“Work is a right, gang of thieves,” was the slogan with which the Tunisian revolution started on December 17, 2010 in Sidi Bouzid. If this slogan links political and social demands, it is because an especially harsh context of economic crisis in this "weakest link" of the globalized capitalist system was combined with a political context of repression, lack of freedom, widespread corruption and nepotism. With this explosive mixture, the first expressions of popular anger very quickly took on the speed of insurrection in the poorest regions before generalizing and becoming a genuine revolutionary process.
Budget Woes, Class Wars
9 May 2011, byThe full frontal assault on public workers and their unions in one state after another — stripping collective bargaining rights and dues checkoff, slashing wages and pensions and health benefits, abolishing seniority and tenure for teachers, mandating yearly decertification votes, threatening jail terms for strikers — is as massive and instantaneous as it was unexpected by the labor bureaucracy and many union members. To say “the class war is back” is an understatement. It’s an authentic firestorm sucking the oxygen from labor rights, from Wisconsin to Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and other states.
Repression and defiance in Assad’s Syria
9 May 2011, byYusef Khalil reports on the groundswell of protests that have swept across Syria—and the savage crackdown of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
Feelings of revenge will not end with Osama’s death – The Left view from Pakistan
8 May 2011, byIn the first four days after Osama Bin Laden’s assassination, the mass reaction in Pakistan is very mixed. In Punjab there is a general sympathy towards Osama, however not many are expressing it openly. In Sindh, the responses differ in different cities. For example, in Karachi there is more active commiseration for Osama and condemnation of the American attack
Toxic Aid: on the European Bill of Fare
8 May 2011, byIn May 2010 the European Commission created the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), financed with several hundred billion euros. Aid was intended for three years, but it is already clear that this limit will be overstepped. It is conditional on the concerned countries implementing austerity policies that are supposed to restore them to solvency.
G8 out
5 May 2011, byThirty four citizens’ organizations - associations, trade unions, social movements and citizens – are calling for a mobilization on 21-22 May 22 against the illegitimate G8.
The heartbeat of the Arab revolutions
5 May 2011, by ,Much has been written already about the revolutions in the Maghreb and the Arab world and their historical significance. Less emphasis has been placed, however, on the relevance they have for the European left.
China’s rise amidst the crisis
5 May 2011, byWhile North America and Europe were hardly hit, China has resisted to the international crisis of 2008 thanks to a rescue plan which combined huge public spending, a low interest rate and consumption subsidies. China’s growth rate reached 9% in 2009 and 10.3% in 2010 dragging in its wake Asia and Latin America out of the crisis. It has also managed to maintain unemployment at a sustainable level. China even overtook Japan in 2010 as the second economy in the world in terms of GDP and is closing the gap with the US. On the whole, China’s rise seems unaffected by the subprime crisis. A closer look shows that real problems lie ahead.
World March of Women May Day march
3 May 2011, by“Pakistan’s informal sector has grown about 20 percent in the last one decade, giving rise to exploitation of poor workers, especially home-based women workers by the business class. The informal sector workers are invisible, highly vulnerable and at the mercy of middlemen, contractors and sub-contractors. Millions of workers are engaged in informal economy and their wages are shamefully low. Government must provide social protection to these workers.”These views were expressed by speakers at May Day demonstration and rally, organized by Coordinating body of World March of Women (WMW) in Pakistan at Regal Chowk, the Mall to mark the International Workers Day on 1st May.