Instead of taking advantage of periods of crisis, for a general distribution of their products and a universal holiday, the laborers, perishing with hunger, go and beat their heads against the doors of the workshops. With pale faces, emaciated bodies, pitiful speeches they assail the manufacturers: “Good M. Chagot, sweet M. Schneider, give us work, […]
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News updates or analysis.
Work Sharing: The Quick Route Back to Full Employment
Excerpt: There are two basic ways to increase employment: increasing output and thereby increasing the demand for labor, or dividing up the existing work among more workers. . . . Work sharing is not a new idea. The idea of shortening work time to create more work has a long history. . . . [I]n […]
Libya News Roundup
Libyan Rebel Propaganda Exposed Patrick Cockburn (The Independent, 24 June 2011): “Nato leaders, opposition groups and the media have produced a stream of stories since the start of the insurrection on 15 February, claiming the Gaddafi regime has ordered mass rapes, used foreign mercenaries and employed helicopters against civilian protesters. An investigation by Amnesty International […]
After the “West”
The notion of the “west”, like any such construct, has various associations depending on who is using it, where and in what circumstances. Many people (especially in other parts of the world) tend to associate the “west” with military campaigns and foreign interventions by Nato and its leading states, the United States and Britain. More […]
The People’s Parade: Celebrate Successful Signature Collection for SB5 Repeal Referendum Campaign
Let’s celebrate. Due to your hard work, We Are Ohio has already collected at least 714,137 signatures with thousands more coming in every day. We Are Ohio will deliver the signatures to the Secretary of State on Wednesday, June 29th, one day prior to the deadline. To mark this historic movement, We Are Ohio is […]
June 27: Demonstrate against US/NATO Attacks on Libya
The United National Antiwar Committee (UNAC) calls for demonstrations on June 27 against the US/NATO attacks on Libya. June 27 is the date that the NATO mandate expires and their new mandate comes into effect. The United National Antiwar Committee was founded at a conference of 800 in Albany, NY in July 2010. For […]
Michigan Citizens Take Emergency Manager Law to Court, Citing Unconstitutional Power Grab
June 22, 2011 Citizens from across Michigan today announced they are taking Michigan’s controversial emergency manager law to court, filing a lawsuit that charges Gov. Rick Snyder and the Legislature with implementing an unconstitutional power grab that effectively silences citizens. “The emergency manager law is a shameless power grab by Lansing politicians and their […]
Turkey Cools Down Tempers over Syria
As Monday dawned, Turkey kept its fingers crossed in keen anticipation of the nationwide address by President Bashar al-Assad on the situation in Syria. Ankara sent an open message ahead of Assad’s speech that if he failed to announce reforms even in a third attempt, he would “miss a big chance” to preserve power. Turkey […]
Tell NPR: The Fed Has Many More Bullets
In its top of the hour news segment NPR told listeners that there is little else that the Fed can do to boost the economy. This is very seriously wrong. The Fed could do more quantitative easing, it could target a long-term interest rate, for example targeting a 2.5 percent 10-year government bond rate, or […]
Beyond the Crisis: Markets, Planning, and a Utopian Vision Inspired by the American National Football League
The Crisis, especially in Europe, is all-consuming. Every day our minds are hijacked by its latest twist. Here in Athens, a general strike almost brought the government to its knees and has kick-started a process that will, inevitably, lead to what can only be described as regime change. While history is preparing the next regime […]
Iran: Subsidy Reform, “Stagflation,” and the Need for Industrial Policy
Iran’s biggest economic problem is the growing production slump at its factories and workshops. For both workers and the business elite, Iran’s domestic industrial troubles are far more pressing — and generating far more public anxiety — than international sanctions. The biggest danger for Iran in 2011 is the combination of higher unemployment and inflation […]
Second Class Citizens: Gender, Energy and Climate Change in South Africa
Excerpt: Forty percent of South Africa’s 48 million people are poor, and more than half of poor people are female. Official unemployment figures hover at around 25%, but since this statistics does not count those who have given up looking for work, real unemployment may be double this. South Africa is, by world standards, […]
Syria: Democracy and the Future of Article 8
Last week, stories surfaced in the Lebanese and Arabic press, saying that Syria was about to do away with Article 8 of the constitution that designates the Ba’ath Party as “leader of state and society.” This of course was before President Bashar al-Assad gave a speech on Monday, hinting to the possibility of either doing […]
“March of the Whores”: Women in Mexico March against Sexual Violence
Women in Mexico are marching not only against sexual violence, but also against the excuses for it and the impunity that surrounds it. The “March of the Whores,” as they called it, represents a fresh step in the development of Mexican feminism, taking its cue from an earlier protest held in Canada. Women, men, and […]
Presentation to the United Nations Decolonization Committee Hearings on Puerto Rico
The National Lawyers Guild was founded in 1937 as an alternative to the American Bar Association, which did not admit people of color. The National Lawyers Guild is the oldest and largest public interest/human rights bar organization in the United States. With headquarters in New York, it has chapters in every state. From its […]
The New Syrian Opposition Council
The fact that the corrupt Ma’mun Al-Humsi is a member of the council reveals a lot about its corruption and about its control by the House of Saud and Hariri Inc. Ma’mun Humsi once said that the Hariri family does not buy people. Enough said. As’ad AbuKhalil is a professor of political science at California […]
All These People
“Where did all these people come from?” “Who cares! Don’t stop. They don’t belong to our circles.” Juan Ramón Mora is a cartoonist in Barcelona. This cartoon was first published in his blog on 19 June 2011 under a Creative Commons license. Translation by Yoshie Furuhashi (@yoshiefuruhashi | yoshie.furuhashi [at] gmail.com). Cf. Victor Mallet, […]
The System
Eneko Las Heras, born in Caracas in 1963, is a cartoonist based in Spain. The cartoon above was first published on his blog . . . Y sin embargo se mueve on 20 June 2011. Cf. Victor Mallet, “Spain Protesters Turn Anger against Brussels” (Financial Times, 19 June 2011); Paula Díaz and Ana Requena, “El […]
Debtocracy
In March 2011, a group of people from different political backgrounds took the initiative to demand the formation of an Audit Committee in Greece. Academics, writers, artists, union representatives all over the world supported this initiative. The Audit Committee will find which parts of the debt are odious or illegitimate and will prove that, […]
We Will Continue Resisting the Occupation
“Yes, Mr. Prime Minister, it’s my fault. Israel’s PR failure is on my account. But after you forbid us from protesting, after you pass the law, everything will be different here. The entire world would know that Israel is a magnificent democracy. Tourism and trade will flourish. Anywhere Israelis go, everybody will know that […]
