In Israel, racism and extremism are exploding. It began shortly after the kidnapping of three Israeli boys—Naftali, Gilad and Eyal—in Gush Etzion, that led to the assault in Gaza which has seen over 1,000 killed. A Facebook page calling for the murder of Palestinians went viral. In one photo, a soldier posed broodingly with his gun, the word "vengeance" written on his chest. In another two teenage girls smiled happily with a banner that read: “Hating Arabs is not racism, it’s values.” ... read full story / add a comment

The images from Gaza are searing, a gallery of death and horror. A dishevelled Palestinian man cries out in agony, his blood-soaked little brother dead in his arms. On a filthy hospital bed a boy of perhaps five or six screams for his father, his head and body lacerated by shrapnel. A teenage girl lies on a torn stretcher, her limbs awry, her face and torso blackened like a burnt steak. Mourners weep over a family of 18 men, women and children laid side by side in bloodied shrouds. Four boys of a fishing family named Bakr, all less than 12 years old, are killed on a beach by rockets from Israeli aircraft.

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As talks to end a 50-year war hang in the balance, violent repression carries on – and the US and Britain stand behind it ... read full story / add a comment

Economists continue to celebrate the free movement of goods, services, and capital. However, faced with slowing economic conditions in core countries, it is now third world growth that is highlighted as proof of the gains from unregulated globalization. As the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development points out: ... read full story / add a comment

3rd libertarian media fair for the German-speaking world. The fair will take place from the 29th to 31rst august 2014 at Essen, ruhr area, Germany. Although the focus will be on German language media, there will as well be books and other media in the English, Spanish and Turkish language, (just to give some examples.) ... read full story / add a comment

Many labour unions are either in the process of negotiating with their respective employers (mostly municipal, state, or federal governments) in Brazil, while others are actively on strike. These include federal workers from the government bureaucracy, school teachers, city staff, and university staff and faculty. In this piece, I would like to highlight how unions in the transportation sector are highly represented in these labour struggles. The Metro Workers Union of São Paulo is one of them and as of Monday, the 9th of June, it faces its fifth day of strike amidst layoff threats and a repressive state military police. Shortly before, the bus drivers of the city of São Paulo, represented by two unions, were also on strike. In both cases, the judiciary found the strikes to be ‘abusive’ and fined the unions hundreds of thousands of reais after ordering the workers back to their posts. The Metro Workers decided to continue the strike, with the support of a variety of social movements (including the Free Fare Movement – MPL, and the Homeless Workers' Movement – MTST), political parties from the radical Left, and other labour unions. The judicial decision is being challenged for many reasons, but primarily for the fact that it is fuelled by illegalities committed on behalf of the employer that lead to the disavowal of the right to strike.[1] ... read full story / add a comment

As China looks set to overtake the US as the world's largest economy, a multipolar world can only be good for democracy. ... read full story / add a comment

The recent destabilization campaign waged by the right-wing opposition has yet again made Venezuela a darling of the international media. While there is always a deafening media silence when the Bolivarian government wins an electoral mandate, throughout the month of February 2014 viewers were assailed with images of “innocent” student protesters – mostly from the academic bastion of the Venezuelan elite, the Central University of Venezuela – being brutalized by state security forces. ... read full story / add a comment

As reported earlier there is growing resistance against several construction projects in Wuppertal, Germany. One of these construction projects is at Gathe, on the corner of Markomannen street. One of the buildings which will have to be demolished for this project is the building where the autonomous center has been located for more than 14 years now. The autonomous center is a self-organised free space where many cultural and political events are organised by various groups. ... read full story / add a comment

Autonomy, occupation, self-management... these long-forgotten terms are back in Turkey since late 2012-early 2013. There have been several factory occupations since last year. The most prominent ones are, among others, Kazova, Greif, Zentiva, Feniş, Moda Socks Factory, Renault, and Şişecam Topkapı workplace occupations. Although both mainstream media and the trade union bureaucracy try to undermine their significance, recent struggles of the workers necessitate greater scrutiny in the wider political-economic context of Turkey; so the meaning of the occupation as well. ... read full story / add a comment

