Le Brésil frappé par la pire catastrophe écologique de son histoire
Mathilde Dorcadie (Reporterre)
Il y a deux semaines, la rupture de deux barrages miniers a libéré des dizaines de milliers de mètres cubes de boue polluée dans le Minas Gerais. Depuis, la coulée fraye inexorablement son chemin vers l’océan, provoquant un désastre sur les écosystèmes.
- Sao Paulo, correspondance
by ACHCAR Gilbert*
French President François Hollande’s reaction to the terrorist outrage that struck again at the heart of Paris has been to declare war — just as George W. Bush did in the face of “the mother of all terrorist attacks” that struck the heart of New York.
By doing this, the French president has chosen to ignore the many criticisms of the Bush administration’s choice, even though these expressed the prevailing opinion in France itself at that time. And he did so despite the fact that the disastrous balance sheet of the Bush administration’s “war on terror” well justified its critics. Sigmar Gabriel himself, the German vice-chancellor and head of the Social Democratic Party, brother party of the French Socialists, has declared that talk of war only plays into the hands of ISIS.
by PLENEL Edwy
The French government is rushing through a bill which will give wide-ranging powers to security and intelligence officials to snoop on the nation’s citizens. The measure, dubbed by some the French version of America’s Patriot Act, will allow spies to tap phones and emails without obtaining permission from judges. It will also allow agents to bug suspects’ homes with microphones and cameras and add covert software to their computers to track every letter and word they type. France’s lower house of Parliament, the National Assembly, will hold its final vote on the draft legislation on May 5th. Though the government has sought to justify the proposed law as a necessary tool in the fight against terrorism, the surveillance bill has met with unanimous opposition from civil liberties groups, administrative bodies and the internet community. Editor-in-chief Edwy Plenel here explains why Mediapart is so passionately opposed to this “wicked” law and urges people to join the public protest against it which is planned for Monday May 4th.
par Attac France, Ensemble, Lutte ouvrière, MELENCHON Jean-Luc, NPA, PCF, PG, Union syndicale Solidaires
Après les massacres de Paris : épouvante, révolte, action
Déclaration d’Attac
Au lendemain des massacres de Paris, les adhérents et sympathisants d’Attac, à l’’unisson de la société française, ressentent épouvante et révolte devant la haine aveugle et meurtrière. Attac exprime toute sa solidarité avec les victimes et leurs proches. Les personnes assassinées vendredi soir ne faisaient qu’exercer leur droit à la convivialité, à la civilité, à l’’art, à une vie libre, toutes choses que ces tueurs veulent éradiquer au nom d’’une vision fanatisée de la religion.
NPA STATEMENT
The horrible attacks which took place in Paris on Friday evening, killing 120 people, causing dozens of casualties, this blind violence, provokes revolt and indignation. The NPA shares these feelings and expresses its solidarity with the victims, with their close relations. This tragedy is even worse in that it hit innocent victims, the murderous attacks were aimed at the population.
This contemptible cruelty in central Paris responds to the equally blind and even more fatal violence of the bombings by French planes in Syria following the decisions of François Hollande and his government.
MANUEL DELGADO
El antropólogo Manuel Delgado es un comunista histórico, militante al PSUC desde el año 1973, y después a Partic Comunista de Catalunya. Ahora era a Comunistas de Cataluña, el principal grupo de EUiA. Sus opiniones cada vez eran más cercanas a la CUP, y de hecho Delgado ya hace tiempo que se mostró abiertamente independentista. Pero ha sido el voto contrario de Cataluña Sí Que Puede en la declaración de soberania, lo que ha hecho derramar el vaso.
par KRIVINE Hubert*
« Ce que j’admire le plus dans votre art, dit Albert Einstein à Chaplin, c’est son universalité. Vous ne dites pas un mot, et pourtant le monde entier vous comprend. C’est vrai, réplique Chaplin. Mais votre gloire est plus grande encore : le monde entier vous admire, alors que personne ne vous comprend. »
La théorie de la relativité restreinte a maintenant 110 ans et celle de la relativité générale, un siècle. Aussi ce dialogue attribué à Einstein et Chaplin a un peu vieilli : aujourd’hui la théorie de la relativité (restreinte) est enseignée à tous les étudiants en science, ce qui concerne quand même dans le monde quelques millions de personnes.
