Why Isn't the "Swing Producer" Swinging?
The price of oil is hovering around $50 per barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude, and $60 per barrel of Brent crude, the lowest levels since the global economic downturn [http://www.merip.org/mer/mer252] of 2008-2009. Until the end of February, when they rebounded slightly, oil prices had been drSome Good News from the Middle East
There’s not much good news coming out of the Middle East these days. But one reason to take heart is the progress of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the West. Even as new conflicts sprout up elsewhere, a three-decade standoff between Tehran and Washington could be heading for a breakthrough.McJihad, the Film
The themes of Adam Curtis’ new documentary Bitter Lake [http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p02gyz6b/adam-curtis-bitter-lake] should be well known to those familiar with his body of work: power, techno-politics, science, managerialism and the media. The film uses the contemporary history of AfghaniFrom Sinai to Lampedusa: An Eritrean Journey
Two human tragedies will forever scar Eritreans’ memories of the past decade, during which hundreds of thousands fled repression and despair in their homeland to seek sanctuary in more open, democratic societies: the brutal kidnapping, torture and ransom of refugees in the Egyptian Sinai and the dro