We are living one of those historic moments that cry out for rallying the working class to build new capacities, new solidarities, and concrete hope. The crucial question is not how far the attacks on the public sector will go. The real question is how far we will let them go. How will working-class […]
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News updates or analysis.
Demo at Saudi Embassy in Beirut This Friday, in Support of Saudi Women in Struggle for Civil Rights
Friday, 17 June 2011, 5:30 PM, in front of the Saudi Embassy in Beirut Women Driving in KSA If you’re not in Lebanon, organize similar events in your country. For more information, go to . Cf. “Saudi Women: ‘I Will Drive Myself Starting June 17′” (Jadaliyya, 12 May 2011). | Print
European Integration at the Crossroads: Deepening or Disintegration?
Are the member states of the Eurozone responsible for the Euro crisis the ones having problems servicing their debt? The majority of people in Europe believe that this is the case. Therefore, indebted countries like Greece, Portugal and Ireland must subject themselves to a brutal austerity program of savage cuts in welfare spending, diminishing […]
Swiss Women and Workers Hold National Day of Action for Wage Equality for Women and Minimum Wage of $4,000 per Month
Swiss women and a major Swiss union held a national day of action today for wage equality for women and for a minimum wage of $4,000 a month for all workers. The Swiss franc and the U.S. dollar are about on par, the franc worth a little more than a U.S. dollar. The new minimum […]
On the Nuclear Power 2021 Act and the Nuclear Energy Research Initiative Improvement Act of 2011
Testimony on S. 512, “The Nuclear Power 2021 Act,” and S. 1067, “The Nuclear Energy Research Initiative Improvement Act of 2011,” before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, U.S. Senate, 7 June 2011 Good morning. On behalf of the Union of Concerned Scientists, I would like to thank Chairman Bingaman, Ranking Member Murkowski, and […]
Path to Solve Climate Talks: Be Clear about Targets and Honour Commitments
13 June 2011 BONN — Today, Ambassador Pablo Solon of the Plurinational State of Bolivia addressed reporters at the UN climate talks in Germany. Ambassador Solon outlined a clear plan, based on submissions from other countries and civil society, on how to move the talks forward in 2011. “The key issue at these talks […]
Agrarian Distress and Land Acquisition
The recent agitation by farmers in Uttar Pradesh against cropland acquisition for non-agricultural purposes is only the latest in a long series of protests by farmers and rural communities, which started a decade ago in different parts of the country and which gathered momentum over the past five years and coalesced in some areas into […]
Are High Agricultural Prices Good or Bad for Poverty?
Dani Rodrik is back, and he reignites an old debate with his recent blog post. He asks if high food prices are good or bad for poverty, and answers, “It depends on whether the poor are selling or buying, of course.” Citing a recent paper by Jacob Swinnen, he goes on, “High food prices […]
Anonymous Leaders of the Movement of the “Indignant” in Greece
On Friday, the blogs which are guiding the movement of “indignant” citizens published a statement of the “indignant” citizens in Syntagma Square that called on the left forces to leave the squares. Thus, the “anonymous” leaders of the “movement of the squares,” the “non-partisan,” “spontaneous,” “non-politicized” citizens, appear to be politicized, declaring themselves “anti-left.” Perhaps […]
Macroeconomic Policy Changes Have Helped Brazil Increase Growth, But Much More Is Needed
From 2004 to 2010, Brazil’s economy grew at an average of 4.2 percent annually, or more than twice as fast as it had grown from 1999-2003; or for that matter, more than twice as fast as its annual growth from 1980-2000. This was despite the impact of the world recession of 2009, which left Brazil […]
One Week from Bargaining Deadline, GE and Unions Far Apart, May Be Headed for Clash
With just one week to go in national negotiations between the General Electric Company and a coalition of unions, confrontation looks increasingly possible. GE, whose 2010 profits were over $14.2 billion while it paid zero in 2010 federal income taxes, is seeking deep cuts in pensions, healthcare and other benefits to union workers. At […]
America’s On-Again, Off-Again Love Affair with Iran’s Nuclear Program
An advertisement for America’s nuclear industry from the 1970s Seymour Hersh, the acclaimed journalist who, in 1970, won a Pulitzer Prize for uncovering the My Lai massacre in Vietnam and has subsequently broken many other important stories dealing with America’s foreign and national security policies (e.g., prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib), has published his most […]
Interview with Jean Bricmont: NATO Powers’ Push for Syria Intervention Proves “There’s No Limit to How Crazy They Can Be”
Jean Bricmont: There’s no limit to how crazy they can be. They haven’t finished the war with Libya, which was supposed to last days, not weeks, not months. Now it’s been months, they say another three months. So they haven’t even finished Libya yet, and they are maybe going to go to another war […]
Libya: The Poverty of Analyses
I am confused by the analyses of the Anglophone left with regard to the social revolts in Libya. The only thing folks seem able to muster is a series of bifurcated abstractions. Thus certain metaphors in the analyses of Libya prevail, such as “greed and grievance”, “patron and client”, “rapacious rule vs innocent population […]
NATO’s Peace
To the Libyan civilians, we’ll continue to bring the peace of the “graveyard.” 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). var idcomments_acct = ‘c90a61ed51fd7b64001f1361a7a71191’; var idcomments_post_id; var idcomments_post_url; | Print
Syrian Opposition’s “Day of the Clans”
Today, with the declaration of “Day of the Clans,” it becomes obligatory for one to distance oneself from the dominant reactionary forces within the Syrian opposition. It is clear that the same reactionary forces that have been at the heart of the Iraqi opposition under occupation are there in the Syrian opposition. What about […]
“If You See Something, Say Something”
Terry Everton is a cartoonist. Visit his blog Working Stiff Review at . Cf. “Secretary Napolitano Announces Expansion of ‘If You See Something, Say Something’ Campaign to Walmart Stores Across the Nation” (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 6 December 2010); PatriotAppTM, ; “King Introduces Legislation to Encourage Continued Citizen Involvement in Fighting Terrorism: ‘See Something, […]
Middle Classes, American-style “Democracy,” and the Muslim Brotherhood
The middle classes as a whole rally around only the democratic objective, without necessarily objecting to the “market” (such as it is) or to Egypt’s international alignment wholesale. Not to be neglected is the role of a group of bloggers who take part, consciously or not, in a veritable conspiracy organized by the CIA. Its […]
Louisiana Civil Rights Activist Sentenced to Fifteen Years in Prison
On June 1, a week past her 31st birthday, civil rights activist Catrina Wallace was sentenced to fifteen years in prison. This was a first arrest for Wallace, a single mother who became politically active when her brother was arrested in the case that later became known as the “Jena Six.” Wallace was part of […]
Statement of Solidarity with the Queer Palestinian Call for Action “IGLYO Out of Israel”
Statement by the Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Society Palestinian queer activists from Al Qaws for Sexual & Gender Diversity in Palestinian Society, Aswat — Palestinian Gay Women, and PQBDS (Palestinian Queers for Boycott Divestment and Sanctions) have issued a joint statement on June 1st 2011 calling on organizations, groups and […]
