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Weathered sign reading "Polling Station" hanging outside, set against a stone wall and pavement.
Pixabay | John Mounsey

Voter Suppression and the Threat to Democracy

Tactics have always been used to ecourage people to vote one way or another. Here we cover the increasingly damaging practice of actually reducing the number of voters in specific targetted groups or areas. This will then reduce the chance of success of competition. We have included examples of intimidaion, depriving people of the right to vote, and of incredibly inconvenient voting conditions, such as expensive ID's, odd opening hours, queuing systems, and difficult locations for polling stations.

Voter Suppression and the Threat to Democracy
Elvert Barnes

Gun Control in the U.S.

Gun violence in the United States is once again in the headlines, following two mass shootings in less than a week, one in Florida and the other in California. As these unfortunate events continue to occur, the need to address gun control laws is evident, and both President Biden and Vice President Harris urged the Senate, once again, to take immediate action. The epidemic of gun violence has left an average of 225 mass shootings so far in 2021 alone. The Biden administration has unveiled several actions to tighten restrictions and strengthen background checks, but the power is in the Senate, which now, with a narrow Democratic majority, can take the necessary steps to stop the continuing loss of human lives.

Gun Control in the U.S.
A 3D rendering of a world map made from scattered red and white pills against a gray background.
Pixabay | Jukka Niittymaa

Who is Winning in the War on Drugs?

On 17 June it will be 50 years since Nixon's declaration of the War on Drugs, five decades later, and this war has cost US taxpayers billions of dollars, and has caused great harm to many people and communities, not only within the United States, but around the world. During his campaign, President Biden said that, more than a war, this is a substance abuse problem, and should be addressed as a public health issue. Organised crime, which feeds on the drug trade, has undermined the governments and institutions that should fight it, and has produced perennial violence and widespread corruption. The benefits of this war are for the few, and the harms for the most vulnerable people.

Who is Winning in the War on Drugs?