Dive into the archives.
- Long Live the Tunnels!
Gaza has managed to replenish its fuel supply by using smuggling tunnels from Egypt, and residents of the Strip rejoiced as benzene prices hit a low of just NIS 1.5 (around 40 cents) per liter, after having previously paid up to NIS 7 (around $1.9). (full article…)
- Elinor Ostrom
…is the first woman – and the first political scientist – to win the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economics (incorrectly known as the Nobel Prize in Economics). Of course this doesn’t mean that I have any clue about her work… though her classic book is on my exam reading list: Governing the Commons: The Evolution [...]
- Amusing “Interview” With Adam Smith
The violence and injustice of the rulers of mankind is an ancient evil, for which, I am afraid, the nature of human affairs can scarce admit of a remedy. But the mean rapacity, the monopolizing spirit of merchants and manufacturers, who neither are, nor ought to be, the rulers of mankind, though it cannot perhaps [...]
- Good.
Kalashnikov Manufacturer Faces Bankruptcy (full article…)
- The Bush Years
Last week, the Census Bureau released a statistical report on the last year of George W. Bush’s presidency. The numbers were brutal. On every indicator, Americans lost ground during the Bush era. The median income slumped. The poverty rate increased. The percentage of Americans without health insurance rose. (full article…)
- So Much For That “Richest In the World” Cliché
A new report on global wealth says that Europe has overtaken the United States to become the richest region in the world. But the Americans still have more millionaires then the EU — and should you want to marry one, you might be better off in Singapore or the Middle East. (full article…)
- This is “Change”
US President Barack Obama extended the White House’s 47-year trade embargo against Cuba on Tuesday – missing an opportunity to improve the human rights situation for people on the island. (more…)
- Why Obama Will Do Nothing
When Manuel Zelaya was elected president on November 27, 2005 in a close victory, he became president of one of the poorest nations in the region, with approximately 70% of its population of 7.5 million living under the poverty line. Though siding himself with the region’s left in recent years as a new member of [...]
- Struggling in the Aftermath
“Someone who had a wall knocked down had it rebuilt at the absolute minimum cost,” a Palestinian resident of Khan Younis told Ynet, “but anyone who received compensation for broken windows prefers to close the windows off with nylon instead of installing new ones, in order to use the money received for daily living.” (more…)
- A Date Forgotten
April 9 was the sixth anniversary of the fall of the Saddam Hussein government in Iraq. The date passed without much remark in the United States, which is consumed with its own domestic economic problems and high rates of unemployment, rendering a distant foreign misadventure virtually invisible. Gone are the debates over whether a US [...]
- Eric Hobsbawm on the Global Economic Meltdown
Nobody seriously thinks of returning to the socialist systems of the Soviet type – not only because of their political faults, but also because of the increasing sluggishness and inefficiency of their economies – though this should not lead us to underestimate their impressive social and educational achievements. On the other hand, until the global [...]
- Stiglitz on the Economic Meltdown
We taxpayers are being robbed for all intents and purposes in order to reduce the losses that some wealthy people bear. This has to be changed. (more…)
- Gaza Faces Failed Harvests After the Bombardment
Another aid worker put it more bluntly: “Gaza needs to be fed through its mouth, not to be fed anally.” (more…)
- Attacking Gaza’s Economy
Israeli forces used aerial bombing, tank shelling and armoured bulldozers to eliminate the productive capacity of some of Gaza’s most important manufacturing plants during their 22 days of military action in the Gaza Strip. The attacks – like those which destroyed at least 4,000 homes, left some residential areas resembling an earthquake zone and more [...]
- Voting the ‘Wrong’ Way
A million and a half Palestinians are learning the hard way that democracy isn’t so good if you vote the wrong way. In 2006, they elected Hamas when the US and Israel wanted them to support the more-moderate Fatah. As a result, having long ago lost their homes and property, Gazans have endured three years [...]
