Westward March of Chinese Dragon in Eurasia

Published on Global Research.ca (fiest on RT Op-Edge), by Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya, March 19, 2014.

As the US militarily pivots into the Asia-Pacific, the Chinese steadily march westward simply through trade-oriented construction and economic projects.

The Chinese have finished the construction of a major tunnel that is part of a mountain transport corridor from Turpan to Kurla that is linked to Pakistan. The corridor is part of the extension of the Karakoram Highway that is part of a project to re-integrate the westernmost portion of the People’s Republic of China with the areas of Eurasia to its west.  Continuer la lecture de « Westward March of Chinese Dragon in Eurasia »

The regretable closure of the Independent Living Fund ILF

Published on Socialist Unity, by Andy Newman, March 10, 2014.

In November 2013 a successful appeal was made to the High Court to stop the government from closing down the Independent Living Fund (ILF). The ILF allows around 18,000 disabled people with complex care and support needs the opportunity to more easily interact within the wider community. On March 6th it was announced that following an equality impact assessment the government felt confident to justify their decision to close the scheme. The Trade Union Disability Alliance strongly condemns the government for choosing to take this route.  Continuer la lecture de « The regretable closure of the Independent Living Fund ILF »

The Decalogue of a Neoliberal Economist

Published on ZNet (Source: ALAI, América Latina en Movimiento), by Simón Andrés Zúñiga, March 15, 2014 (Translated for ALAI by Jordan Bishop).

The internal and international harassment of the Bolivarian and Chavist process has taken the form of a ferocious attack by right-wing economists. The final objective of this campaign is to eliminate from the face of the earth the historical experience of the last fifteen years of an anti-neoliberal and anti-capitalist political process. For the powers of world capitalism, Venezuela is not only a geography to reconquer, for its natural resources, but a threat because of its example of sovereignty, independence and daring to move towards socialism as a promise, for the poor of the Earth, for a life informed by justice.   Continuer la lecture de « The Decalogue of a Neoliberal Economist »

White House withholding documents from CIA torture probe

Published on World Socialist Web Site WSWS, by Patrick Martin, March 15, 2014.

White House officials admitted Thursday that the Obama administration is blocking the release of thousands of documents relating to the torture of prisoners at secret CIA prisons during the Bush administration. These documents apparently include the initial presidential authorization for torture and other illegal acts by US military/intelligence agencies.   Continuer la lecture de « White House withholding documents from CIA torture probe »

Why I Didn’t Make it to Gaza for International Women’s Day

Published on Dissident Voice, by Medea Benjamin, March 13, 2014.

When I boarded the plane to Cairo, Egypt, to make sure everything was in place for the women’s delegation headed to Gaza, I had no reason to think I’d end up in a jail cell at the Cairo airport and then violently deported.

The trip was in response to a call from women in Gaza to CODEPINK and other groups asking us to bring 100 women from around the world to Gaza for March 8, International Women’s Day. They wanted us to see, first-hand, how the seven-year Israeli blockade had made their situation intolerable.  Continuer la lecture de « Why I Didn’t Make it to Gaza for International Women’s Day »

Ukraine Between ‘Popular Uprising for Democracy’ (Canadian Government) and ‘Fascist Putsch’ (Russian Government)

Published on The Bullet, Socialist Projtect’s E-Bulletin no 948, by David Mandel, March 12, 2014.

Let’s begin with Prime Minister (Canada) Stephen Harper’s version. One can think what one likes about deposed Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, but his election in 2012 was recognized as legitimate by international observers and, after a certain hesitation, by the defeated candidate, Yulia Timoshenko. In fact, relatively honest elections were just about the only positive outcome for ordinary people of the last big mobilization on Maidan Square, the ‘Orange Revolution’ of December 2004 … // Continuer la lecture de « Ukraine Between ‘Popular Uprising for Democracy’ (Canadian Government) and ‘Fascist Putsch’ (Russian Government) »

Yatsenyuk Comes to Washington

Published on The People’s Voice.org, by Stephen Lendman, March 11, 2014.

Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland calls him Yats. He’s coming to Washington. He’ll arrive/arrived on Wednesday. He’ll meet/had met his new boss. He’ll do so at the White House. He’ll get marching orders. He’ll learn more about Obama’s plans for Ukraine. More on his visit below. He’s Ukraine’s illegitimate prime minister. He serves its xenophobic, ultranationalist, neo-Nazi, hate-mongering, anti-Semitic, coup d’etat regime. A rogue’s gallery of societal misfits runs it. He’s a natural. He’s super-rich. He’s a former central banker/economy/foreign minister and parliament (Verkhovna Rada) speaker. He betrayed his people. He sold out for greater wealth and power. He’s a Batkivshchya/All-Ukrainian Union (Fatherland) leader. Continuer la lecture de « Yatsenyuk Comes to Washington »

China: Press conference on financial reform held for 2nd session of 12th NPC

Published on english.Xinhuanet, March 11, 2014.

BEIJING, March 11 (Xinhua) — China is very likely to ease its grip on bank deposit rates within one or two years, central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan said on Tuesday. Zhou made the remarks at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature. As part of the financial reform, the country has taken incremental steps toward interest rate liberalization, including a move in July to scrap the floor limit for bank lending rates, and a guideline in December for piloting negotiable deposit certificates on the interbank market. Zhou’s comments came after a government work report said last week that the country is to establish a deposit insurance system this year, the last and most important step of interest rate liberalization.  Continuer la lecture de « China: Press conference on financial reform held for 2nd session of 12th NPC »