Fair Observer

1 week ago | fairobserver.com | John Feffer

The clean energy transition that the Biden administration touted as the focus of its industrial policy required large amounts of mineral inputs. Batteries for electric vehicles depend on lithium, solar panels contain gallium and molybdenum, and powerful magnets in wind turbines can’t be built without rare earth elements.

1 week ago | fairobserver.com | Neetu Chandak

The credibility of elite universities has fallen far, and not without reason. For decades, admissions offices singled out Asian-American applicants for unfairly high admissions standards while pretending to care about fairness and “equity.” Academic journals, blinded by ideology, fell victim to obvious hoax papers on topics such as rape culture in dog parks. Diversity, equity and inclusion statements became mandatory loyalty oaths to progressive causes during faculty hiring.

2 weeks ago | fairobserver.com | Josep M. Colomer

The current geopolitical changes are less alarming than they tend to be presented. This mirage may partly result from an unusually long period of single-superpower dominance along with the human tendency to consider only the events and situations remembered from the lives of current generations. If we look back a little further, we can see that the world has always been a fluid soup shaped by fluctuating collusions and rivalries between multiple empires.

3 weeks ago | fairobserver.com | Roberta Campani

Latin American politics have long fascinated and unsettled the world. From afar, the region looks like a vast political laboratory where everything is tried before it’s exported: revolutions, liberalizations, debt traps, military coups and grassroots awakenings. It’s where ideology stretches to extremes and sometimes loops back on itself. Even the humblest figures, if they make it to the top, are watched with the intensity usually reserved for prophets or pariahs.

3 weeks ago | fairobserver.com | John Feffer

Atul Singh: Welcome to FO° Talks. With me is John Feffer — a friend, an author, a spokesman and a nature lover. He’s written many articles for Fair Observer. He has a great understanding of international affairs, and he’s indeed a citizen of the world. Today, we will speak to John about Why US Soft Power Is Now Declining Dramatically. Now, welcome, John, and let’s get cracking. John Feffer: Sounds good. Thanks for having me. Atul Singh: Great to have you, John.