In this pamphlet, the author of the texts 'Gasping from out the Shallows: Reflections on Revolution in the Early Twenty-first Century', 'On Lice and Fleas: Observations Starting from the Conflict Between Iran and the USA' and 'Their Passed-away Builders: The "Credit Crunch"') reflects on the failure of those texts to have any impact whatsoever. He suggests that the reasons for that failure include the flight of the revolutionary left from a confrontation with the specifically affluent alienation of the majority of the working class advanced western economies and the influence that capitalism's diverse notions of consumable happiness continues to have over the proletariat. His proposed remedy, which he offers with no great sense of confidence, is to develop a nuanced critique of the particular notions of alienated happiness with which contemporary advanced capitalism perpetuates its rule. He also proposes the creation of a journal that would "seek to provide a concentrated critique of the alienated everyday life to be found in the advanced economies of the twenty-first century and to address such currents of radical dissatisfaction with the fundamental principles of that life as can be seen on or below the surface of social life". Along the way, he is highly dismissive of the social struggles that tend to excite Marxists and anarchists. ... read full story / add a comment

There exists a double standard which allows richer countries to use fiscal expansion in the face of recession while poorer nations are forced into stricter economic restraints. Under the guise of helping economic distraught countries, the IMF is really bailing out foreign investors and multinational corporations. They have further fueled chaos and instability in some of the poorest regions in the world.
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Contents of the April 2009 issue:

FIGHTING BACK (Dundee packaging workers occupy), Greece still burning, General strikes in France, Immigration prisons action in Manchester, Rossport 'Shell-to-Sea' occupation, Poll Tax revolt anniversary, Obama & Afghanistan, Resisting attacks on claimants, Glasgow school fightback, and more.

Download Resistance 111 PDF or read online:
http://www.afed.org.uk/publications/resistance-bulletin....html

Previous issue 110:
http://www.afed.org.uk/publications/resistance-bulletin....html
All other back issues:
http://www.afed.org.uk/publications/resistance-bulletin....html ... read full story / add a comment

For far too long the issue of energy has been put to one side, treated as if it had no influence on how South African society is shaped. And there has been a stereotype, somewhat valid, that within civil society energy has been the domain of white environmentalists - aging hippies in sandals going shoo-wah over the teachings of the Dalai Lama (R299 at Rosebank Mall) and speaking about how we all must conserve electricity, how we all must make sacrifices, whilst black children die in shack fires caused from having to use a paraffin stove because the household electricity lifeline was used up weeks ago. ... read full story / add a comment

NAFTA partners may be confused, as to the mixed signals being sent by President Barack Obama in regards to trade. The Buy-American provision which was part of the stimulus package, alarmed Canadians, as well as many others. The Obama administration managed to outrage Mexico by ending a cross-border trucking program. Like most politicians, Obama is speaking out of both sides of his mouth. He is pandering to some of his core support while at the same time, trying to uphold the U.S. as a global leader in trade initiatives.

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Last week we were treated to yet another spectacle of elite power confronting grass-roots protest, as G20 leaders convened in London while tens of thousands took to the streets. The corporate media offered little coverage of grass-roots agendas before the event, choosing rather to parrot police scaremongering as they predicted a bloody riot and assaults on businessmen. Needless to say, nothing of the sort transpired. [Article published in "Haaretz", English-language online edition] ... read full story / add a comment

Las organizaciones populares y movimientos sociales centroamericanos reunidos en Tegucigalpa, Honduras continuamos expresando nuestra oposición al libre comercio, en el marco de la VII Ronda de Negociación del Acuerdo de Asociación entre la Unión Europea y Centroamérica (AdA). Vemos como la crisis global tiene un impacto directo que sigue profundizando las condiciones de pobreza, exclusión, discriminación y marginación de nuestros pueblos, que se ha venido agravando con la entrada en vigencia del TLC con Estados Unidos y que nos ha hecho más dependientes de la economía de ese país, lo que provoca una mayor vulnerabilidad económica y pérdida de soberanía como pueblos y como región centroamericana.
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Le sommet de Londres qui réunissait ce jeudi 2 avril 2009 les représentants des vingt pays détenteurs des quatre-vingt dix pour cent des richesses de la planète s’est déroulé comme on l’espérait sous les feux de projecteurs avec des rencontres bilatérales, des poignées de mains, des déclarations, et en fin de compte le communiqué final rédigé semble-t-il depuis longtemps attendant d’être prononcé, on n’est certes pas surpris qu’il n’apporte pas grand-chose du moins dans l’optique de la grande majorité des populations de la planète. Le but de ce sommet annuel consistait à faire un bilan de la situation de la planète et comme cette année le système capitaliste est en proie à une crise très profonde, l’idée dominante était comme on pouvait l’imaginer, la crise du système et les solutions possibles. ... read full story / add a comment

All the fairly rigorous analysts agree in the high vulnerability of the Venezuelan economy to face the consequences of the global economic crisis. ... read full story / add a comment

El director del DANE anunció la semana pasada, en la más descarada intervención a favor de la reelección uribista, que en los últimos seis años la pobreza disminuyó en Colombia en más de 10 puntos. Uribe Vélez la recibió en más del 60%, pero seis años después, según la alegre cifra de la estadística oficial, está por debajo del 50%. ... read full story / add a comment

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Global Game Over ... read full story / add a comment

* Erinnerungen an die „Volksmacht“ (poder popular) in der venezolanischen Ökonomie - Vom Betrug der Selbstbestimmung und der Täuschung der Kooperativen durch die EPS. ... read full story / add a comment

Desde el primer día de las negociaciones del TLC con Estados Unidos, hace casi cinco años, denunciamos que solo beneficiaría a los grandes negociantes del país del Norte y provocaría más miseria, hambre y subdesarrollo para nuestros ciudadanos. ... read full story / add a comment

Sami Halabi is a freelance journalist and political commentator based in Beirut who covers a variety of economic and political issues relating to the Middle East and in particular the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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El Grupo SUR, como red de ONGs Europeas de cooperación al desarrollo comprometidas con el fortalecimiento de los procesos de integración en América Latina, considera deplorable la decisión del Consejo de Ministros de la Unión Europea (UE) de autorizar a la Comisión Europea a iniciar negociaciones bilaterales de liberalización comercial con Colombia y Perú.

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Update a the Global Bank Users Strike, a global campaign against commercial banking and consumer debt. Over 200 people worldwide have signed up to take part in coordinated withdrawals from the commercial banking and debt resistance. ... read full story / add a comment

El sector arrocero es víctima de los procesos urna-maniáticos del actual gobierno ecuatoriano. Ya se habla dentro del mismo de una posible importación de arroz ante “la proximidad del 26 de abril” de 2008, forma groseramente obvia de referirse a las elecciones generales del 27 de abril en el Ecuador, con la finalidad de “bajar apreciablemente la inflación” y “para estabilizar el precio ante una segura subida de los mismos”. ... read full story / add a comment

The collapse of the particular variant of the capitalist economy that has held sway over the advanced western countries for the past thirty years and the illusions we have invested in it now gives rise to a moment of choice. But who is going to make that choice: us or the rulers of the dominant society? ... read full story / add a comment

As the financial system enters a deeper crisis, people have decided to respond! Commercial banks cannot be trusted with our paychecks and savings. Organizers from North America are joining a global effort to strike against commercial banks. We are coordinating withdrawals from commercial banks, investment in non-capitalist financial institutions, and a global movement against debt. We demand that personal debt be canceled just as Wall St. speculator's loss was bailed-out. Let the crisis be paid for by the richest! ... read full story / add a comment