How the International Monetary Conference Helped Fuel the 1980s Debt Crisis

Published on Dissident Voice (first on Global Power Project, see below), Part 2/4, by Andrew Gavin Marshall, May 14, 2014.

… What Fueled the Debt Crisis?

The 1980s debt crisis erupted when Mexico announced in 1982 that it could no longer service its debts to Western, and primarily American, banks. This resulted in a crisis that quickly spread across Latin America, Africa and parts of Asia. The oil price rises of the 1970s had led to a surge in revenues for oil-producing nations, which had invested their surplus oil wealth in Western banks that then lent the money to poor, developing nations requiring oil in order to finance their industrialization. Continuer la lecture de « How the International Monetary Conference Helped Fuel the 1980s Debt Crisis »

Ukraine: Update

Donetsk self-defense forces give Kiev troops 24 hours to withdraw, on Russia Today RT, May 15, 2014;

Videos uploaded on YouTube by RT:

UN-marked strike helicopter ‘used by Kiev against militia’ sparks scandal

Published on Russia Today RT, May 14, 2014.

The UN has voiced concerns over the apparent use of UN-marked helicopters by Kiev troops in their military operation against Donetsk regional militia. A video of a white-painted Mil Mi-24 strike helicopter with UN logo has emerged.

When inquired about the United Nations’ stance on the use of peacekeeper-marked military hardware in non-peacekeeper operations, the office for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s spokesperson said such use would violate UN rules.   Continuer la lecture de « UN-marked strike helicopter ‘used by Kiev against militia’ sparks scandal »

On the Meaning of Restoring Indigenous Self-Determination

This article is part of an E-IR Edited Collection on Indigenous Self-Determination – Published on E-International Relations, by Marc Woons, May 13, 2014.

… The idea of restitution might do better to reflect colonialism’s lasting and irreversible impacts. Yet, it raises serious questions. What are the reasons for restitution? What would fair restitution entail? Who should receive restitution? How would it be determined? The list of questions is a lengthy one. Here, very different perspectives emerge between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. Whereas the former assert their inherent authority to self-determine, demand self-determination as a right, demand recognition of prior sovereignty, and demand respect for historical agreements, the latter typically believe that these claims should be reduced in favour of more limited state recognition and greater forms of redistribution in the form of funding or access to state programs. Continuer la lecture de « On the Meaning of Restoring Indigenous Self-Determination »

Kiev – Putin – Rebel's POLL – Western Medias and Sanctions