It is a volcano jumping between dormant and active stages and last month, it erupted again, spitting a litany of condemning editorials across global opinion pages that set ablaze United Nations’ inexcusable, uncompromising policy in Haiti, where the cholera epidemic, now entering its fourth year, killed more than 8,300 people and sickened another 650,000. An advocacy group representing the victims provoked the latest upsurge of Haiti’s cholera fiasco when it filed a lawsuit against the U.N. in a Manhattan Federal District Court, demanding reparations.
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KSL: Bulletin of the Kate Sharpley Library No. 77, January/February 2014 has just been posted on the site. You can get to the contents here http://www.katesharpleylibrary.net/1zcsgp or read the full pdf here http://www.katesharpleylibrary.net/z08n8s ... read full story / add a comment

State violence will always generate struggle, so it is an essential prerequisite to end it if we want to achieve peace. It's the only way to end the conflict.
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This article reviews the background and the implications of two transitions in Brazil: the political transition from a military regime (1964-85) to democracy (1985-present), and the economic transition from import-substituting industrialization (ISI, 1930-80) to neoliberalism (1990-present). It subsequently examines how neoliberal economic policies were implemented in a democracy, under the centre-right administrations led by Fernando Henrique Cardoso (1995-98, 1998-2002), and the centre-left administrations led by Luís Inácio Lula da Silva (Lula, 2003-06, 2007-10) and Dilma Rousseff (2011-present). The article concludes with a reflection about the limitations of these policies, and of neoliberal democracy more generally. ... read full story / add a comment

This important article from the mainstream press in Johannesburg, South Africa, shows that, contrary to the assumptions of most political analysts in South Africa the metal workers' union, which has recently split from the ANC, will not be supporting either Julius Malema and his corrupt and neo-fascist politics or either of the two small Trotskyite parties.

Numsa is not an anarchist union but it is rooted in the workerist tradition and has a long history of shopfloor democracy. It is the largest and most militant union in South Africa and its break from the ANC is widely seen as highly significant. ... read full story / add a comment

What is the Kurdistan Anarchist Forum and who is behind it?
The Kurdistan Anarchist Forum is an internet forum for discussions, debate and analysis among Libertarians & Anarchists on topical subjects, matters and questions against capitalism. It is a place to consider and criticise past experiences & methods of the Socialist movement that have failed, in an attempt to find alternatives. It is an open door for any libertarian’s voice, it is a voice of those who believe in Freedom, equality and social justice. In short, the Kurdistan Anarchist Forum (KAF) is a “bridge to reach and to get closer to all libertarian individuals and groups” .
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Mario Pianta is Professor of Economic Policy at the University of Urbino and a member of the Centro Linceo Interdisciplinare of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. He is among the founders of the civil society campaign ‘Sbilanciamoci!’ on economic alternatives (www.sbilanciamoci.info).

Paper delivered at the 19th Conference on Alternative Economic Policy in Europe, London 20-22 September 2013, and originally published on the transform-network website.
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Could Israel be so determined to muzzle criticism of its crimes against the Palestinian people that it would flex its diplomatic muscle against a small Irish radio station? My inability to broadcast a regular international politics show on Dublin’s Near FM this month indicates that is indeed the case. ... read full story / add a comment

For those many who identify with a progressive or liberatory politics, 2013 will be remembered as a year where two recognized leaders of the Left passed away. ... read full story / add a comment

The recent elections in Nepal appear to spell a heavy retreat for the country’s Maoist movement. After initiating a People’s War in 1996 that lasted ten years and saw it in control of the majority of the countryside, the popular Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) formed a front with mainstream political parties to overthrow the monarchy and institute a democratic republic in the 2006 People’s Movement. Thereafter, the CPN(Maoist) emerged as the largest party in the 2008 Constituent Assembly (CA) elections. ... read full story / add a comment