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News updates or analysis.
Credit Rating Agencies
Rating Agency: “Don’t take it wrong, but some companies are paying me to come here to tell you that you have no future.” Juan Ramón Mora is a cartoonist in Barcelona. This cartoon was first published in his blog on 14 July 2011 under a Creative Commons license. Translation by Yoshie Furuhashi (@yoshiefuruhashi | […]
From Economic to Social Crisis: Deficits, Debt, and a Little Class History
Throughout its history, capitalism never succeeded in preventing recurring economic cycles or crises. However, they were usually contained within the system. Economic crises usually did not become social crises; the system itself was usually not called into question. Transition to a different system was then an idea kept away from public discussion, a project kept […]
Kaiser Election Results KOed: Judge Orders Rematch between SEIU and NUHW
When the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) defeated the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) in balloting among 43,000 workers at Kaiser Permanente (KP) last October, SEIU Executive Vice President Dave Regan was exultant. SEIU’s victory was “a huge achievement,” he said. “NUHW is now, for all intents and purposes, irrelevant. We’re thrilled.” On a […]
Revolt in the Arab World, But Not in Iran — Why?
Iran is a different case because the country already had a revolution in 1979. Even those Iranians who are in the opposition called for reform within the system rather than revolution. It is not a climate of fear that explains the survival of the Islamic Republic but the absence of revolutionary fervour. No state can […]
Brazil Needs to Quit Haiti
U.S. diplomatic cables now released from Wikileaks make it clearer than ever before that foreign troops occupying Haiti for more than seven years have no legitimate reason to be there; that this a U.S. occupation, as much as in Iraq or Afghanistan; that it is part of a decades-long U.S. strategy to deny Haitians the […]
The Gang of Six Plan: Tax Cuts for the Wealthy, and Social Security Cuts for Ordinary Workers
The budget plan produced by the Senate’s “Gang of Six” offers the promise of huge tax breaks for some of the wealthiest people in the country, while lowering Social Security benefits for retirees and the disabled. Despite claiming that they will “reform” Social Security on a “separate track, isolated from deficit reduction,” the plan includes […]
What Happened at Fukushima and Why It Can Happen Here
“The primary cause is an extended loss of power at the power plant, as ironic as that might be. When the earthquake occurred, the normal grid was lost, and the plant’s own in-plant power from the generators was also lost because of the result of the earthquake. . . . The tsunami came in […]
Price Formation in Financialized Commodity Markets: The Role of Information
Excerpt: The mid-2000s marked the start of a trend of steeply rising commodity prices, accompanied by increasing volatility. The prices of a wide range of commodities reached historic highs in nominal terms in 2008 before falling sharply in the wake of the financial and economic crisis. Since mid-2009, and especially since the summer of […]
US Embassy at Work in Syria
“Conspirators Wanted” Victor Nieto is a cartoonist in Venezuela. His cartoons frequently appear in Aporrea and Rebelión among other sites. Translation by Yoshie Furuhashi (@yoshiefuruhashi | yoshie.furuhashi [at] gmail.com). Cf. Fayez Nahabieh, “Réflexion sur les origines de la crise syrienne et les moyens d’en sortir” (InfoSyrie, 15 July 2011); Alastair Crooke, “Unfolding the Syrian Paradox” […]
Bahrain: Wa’d on National Dialogue
My chief Bahrain correspondent: “Waad just released a statement on the National Dialogue. They are joined by Al Minbar Al Demoqrati and Al Tajamou’ Al Qawmi Al-Dimoqrati (different than Al Tajamou’ Al Watani Al Dimoqrati which is boycotting the dialogue). The bad news is, they still seem to be part of the dialogue. However, by […]
Global Oil Prices
There was a time when global oil prices reflected changes in the real demand and supply of crude petroleum. Of course, as with many other primary commodities, the changes in the market could be volatile, and so prices also fluctuated, sometimes sharply. More than anything else, the global oil market was seen to reflect not […]
Electricity Privatization in Brazil
Privatized electricity distribution companies, strangling working people with high electric bills . . . Carlos Latuff is a Brazilian cartoonist. Cf. “On one hand, daily productivity gains made by professionals working in the electricity sector are not reflected in their salaries. On the other hand, consumers are already paying high costs at the end of […]
Prisoners Strike against Torture in California Prisons
The torture of prisoners in U.S. custody isn’t confined to foreign countries. For more than two weeks, inmates at California’s Pelican Bay State Prison have been on a hunger strike to protest torturous conditions in the Security Housing Unit (SHU) there. Prisoners have been held for years in solitary confinement, which can amount to torture. […]
Still Trying to Detonate a War against Syria
Still lacking a fire starter called diplomacy, Uncle Sam fails to detonate a war against Syria. Hamid Karout is a Syrian cartoonist. This cartoon was first published in Tishreen on 14 July 2011; it is reproduced here for non-profit educational purposes. Cf. “‘The OIC has a strong desire to build national dialogue between governments and […]
Malaysia: Fight to Free the PSM 6
Activists fight to free the six Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) members — Choo Chon Kai, Sarat Babu, Sarasvathy Muthu, Sukumaran A/L Munisamy, A. Letchumanan, and Dr. Jeyakumar Devaraj — detained under the Emergency Ordinance (EO). Cf. Peter Boyle, “Huge Rally in Malaysia, Free PSM 6 Campaign Grows” (Green Left Weekly, 17 July 2011); <www.parti-sosialis.org>; <aliran.com>; […]
The Mad Activist Ponders Marrying for Money
Dear Queer Diary — Should I get married? I mean, now that the state of New York has passed the gay marriage bill, should my girlfriend and I get really and miraculously and legally married? Or. Should I, as a queer, reclaim my right to legal ostracism, grab my lesbo luv-muffin, and take her underground […]
Raising Prices to Curb Inflation
The deputy chairman of the Planning Commission made an extraordinary statement the other day, namely that the oil-price increase, which everybody opposes for adding to inflation, was really an anti-inflationary measure; it would reduce inflation. The deputy chairman’s is an exalted position; and the current incumbent is an economist of repute. There is a danger […]
Elections versus Democracy
Insignificant changes to the constitution (still in force!), proposed by a committee made up exclusively of Islamists chosen by the Supreme Council of Armed Forces and hastily adopted in April by referendum (a 23% “no” vote, a majority “yes” vote, however, imposed through fraud and heavy blackmail by the mosques),* obviously left Article 2 [whish […]
Let’s Join TEPCO!
東電に入ろう（倒電に廃炉） Among you, gentlemen, here Anyone wants to join Tokyo Electric? Anyone wants to make a name for himself? TEPCO is looking for talent Let’s join TEPCO, TEPCO, TEPCO Join TEPCO, a heaven on earth All the men’s men are joining TEPCO Ready to die a hero’s death Anyone dying for thrills? Come join […]
