Catégorie : Politics

Turkish Gov’t arrests 15 Opposition MPs in Further Descent into Dictatorship

Published on Informed Comment, by Juan Cole, Nov 4, 2016.

The Turkish government has detained 11 members of parliament from the leftist, feminist and pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP),including the party’s co-chairs. This step is intended to give Erdogan the majority in parliament he needs to make himself president for life, and to give Turkey (currently a parliamentary government) an imperial presidency on the Egyptian model. The pretext was that these MPs declined to testify in a witch-hunt inquiry. I.e., this is precisely McCarthyism.   Continuer la lecture de « Turkish Gov’t arrests 15 Opposition MPs in Further Descent into Dictatorship »

Syria and the Antiwar Tradition

Published on The Bullet, Socialist Project’s E- Bulletin No 1324, by David Bush, editor at RankandFile.ca., Nov 3, 2016.

There is major disorientation on the left in many Western countries when it comes to Syria and about how antiwar activists should respond to events on the ground in Syria and Iraq. The highly complex nature of the Syrian war involving a multitude of foreign states and non-state actors would, in the best of times, present the left with a real challenge to find political clarity. The fact that this is occurring precisely when the antiwar movement in countries like Canada and the United States are relatively weak only adds to the confusion. Continuer la lecture de « Syria and the Antiwar Tradition »

Public Servants or Corporate Security?

an Open Letter to Law Enforcement and National Guard in North Dakota – Published on ZNet, by Winona La Duke, Ann Wright and Zoltan Grossman, Nov 2, 2016.

So you joined law enforcement or the National Guard because you wanted to uphold the law, protect innocent civilians against the bad guys, and help your community in times of need. Instead, they’re having you blockade unarmed people who are trying to hold a prayer vigil, chasing them with armored vehicles and ATVs, raiding their tipis and sweat lodges at gunpoint, and shooting them (and their horses) with pepper spray, concussion grenades, tasers, and rubber bullets. You thought you’d be the cop on the beat or the citizen soldier, and they’ve made you into the cavalry riding in with Custer. Continuer la lecture de « Public Servants or Corporate Security? »

What is Really the Matter with CETA?

Published on The Bullet, Socialist Project’s E-Bulletin No. 1321, by Leo Panitch, Oct 29, 2016.

Canada’s Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland’s sense of amour propre was clearly dented last week when the latest talks to salvage the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the European Union and Canada appeared to fall apart in face of the refusal of the Belgian regional parliament in Wallonia to accede to the Belgian government’s support for it. Continuer la lecture de « What is Really the Matter with CETA? »

Clearing the Jungle, the Calais Refugee Operation

Published on Dissident Voice, by Binoy Kampmark, Oct 26, 2016.

… It grew out as an organic consequence of failure – a failure on the part of Europe’s authorities to come to some measure of proportionate and even handed procedures to assess and process desperate refugees who have very little intention of returning back to their countries.   Continuer la lecture de « Clearing the Jungle, the Calais Refugee Operation »

Waking Up in Hillary Clinton’s America

Published on ZNet (first on TomDispatch), by Nomi Prins, Oct 27, 2016.

As this endless election limps toward its last days, while spiraling into a bizarre duel over vote-rigging accusations, a deep sigh is undoubtedly in order. The entire process has been an emotionally draining, frustration-inducing, rage-inflaming spectacle of repellent form over shallow substance. For many, the third debate evoked fatigue. Continuer la lecture de « Waking Up in Hillary Clinton’s America »

Space Odyssey: A New Technology for Following Songbirds

… diaporama: where the Blackbirds go, on Spiegel Online International, by Christoph Seidler, Oct 22, 2016 (Photo Gallery): there are 1.6 billion songbirds in Europe and half of them fly south for the winter. Scientists would like to follow them – using sensors attached to the International Space Station. But keeping up isn’t easy [VIDEO].

… Researchers believe that blackbirds migrate individually, but because of the astounding paucity of data, they aren’t even sure about that. Larger birds like albatrosses or geese can easily be outfitted with GPS transmitters. But blackbirds, which only weigh around 100 grams, aren’t able to carry heavy technical equipment. That is why Wikelski’s team is using lighter radio transmitters — and, if they can get their equipment to work, chasing them with cars … // Continuer la lecture de « Space Odyssey: A New Technology for Following Songbirds »