Tuesday 11 September 1973, by ALLENDE SALVADOR
The Spanish text (reproduced below second part) is the transcript of the last radio broadcast of Chilean President Salvador Allende, made on 11 September 1973, at 9:10 AM, before he killed himself during the US-backed coup that had Augusto Pinochet overthrow his socialist government. The English translation (below, first part) is done by Yoshie Furuhashi.
Surely, this will be the last opportunity for me to address you. The Air Force has bombed the antennas of Radio Magallanes. My words do not have bitterness but disappointment. May they be a moral punishment for those who have betrayed their oath: soldiers of Chile, titular commanders in chief, Admiral Merino, who has designated himself Commander of the Navy, and Mr. Mendoza, the despicable general who only yesterday pledged his fidelity and loyalty to the Government, and who also has appointed himself Chief of the Carabineros [paramilitary police]. Given these facts, the only thing left for me is to say to workers: I am not going to resign!
Brussels, October 16th
In Greece as everywhere else, debt is an instrument to subject the people to the interest of the wealthy. In the name of debt, the Troïka and the Eurogroup have forced Greece to continue to implement austerity policies. However, many movements throughout Europe refuse to bow to the blackmail, and are now looking for alternatives. Debt audits already took and are taking place in several countries, and we now need to compare and disseminate their results.
by CAMARGO João
Although it may have come as a surprise elsewhere, the Portuguese center-right ultraliberal government, which went “far beyond the troika” has won a relative majority in last week’s general election. With 36.8% of the vote and 1.994 million votes, the previous governmental coalition (PSD and CDS) was the winner. In second place came the Socialist Party, with 32.4% and 1.746 million votes. The biggest surprise and strongest rise was the Left Bloc, which had 10.2% of the vote with 551 000 votes, followed by the Communist Party, with 8.3% and 446 000 votes. When compared to the previous 2011 election, the right-wing parties lost more than 700 000 votes, the Socialist Party (PS) had 160 000 more, the Left Bloc (BE) rose by 260 000 and the Communist Party (PCP) by 3400 votes.
par VANEK Pierre
Il y a 50 ans, le 30 septembre 1965, un massacre inouï débutait en Indonésie. Plus d’un million de membres ou sympathisant·e·s du Parti communiste indonésien (PKI) furent assassinés, jetés dans des fosses communes, torturés.
Des dizaines de milliers de personnes furent emprisonnées sans jugement dans des camps. Disparitions, enlèvements, torture, ostracisme et mise au ban de familles entières… ont été par la suite les méthodes de gouvernement d’un régime qui a pillé les ressources nationales indonésiennes au profit de compagnies étrangères.
by FRASER Nancy, GUTTING Gary
This interview, the latest in a series on political topics, discusses philosophical issues concerning feminism. My interviewee is Nancy Fraser, professor of philosophy and politics at The New School. She is the author of “Fortunes of Feminism: From State-Managed Capitalism to Neoliberal Crisis.” – Gary Gutting.
Gary Gutting: You’ve recently written: “As a feminist, I’ve always assumed that by fighting to emancipate women I was building a better world — more egalitarian — just and free. But lately I’ve begun to worry that . . . our critique of sexism is now supplying the justification for new forms of inequality and exploitation.” Could you explain what you have in mind?
Fátima Martín y Jérôme Duval*
’El valor es buscar la verdad y decirla’
Jean Jaurès (1859-1914)
En el Estado español, desde el nacimiento de la Plataforma Auditoría Ciudadana de la Deuda (PACD), existe una experiencia para poner fin a la hemorragia de capitales que constituye el pago de una deuda que no nos benefició y que, si analizamos bien, ya hemos pagado varias veces. Esa plataforma ha jugado un papel central a medida que el tema de la deuda se ha ido colocando en el foco de la actualidad.
16 October Brussels, Belgium
Auditoire Dom Helder Camara, Rue Plétinckx, 19 (Siège CSC), 9h30-17h30
In the name of debt, the Troika and the Eurogroup have forced Greece to continue to implement austerity policies. The July 13th “agreement” blatantly demonstrated how the debt is a gun held by creditors and bankers to the temple of the people in order to impose austerity, insecurity and inequality. This only exacerbates the lack of legitimacy, the huge disparities and the instability of the European Union and the Eurozone.
