Anti-Imperialism.com

Authorities in the United Kingdom have revoked the broadcasting license for Press TV, an English-language international news network based in Iran. The UK regulating committee, Ofcom, based the decision on a biased reading of a technicality. The move exposes the facade of freedom of speech in supposedly democratic western countries and further reveals the class nature of the right to expression. Continue reading »

The World Bank and and United Nations both recently issued reports indicating that ‘economic growth’, as they measure it, slowed considerably in 2011 and only “anaemic growth” could be planned for in 2012 and 2013.

The reports indicate the continuing economic downturn has particularly affected the Third World. Third World markets have been devalued by 8.5 percent since the end of July 2011, and capital flows, such as investments, from First World to Third World countries plunged 55 percent between 2010 and 2011.

According to the World Bank report, “the world economy has entered a dangerous period,” and points to the possibility of economic downturns in different parts of the world spreading to others. “The downturn in Europe and the slow growth in developing countries could reinforce one another more than is anticipated,” thus , “further complicating efforts to restore market confidence,” the report states. Continue reading »

This short interview by author Peter Gelderloos gives a good explanation of the negative role “non-violence” plays within popular movements. For further reading, we suggest Pacifism as Pathology by Ward Churchill. -Nick

(thanks to Speed of Dreams for bringing this video to our attention)

Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller of the People’s National Party, recently reelected, stated that Jamaica would take steps to cut ties with the British monarchy and become a republic.  Through this action Jamaica will replace its head of state, currently the Queen of England, with its own indigenous president.

At a celebration marking the 50th anniversary of independence from Britain, Prime Minister Miller, whose People’s National Party won in a landslide reelection on December 29th 2011, stated in her inaugural address:

“I love the Queen, she is a beautiful lady, and apart from being a beautiful lady she is a wise lady and a wonderful lady. But I think time come…As we celebrate our achievements as an independent nation, we now need to complete the circle of independence.” (1) (2)

Although Jamaica achieved independence from Britain in 1962 it still retains its colonial ties in an arbitrary monarchical system.  Jamaica has both a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy.  As part of the Commonwealth Realm, Queen Elizabeth of Britain is the official head of state of Jamaica, and retains the title Queen of Jamaica. The government has a Governor-General which represents the British monarchy in the government of Jamaica.  The Governor-General appoints the members of the Cabinet on the advice of the Prime Minister.  The monarch and the Governor-General have ceremonial roles in the day-to-day operation of the government but have reserve power to dismiss the Prime Minister or Parliament. Continue reading »

Rather than advancing humanity with new achievements as they often claim, the United States and other governments are allocating hundreds of billions of dollars to develop real-life ‘Terminators.’ Except in this case, the immediate danger isn’t that such automated armed machines will go rogue and attack all of humanity, but rather they will be used by one part of humanity against another. So far, that is the plan.

The US military alone is planning to spend $246 billion over the next 20 years to develop warrior robots used for various roles in combat. Remote control devices such as drones are already used in many combat situations, and it will not be long before automated systems, such as those which patrol the ‘demilitarized zone ‘between northern and southern Korea, will find wider applications. Continue reading »

During the past weeks, Mathaba.net and other websites mobilized their readers to vote for Muammar Qaddafi in Amnesty International’s Human Rights Heroes online poll. Having successfully brought Muammar Qaddafi to the lead in Amnesty International’s poll, the poll was closed a month early to prevent further exposure of the international support for the former Libyan leader murdered during a US-sponsored uprising. Continue reading »

Recently, the question was posed to myself and other activists, “A lot of (white) people I know are asking about resources where they can educate themselves about antiracism and collective liberation. Got any website/book/podcast suggestions for beginners?”

Here is a slightly expanded version of my response:

As books go…

J. Sakai’s ‘The Mythology of the White Proletariat‘ is probably the quintessential historical narrative of US history from a non-white perspective. It attempts to find the origin of ‘racism’ in privilege and oppression vis a vis Capital (including land). It’s written from an unorthodox Marxist perspective as well, so it helps to have some background knowledge of Marxist terminology as well as US history.

‘False Nationalism, False Internationalism‘ (by E. Tani and Kaé Sera,) is considered the sequel to ‘Settlers’ and critically discusses the interplay between white allies and non-white communities during the struggles of the 60′s and 70′s.

