Archive | 2019

Operation AJAX cartoon from the book, Operation Ajax: The Story of the CIA Coup that Remade the Middle East. Mike de Seve (Author), Daniel Burwen (Illustrator), Stephen Kinzer (Foreword)

Have you heard of the CIA’s Iran mission center?

In 2017, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) created a special unit—the Iran Mission Center—to focus attention on the U.S. plans against Iran. This predated the Trump administration.

Barbara Foley 21st Century Marxist literary criticism

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In 21st century capitalism, Marxist theory remains a crucial means to interpret the socioeconomic present and potentials for political change. But Marxism as a method is also important culturally, in understanding the ideas, attitudes and beliefs that exist today, and how they have developed historically through various social forces.

Karl Marx II: An Analysis of my Father’s Chief Work

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The capitalist extracts surplus labour from his workpeople, for which he does not pay.

Edgar Perez, better known as the “Gordo” Edgar. (Venezuelanalysis)

Chavez, a mirror of the people: a conversation with Edgar Perez

Cira Pascual Marquina

An organizer and intellectual from Caracas’ La Vega barrio talks about the dialectical relationship between Hugo Chavez and the popular movement.

Behind the Syrian network for human rights: how an opposition front group became Western media’s go-to monitor

Max Blumenthal

Top media outlets turn to the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) for figures on deaths and detentions, never noting the group’s seamless connection to Syria’s opposition, the support it receives from states that waged war on the country, or its open lobbying for US military intervention.

The limit does not exist

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An interview with Marxist philosopher Joshua Moufawad-Paul about the science of revolution at a time when socialism is supposedly becoming mainstream.

The Iranians said the US was indulging in warmongering.

Without a shred of evidence, U.S. accuses Iran of attacking tankers

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Mike Pompeo, in a press conference, accused Iran of engineering the attacks on tankers in the Gulf of Oman. However, he cited unnamed intelligence reports and other vague references in support of his claim.

Marta Harnecker (1937-2019)

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We mourn the passing of our dear comrade, Marta Harnecker.

Capital and climate in the critique of the State

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This is the second in a series of posts comprising a symposium on the Marxist tradition of state theory and its contemporary lineages.

Disruption in the world of trade

C.P. Chandrasekhar and Jayati Ghosh

What is noteworthy is that the deceleration in import volume growth has been particularly marked in the emerging economies of Asia and Latin America, pointing to a loss of momentum in the countries that were expected to be new growth poles in the immediate aftermath of the 2007 crisis.

Global inequality in a time of climate emergency

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Our worlds richest have a great deal of money. They also have the power to decide whether our civilization sinks or swims. So what can we do?

Xi and Putin cruising into a multipolar world- Aurora Cruiser Museum (Wikipedia)

The Unipolar Moment is over

Pepe Escobar

The Russia-China strategic partnership, consolidated last week in Russia, has thrown U.S. elites into Supreme Paranoia mode, which is holding the whole world hostage.

Some critics argue that the Internal Colony Theory is outdated. Here’s why they’re wrong

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The internal neocolonialism thesis is not “race-centric” but anti-colonial, and explains Black elite behavior.

Peace is a word that the West has taken from the Afghans

Vijay Prashad

The war on Afghanistan has been ugly. Death is one consequence of war—2019 has been the deadliest year for civilians since the United States first began to bomb Afghanistan in 2001. Starvation is another—according to the UN, half of the population will need food assistance over the course of this year.

Venezuela's President and presidential candidate Hugo Chavez gestures to supporters during his closing campaign rally in Caracas October 4, 2012. REUTERS/Tomas Bravo (VENEZUELA - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS)

Chavez the Radical XXIV: “The Land Belongs to Those Who Work It, not to the Large Landowners”

TatuyTV

The latest episode of Tatuy TV’s “Chavez the Radical” focuses on the question of land ownership in Venezuela, an issue that remains at the heart of the struggle in the countryside.

The City Hall (Dutch: Stadhuis) of Antwerp, Belgium, stands on the western side of Antwerp's Grote Markt (Great Market Square). Erected between 1561 and 1565 after designs made by Cornelis Floris de Vriendt and several other architects and artists, this Renaissance building incorporates both Flemish and Italian influences. The City Hall is inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List along with the belfries of Belgium and France. Margaret of Parma hands over the keys to the city, by Henri Leys In the 16th century Antwerp became one of the busiest trading ports and most prosperous cities in Northern Europe. The municipal authorities wished to replace Antwerp's small medieval town hall with a more imposing structure befitting the prosperity of the great port city. Antwerp architect Domien de Waghemakere drafted a plan (c. 1540) for a new building in a style typical of the monumental Gothic town halls of Flanders and Brabant. But the threat of war prevented any progress on the project. The building materiasl intended for the city hall were instead used to shore up the city defenses. Not until about 1560 new plans were developed. In the meantime Gothic architecture had gone out of fashion. The new designs for the city hall were in the new Renaissance style. Completed in 1565, the building lasted hardly a decade before being burnt to a shell in the Spanish Fury of 1576. It was restored three years later. The low arcaded ground story is of rusticated stone, and at one time housed little shops. Above are two stories with Doric and Ionic columns separating large mullioned windows, and a fourth story forming an open gallery. The richly ornamented central section, which rises above the eaves in diminishing stages, holds female statues representing Justice, Prudence, and the Virgin Mary, and bears the coats of arms of the Duchy of Brabant, the Spanish Habsburgs, and the Margraviate of Antwerp. Renovations during the late 19th century by architects Pierre Bruno Bourla, Joseph

Belgium Worker’s Party obtains excellent results in federal, regional and European elections

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After a phenomenal and social campaign, the Belgian Workers’ Party (PTB-PVDA) has confirmed its progress throughout the country, with results ranging from 6.6% in Flanders to over 12% in Brussels and 13.5% in Wallonia. The genuine left thus sends 12 members to the federal parliament, 1 member to the European Parliament, 11 members to the […]

To survive: we need a global awakening much bigger than a “revolution,” much deeper than just ending capitalism

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The climate apocalypse will soon kill all of us (including the plutocrats), if we don’t take drastic measures right away. But the plutocrats are blocking those measures, because they don’t want anything cutting into their short-term profits. In this video I discuss the crazy culture that has us headed toward extinction. To survive, we need […]

Capitalism, populism & crisis of liberalism

Jipson John and Jitheesh P. M.

In this long interview with Jipson John and Jitheesh P.M., Akeel Bilgrami speaks at length on the concepts of populism, liberalism, fascism, postmodernism and post-truth.