“Nearly two times a week in the United States a white police officer kills a Black person during a seven-year period ending in 2012, according to the most recent accounts of justifiable homicide reported to the FBI.
Da’esh - Golem is turning against its creator
14 October 2014, byThe United States is once more experiencing the reality of this old Jewish saying. Supporting the most fundamentalist Muslims in Afghanistan in the hope of putting and end to Soviet influence, finding itself a few years later confronted with a total war against al-Qaida and its cloudy international, and whose result will be far from being a victory. In the background is the, always mistaken, idea that the enemies of my enemies are my friends. Back in the 1930s, the “democratic” countries thought that Hitler could be an ally against the communist danger. We know what happened then…
Chicago mayor campaign – Karen Lewis and the Long Arm of Lesser Evilism
14 October 2014, byAs the president of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and the leader of the Chicago teachers’ strike of 2012, Karen Lewis has become one of the most popular opponents of the city’s Democratic Party machine. However, it currently appears likely that she will run for mayor of Chicago as a Democrat.
What They’re Talking about on the Streets in Hong Kong
13 October 2014, byAfter Sunday night, when many people feared that there might be a crackdown on the protests after following several pleas for protesters to leave the sites and the government’s warning that civil servants must be able to return to work the next day, this week the protests have nevertheless continued. While the numbers taking part have fallen – unlike last week, this week is a regular working week – many of the protesters still remain very determined. Talks between the Students’ Federation and the government which had been scheduled for Friday were canceled by the government. Meanwhile pro-Beijing groups have continued to try to disrupt the protesters, although not on the same scale as last Friday.
Kobani, the Kurdish issue and the Syrian revolution, a common destiny
13 October 2014, byThe city of Kobani, which is in its great majority inhabited by Kurdish people, in Syria has been under direct threat for several weeks from the Islamic State (IS). Since the beginning of the IS offensive on 16 September 2014, more than 550 people have died, including 298 IS militants, 236 Kurdish fighters and around twenty civilians. More than 12 000 civilians still remain in some sections of the city of Kobani, while the IS offensive on Kobani and its surrounding villages has led to the forced displacement of about 200,000 people.
The massacre in Gaza - Hamas has emerged victorious, but at what cost!
12 October 2014, byAs this article is being written [August 2014], the truce and the talks for a cease-fire have broken down, as a result, once again, of a deliberate Israeli provocation (the attempted assassination of the military commander Mohammed Deif, which failed but caused the deaths of several civilians, including his wife and young daughter). It is however likely that when the article is published, an agreement will have been signed: in fact, everyone is interested in ending this round, but not before having fired the last salvo with the sole purpose of proclaiming, "We won!" On this question - who won? - I will return later on in my analysis.
A call in support of Kobanê, against Turkish buffer zone
11 October 2014The Women’s Initiative for Peace (based in Turkey) is calling on everyone to take a stand against Turkey´s proposal of creating a buffer zone in Syria. The statement can be read in full below.
Syria and the international coalition intervention
10 October 2014, byIn recent weeks we have seen the establishment of an USA led International coalition also composed of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands and Jordan to launch a joint military operation, on Syrian territory, with the tacit support of the Assad regime as we will see, against Daech (also known as the Islamic State (ISIL). Several levels of analysis are needed to understand the dynamics of this intervention.
The RGA against Danish fighter jets in Iraq
9 October 2014, byOn 1 October, the Danish parliament approved with a huge majority to seven send F16 fighter jets and almost 300 military staff people to Iraq to participate in the US-led bombing campaign against ISIL. Only the Red Green Alliance and one unaffiliated MP voted against.