Many movements throughout Europe refuse to bow to this blackmail and are seeking alternatives. The first objective of the conference will be to refute the false narrative of guilt (“we spent too much, now we must pay”) imposed by the elites. Debt audits took or are taking place in several countries and we now need to confront and publicise their results.
by Caroline Lucas (Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion.)
While the debt of states is widely used as an instrument of submission to neoliberal policies, Caroline Lucas points out, reflected by the recent experience of Greece, the need to set up a truth commission on debt .
Over the last few days I’ve been in Greece as part of a delegation with the Greece Solidarity Campaign. The scale of the challenge facing the Greek people, though already at the forefront of my mind, has been amplified by the many people I’ve met who describe to me a country in utter turmoil. Greece’s economy has been hit by a depression deeper than the one which plagued the USA in the 1930s. A quarter of the workforce is unemployed and half of the country’s children live in poverty. Wages have declined, more than half of pension payments don’t cover the basics and deprivation has risen.
Beñat Zaldua
Primero el «qué», el «cómo» y el «cuando». Y después, el «quién». Tras una semana de silencio, la CUP presentó ayer sus líneas rojas para negociar con Junts pel Sí la hoja de ruta hacia la independencia, así como el Govern que la aplique. No hay novedad sobre la investidura, por lo que, de momento, se mantiene el veto a la reelección de Mas.
by CADTM international
On 10 September 2015, The General Assembly of the United Nations adopted, by a substantial majority (136 votes in favour, 6 against and 41 abstentions), a resolution on the nine principles to be followed in public debt restructuring. A restructuring usually means either a rescheduling of maturity or debt relief.
The UN objective is to set up an international legal framework for debt restructuring and thus counter the strategy of vulture funds. These private investment funds take advantage of this legal vacuum to reclaim from states in national courts the full repayment, plus the interest, of debts they had bought at heavily discounted rates on the secondary market.
Marc Font
La sede nacional de la CUP, situada en la calle Casp de Barcelona, es ahora mismo el epicentro de la política catalana. Los resultados de las elecciones de domingo han situado a la formación de la izquierda independentista en una posición clave y la han convertido en el centro de casi todas las miradas, hasta el punto que en una misma tarde medios globales como The New York Times y The Wall Street Journal han entrevistado a algunos de sus dirigentes. Público ha conversado con Antonio Baños y Gabriela Serra, números uno y cuatro de la candidatura de la CUP para el 27-S, que se estrenarán como diputados. Ambos dirigentes hacen balance de las elecciones, plantean las exigencias del partido para llegar a un acuerdo con Junts pel Sí y subrayan la importancia de utilizar la palanca institucional para dar visibilidad a las alternativas al capitalismo que ya existen.
par ROUSSET Pierre
Jamais, depuis la Seconde Guerre mondiale, les déplacements forcés de population n’avaient connu une telle ampleur et n’avaient été aussi meurtriers – aussi aléatoires et dangereux, imposant à tant d’enfants, de femmes et d’hommes des conditions d’existence aussi inhumaines, des souffrances aussi intolérables. Une véritable tragédie qui met à nu la vérité du nouvel ordre international instauré par la mondialisation capitaliste, comme en témoignent la multiplicité et l’universalité croissante des flux migratoires.
L’attention se porte aujourd’hui sur les réfugiés de guerre en provenance du Moyen-Orient ; mais il y a bien d’autres conflits militaires, en Afrique notamment, avec leurs cortèges de populations déplacées. Il y a peu, c’était des victimes climatiques dont la presse parlait, frappées par millions en Asie. Quant auxdites « migrations économiques » contemporaines, elles sont aussi « forcées » (donc politique) par le déchirement du tissu social sous les coups de boutoir du néolibéralisme et la violence de régimes soutenus par les puissances occidentales.
Fourth International
CLIMATE: DISASTER IS ON ITS WAY!
The earth’s climate is changing quickly, much faster than experts thought.
There is no doubt what is causing this: the warming of the atmosphere as a result of emissions by greenhouse gases, mainly CO2 from the burning of oil, coal and natural gas.
The Earth has warmed by 0.8°C degrees over the last two centuries. This is sufficient to cause a rise in sea levels by almost two metres in the centuries to come. Nobody can stop it. Hundreds of millions of people will be forced to move, millions of hectares of land for growing food will be lost, urban areas will need to be evacuated. The peoples of the South, who are the least responsible, will be the most affected.