Labor/Economics

Western politicians and journalists often claim that China is doing “colonialism” in Africa. This narrative has roots in US government discourse going back nearly two decades, and is exemplified by a US Congressional hearing that was held under the headline “China in Africa: The New Colonialism?” To claim that China is exercising colonial power within the continent is empirically incorrect, stretches these terms into meaninglessness, and amounts to denying the violence of actually-existing colonialism.

Since the U.S. imperialist invasion of Venezuela and the kidnapping of Nicolás Maduro, the Western media has been awash with the familiar chorus: Cuba is about to fall. Once again, pundits, think tanks, and editorial boards dust off an old script, announcing the imminent demise of the Cuban Revolution. Hardship is paraded as destiny; scarcity is reframed as failure; endurance is mocked as denial.

Article argues that we can only understand US developments from using a global perspective; that a national perspective is not sufficient.

Trump’s removal of President Nicolas Maduro could tilt international court proceedings and provide a windfall to corporate plaintiffs.

On October 24, 1892, nearly 3,000 New Orleans Teamsters, Scalesmen and Packers—known as the Triple Alliance or Triple A—walked off their jobs on the levees to demand overtime pay, a 10-hour-workday, and a closed shop. Representing merchants, railroad owners, and commodities exchanges, the Board of Trade announced that it would sign an agreement with the unions representing the white Scalesmen and Packers’ unions but under no circumstance would it enter into an agreement with “niggers,” as they referred to the Black Teamsters.

On the southern shore of Lake Maracaibo, Palmarito is an Afro-Venezuelan community shaped by centuries of history, culture, and resilience. Its people carry forward traditions rooted in their African heritage and in the fishing trade. Central to Palmarito’s way of life is the socialist commune, a form of popular self-government that transforms everyday life and work into a shared project.

The Trump Administration brokered a vaunted peace agreement between the Republic of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The Signing of the Agreement was followed up on the same day with a White House ceremony. The Ceremony was cringe worthy but appropriate for the representatives of two of the three leading neo-colonial regimes in the Great Lakes region of Africa – Uganda is the third of the three. Donald Trump was not far off the mark when he stated that the foreign ministers must be really happy to be in the White House. A White House visit with the President of the United States is a feather in the cap for neo-colonial leaders in Africa; in essence a key marker of legitimacy.

All civilisations fall in the end. The Roman Empire is long gone, along with the ancient Greeks, Egyptians and Sumerians. Will the global civilisation of corporate capitalism buck the trend? Of course not, but how long does it have left? In such a complex system, it’s impossible to predict when there will be a sudden shift, but there’s good evidence that the process of breakdown has already begun. Damage to soils, water tables, forests, the oceans and climate is occurring alongside economic and political upheaval. No longer is this a theoretical matter about the distant future, but something we should be preparing for today. But how?

Algeria is celebrating Eid al-Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifice. A sacred moment of remembrance, sharing, and spirituality. Yet, once again this year, a large portion of the population is faced with a harsh reality: the sheep has become a luxury. Its price has skyrocketed, supply is uncertain, and the state, in a commendable effort, had to mobilize significant resources to import sheep from Romania and Spain. Throughout the year, in an attempt to ease pressure, beef is imported from Brazil or elsewhere—frozen, packaged, and transported at great cost.