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 […]
Geography Archives: Europe
Countries in the continent of Europe
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
German Leopards for Saudi Arabia
Merkel just wouldn’t let the cat out of the bag. In the first days after the arms sale scandal began, her front seat in the Bundestag was conspicuously empty. When she finally did show up she wore a sour look but said not a word. The decision made and any reasoning behind it were highly […]
Job
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 1 July 2011. Translation by Yoshie Furuhashi (@yoshiefuruhashi | yoshie.furuhashi [at] gmail.com). | Print
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, […]
COSATU Calls on Workers to Join Protest March against Bombing of Libya
COSATU has called on all workers to join the march organised by NUMSA to the Embassies of the US, Britain and France tomorrow, 6th July, 2011 starting at 10 am. The aim of the march is to protest the bombings led by the forces of imperialism as represented by the countries above against the people […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Greece: Guarding Israel from Freedom Flotilla
“@USBOATTOGAZA Iceland Parliamentarian visits boat to show solidarity. ‘Greece sold its economy to western banks and its politics to Israel.’” — Medea Benjamin, 2 July 2011 Carlos Latuff is a Brazilian cartoonist. Cf. Fulya Özerkan, “Gov’t Pressure on İHH Divides Group before Flotilla Decision” (Hürriyet Daily News, 16 June 2011); Semih İdiz, “Why the Mavi […]
The Libyan Example
Many countries, Iran and North Korea are among them, told us it was our mistake to give up, to have stopped developing long-range missiles and to become friendly with the West. Our example means one should never trust the West and should always be on alert — for them it is fine to change […]
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 […]
The German Left Party Adopts Another Resolution on Israel and Anti-Semitism
The debate within the Left party, and outside it too, was hot and heavy. It took a dramatic turn on June 28th when its Bundestag members, in caucus, modified their controversial position of June 7th. Ever since its formation in 2007 this party has been under savage attack from all four other major parties. But […]
Sabotage of MV Saoirse in Turkey: ‘An Act of International Terrorism’
The Irish-owned ship, the MV Saoirse, that was meant to take part in Freedom Flotilla 2 has been sabotaged in a dangerous manner in the Turkish coastal town of Göcek, where it had been at berth for the past few weeks. Visual evidence of the undership sabotage, which was carried out by divers, will […]
Greece: Organize, Counterattack!
“The Peoples Have the Power and Never Surrender. Organize, Counterattack!” was the slogan written in Greek and in English on the banner that the All Workers’ Militant Front (PAME) hung from the Acropolis on 27 June, on the eve of the 48-hour strike against the barbaric anti-people measures of the social-democratic government, the EU, and […]
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 […]
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 […]
