It was an attempted auto-coup: The Cline Center’s Coup d’État project categorizes the January 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol Cline Center for Advanced Social Research December 15, 2022
Using the Cline Center’s Coup d’État Project definitions, the storming of the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021 was an attempted coup d’état: an organized, illegal attempt to intervene in the presidential transition by displacing the power of the Congress to certify the election. In terms of the type of coup attempt, the complex nature of this event leads it to be categorized as both an attempted auto-coup and as an attempted dissident coup, reflecting the distinctive activities of different actors involved in the event.
Category Archives: Obtaining income through the government – rent seeking – corruption
Uncommon Wealth: Britain and the Aftermath of Empire by Kojo Koram

Review: Uncommon Wealth by Kojo Koram Leah Cowan Red Pepper September 11, 2022
A book that cuts through tabloid headlines to examine the material legacy of colonialism: extreme wealth for an elite few; poverty for the rest.
Review of Gangsters of Capitalism by Jonathan M. Katz

Maj. Gen. Smedley Butler: A Marine hero who saw himself as a ‘racketeer for capitalism’ Reviewed by Eric Rauchway Washington Post January 21, 2022
Actions to reduce harm 2021
(Certainly governments, corporations and other organizations do take actions to reduce harm or otherwise improve the lives of the people. This is often, even typically, the result of political action by citizens. This post gives examples.)
Deutsche Bank whistleblower gets $200 Million bounty for tip on Libor misconduct Mengqi Sun and Dave Michaels Wall Street Journal October 21, 2021
The payout is the largest ever by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Harm through the government 2021
Federal judge files recusal notices in 138 cases after WSJ queries Coulter Jones, Joe Palazzolo and James V. Grimaldi Wall Street Journal November 2, 2021
Rodney Gilstrap initially argued he didn’t violate financial-conflicts law
How corruption ruined Lebanon Rania Abouzeid New York Times October 28, 2021
The deadly port blast, the triple-digit inflation, the energy shortages — Lebanon’s many crises have a shared root: misrule by a self-dealing elite.