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 […]
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News updates or analysis.
You Can’t See It, and You Can’t Smell It Either 2011
It’s safe! It’s safe! It’s safe! It’s safe! Nuclear! It’s safe! It’s safe! It’s safe . . . until there’s a screw-up! It’s safe! It’s safe! It’s safe! It’s safe! Nuclear! It’s safe! It’s safe! It’s safe . . . until it’s not! 誰にも見えない、匂いもない 2011 Music and Lyrics by Rankin Taxi. Performed by Rankin […]
Egypt: Islamists, Which Side Are You On?
The Islamist forces, without exception, are now against the sit-ins in Tahrir, Suez, Alexandria, and elsewhere in the country. And I mean here the Muslim Brotherhood, Salafis, Gamaa Islamiya, and even the pathetic intellectuals of the “moderate” Wassat Party. All are singing praise of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (read: Mubarak’s army generals), […]
Threatening to Capsize the Egyptian Revolution
Corrupt men in charge of mass media and corporations, abandoning the sinking ancien régime, climb onto the ship of the Egyptian revolution (whose slogan was “Leave!”), threatening to capsize it. . . . Fahd Bahady is a Syrian cartoonist. This cartoon was first published in his blog on 22 April 2011; it is reproduced here […]
Falling Energy Prices Push Overall Inflation Below Zero in June
Weak growth in hourly wages leaves little optimism for economic recovery. The Consumer Price Index declined 0.2 percent in June — the first fall in the broad measure since a 0.2 percent drop in June of last year. The headline rate of inflation has declined steadily since peaking in March, but the decline is driven […]
“Bringing Back” Black Money
There have been periodic demands, the latest being from Baba Ramdev, that “black money” from India which is stashed in Swiss banks should be “brought back” and used for development purposes. This money of course does not have to be physically brought back; all that is required is a nationalisation of those deposits, ie, a […]
Italy’s Crisis: The ECB Could Just Print the Money
It would have been worth reminding readers that the debt crisis in Italy and other euro zone countries is first and foremost a political crisis. The European Central Bank (ECB) can just print euros which can be used to address any potential default risk among its member countries. There would be little obvious economic downside […]
Brazil: New Forest Code for Transnationals
Carlos Latuff is a Brazilian cartoonist. Cf. “Nota da Sociedade Brasileira para o Progresso da Ciência (SBPC) e da Academia Brasileira de Ciências (ABC) sobre a decisão da Câmara dos Deputados com relação ao Código Florestal” (25 May 2011); Mario Osava, “Brazil: Politicians Out of Sync with Public Sentiment on the Environment” (Inter Press Service, […]
Blood Channels
“Channels of blood or channels of sedition or channels of the other side — call them what you like. These channels, as illustrated below, are a gun pointed to our land and our people. We the people must stand up, face them, and fight them. We don’t allow anyone to prejudice the security of […]
Syria News Roundup: Good Protesters, Bad Protesters
USG Discovers Syrian Protesters It Doesn’t Like As’ad AbuKhalil (12 June 2011): “Yesterday, a US official referred to the protesters at the US embassy as ‘thugs.’ But if they were attacking a Ba’th office or a Syrian government building, I am sure that they would not have been described as thugs. So thuggery is not […]
Justice for Palestine: A Call to Action from Indigenous and Women of Color Feminists
Between June 14 and June 23, 2011, a delegation of 11 scholars, activists, and artists visited occupied Palestine. As indigenous and women of color feminists involved in multiple social justice struggles, we sought to affirm our association with the growing international movement for a free Palestine. We wanted to see for ourselves the conditions under […]
Max and Missy: From the U.S. Boat to Gaza to Syntagma Square
Political sensitivity and thoughtfulness, depth of knowledge and analysis, deep commitment and kindness are, in my view, a perfect combination to build a movement for justice and to create meaningful change. These were the characteristics that so moved and inspired me these past couple of weeks as I spent time in Athens with two of […]
Ford Workers Have a Better Idea
Speculation is a game for rubes. High rollers don’t gamble, they steal, and call it a deal. So let’s not speculate, let’s talk about what we know. UAW President Bob King longs to be partners with the bosses and the bosses are eager to initiate their new pledge with a hazing ritual called Concession Bargaining. […]
Why the Euro Is Not Worth Saving
The Euro is crashing today to record lows against the Swiss Franc, and interest rates on Italian and Spanish bonds have hit record highs. This latest episode in the Eurozone crisis is a result of fears that the contagion is now hitting Italy. With a two-trillion dollar economy and $2.45 trillion in debt, Italy is […]
Shashe Declaration: 1st Encounter of Agroecology Trainers in Africa Region 1
We are 47 people from 22 organizations in 18 countries (Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Angola, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia, South Africa, Central African Republic, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, Portugal, USA, France, and Germany). We are farmers and staff representing member organizations of La Via Campesina, along with allies from other farmer […]
Blues on the Border: Legendary Rock Guitarist Javier Batiz Plays and Sings for “My Beloved and Beautiful Tijuana”
Javier Batiz, the great Mexican rock-and-roll guitarist, played and sang last week in a concert that embodied and gave voice to everything that is most wonderful about Tijuana and the U.S.-Mexico border region. Batiz, who since he was thirteen has played in the bars and nightclubs of Tijuana, performed this time with the Baja California […]
Syria: Rapping against the Nizam
نظام, nizam, Arabic for regime, order, system, but against which nizam? Against the SystemDudd Al-Nizam “Against the System”by Eslam Jawaad Against the Country by Murder Eyez Statement No. 1 SyrianRevolution.org Shabeeha Song by The Strong Heroes of Moscow Cf. Jackson Allers, “Syrian Revolution and Eslam Jawaad’s Response — ‘Dudd al-Nizam’ (Syria)” (Beats and Breath, 5 […]
Malaysia: Vigil for PSM 6 at Bukit Aman
A vigil for 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). Bukit Aman Vigil for PSM 6, 11 July 2011 Yudistra Darma Dorai, Legal Counsel for PSM 6, 6 July 2011 Cf. […]
Venezuelan Opposition Dusts Off Its Old Slogan
“Chávez, go away already!” 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). See, also, Victor Nieto, “What the Hell Do They Want?” (MRZine, 27 June 2011). Cf. “Bolivian Leader: Hugo Chavez’s Health Improving” (Associated Press, 10 […]
The Politics of Iran’s Space Program
Iran’s recent successful launch of a second satellite into orbit has drawn considerable attention around the world. As in the past, Iran’s announcement of the launch of its domestically built satellite into space received mixed reactions in the West. Some mainstream U.S. media treated the announcement with skepticism and ridicule. “Before you cancel that European […]
