“Life is the mode of existence of protein bodies, the essential element of which consists in continual metabolic interchange with the natural environment outside them.”
Archive | 2018
When they occupied the land
The reason for the swift fall of Afrin was not because fighters fled, as rumored in racist anti-Kurdish circles, but because an the army of takfiris (Turkish mercenaries) advancing under the cover of Turkish bombers and some 37,000 ground troops.
From Afrin: resisting neo-fascists and the need to return to Syria
There is an indisputable righteousness in the resistance of the region’s Kurds, who are fighting in defense of their lands.
Eleanor Marx: the Jewess of Jew’s walk
Eleanor Marx changed the world. Foremother of socialist-feminism, trade unionist, internationalist, her father’s first biographer and editor of his key works, she had left a colossal heritage in many spheres of life.
The whitesplaining of history is over
When the academy was the exclusive playground of white men, it produced the theories of race, gender, and Western cultural superiority that underwrote imperialism abroad and inequality at home. In recent decades, women and people of color have been critical to producing new knowledge breaking down those long-dominant narratives. Sociological research confirms that greater diversity […]
Mao’s legacy defended, and famous swim decoded, for clueless academics
In late 1965 the rumblings of the Cultural Revolution had begun, due to grumblings over corruption, revisionism (“taking the capitalist road,” selling out socialism, etc.) and the snooty technocratism of urbanites. The party, led by Mao, saw these trends as threats to the common good, the revolution, and the Party’s “Heavenly Mandate” – the millennia-old […]
Lies, damned lies, and neocolonialism
If we don’t start challenging neoliberal hegemony soon, the non-West will eventually have little choice but to challenge it for themselves.
Morales hits back at right-wing national representatives at the Summit of the Americas
Bolivian President Evo Morales hit back today at right-wing national representatives, including U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, who attended this weekend’s Summit of the Americas in the Peruvian capital Lima.
Corbyn: UK needs ‘war powers act’ after legally questionable Syria strike
The British opposition leader said his country needs the war powers act to limit government’s control over military interventions.
History notes: A scrap book of words and actions
A compilation of relevant historical notes reflecting upon the bombing of Syria on April 13, 2018 by the United States, United Kingdom, and France.
Putin: U.S.-led attack on Syria violation of international law
The Russia president said Washington and its allies have used such strategies of unconfirmed reports to launch interventions against local governments.
Exploitation and super-exploitation
Extreme rates of exploitation in the Global South is a palpable, directly observable fact. We don’t need a theory to know this but we do need a theory if we are to understand what we can see and work out the consequences that flow from it.
Peripheral Fascism—theory and practice
A short obituary for two dear comrades: Theotonio dos Santos (Carangola, 1936 – Rio de Janeiro, 2018) and Marielle Franco (Rio de Janeiro, 1979 – Rio de Janeiro 2018).
What’s driving trade tensions between the U.S. and China
There is a lot of concern over the possibility of a trade war between China and the US. In early April President Trump announced that his administration was considering levying $100 billion of additional tariffs on Chinese exports, after the Chinese government responded to a previously proposed U.S. tariff hike on Chinese goods of $50 […]
War-bent Trump ready to go to bat for Radical Islamic terror group
On the campaign trail and during much of his time as president, Donald Trump has repeatedly railed against “radical Islamic terror,” which he once promised to eradicate “from the face of the Earth.” Less than two years into his presidency, however, Donald Trump has now threatened to attack a sovereign nation, Syria, at the behest […]
Few options for the United States in Syria
The Syrian government has won the war in the country. Two barriers to total victory remain. First, that there are pockets of rebels in the towns around Damascus and there is the province of Idlib which is controlled by rebels. Second, there are the tracts of land that are held by the United States (in […]
Growing disdain for America’s false democratic ideals
In 2017, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) downgraded the U.S. democratic system. The EIU has an annual Democracy index that provides a snapshot of global democracy by rating countries on five categories: electoral process and pluralism; civil liberties; functioning of government; political participation; and political culture. They are then classified into four types of governments: […]
The United States is an oligarchy, not a democracy
In the U.S., any policy change with little support from the upper class has about a one in five chance of becoming law, while those backed by the elites triumph in about half of occasions, even when they go against majority opinion.
Who will take on the 21st century tech and media monopolies?
Facebook is under fire for (among other things) its involvement with Cambridge Analytica, a British data analytics firm funded by hedge fund billionaire and major Republican party donor Robert Mercer and formerly led by President Trump’s ex–campaign manager and strategist Steve Bannon. Cambridge Analytica harvested data from over 87 million Facebook profiles (up from Facebook’s […]
Trump to Russia: get ready to shoot down ‘smart’ missiles
U.S. President Donald Trump says Russia should be prepared to shoot many missiles out of the sky because they will be “coming, nice and new and smart.” Trump tweeted early Wednesday saying Moscow was supporting a ‘gas killing animal.’
