Global
The international uproar in response to Israel’s approval of a massive expansion of its illegal settlement enterprise in the occupied Palestinian West Bank may give the impression that such a reaction could, in theory, force Israel to abandon its plans. Alas, it will not, because the statements of ‘concern,’ ‘regrets’, ‘disappointment’ and even outright condemnation are rarely followed by meaningful action.
True, the international community has a political, and even legal, frame of reference regarding its position on the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Unfortunately, however, it has no genuine political mandate, or the inclination to act individually or collectively, to bring this occupation to an end.
And climate change begins . . .
“Three or four thousand years ago the gods began a migration from the lakes, forests, rivers, and mountains into the sky, becoming the imperial overlords of nature rather than its essence.”
So writes Charles Eisenstein in Sacred Economics, defining a transition in human existence that has finally begun to haunt us — haunting some of us more than others, of course, in particular, that segment of humanity that was never part of the transition: a.k.a, the indigenous . . . the uncolonized . . .people of Planet Earth. Now, as global warming and ecological collapse becomes more and more of a reality, those who had nothing to do with it are bearing most of the hit, at least so far.
No, Blues in the Night is not the new theme song that the post-Election Day Democrats are singing. Rather, it is a show starring that distinctly African American art form, the Blues, directed by Ebony Repertory Theatre’s Wren T. Brown and conceived by Sheldon Epps. In the Tony and Olivier award nominated Night four singers croon and belt out 26 songs, many of them created by luminaries of the genre such as Duke Ellington (“I’m Just A Lucky So-And-So”), Bessie Smith (“Blues Blues”), Benny Goodman (“Stompin at the Savoy”) and the eponymous “Blues in the Night” by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer. Happily, none of the music was lip synched and all the numbers were performed by a live quintet.
WHERE IS THE “FREEDOM TO VOTE” ACT & THE FUTURE OF RECOUNTS / AUDITS
In the Grassroots Emergency Election Protection Zoom #70, with up to 80 people present, we’re led by the great JOEL SEGAL as we confront what’s happening with the premier voter protection Acts of our time.
From Panama to Puerto Rico, the emerging struggle for independence from US imperialism continues in Latin America today. Puerto Rico is still a colony, called by the imperialists a common wealth, and although Jimmy Carter had us finally withdraw from the Panama Canal, the US continues to meddle in Panama, and maintain division between Panama and the rest of Latin America whether it be Central (Meso) or South America.
This struggle includes the resistance against economic coercion in all forms, including the guerra economica (economic war in Spanish) also known as sanctions. The imperial term sanction makes it sound like a surgical procedure, but it is far more harsh. The blockades or embargoes under international law are in fact a form of warfare. According to the UN, US imposed sanctions on the Venezuelan people have killed 10s of 1000s.
“Could China’s economy collapse?” was the title of an October 15 article published by QUARTZ magazine. The article makes an ominous case of a Chinese economic crash and its impact on China’s and global economies.
BANGKOK, Thailand -- Ancient Silk Road travelers cursed China's
largest desert as "Takla Makan," an ominous Persian-Turkic expression
which translates as "enter and you may never return."
Undeterred by its sandstorms and merciless terrain in the oblong basin
north of Tibet's glacier-packed peaks, China has announced completion
of the final section of a Taklamakan Desert railway loop line, the
world's first to encircle a desert.
Elsewhere, China is constructing maglev train systems, capable of
hurtling passengers and freight hundreds of miles per hour, including
an underwater route near Shanghai to reach tiny offshore islands.
These latest railways increase China's military, industrial,
agricultural and political prowess, amid escalating rivalry with the
U.S. over each nation's capabilities.
The Taklamakan Desert railway loop also allows Beijing greater access
to rebellious Kashgar, a distant southwestern city near vulnerable
borders with India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan.
Kashgar and elsewhere in Xinjiang province comprise a large population
When Joe Biden was declared the winner in the US elections last November, expectations in Ramallah were high. A Biden Administration, compared to the brazenly pro-Israel Trump Administration, would surely be much fairer to Palestinians, was the conventional wisdom at the time.