How did the first world war actually end?

by Paul Mason

01 first world war endJournalist Paul Mason poses the question of how World War I actually ended, as this question is being roundly ignored amidst the often revisionist and pro-war centenary commemorations.

Quiz question: why did the first world war end? We’re about to witness a commemoration in which the human preference for restraint and dignity will be under pressure from the televisual tendency for wittering on without knowledge or feeling.

So one crucial piece of knowledge should be, for schoolchildren and for TV presenters alike: how and why did it actually end?

Appel salutaire de Bernie Sanders:
“Construire un mouvement démocratique mondial pour contrer l’autoritarisme”*

Par Yorgos Mitralias

2018 10 15 01 Bernie SandersL’appel lancé par Bernie Sanders le 9 octobre en faveur de la construction “d’un mouvement démocratique mondial pour contrer l’autoritarisme” met chacun et chacune de nous devant ses responsabilités: Oui ou non sommes-nous disposés à unir urgemment nos forces pour nous battre contre la peste autoritaire, raciste et d’extrême droite avant qu’il ne soit trop tard?

Bernie Sanders: Building A Global Democratic Movement to Counter Authoritarianism

2018 10 10 01 Bernie Sanders video Watch Sen. Sanders speak live at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies on about the problem of authoritarian nationalism threatening democratic societies, and the need to build a global progressive movement based on the principles of democracy, equality, and economic and environmental justice.

In the United States, we pay a whole lot of attention to issues impacting the economy, healthcare, education, environment, criminal justice, immigration and, as we have recently seen, Supreme Court nominees. These are all enormously important issues.

IPCC Report on the 1.5°

Our planet, our lives, and life itself, are worth more than their profits!

 by Ecology Commission of the Fourth International

2018 10 08 09 EarthNot surprisingly, the IPCC’s special report on global warming of up to 1.5°C confirms that the impacts of anthropogenic climate change are formidable and have been underestimated, both socially and environmentally.

The 1°C warming we are already experiencing is enough to cause major tragedies: unprecedented heat waves, hurricanes, flooding, glacier and ice-cap dislocation. These give an idea of what awaits us if human warming is not stopped as soon as possible. Disaster is no longer preventable, but it is still possible and necessary to limit it as much as possible.

The report leaves no doubt: a warming of 2°C would have much more serious consequences than the 1.5°C warming included in the Paris Agreement (under pressure from small island states, the least developed countries, scientists and the climate movement). According to recent research, the threshold of a “hothouse planet” could even been triggered at 2°C. Every effort must be made to ensure that this limit of 1.5°C maximum is respected.

The Communist Party vs. China’s Labor Laws

By  Elaine Hui, Eli Friedman

President Xi Jinping’s support of a recent crackdown on workers’ attempts to organize a union is part of a broader centralization of power and repression of basic rights.

2018 10 03 01 workers

Workers demonstrate outside the factory of Hua Yang Printing Holdings Co Ltd on October 30, 2007 in Shenzhen of Guangdong Province, China. China Photos / Getty

Chinese president Xi Jinping presents himself as a man of the people, attuned to the needs and aspirations of those who have been left behind by China’s economic miracle. In last year’s landmark 19th Party Congress, he identified the “principal contradiction” in Chinese society as that between “unbalanced and inadequate development and the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life.” As Xi has centralized ever greater power in his hands and abolished presidential term limits, the implicit bargain has been that he would use this enhanced authority to break the power of entrenched interest groups for the benefit of the common people.

Migrants et Europe : voici dix raisons d’ouvrir les frontières

par AGIER Michel, GEMENNE François

2018 09 19 01 Migrants et EuropeUne opinion de François Gemenne, politologue, chercheur et enseignant à l’Ulg (CEDEM) et à Sciences Po (Paris) et Michel Agier, Anthropologue, directeur de recherches à l’Institut de Recherche pour le Développement et directeur d’études à l’École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS).

