NM's blog

An interview with Chris Kaspar de Ploeg

Is the human right to housing backed by local, state, national, or international law? If so, how is it being so flagrantly flouted? If a right is something you are actionably entitled to do or have, does the right to housing still exist absent the ability to wield it? Can rights endure without state power (or some other source of collective control) to enact and enforce them? Why does the 'richest' country on earth have “ over one hundred thousand people sleep in homeless shelters…and over three-quarters of a million people are homeless?” Related An excerpt from Samuel Stein's A Right to Housing?

Claims on Facebook Claim: China’s most infamous traitor, General Wu Sangui; the guy who opened the gates of the Great Wall and allowed the Manchu hordes to invade China.  Why would someone compare that with Merkel in Germany accepting a million or so refugees? While rhetorically powerful for anti-immigration commentators, the comparison collapses under historical scrutiny: Intent and Motivation:  General Wu Sangui acted out of  military desperation and personal vengeance  to defeat domestic rebels, knowing he was allying with an invading military force. Merkel acted out of  humanitarian duty  to address a massive humanitarian crisis during the Syrian civil war. Nature of the Influx:  Wu Sangui let in a  highly organized, hostile military army  intent on conquest and regime change. Merkel accepted  disarmed, displaced civilian refugees  seeking asylum under international law. The Outcome:  Wu’s actions immediately led to the...