‘Nightvision: Illuminating War and Class on the Neo-Colonial Terrain‘ (by Butch Lee and Red Rover) is considered the third book in the series, updates the ideas to the 90′s to include globalization, adds feminist ideas to the general gist of the series and discusses culture more. It should be noted that all three of these books challenge the idea that ‘races’ exist at all, instead using the term ‘nation,’ with the implication that shared history, common culture and definable relations with other nations is the essence of their constitution (and not something innate like genetics or biological features or even phenotype). I generally operate under this assumption and think it should be noted that the whole concept of ‘race’ was literally something created by Europeans to rationalize colonization. Continue reading »

The radical faction of the United Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has recently threatened to form its own political command aimed at relaunching the people’s war, a 10 year long countryside-based insurrection which ended in 2006 after the Maoists joined a coalition government with other mainstream parties to oust the country’s centuries-old monarchy.

The radical faction, led by party Vice-Chairman Mohan Baidya (also known as Kiran), has threatened to create “another Maoist party” if specific measures are not taken to write a constitution which gives basic assurance to the country’s masses and the sanctioned reversals of past social gains are not halted. Those amongst the radical faction have accused party leaders of selling out the goals of the revolution for their own private interest, acting against party policy, making unilateral decisions and capitulating to Indian expansionism and capitalism. (1)

Lekhnath Neupane, the former leader of the Maoist-aligned All Nepal National Independent Student Union, announced he plans on quitting the UCPN. During a press conference on December 19th, he said the parities stating its leadership has fallen back from their communist ideals and become a tool for imperialism, “The UCPN (Maoist) is on the path of ruin due to foreign agents in the party and I am quitting the party soon due to this reason.”

He also warned, “preparations are underway to form another People’s Liberation Army by constituting another communist party…” Both factions of the UCPN have recently held secret meetings in which the other faction was not invited. (2) (3) Continue reading »

Tigers may become extinct in the wild in a decade, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Today, less than 3,200 tigers remain in the wild, down from 100,000 a century ago. These populations are divided into regional sub-species, such as Russia’s Siberian Tiger, of which around a mere 500 remain outside of captivity. Unless drastic preventative measures are taken to end poaching and the loss of habitat, the world’s largest cat species may forever disappear from the natural environment.

The imminent extinction of the tiger has wider implications than the disappearance of one species. It highlights a much wider loss of biological diversity around the planet, what some scientists have described as a sixth, Anthropocene mass-extinction. Continue reading »

When news broke following October 1^st, 1949 that the Chinese Communist Party defeated the ‘Nationalist’ troops and had established the People’s Republic of China, reactions of elation, horror or skepticism ensued. Few however could predict the political struggles which would erupt over the next 20 years, eventually spilling into public life in what was known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. Beyond the monolithic facade which Western analysts often interpreted interaction between and within Communist Parties, lie the curation of an array of political and social lines that often conflicted with each other. ¹

It is simple and easy to rest the responsibility of history at the foot of a few individuals. Certainly, leftists within the CP did so themselves through continuous remarks of veneration for Mao and others. While acknowledging the unevenness of influence even within socialist societies, this essay will focus on the explicit foreign and domestic political lines of left-wing members of the Chinese Communist Party, as well as speculate on the contradictions displayed by leftist power-holders themselves. Particularly, the highlighted class and geo-political elements of socialist foreign policy; the critique of the rise and empowerment of the “New Bourgeoisie” within a nominally socialist or Marxist state; and the implementation of the personality cult around Mao (and other methods promoting uncritical thinking and initiative) will act as central discussion points from which to further delve into the meaning of radical politics in revolutionary China. Continue reading »

The genocide of the First Nations that reside in the continent of North America was perpetrated by white settlers and colonialism. Not only were whole nations eliminated through continuous warfare, biological attacks, and re-settlement, but the children of the remaining people were forced into what is known as the Indian Residential Schools. These schools systematically divested indigenous children from their culture, mode of production, and their families. These schools tortured, starved, and forced white culture onto girls and boys alike. Both girls and boys suffered at these institutions, but girls were particular tools of assimilation by the u$. Girls in the residential schools were victims of various forms of abuse and were used as a tool by which they, their future mates, and their nations would be assimilated into the settler value system. Assimilation is a colonial tool used to control oppressed nations. There is much mainstream feminism that pushes assimilation. The history of the brutality of forced assimilation that took place in the Residential Schools is one critique of assimilation in feminist literature.

Continue reading »