The new regulations on banks’ capital requirements known as Basel 3, made known to the public in mid-September, are a major institutional boost to the monopolistic position of the largest banks.1 In the new framework the capital that banks must hold against lending activities has been raised from a ratio of 2%, established by Basel […]
Geography Archives: Russia
How Does the World Bank Function?
The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) was established at Bretton Woods in July 1944, at the initiative of forty-five countries that had come together for the first monetary and financial conference of the United Nations. In 2010, it had 186 member countries, with Kosovo its latest addition (it joined in June 2009). The […]
Against the Stream: Interview with Gideon Levy
For decades Gideon Levy has used the platform provided by the liberal Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz to shine a light on the brutal realities of Israel’s occupation. His journalism, along with that of his colleague Amira Hass, has been an invaluable resource not only for Israeli readers but, through the Ha’aretz website, for international audiences seeking […]
Tony Blair, Europe, and the Prospect of a U.S. Attack on Iran
In connection with the release of his memoirs, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has given a number of interviews this week in which he endorses the first-use of military force to stop Iran’s nuclear development. Blair’s statements on the matter prompted us to reflect on where European policies toward the Islamic Republic are really […]
Sanctions and Iran’s Regional and “Eastern” Options
We noticed a small news item, reported from Tehran, which we think deserves more media attention and reflection in the West than it received. According to the story, Chinese Transport Minister Liu Zhijun is expected to visit Iran Sunday to sign a $2 billion contract to build a 360-mile-long railway linking key Iranian destinations that […]
“Combat Troop Withdrawal” from Iraq and the Threat of Another War: Interview with Arshin Adib-Moghaddam
In your view, does the combat troop withdrawal mean that the mission has been completed successfully? Viewed from all conceivable angles the war must be considered a strategic failure and a humanitarian disaster. True, the US government, together with its allies primarily the United Kingdom, managed to oust Saddam Hussein who was, by all […]
A Would-Be Paul Revere in Germany: “The Muslims Are Coming!”
The “mosque menace” is not confined to Lower Manhattan or the USA. In many European countries similar alarms are sounded, usually in tones recalling Paul Revere: “The Muslims are coming!” Although according to Sarkozy in France, Berlusconi in Italy, and the militarized neo-fascist Jobbik party in Hungary the danger is more from the Roma people […]
Who Will Allow Brazil to Reach Its Economic Potential?
The biggest economic question facing Brazil, as for most developing countries, is when it will achieve its potential economic growth. For Brazil, there is a simple, most relevant comparison: its pre-1980 — or pre-neoliberal — past. From 1960-1980, income per person — the most basic measure that economists have of economic progress — in Brazil […]
Israel/Palestine and the Apartheid Analogy: Critics, Apologists and Strategic Lessons (Part 2)
I. Apartheid of a Special Type In the previous section I made a distinction between historical apartheid (unique to South Africa) and apartheid in its generic form — a structured system of political exclusion and social marginalization on the basis of origins (including but not restricted to race). I concluded that Israel is different from […]
Iran’s Proposal to Russia: Enrichment Is Still Key
August 26, 2010 Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said today that the Islamic Republic has proposed to Russia that the two countries create a joint consortium to fabricate fuel for the Bushehr reactor and other nuclear power plants that Iran plans to build in the future. Salehi reportedly […]
Just Like Bushehr, Iranian Enrichment Is No Threat
In recent days, a good deal of attention has been focused on Iran’s first nuclear power plant at Bushehr, still in its final stages of development. We believe that there are some important lessons to be learned from the Bushehr experiences that could help move U.S. policy on the Iranian nuclear issue in a much […]
Israel/Palestine and the Apartheid Analogy: Critics, Apologists and Strategic lessons (Part 1)
I. Introduction In the last decade, the notion that the Israeli system of political and military control bears strong resemblance to the apartheid system in South Africa has gained ground. It is invoked regularly by movements and activists opposed to the 1967 occupation and to various other aspects of Israeli policies vis-à-vis the Palestinian-Arab people. […]
Bushehr Launch a Sign of US Power Fading
“What a victory it is for all independent nations, that is, nations independent of US hegemonic power when it comes to energy interests. And what a victory also for those Russian families and corporations outside the United States’ sphere of influence.” — Afshin Rattansi Afshin Rattansi is a journalist, currently a presenter at Press TV. […]
Will Chinese Workers Challenge Global Capitalism?
Paul Jay: In China in June, leaders of the Chinese Communist Party said that it’s time for workers’ wages to go up. And there’s been a lot of discussion about whether China’s actually restructuring its economy to try to boost domestic demand. Certainly in what leaders say in other parts of the world they […]
Marx and Engels on Music
In 1857 Charles Dana invited Karl Marx to contribute to the New American Cyclopaedia. Marx was the European political correspondent for the daily New York Tribune, of which Dana was the editor; Dana and George Ripley, his former mentor at the utopian colony of Brook Farm, were co-editors of the encyclopedia. In due time Marx […]
Coping with Global Crises: A Tale of Two Countries
Even before the turmoil caused by the global financial crisis has been adequately dealt with in terms of the adverse effects on employment and living conditions, governments across the world are being told that fiscal consolidation is the most important macroeconomic policy to be addressed. The calamities resulting from sovereign debt crises are widely advertised […]
The Revolutionary Road in India
The editors of Aneek have asked us to present, in brief, our stand regarding what we think is “the correct path” towards equality, cooperation, community, and human solidarity, that is, socialism in India. The struggle for socialism is going to be long, hard, and violent, and I, for one, cannot imagine a socialist India […]
The Key to Nuclear Diplomacy with Iran
It seems increasingly likely that we will see another round of nuclear diplomacy with Iran in September. This round will probably include discussions with the “Vienna Group” (the United States, Russia, and France) at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on refueling the Tehran Research Reactor (TRR) in light of the Iran-Turkey-Brazil Joint Declaration announced […]
Sanctions, the TRR, and the Future of Nuclear Diplomacy: An Iranian Perspective
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said earlier this week that the Islamic Republic is prepared to stop enriching uranium to the nearly-20 percent level required to fabricate fuel for the Tehran Research Reactor (TRR), if others agree to provide new, finished fuel for the TRR, in line with the Joint Declaration that Iran negotiated with […]
Economic Recovery for the Few
Where is this elusive recovery? The banks, some say, have “recovered.” Yet they remain dependent on Washington, they do not make the loans needed for a general recovery, and many medium and small banks keep collapsing. The stock market shows no recovery. The Dow index was 14,000 in late 2007 when capitalism hit the fan, […]
