudi Arabia and Russia that routinely violate human rights.

Jim Hightower, meanwhile, looks at the recent news that we might be sending yet another few thousand troops to Afghanistan. If 100,000 troops couldn’t stabilize the country, he wonders, how can an extra 5,000?

And Jill Richardson, finally, reports on the Trump administration’s reversal of several mild Obama-era reforms to U.S. Cuba policy — reversals seemingly made for the lone reason that Obama had implemented them.

Also this week, Sam Pizzigati looks at the golden parachute General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt is getting as he retires, and explains why companies that pay their CEOs stratospheric figures can’t really innovate anymore. Martha Burk outlines what a pro-woman tax policy might look like. And Khalil Bendib imagines Trump tongue-tied over the news that a federal judge called his order to complete the Dakota Access pipeline unlawful.

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Khalil Bendib/ OtherWords.org

  1. Companies Can Either Make Things or Make CEOs Rich / Sam Pizzigati
    Making breakthroughs for consumers is hard, companies have found. But making fortunes for CEOs is easy.
  2. The Tax Plan Moms Need / Martha Burk
    A modest proposal: Tax corporations to help working moms afford childcare and stay-at-home moms save for retirement.
  3. Our President’s Word Wars / Olivia Alperstein
    “America First” apparently means making us the first to get mixed up in yet another endless, costly war — or three.
  4. Trump on Cuba: If Obama Did It, It’s Bad / Jill Richardson
    The president doesn’t seem interested in the details. He just wants to undo everything that came before him.
  5. Another Troop Surge in America’s Longest War / Jim Hightower
    100,000 troops couldn’t stabilize Afghanistan. What can an extra 5,000 win, besides more casualties?
  6. Tongue Tied / Khalil Bendib

This piece was reprinted from Other Words by RINF Alternative News with permission.