NM's blog

This was published about three months before the ongoing protests.  An article available in 4 languages “ The present crisis is the combined result of past political choices, climate constraints, and economic pressures exacerbated by international sanctions and regional tensions, to which is now added the very real threat of military escalation. For much of the population, this everyday life fuels a feeling of injustice and the constant bitterness of a future with no prospects. Are the absence of ambitious structural reforms and the persistence of external tensions not liable to threaten the country’s internal security and trigger a major internal crisis   ?”

Notice that there is not a single mention of the political economy of refugee. “Fleeing for their lives” and “be returned to a place of danger.” Economic and environmental factors are completely ignored. Thus, the regression is not only in the 'traditional' rights , which have been enshrined in conventions since the end of WWII, but in leaving out new structural factors that compel people to flee one country and seek a better life in another out of the discussion.  The ruling classes in rich nation-states want to maintain their interests, mainly electoral interests, and ‘stability’ by containing the growth of ethno-nationalist movements , adopting some of their demands, and some cases even defections of politicians from the mainstream parties to far right ones.

Kenya’s parliament has accused British soldiers that were stationed at the British Army Training Unit in Kenya (BATUK) base of decades of sexual assaults, killings, maimings, the abandonment of children, human rights violations and environmental destruction. A 94-page report follows a two-year inquiry into accusations surrounding BATUK. The report suggests that the base used dangerous substances like white phosphorus in its field exercises, resulting in serious health and environmental impacts for the local community. The investigating panel also accused the soldiers of refusing to cooperate with the investigation, claiming diplomatic immunity. As Jean-Christophe Servant wrote in 2022 : ‘BATUK, which has been stationed in Kenya since 1964 and trains up to 4,000 British infantry a year, long enjoyed diplomatic immunity, but this ended in 2016 when Nairobi and London renewed their five-year defence agreement. Justice [Antonina Cossy] Bor was the first to follow through on the implication...

“The number of people who believe “Britishness” is something you are born with has almost doubled in two years, according to research that warns of a rising tide of ethno-nationalism in Britain. “Although a majority of the public still believe being British is rooted in shared values, a growing proportion see it as a product of ethnicity, birthplace and ancestry, according to analysis carried out by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and shared with the Guardian. “About one-third of people (36%) thought a person must be born British to be truly British, up from one in five (19%) in 2023, a YouGov poll carried out this month for the thinktank found. “Supporters of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK held the most  extreme views  of any party backers, with 71% saying that having British ancestry was a prerequisite for someone to be truly British, and 59% saying they believed the nation was an ethnic, not a civic, community.“

 “Right now it’s dangerous because we’re seeing a steady rise of the far right in every aspect of society .”

Love, by its very nature, is unworldly, and it is for this reason rather than its rarity that it is not only apolitical but antipolitical, perhaps the most powerful of all antipolitical forces. ―  Hannah Arendt,  The Human Condition

'US imperialism's policy for a multi-polar world' Related Dispelling the multipolar myth

The BBC on Donald Trump's claim

It is a recommended long read , but subject to subscription access. Volkswagon's driverless car, a forerunner to completely driverless cars, has taken the German company about 18 months to develop, test and now commercially deploy — all in China. It is the fruit of a 700-person research and development team comprised mostly of Chinese software engineers with masters or PhDs and more than five years’ experience.  produced in China. Asked how long it would have taken to deliver something similar back home, Hafkemeyer, who worked with Audi, Chinese state-owned auto group BAIC and tech giant Huawei before joining VW in 2022, sighs with exasperation. Typically, he says, the technology development cycle in Germany is a slog of around four to four-and-a-half years, where ideas are bogged down in endless internal debate and commercial negotiations with suppliers. For decades, China has been the world’s factory and companies have tapped into a low-cost labour force with few protections and ...

“In its bid to attract foreign investment, the government has embraced a  neoliberal model  of economic liberalisation, sharp austerity and a shrinking public sector. These measures have been accompanied by policies and decisions that reinforce the concentration of economic power among the new ruling elite, while the vast majority of Syrians continue to live  in poverty . “So far, the majority of these investments have been in tourism, real estate and financial services, reflecting a focus on short-term profits at the expense of productive sectors such as manufacturing and agriculture.”

Law is not born of nature, beside the springs frequented by the first shepherds; law is born of real battles, of victories, of massacres, of conquests that have their dates and their heroes of horror; law is born from cities set ablaze, from ravaged lands; it is born with the famous innocents who agonize in the breaking dawn. —Michel Foucault,  ‘Society Must Be Defended’: Lectures at the Collège de France, 1975–76 , trans. David Macey, New York 2003 [1997], p. 50. La loi ne naît pas de la nature . . . la loi naît des batailles réelles, des victoires, des massacres, des conquêtes qui ont leur date et leur héros d’horreur: la loi naît des villes incendiées, des terres ravagées; elle naît avec les fameux innocents qui agonisent dans le jour qui se lève. —Michel Foucault, ‘Il faut défendre la société’ footnote

Palestine Action-affiliated prisoner and the arrests of Dr. Ayo Moiett

'Shock and Awe’

By Siomn Tisdall – a liberal who believes in 'international law' Related “I argue that contrary to the traditional understanding, the epoch of ‘formal imperialism’ was not the highpoint of imperialism’s embedding into international law, but that imperialism predated the epoch of formal colonies, and has survived it. There has long been a tendency towards the universalisation of the sovereign state, the fundamental juridical unit of international law, and in a modern ‘anticolonial’ system of international law, imperialism is hidden within law, but I argue that without it, international law could not exist… I argue that coercive political violence – imperialism – is the very means by which international law is made actual in the modern international system. “The international rule of law is not counterposed to force and imperialism: it is an expression of it… In fact… though it is quite true that ‘force decides’, the ‘equal rights’ it mediates are really, and remain, truly equal....

I am not, nor ever have been, in favour of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races — that I am not nor ever have been in favour of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office. — Abraham Lincoln  in an 1858 speech

The doubts raised after Mamdani's victory were legitimate. As  Eric Blanc writes , “ history is  full  of examples of movements demobilizing and subordinating themselves to their friends in power. It would be a tragedy if that happened in New York City…” But, Blanc suggests, “a  more useful and important debate is how to organize enough New Yorkers to win Zohran’s agenda — and to counteract the inevitable pressures on him from capital and the political establishment…  Effective Left strategy always should combine an openness to criticism of electeds with a rigorous  power analysis . More specifically, the intensity of our criticism of Left politicians on a given issue should correlate with our degree of power.

“Whilst, certainly, local and international press have had much more freedom to operate in Syria since Assad’s fall, there have nevertheless been reported attacks on researchers and journalists. “Protests demanding democratic and socio-economic rights have been on the rise in recent months.” “The country’s growing socio-economic challenges have been increasingly met with criticism” towards the authoritarian authorities' policies from Syrians .

Describing entrenched poverty as a "monster," Pujol painted a picture of a society radicalised by decades of neglect . "The monster is a mixture of patronage, corruption, and political and economic decisions made against the public interest," Pujol said. Indigenous deaths in custody in Australia hit highest level since 1980 .