NO NEED FOR RETRENCHEMENTS Delegates wrapped up the 19th annual African Mining Indaba in early February 2013 full of back-thumping promises to improve the public image of the sector. Little wonder that the mining captains feel the industry needs a facelift: since the...
social
Chavez: Lessons for SA
Fidel Castro said of Chavez, "If you want to know what kind of man he was, look who was crying at death and who was celebrating". The torrential hatred directed at Chavez from the metropoles of global power is hardly surprising. Perhaps more than any other, the...
From the World Social Forum to the Arab revolts | by Esther Vivas
Tunisia, cradle of the revolts in the Arab world, hosts from today [26 March] and until Saturday the World Social Forum (WSF), the most important international meeting of social movements and organizations. And this is not by chance. The promoters of the WSF chose...
“The World Social Forum: Still Meeting Its Challenge” | by Immanuel Wallerstein
The World Social Forum (WSF) has just ended its now biennial meeting, held this time in Tunis. It was very largely ignored by the world's mainstream press. It was attended by many skeptics who pronounced its irrelevance, something that has occurred at every meeting...
HAITI: they need solidarity not soldiers! | by João Pedro Stedile
Dear Friends, I just returned from a trip to Haiti. I went there to participate in one congress of the Haitian peasant movement and used the opportunity to visit several regions of the country and the projects that La Via Campesina/ALBA brigade is developing in...
Knowledge. The final frontier
Some suggest that unemployment rates are high because of laziness or a dependency effect created by social grants, but numerous studies have failed to find empirical support for these claims. The one drum of this kind that continues to be beaten is the claim that...
South Africa’s New Apartheid | by Sabine Cessou
A group of building workers relaxed on the pavement in central Cape Town, enjoying their lunch break. Every minute was precious; nobody was in a hurry to get back to work. "They pay us peanuts," said a bricklayer with a gold tooth. On the equivalent of $1,470 a month,...
The Revolution Begins Today | by Daniel Chavez
By definition, a revolution is a collective process, not a one-man endeavour. While the social and political legacy of Hugo Chávez is remarkable, the Bolivarian Revolution has been intrinsically tied to him as the leader. With Chávez's death, the Boliviarian...
Two years after Fukushima | by Pierre Rousset
The triple disaster of 11 March 2011 constituted a major turning point in contemporary Japanese history — its political impact is not however unequivocal. It has provoked a radical break in the way in which many Japanese people perceive the authorities and...