- Logic of Keynes
Yet they have been declining for many years. Some have been broken up and sold as more expensive private goods, especially for the well-to do – bottled water, private schools, security guards, and health clubs, for example. Others, like clean air, have fallen prey to deregulation. Others have been wacked by budget axes; the current [...]
- The Number of Homeless in the US is Rising
Antallet af hjemløse i USA er stigende. Finanskrisen og det stigende antal tvangsauktioner får skylden. (more…)
- This What Occupation Looks Like
Defense Minister Ehud Barak agreed on Wednesday to transfer NIS 100 million ($25 million) to Gaza from banks in the West Bank. The transfer is expected to take place in the next few days. (more…) Of course, what Ha’aretz fails to mention is that Israel collects taxes levied on behalf of the Palestinian Authority and [...]
- Noam Chomsky: On The Economy, Democracy and the American Presidential Elections
Assaf Kfoury: The economic crisis is felt acutely in the US, but has now spread to the entire world, even to countries (in South America, for example) that initially thought they would be spared. And the American presidential campaign and elections cannot but concern people everywhere, given the dominant role of the US globally. The [...]
- Noam Chomsky: What Next? The Elections, the Economy, and the World
Well, let’s begin with the elections. The word that the rolls off of everyone’s tongue is historic. Historic election. And I agree with it. It was an historic election. To have a black family in the white house is a momentous achievement. In fact, it’s historic in a broader sense. The two Democratic candidates were [...]
- Juan Cole: Should Obama Chase Osama?
In Sunday’s interview with “60 Minutes,” President-elect Barack Obama reaffirmed that “it is a top priority for us to stamp out al-Qaida once and for all,” adding, “and I think capturing or killing bin Laden is a critical aspect of stamping out al-Qaida.” Obama argued that the Saudi terrorist “is not just a symbol” but [...]
- Blocking the Witnesses to History
This week, we have seen once again how Israel employs the “unlimited use of limited force” to provoke a response from Gaza and to thereby undermine the fragile tahdiya—the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire in place since last June. Last Tuesday, while the world’s attention was focused on the United States’ presidential election, Israel invaded the Gaza Strip… [...]
- Adrian Wooldridge: The Unhappy Warrior
Nothing became John McCain’s campaign like the ending of it. In a graceful and even moving concession speech on election night, he urged all Republicans to put aside their partisan differences and support Barack Obama as he grapples with the many challenges facing America. His audience was less than equally gracious; but that is hardly [...]
- Noam Chomsky: The U.S. Has Essentially a One-Party System
Der Spiegal: Professor Noam Chomsky, cathedrals of capitalism have collapsed, the conservative government is spending its final weeks in office with nationalization plans. How does that make you feel? Noam Chomsky: The times are too difficult and the crisis too severe to indulge in schadenfreude. Looking at it in perspective, the fact that there would [...]
- Immanuel Wallerstein: Le capitalisme touche à sa fin
Signataire du manifeste du Forum social de Porto Alegre (“Douze propositions pour un autre monde possible”), en 2005, vous êtes considéré comme l’un des inspirateurs du mouvement altermondialiste. Vous avez fondé et dirigé le Centre Fernand-Braudel pour l’étude de l’économie des systèmes historiques et des civilisations de l’université de l’Etat de New York, à Binghamton. [...]
- Paul Craig Roberts: US Economy, Rudderless & Reeling
We were promised a “New Economy” of high-tech tradable services to take the place of the offshored manufacturing economy. Wondering what had become of the “New Economy,” Duke University’s Offshoring Research Network searched for it and located it offshore. Yes, the activities of the “New Economy” are also outsourced offshore. Call centers, IT operations, back-office [...]
- Disengagement, Two Years On
Two years ago, Israel completed a unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. We all remember the intense media campaign shamelessly portraying the settlers as dispossessed victims of a bold move for peace. Among others, Harvard economist Sara Roy argued that Israel’s version of disengagement would bring disaster to an already desperate Gaza. Today, we are [...]