Alors que l’Europe se barricade, pensant que les murs qu’elle dresse la protégeront d’un fantasmatique danger migratoire, voici, au contraire, dix raisons d’ouvrir les frontières.

ALLEMAGNE: Le projet de Wagenknecht, un nouveau mouvement ?

Manuel Kellner*

2018 08 06 01 die linkePorte-parole au Bundestag (avec Dietmar Bartsch) du parti Die Linke (La Gauche), Sahra Wagenknecht vient de la gauche anticapitaliste du parti et a longtemps été sa représentante la plus populaire. Avec son époux Oskar Lafontaine – tous les deux très médiatisés – ils animent depuis un certain temps un regroupement informel « Team Sahra », auquel on peut adhérer par internet et qui argumente pour la création d’un nouveau mouvement politique à l’image de La France insoumise (FI) de Jean-Luc Mélenchon. Ils annoncent que ce mouvement sera lancé en septembre 2018, non en concurrence avec le parti Die Linke, mais pour faire pression sur les autres partis dans le sens d’une politique plus sociale.

Nicaragua: the story of the Daniel Ortega-Rosario Murillo regime

by Eric Toussaint

2018 07 29 01 NicaraguaThe violence against demonstrators protesting against brutal neoliberal policies is just one of the reasons why different social movements have condemned the Nicaraguan regime led by Daniel Ortega and the Vice-president Rosario Murillo. The left has many more reasons to denounce the policies of the regime. To understand this, we must go back to 1979.

An authentic revolution in 1979

On 9 July 1979, an authentic popular revolution triumphed over the dictatorial dynasty of the Somoza regime. The Sandinista National Liberation Front (in Spanish - Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional-FSLN) played a fundamental part in the victory thanks to its role in the armed struggle, its political initiatives and its capacity to represent the aspirations of the people. Nevertheless, the FSLN would never have won out against the dictatorship without the immense mobilization of the majority of the Nicaraguan population. Without the courage and abnegation of the people, the Somoza dictatorship, supported by Washington for several decades, could not have been decisively overthrown. Support from Cuba also had a decisive effect.

Au Maroc, les militants du Rif écopent d’une vie en prison

PAR RACHIDA EL AZZOUZI (Mediapart)

2018 07 15 01 MarocLes peines prononcées à l'encontre des militants du hirak du Rif, ce mouvement social marocain d’une ampleur inédite en 18 ans de règne de Mohammed VI, sont très lourdes. Ils s’étaient levés contre l’injustice d’un système qui les écrase et marginalise leur région, la privant d’écoles, d’hôpitaux, de routes, d’usines..., au soir de la mort d’un jeune qui aurait pu être eux : Mohcine Fikri, 31 ans, vendeur de poissons broyé par une benne à ordures alors qu’il tentait de sauver 500 kilos d’espadon pêchés illégalement que lui avaient saisis les gendarmes. Et ils sont en train de le payer très cher.

20 de septiembre 2017: Movilizaciones y represion en Catalunya (Documental)

2018 07 02 01 catalonia videoDirigido por Jaume Roures y producido por MEDIAPRO, ofrece una visión inédita de los hechos que sucedieron en la Conselleria d’Economia i Hisenda en Barcelona el 20 de septiembre de 2017. El documental analiza y muestra con imágenes y testimonios el papel que tuvieron Jordi Sànchez y Jordi Cuixart, presidentes entonces de la Assemblea Nacional Catalana y de Òmnium Cultural, durante una concentración que duró más de 15 horas, así como el asedio a la sede de la CUP por parte de la Policía Nacional y la actuación que tuvieron los Mossos d’Esquadra durante toda la jornada.

Greece: the so called debt reduction is a sleight of hand

Eric Toussaint interviewed by Marie Brette for TV5 Monde

Eric Toussaint, what do you think of the agreement between the Eurozone ministers? Has Greece got through the crisis?

