Month: January 2019

“There are Still Legacies From the Colonial Era”: Argentina’s Indigenous People Fight for Land Rights

Daniel Gutman January 14, 2019 Daniel Gutman

Today, indigenous people in Argentina are struggling to preserve their way of life in a scenario made complex mainly due to conflicts over land. Ninety-two percent of indigenous communities do not have titles to the land they live on. “There are still legacies from the colonial era and the history of exclusion is still highly visible,” explained James Anaya, UN Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples.

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Here’s What a Real Strike Looks Like: 150 Million Say No to Despotism in India

Vijay Prashad January 9, 2019 Vijay Prashad

Source: Common Dreams

Indian cities never go silent. Sound is a constant feature—the horns of cars, the chirping of birds, the cries of hawkers, the steady hum of a motorcycle engine. On Tuesday, India is on strike. It is likely that about 150 million workers will stay away from their workplaces. Trade unions of the Left have called for the strike, a general strike in a country exhausted by rising inequality and a mood of dissatisfaction.

The streets of Kerala—a state governed by the Left Democratic Front—are not quiet. Cars and motorcycles go their way. But the roads are quieter. Public transport is off the road, because the transport unions are behind the strike. Thiruvananthapuram sounds like it did about 20 years ago, when traffic was lighter and when the city was calmer. But there is nothing calm in the atmosphere. Workers are angry. The government in Delhi continues to betray them. read more

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is right. A 70% tax on the rich makes sense

Nathan Robinson January 9, 2019 Nathan Robinson

Source: The Guardian

If we are serious about tackling climate change, this is precisely the kind of policy we need to see

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has continued to show her power to steer the national political conversation. In an interview, Ocasio-Cortez suggested offhandedly that income above $10m may need to be taxed up to 70%, especially if we are going to get serious about halting climate change. Her idea instantly sparked indignant replies from the right. Grover Norquist compared it to slavery. National Review’s Brian Riedl called it “completely destructive”. Steve Scalise said she wanted to “take away 70% of your income and give it to leftist fantasy programs”. read more

There Is Still Hope for Rojava

Edward Hunt January 8, 2019 Edward Hunt

As the U.S. foreign policy establishment grapples with President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria, officials in Washington are overlooking what could be the biggest impact of his decision: the effect on the revolution in Rojava, the most promising democratic experiment in the Middle East.

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Arundhati Roy on Fiction in the Face of Rising Fascism

Laura Flanders January 7, 2019 Laura Flanders

Source: Truthout

“How to tell a shattered story by slowly becoming everybody. No, by slowly becoming everything.” That’s the line that stuck with me from The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, the latest book by one of our favorite guests, Arundhati Roy. Roy’s strength as a writer — and what she does that so many of us struggle to do — is weave many stories into one fabric, without diluting the integrity of those stories. I’ve spoken to her often about her writing on capitalism, nationalism, solidarity and resistance. In this conversation we’ll talk about all those things again, and visit her new novel against the backdrop of anti-Muslim violence and landmark changes for queer people in her home country of India. read more