StarrNarrative

Tim Scott and Nikki Haley: Two of Many Republicans Who Are Anti-Union   By David Starr   While, out of utter necessity, the United Auto Workers (UAW) have gone on strike against the Big Three auto makers (Ford, General Motors and Stellantis), Republicans have been typical in their responses. They’ve been spouting anti-union propaganda.   Considering the huge profits made by the Big Three, the demands of the UAW are actually reasonable. UAW President Shawn Fain has led the way with the demands, which includes a 40% wage increase and elimination of the two-tiered wage system. Fain has shown a spine in the UAW’s dealings with the Big Three. He is justifiable in his militancy.   With the 2007 Great Recession, workers gave up a degree of their rights as part of the Big Three recovering from the economic disaster, for example, accepting a wage freeze over the length of a four-year contract and giving up a cost-of-living adjustment that matched the rate of inflation.  ...

  Ronald Reagan: A Right-Wing Nightmare By David Starr   A fitting title for the ushering in of the Ronald Reagan era would be from the Star Wars movie, “The Empire Strikes Back.” After the revolutionary fervor of the left in the 1960s and 1970s, the right feared a repeat of it in the 1980s. After Reagan won the U.S. presidency in 1980, the right felt reassured that its cause and motives would become prominent from then on. And they have gained traction. Today, the Republican Party, with significant help from Donald Trump and the MAGA movement, is veering more and more toward fascism. And many Republicans don’t seem to care.   Writing  for  The Guardian , David Aaronovitch did have something positive to say about Reagan: “Following the deployment of Cruise and Pershing missiles, he then–quite unexpectedly– engaged in a process of arms limitation and tension reduction that made it safe for [Mikhail] Gorbachev to pursue a reform program in the Soviet Union.” ...

  BRICS Attempts to Establish Multi-Polar World, Rejecting U.S.-dominated Uni-Polar World By David Starr   On August 22-24, the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) organization commenced with its 15 th  summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. BRICS Chairman Cyril Ramaphosa, who is president of South Africa, made concluding remarks about the summit in a  media briefing :   “Leading up to the Summit, there was a wide-ranging BRICS business program aimed at attracting investment, promoting collaboration and showcasing opportunities within South Africa, Africa and the BRICS countries.   “We welcome the clear vision of Ms Dilma Rousseff [from Brazil] as President of the New Development Bank on the role the bank should play in support of infrastructure and sustainable development in Africa and the Global South.   “We celebrated the 10 th  anniversary of the establishment of the BRICS Business Council and the subsequent recommendations made ...