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Engels on nature and humanity
In the light of the current pandemic, here is a rough excerpt from my upcoming short book on Engels’ contribution to Marxian political economy on the 200th anniversary of his birth.
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Spoken Word Poetry – ‘this world we live in’
TheTamim is a young and very passionate boy who writes about his upmost emotions and feelings, not only towards the world but also distintive individuals across history.
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Call of the indigenous peoples, afro-descendants and peoples’ organizations of Latin America.
The crisis that COVID-19 has provoked globally presents a crossroads to the peoples of Abya Yala – Latin America. The popular organizations are the first line of resistance against the worst expressions of the decomposing system.
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Trump sends gun boats to Venezuela while the World partners to fight a deadly pandemic
On April’s Fools Day, U.S. President Donald Trump gave a press conference where he announced a new “counter-narcotics effort” by U.S. Southern Command. “We’re deploying additional Navy destroyers, combat ships, aircrafts and helicopters, Coast Guard cutters…doubling our capabilities in the region,” he said
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A dialectical delight
A review of Donny Gluckstein and Terry Sullivan, Hegel and Revolution (Bookmarks, 2020), £7.
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Chart of the day
Although claims are at record highs, many Americans across the United States have been unable to successfully apply for unemployment insurance because an unprecedented level of claims is overwhelming state labor department websites and jamming up phone lines.
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Brazil Supreme Court asks to suspend Bolsonaro for 180 days
Marco Aurélio Mello, a Minister of Brazil’s Supreme Court, sent the Attorney General’s Office a request to suspend President Jair Bolsonaro from his post for 180 days for committing various actions that have put the country at risk in the face of the covid-19 health emergency, according to a Telesur report.
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China and Cuba’s medical internationalism is a shining example of global solidarity
China sends medical equipment abroad, Cuba sends doctors and cutting-edge drugs, but the U.S. fails to provide its people, doctors and nurses with basic tools and protection.
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The Coronavirus depression requires a new approach to budgeting
Congress recently passed a 1.5-1.7 Trillion dollar stimulus bill (as I wrote about last week, the reported headline number is including a useless accounting gimmick which provides no additional support to the U.S. economy). Part of the reason we can report such an exact number is congress budgets in exacts.Take a look at these two sections of the CARES Act, picked at random.
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What is the ‘metabolic rift’?
The MARX MEMORIAL LIBRARY takes a look at how Marxists can explore the relation between capitalism, socialism and the environment.
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Video of flour truck being looted goes viral; ‘no wrong was done,’ says truck owner
‘I believe that they have done no wrong because there is widespread hunger [amidst the lockdown] and people are helpless.’
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Nicaragua and the COVID-19 pandemic
While each country’s experience facing the COVID-19 pandemic is different, some common fundamental factors can make the difference between widespread catastrophe and relative stability. Nicaragua has so far been among the most successful countries in Latin America in protecting its population from the virus while also maintaining normal economic life. As of March 28th, Nicaragua has three confirmed cases with one fatality. Another 14 people who may have the virus are under observation but have so far tested negative.
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COVID-19 proves workers, not bosses, are essential
The Marxist argument that it’s the labour of workers, and not the supposed intelligence and entrepreneurial spirit of bosses, that keeps society running, has long been ridiculed by defenders of capitalism. In the conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the truth of Marx’s claim has been brought into sharp relief.
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Trump’s narcoterrorism indictment of Maduro already backfires
Among those indicted by the U.S. was Cliver Alcalá, a retired general who is considered the military leader of the pro-Juan Guaidó forces. Soon, Alcalá posted videos that threaten to cause further splits in the opposition and could result in the arrest of Guaidó.
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Cuba sends doctors, nurses worldwide in COVID-19 fight
Cuba on March 28 sent a team of 39 doctors and nurses to Andorra, the thirteenth medical brigade the country has dispatched overseas to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
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All the craziest things about America are being highlighted by this virus
“Corona is a black light and America is a cum-stained hotel room,” comedian Megan Amram colorfully tweeted a couple of weeks ago. Her observation has only grown more accurate since.
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‘For common benefit of all,’ Ireland nationalizes hospitals for duration of Coronavirus crisis, sparking demand for U.S. to follow suit
“How wonderful is this. A beautiful silver lining.”
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Ecosocialism or barbarism: an interview with Ian Angus
In an interview with roape.net, ecosocialist and writer Ian Angus discusses the environmental crisis, the Anthropocene and Covid-19. He argues that new viruses, bacteria and parasites spread from wildlife to humans because capital is bulldozing primary forests, replacing them with profitable monocultures. Ecosocialists must patiently explain that permanent solutions will not be possible so long as capital rules the Earth.
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Has America reached its endgame in Afghanistan?
In an extraordinary statement titled “On the Political Impasse in Afghanistan,” Washington has admitted to the failure of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s mission to Kabul on March 23, which was taken up to heal the political rift among Afghan politicians and to urge them to form an inclusive government so as to implement the peace agreement signed in Doha on February 29.
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Letter from Catalonia: Alarming measures
I’m in a small city in Catalonia called Olot, not far from the Pyrenees. I came here because I knew the coronavirus lockdown would be much rougher in Barcelona. Still, people walk around with masks and keep social distances, barely going out.