“Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery.” — Bob Marley, “Redemption Song,” 1979 I’ve got it made. I’m sixty-one years old and I’ve been retired for two and a half years. I’ve got a pension, health insurance, and money in the bank. I own my own home. I’m debt free. I’m a fortunate man, but it wasn’t […]
Geography Archives: Americas
South America, Central America, United States & Canada
South African Trade Unions and ANC Youth League Protest against NATO Bombings of Libya
NUMSA and other COSATU workers, ANC Youth League President Julius Malema, and members of the South African Communist Party gathered outside the United States Embassy in Pretoria, Gauteng to demonstrate against the NATO bombings of Libya. “South Africa should not have voted for that resolution,” said Malema, referring to UN Security Council Resolution 1973 […]
Bernard-Henri Lévy’s “SOS Syrie” Conference: Zionists, Muslim Brothers, and Other Leaders of “Change in Syria”
Bernard-Henri Lévy, well known for his devotion to humanitarian military interventions, organized a conference to “stop the massacre” in Syria, “SOS Syrie,” in Paris on the fourth of July. There is no doubt that BHL is eager to replicate his Libyan success in Syria. Given the clear Russian opposition to any military intervention in Syria, […]
Oil and the Iranian-Saudi “Cold War”
One of last month’s most interesting developments in Persian Gulf power politics played out not in the Middle East, but in Vienna, Paris, and Washington. For these Western cities were the venues for an important series of exchanges that revealed much about the changing balance of power among the Middle East’s major oil producers, including […]
The Myths of Capitalism
There is a pervasive view that growth under capitalism, though it may worsen poverty, even absolute poverty, to start with, eventually leads to a lowering of poverty. The experience of the English Industrial Revolution is invoked in this context. There has been a huge debate among economic historians about the impact of the Industrial Revolution […]
Triplet Crises and the Ghost of the New Drachma
Much of the discussion surrounding the Greek crisis revolves around the probability and implications of a sovereign default and on whether the introduction of a national currency (which, for simplicity, we could call the new drachma) would help pull the Greek economy out of recession (see for example Manasse 2011 on this site). Less […]
U.S. Boat to Gaza Seized by Greek Authorities and Captain Jailed: Passengers Determined to Free Captain and Set Sail Again
After a two-hour standoff at sea, the U.S. Boat to Gaza The Audacity of Hope was seized by the Greek Coast Guard and forced to return to the port of Piraeus under military escort. The boat’s captain has been put in jail, charged with disturbing sea traffic — which includes endangering the lives of […]
Hugo Chávez Addresses the Nation
Havana, Cuba, 30 June 2011 Now, in this new moment of difficulties, especially since Fidel Castro himself, the very man of the Moncada Barracks, of Granma, and of Sierra Maestra, the eternal giant, came to tell me the hard news of cancer, I began to ask my Lord Jesus, the God of my parents, […]
Right-wing Paranoia about Iran-Venezuela Ties
Seeing a wind farm in Paraguaná, the Right says . . .“Look at how Chávez has camouflaged Iranian missiles.” 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, Eva Golinger, “Washington Plans Further Actions against […]
Empire and Its Suckerfish
Among the empire’s suckerfish in Venezuela are Democratic Action (AD), the Independent Electoral Political Organization Committee (COPEI), For Social Democracy (PODEMOS), Justice First (Primero Justicia), Fatherland for All (PPT), and NGOs. . . . Victor Nieto is a cartoonist in Venezuela. His cartoons frequently appear in Aporrea and Rebelión among other sites. var idcomments_acct = […]
Washington Plans Further Actions against Venezuela
The US government has been increasing aggressive actions against the Chavez administration in an attempt to isolate the major petroleum-producing nation and aid in ousting the Venezuelan President. During a hearing last Friday, June 24, in the Foreign Relations Committee of the House of Representatives regarding “Sanctionable Activities in Venezuela,” Democrats and Republicans requested the […]
Libya: NATO’s Democracy
NATO — Burying the Libyan People in a Coffin Labeled “Democracy” Gervasio Umpiérrez is a cartoonist based in Montevideo, Uruguay. This cartoon was published on his blog on 16 June 2011; it is reproduced here for non-profit educational purposes. Translation by Yoshie Furuhashi (@yoshiefuruhashi | yoshie.furuhashi [at] gmail.com). Cf. Peter Hart, “Libya’s Lousy PR” […]
Prisoners in Pelican Bay SHU to Go on Indefinite Hunger Strike July 1st!
Prisoners in the Security Housing Unit (SHU) at Pelican Bay State Prison (California) are going on an indefinite hunger strike as of July 1, 2011 to protest the cruel, inhumane, and torturous conditions of their imprisonment. The hunger strike has been organized by prisoners in an inspiring show of unity across racial and geographic […]
Brazil: Key Economic Trends during and since the Recession
Brazil’s first quarter GDP shows continued expansion, driven by manufacturing and private consumption. The economy grew at an annualized rate of 5.4 percent in the first quarter, and over the last four quarters it has grown 4.2 percent. The two sectors that have had the strongest recovery since the recession, minerals extraction and finance, both […]
What the Hell Do They Want?
Old slogan of the Venezuelan opposition: “Chávez, go back to Cuba!” New slogan of the Venezuelan opposition: “Chávez, come back from Cuba!” 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. Judith León, “La oposición enloquece: […]
Work Till You Drop: Who Benefits from the End of Retirement?
During the last century, the establishment of Social Security and the tax-favored employer pension plans that followed transformed and improved the lives of American workers. Combined with economic growth, these institutions meant that both the rich and the poor lived longer and every worker became entitled to pensions at the end of their working lives. […]
The Greek Crisis: Uttering the Other “D Word”
Default is not the dirty word that nobody wants to say. Almost everybody now accepts that Greece will default. Several people will prefer to use the euphemism of “re-profiling debts,” but we all know what it means. The interesting thing is that at least some authors, like Martin Wolf in a recent Financial Times […]
A Resurgence of Nuclear Power Poses Significant Challenges
Advocates of nuclear power are promoting a “nuclear renaissance” based on claims that a new generation of reactors will produce relatively cheap electricity while solving the threat posed by global climate change. U.S. power producers have proposed building more than 30 new nuclear reactors — and some proponents have called for building as many as […]
Is the U.S. Government Prepared for a Greek Debt Default?
The European authorities are playing a dangerous game of “chicken” with Greece right now. It is overdue for U.S. members of Congress to exercise some oversight as to what our government’s role is in this process, and how we might be preparing for a Greek debt default. Depending on how it happens, this default could […]
The Right to Be Lazy
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, […]
