Archive | June, 2011

  Executive Summary: The Brazilian economy grew by 4.2 percent annually from 2004-2010, more than double its annual growth from 1999-2003 or indeed its growth rate over the prior quarter century.  This growth was accompanied by a significant reduction in poverty and extreme poverty, especially after 2005, as well as reduced inequality.  This paper looks […]

With the exception of Marxism, republicanism might be the most abused, misused, and misunderstood of all the political traditions produced by the West.  In recent decades, the concept has been selectively appropriated by ideologists from across the political spectrum in service of whatever dismal policy agenda they happen to be flogging at the moment — […]

About 25,000 people took part in a march in central Tel Aviv on Saturday evening supporting the establishment of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders. The march ended with a rally at the Tel Aviv Museum.  MKs Dov Khenin (Hadash), Daniel Ben-Simon (Labor), Nino Abesadze (Kadima), and Zahava Galon (Meretz); the Mayor of […]

Ollanta Humala’s apparent presidential electoral victory in Peru represents a consolidation of the gains made by left-leaning leaders in South America over the past decade, Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) Co-Director Mark Weisbrot said today. “Democracy, national and regional independence, and economic and social progress have gone hand-in-hand with South America’s leftward political […]

In January the government of the United States of America saw fit to seize $4.207 million in funds allocated to Cuba by the United Nations Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria for the first quarter of 2011, Cuba has charged.  The UN Fund is a $22 billion a year program that works to […]

  So Syrian opposition groups met in Antalya.  I closely followed that conference and read about their deliberations and received reports about it. There are Syrian leftists who argue with me constantly that I should not reduce the Syrian opposition to lousy Khaddam or lousy Ma’mun Humsi (a tool of Hariri Inc.) or lousy war […]

The term financial liberalisation is used to cover a whole set of measures, such as the autonomy of the Central Bank from the government; the complete freedom of finance to move into and out of the economy, which implies the full convertibility of the currency; the abandonment of all “priority sector” lending targets; an end […]

Since early this morning, PAME members have symbolically occupied the Ministry of Economy and Finance, calling upon workers to rise up and stop the government’s barbaric anti-labor measures.  All out for the demonstration today, Omonoia Square, 7 PM.  General Strike! The All Workers Militant Front, PAME, is a coordination center of Greek trade unions, founded […]

On Friday, more than two months after President Obama ordered U.S. forces into a war of choice in Libya without Congressional authorization, and more than two weeks after the expiration of the 60 day limit of the War Powers Resolution for the unauthorized use of force, the House finally debated and voted on the deployment […]

  June 2, 2011 Dear Colleague: Yesterday, NATO announced it would continue combat operations in Libya for at least another 90 days.  NATO.  The President went to NATO on Libya, not the U.S. Congress, as the Constitution requires.  The U.S. has thus far provided 93% of the cruise missiles, 66% of the personnel, 50% of […]

“As for US AID, we’re ready.  A lot of US AID.  The important thing: Don’t depend on yourself, and keep depending on us.  Otherwise you won’t listen to us.  Then, we’ll be angry.  As for the topic of Palestine, we want to find a solution.  We’ll recognize your country on the 67 borders.”  “Mr. President, […]

This poster was produced to commemorate the “setback” (naksa): the 1967 war that Israel waged and that resulted in the loss of the Sinai, the Golan, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank.  While a dark moment in history, it nonetheless planted the seeds that will lead to eventual victory (nasr) and a restoration of Palestine […]

The unemployment rate edged up again in May, reaching 9.1 percent, as the rate of private-sector job growth slowed to just 83,000.  There were also downward revisions to the prior two months data, which lowered the average for the last three months to 160,000, approximately 70,000 more than what is needed to keep pace with […]

Samir Amin is director of the Third World Forum in Dakar, Senegal and author of The Liberal Virus (Monthly Review Press, 2004), The World We Wish to See (Monthly Review Press, 2008), and most recently The Law of Worldwide Value (Monthly Review Press, 2010). This article was translated by Shane Henry Mage. The year 2011 […]

In just a few days, on June 5th, an election will take place that will have a significant influence on the Western Hemisphere.  At the moment it is too close to call.  Most of official Washington has been relatively quiet, but there is no doubt that the Obama Administration has a big stake in the […]

  A few months ago, just walking too close to the Military Prosecution Complex in Cairo’s district of Nasr City could have landed you in jail.  But on May 31, the area surrounding the complex was the stage for a demonstration in solidarity with OnTV’s presenter Reem Maged, socialist activist and blogger Hossam El Hamalawy, […]

“It wasn’t our ability to create wealth that brought about growth.  Instead, growth was driven by the creation of wealth itself.  And this growth only existed thanks to the debt.” Aleix Saló is a cartoonist in Barcelona.  Subtitles by Cristian Scott.  For more information about Españistán, visit <estepaissevaalamierda.wordpress.com>. var idcomments_acct = ‘c90a61ed51fd7b64001f1361a7a71191’; var idcomments_post_id; var […]

“Pity the nation that wears a cloth it does not weave, eats a bread it does not harvest, and drinks a wine that flows not from its own wine-press.” — Khalil Gibran 3.5 million farmers produce food for the Egyptian people each year.  36% of the Egyptian population work in agriculture. “My ancestors used to […]

“You better keep ’em far away from the water supply.”

One less emphasised lesson from the global financial crisis was that developing countries that are successful in attracting foreign financial investors take a hit when such a crisis occurs because of a reverse flow of capital.  Foreign financial firms needing to cover losses or meet commitments at home withdraw their capital, generating a credit crunch […]