On “IMF report points to global economic fragility”
Nick Beams, thanks for your insightful analysis. Managers of the world economy in desperation try a recovery at the expense of the masses in the world. Attacks on welfare and jobs, and sport killings in war-ridden countries are necessary adjuncts to this brutal programme. Revolutionary restructuring of global society under the leadership of the SEP is sine qua non to stopping the present predicament. Down with global capitalism.
IVE
Sri Lanka
14 April 2011
On “CAUS says utilities should be a right, not a luxury”
Most excellent speech. These are our rights we must win, and it is a fight because the capitalist class’s rights are based on negating our rights. There can be no middle ground, especially when to support their obscene wealth we are asked to give up the very basic requirements needed to sustain our labor power.
Thushara
15 April 2011
On “Divisions deepen as NATO digs in for a prolonged war against Libya”
Today the presidents of the USA and France, with the prime minister of Britain, made public their Libyan policy in a letter. They called for regime change in Libya to be accomplished by military action. Implicit in the document (as in Serbia) is the threat to destroy Libyan infrastructure with air power until the Gaddafi regime surrenders. To increase the “unpopularity” of this regime the West will increase the number and severity of civilian casualties in its areas of control. Brendan Behan commenting decades ago on Western hypocrisy observed, “The terrorists are the ones with the small bombs”. Will this US endorsement of an invitation to a massacre drum up some new NATO killers to volunteer their services? After Iraq and Afghanistan, enthusiastic believers are likely to be very thin on the ground.
Chris
Ireland
15 April 2011
On “Rising social protests in the Balkans”
As someone from the region, I avidly follow your excellent coverage of the Balkans. Though I have searched, I know not of any other international (or local for that matter) news and analysis site that offers such a clear historical perspective and appraisal of both long term trends and their current manifestations. This article is a fine example of that: you have judged the main players on the political scene just for what they are—opportunists fomenting nationalistic divisions and peddling any reactionary garbage to confuse the working classes.
Our tangled history and lots of long-term, outstanding issues tend to cloud how many observers see the present state of affairs. You, on the other hand, are a refreshment, a voice of reason and hope. There is no doubt that this is because of your Marxist analysis and firm grounding in historical lessons well learned. Social crises engulfing the continent and the world can only aggravate the already high tensions in the “powder keg of Europe”. Your progressive, conciliatory message will hopefully find a fertile ground in our lands that have suffered for so long.
Ante
15 April 2011
On “One hundred and fifty years since the US Civil War”
As an African American who has read much about slavery and the war, I want to convey my deep appreciation to Tom Eley and David North for the April 11th article on the Civil War, and its significance.
Not only did the article confirm my general view, but it deepened my understanding of the economic and social forces influencing the conflict.
At a time when current economic and political trends appear extremely depressing, I was reminded—while reading the article—that it was less than 200 years ago that Africans in America obtained their freedom, and since that time women, and large sectors of the world’s population, as well, have made significant strides towards sane and equitable political and economic systems.
Thanks,
JG
Scottsdale, AZ
13 April 2011
On “Detroit mayor outlines plan to gut services, attack city workers”
Mr. Bing’s next step—after the draconian cuts in city services—will have to surround the “consolidation” of neighborhoods, where residents will be told to relocate under some policy that’s given a slick name (Our City: New Beginning!) or face no city services after a certain date, with hints at forced relocation for those unwilling/unable to leave.
Richard C
13 April 2011
On “Israel steps up aggression against Gaza”
Contrary to the statement early in this article that the murder of the Fogel family in Itamar was a revenge attack, it has not been established that Palestinians were the culprits. No Palestinian resistance group has claimed responsibility, nor has anyone been indicted despite mass arrests, interrogations, and collection of fingerprints and DNA from hundreds of Palestinians. One possibility has been that the Fogels were killed by immigrant laborers to whom the Fogels owed money.
AML
14 April 2011
A great comment about middle management... I’ve seen it all my life ... workers get promoted in the lowest ranks of management—and perhaps then some, but not much—and think they are on higher ground—what a trick...
Then they are salaried, worked to death (no overtime pay), and when their positions are cut, they have no protections whatsoever...
The sad part is that it creates a schism in their minds, as if they’re going somewhere, and they lose their grounding and any sense of where they came from...
Rob M
14 April 2011