2018 06 26 01 ericE.T.: The crisis is not at all over. What’s more, from the point of view of the European leaders the situation is not particularly brilliant either. To claim a reduction of debt, when in fact it is a ten year delay in repayments to some of Greece’s European partners, is to seek to create an illusion. The sums due to the IMF, the ECB, European Stability Mechanism and to private creditors are not concerned in the arrangement. They continue as usual. The IMF has made €5 billion in profits on Greek debt since 2010 and the ECB has made €8 billion. The measures that spread out repayments over a longer period are a consolation prize to the Tsipras government that has faithfully applied the hard austerity driven reforms demanded by the creditors over the last three years. Tsipras needs to be able to tell the Greek people that the austerity programme is finally working. At the same time the antisocial policies imposed by the creditors are to be reinforced. The Greek leaders wanted to show by the agreement made on 22 June that private investment funds could safely purchase Greek securities after the end of august under full institutional guaranties.

JOEL KOVEL, IN MEMORIAM

by Michael Löwy

2018 06 23 01 JOEL KOVELThe passing away of Joel Kovel is a great loss not only for us, his friends and collaborators, but for the broad international ecosocialist movement, of which he was a towering pioneer.

I first met Joel at an International Marxist Conference at the University of Nanterre (Paris) , convened in 2001 by my friends of the Journal Actuel Marx. We immediately sympathised, and found a common interest : the urgent need to bring together the "Red" and the "Green", under the aegis of a new concept : Ecosocialism. We felt that the most of the Left had not yet understood the need for an ecological turn, and we believed one should attempt to contribute to such a re-orientation. The Fourth International, to which I was associated, had just decided to adopt an ecosocialist programm, and Joel felt encouraged by this decision.

The Belgian Supreme Court announces its verdict:
CADTM wins total victory against the vulture fund NML Capital

by CADTM

2018 06 07 01 fonds vautors
Demonstration in front of the Belgian Supreme Court in Brussels. Photo: Julien Bauwens.

Press release

Total victory for CADTM, Committee for the abolition of Illegitimate Debt, the CNCD – 11.11.11 and its Flemish counterpart represented by Oliver Stein from the chambers of the Progress Lawyers Network. Today 31 May 2018 the Belgian Supreme Court rejected the request brought by NML Capital Ltd seeking to overturn the act of law passed by the Belgian government on 12 July 2015 “relating to the struggle against Vulture Funds’ activities”  [1] thus confirming this law which is unique throughout the World. It is a victory for the peoples of the World in the face of a voracious profiteer of unregulated finance.

The Direction of the South Korean Labor Movement since the 2016 Candlelight Vigils

by Song Ho-joon

2018 05 25 01 South Korean No Trump No WarIn November 2016 candlelight vigils began to flare up in South Korea. Millions of people joined the movement and within a couple of months they succeeded in ousting the ultra-right wing Park Geun-hye administration. The advent of the Moon Jae-in liberal government created a new political environment in which gaining some reforms within the system seemed to be possible. This new milieu generated a concern among labor activists about how they had to carry out their revolutionary goals. Applying a theory about reform and revolution to reality in a concrete way is not an easy task, unless one simply believes that any action to obtain a reform is wrong and the labor movement thus must work only for a radical solution.

Colombo Declaration on Illegitimate Debts 7th CADTM South Asia Workshop

17 April by CADTM

2018 05 02 01 colomboParticipants to the 7th CADTM South Asia regional workshop in Colombo 6-8th April 2018

We, the participants of the 7th CADTM South Asia workshop from Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Japan as well as from Belgium and France gathered at Colombo, Sri Lanka from 6-8 April 2018 acknowledge and affirm that illegitimate debt is a mechanism used to transfer wealth created by toilers to the benefit of capitalists and other exploiting classes. We also declare that public debt (both external and internal) involves a massive transfer of wealth from the peoples of the South and the North to the creditors, while the local dominant classes have their cut in the transfer.

​Catalogne

Féroce répression des Comités de Défense de la République accusés de ...“terrorisme”!

