Catégorie : Politics

Published on Toward Freedom, by Immanuel Wallerstein, March 18, 2016.

One of the many games pundits and politicians are playing these days is to spell out why and how the European Union (EU) is going to collapse, is already collapsing. Anyone who follows the news worldwide knows all the standard explanations: Grexit and Brexit will only lead to other exits; nobody wants more migrants (refugees) in their country; Germany has too much power, or not enough; ultra-rightwing forces/parties are rising almost everywhere; the Schengen Agreement providing visa-less movement is being suspended in most countries that had adopted it; unemployment is unstoppably growing … // Continuer la lecture de « Collapse of the European Union? A Skeptical View »

The Global Refugee Crisis – Published on Global Research.ca (first on Share The World’s Resources STWR), by Rajesh Makwana, March 15, 2016: the real crisis is not the influx of refugees to Europe per se but a toxic combination of destabilising foreign policy agendas, economic austerity and the rise of right-wing nationalism, which is likely to push the world further into social and political chaos in the months ahead.

Continuer la lecture de « Humanity’s Last Call for a Culture of Sharing and Cooperation »

Published on Voltairenet.org, by Thierry Meyssan, March 17, 2016.

The announcement of the partial withdrawal of the Russian Army from Syria has spawned a great number of commentaries which illustrate the preconceived bias of their authors rather than reality. Thierry Meyssan points out that the facts demonstrate not only that the differences between Moscow and Damascus have been resolved, but that Russia – which managed to topple the Western powers into the anti-terrorist camp – intends to allow Syrians to liberate their territory by themselves.   Continuer la lecture de « Russia and Victory »

… reports – Published on RT, March 16, 2016.

Kurdish-controlled autonomous areas in northern Syria are expected to declare a federal system, local media and RT’s sources on the ground have said. The conference to declare the federation of three Western Kurdistan enclaves will be in Rmelan. Continuer la lecture de « Kurds want lands they control in Syria to become federation under Damascus »

Published on The Independent.co.uk, by Robert Fisk, March 13, 2016 [ with a VIDEO – and in 72 pictures: the rise of Isis].

Five years ago, we were high on Arab revolutions, and journalists were growing used to ‘liberating’ Arab capitals.

Just before I left Syria last month, a tall and eloquent Franco-Lebanese man walked up to me in a Damascus coffee shop and introduced himself as President Bashar al-Assad’s architect. It was his task, he led me to understand, to design the reconstructed cities of Syria. Continuer la lecture de « Syrian civil war: West failed to factor in Bashar al-Assad's Iranian backers as the conflict developed »

… Lauding Worker Organizing – Published on In These Times, by Michelle Chen, March 9, 2016.

Bernie Sanders’ newest campaign video, which will air tomorrow night on the Spanish-language channel Univision, features the candidate ceding the spotlight to a representative group that doesn’t get a lot of play in most political ads: a migrant mother, speaking entirely in Spanish, who works in Florida’s farm fields. The story behind the workers featured in the ad is one of quiet and passionate organizing far outside the Beltway … // Continuer la lecture de « The Story Behind the Immigrant Workers in Bernie Sanders’ Stirring New Ad »

Published on RT, March 13, 2016.

… “The Syrian Kurds are an important component of the country, so we need to find a formula in which they are able to express an opinion on the constitution and the governance of the country,” de Mistura told Swiss Le Temps newspaper on Saturday.

He added that he has “a mandate to find the formulas … that are as inclusive as possible.”   Continuer la lecture de « Kurds should have a say on Syria’s future at Geneva talks – UN envoy »

• Broken Financial Bazookas: Unsettled Markets, the Fed, ECB, Bank of Japan, Central Banks have Lost Their Credibility, on Global Research.ca, by Bill Holter, March 12, 2016;
• VIDEO: Hillary Clinton est vendue à la finance – John R. MacArthur, dans l’Obs, par Aude Lancelin, le 12 mars 2016: à l’occasion de son passage à Paris, Aude Lancelin reçoit John R. MacArthur, patron du prestigieux mensuel “Harper’s”, le plus ancien magazine américain;
• The Wealth of Nations, Smith’s Basis for Modern Political Economy, on New Historian, by Daril Worthington, March 12, 2016;  Book: The Collapse of Complex Societies (New Studies in Archaeology), by Joseph A. Tainter, on amazon.co.uk; Webs: DownWithTyranny;
• The Goal of the Neo-Liberal Consensus Is to Manage the Decline – Gaius Publius, on naked capitalism, by Yves Smith, March 11, 2016; America blog; /Gaius Publius;   Continuer la lecture de « Criticism of capitalism »

Published on ZNet, by Alon Ben-Meir, March 11, 2016.

Only a few months after Turkey’s President Erdogan raided the offices of the Koza Ipek Media Group, the Turkish police assaulted early this month the offices of Feza Publications, which owns two newspapers (including Zaman) and two TV stations, without any warning. There is little else more injurious to any democracy than closing down news outlets and choking off freedom of speech Continuer la lecture de « The Unraveling of Turkey’s Democracy »

Published on Greek Reporter, by A. Makris, March 9, 2016.

Syrian and Iraqi war refugees are sleeping by railroad tracks in northern Greece hoping to be allowed to travel onward to Germany and other northern EU countries. Seventy-three years ago, these tracks were traversed by another group heading to Germany for a completely different future: the Nazi death camps … // Continuer la lecture de « Refugees Caught in Tide of European History »

the Secret of Donald Trump’s Success, published on Social Europe (first on George Lakoff’s blog), March 7, 2016.

Donald Trump is winning Republican presidential primaries at such a great rate that he seems likely to become the next Republican presidential nominee and perhaps the next president. Democrats have little understanding of why he is winning — and winning handily, and even many Republicans don’t see him as a Republican and are trying to stop him, but don’t know how. There are various theories: People are angry and he speaks to their anger. People don’t think much of Congress and want a non-politician. Both may be true. But why? What are the details? And Why Trump?   Continuer la lecture de « George Lakoff's texts and videos »

Some latest articles:

• WikiLeaks Reveals EU Planned Military Action Against Libyan Refugees, on AlterNet, by Branko Marcetic, March 3, 2016: Operation Sophia aims to reduce flow of migrants, with force;
• Newly Translated WikiLeaks Saudi Cable – Overthrow the Syrian Regime, but Play Nice with Russia, on Global TResearch.ca (first on Levant Report), by Brad Hoff, Feb 27, 2016;   Continuer la lecture de « about wikileaks »

Mehr Utopie, bitte, ein europäisches Basiseinkommen, in neues deutschland/blog, von Tom Strohschneider, am 5. März 2016: die gesellschaftliche Linke ist auf Abwehrmodus, ein positives Gegenmodell zur Scheinalternative Merkel oder Mob ist nötig;

Continuer la lecture de « neuliche Diskussionen, Argumente »

Published on Global Handelsblatt (first on Die Zeit), by KOLJA RUDZIO, March 3, 2016.

For many Germans, their job is more important than ever. But what would the proposed universal basic wage do to Germany’s famed work ethic?   Continuer la lecture de « A GOOD JOB: Hard Graft, Made in Germany »

Published on Axis of Logic (first on Strategic Culture Foundation ), by Pepe Escobar, March 5, 2016.

From a failed attempt to clear the Calais jungle to the appalling situation at the Greek-Macedonian border, the EU crumbles under the strain of a massive refugee crisis. Even the Kafkaesque Brussels Eurocrat construct admits it – off the record, because official EU must always project a mythical image of unity: “We are on the edge of an abyss” … // Continuer la lecture de « Critical Analysis: Europe’s Slow Motion Debacle »