Par Yorgos Mitralias

2018 04 12 01 CDRLes épigones de Franco à Madrid ne cachent plus leurs intentions: Faire absolument tout pour écraser le peuple catalan qui persiste à résister. Et décidés comme ils sont de frapper très fort, ils s’attaquent maintenant non plus aux personnalités de l’indépendantisme catalan -d’ailleurs en exil ou en prison-, mais à la masse “anonyme” de militants, au peuple de cette Catalogne intrépide qui ne se rend pas, aux Comités de Défense de la République!

Et l’accusation portée contre ces militants des CDR déjà arrêtés, emprisonnés ou recherchés est on ne peut plus éloquente: Rébellion et... terrorisme! “Terroristes” donc les CDR qui ont fait de la non-violence la règle d’or de leur conduite et aussi “terrorisme” la résistance pacifique aux provocations et autres agressions répétées des prétoriens de la Guardia Civil. “Terrorisme” les manifestations indépendantistes et “terrorisme” et “rébellion” les formes de lutte totalement pacifiques comme les barrages routiers ou les chaînes humaines devant et autour les bâtiments publics. Et évidemment, “terrorisme” l’organisation des grèves générales que les CDR ont déjà préparées et dirigées ou qu’ils appellent aujourd’hui de tous leurs vœux. On ne sait pas si on devrait rire de l’hystérie répressive de M. Rajoy ou pleurer des lendemains cauchemardesques que promet son actuel extrémisme antidémocratique…

Comunicado del sindicalismo de clase en solidaridad con Cataluña
Basta de represión al pueblo catalan

2018 03 29 01 llibertat presos politicsLos sindicatos firmantes en representación de la clase trabajadora de varias naciones queremos manifestar el siguiente ante los graves hechos que nuevamente están sucediendo en Cataluña.

La situación que se está viviendo hoy en día en Cataluña es de auténtica excepcionalidad política con una falta de democracia que nos hace recordar épocas que aunque son por todos y todas conocidas no dejan de restar gravedad a la situación.

Rio de Janeiro (Brazil):

Our comrade Marielle Franco murdered

by Inprecor, International Viewpoint, PSOL

2018 03 18 01 Marielle FrancoActivist of the LGTB movement, the World March of Women, City Councilor of the Party Socialism and Liberty (PSOL) in Rio de Janeiro and in charge of the commission of inquiry into the violence perpetrated by the army and the police against young people Afro-descendants in Rio, Marielle Franco was murdered the night of March 14, 2018. [1]

She was 38 years old and, according to political scientist Maurício Santoro, she “embodies a hope of renewal, at a time when most political leaders in Rio are in prison or about to be,” for corruption.

ESTADO ESPAÑOL

Huelga feminista del 8M:

Las mujeres escribimos la Historia
en primera persona del plural

por Fátima Martín

2018 03 12 01 espanaEl 8 de marzo de 2018, Día Internacional de la Mujer Trabajadora, en la primera huelga feminista del Estado español, las mujeres escribimos la Historia en primera persona del plural al margen de partidos y sindicatos tradicionales. Millones de mujeres de todas las edades, urbanas y rurales, de diversas profesiones, razas e identidades sexuales salimos a la calle a la huelga laboral, de cuidados, de consumo y educativa. Sabedoras de que “si nosotras paramos, se para el mundo”, el 8M, con la fuerza de una convocatoria global trabajada en común desde atrás, juntas, “paramos el mundo y “gritamos ¡BASTA! ante todas las violencias que nos atraviesan”.

WOMEN'S STRIKE 8 MARCH 2018

Statement from the International Women’s Strike in the United States.

2018 03 07 01 italiaOn 8 March, we will go on strike against gender violence – against the men who commit violence and against the system that protects them.

Last year on 8 March we, women of every kind, marched, stopped work and took over the streets in fifty countries across the world. In the United States we rallied, marched, left the dishes to the men, in all the major cities of this country and countless smaller ones. We shut down three school districts to prove to the world, once again, that while we sustain society we also have the power to shut it down.