Apr 30
Jamaicans United For Sustainable Development
We commend the efforts of the Minister of Finance in coming to grips with some of the most difficult problems in the economy (but) relentless efforts must be made to root out corruption, non-performance and waste in the society as well as crime. Civil society and the Trade Unions have to become fully engaged in the co-management of the economy and see to it that every initiative announced through the Budget is implemented without delay…
Apr 30
Forthcoming in the International Journal of Cuban Studies, September 2011
This paper is a step towards evaluating the claims of ALBA to be a new model of integration that is superior to neoliberal integration schemes. It draws lessons from the experience of three Caribbean countries which at one and the same time are members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM); participate in an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union and are members of ALBA..
Apr 30
The Caribbean Movement for Civil Empowerment (formerly the CARICOM Civll Society Network) is pointing to the continuing relevance of the Report of the West Indian Commission of 1992, except for one notable shortcoming: the absence of supranationality in its proposals to address Caricom’s implementation deficit.
Even though the West Indian Commission was completed and reported since 1992, it simply amazes me how well it speaks to the issues affecting the region; how poignantly it points out the problems that needs to be fixed, as well as how applicable and sensible some of its recommendations still are. However, something about it rather bothers me…
Apr 27
Many people react to the war in Libya and send us questions. Michel Collon, who has published several books on the U.S. war strategies and the media-lies of the previous conflicts, answers to all these questions and presents a global analysis of this war. Investig’Action draws your attention to the importance of this text.
Part 1 : Questions to be asked in every war
Part 2 : The real goals of the U.S. go well beyond oil
Part 3 : Tracks to act
Apr 25
From The Guardian, U.K.
Haiti is often decried for corruption but look at how reconstruction contracting works: it may be legal but it’s still graft…This legalisation of corruption reached a new milestone last December when one Lewis Lucke, a long-time US Agency for International Development (USAID) official turned influence-peddler, sued a consortium of firms operating in Haiti for $492,000, for breach of contract. As Lucke would have it (sorry!), he was promised $30,000 a month, plus incentives, to use his influence to secure contracts for these nice fellas…
Apr 24
The Contours of the Global Order. From TomDispatch.com
The democracy uprising in the Arab world has been a spectacular display of courage, dedication, and commitment by popular forces — coinciding, fortuitously, with a remarkable uprising of tens of thousands in support of working people and democracy in Madison, Wisconsin, and other U.S. cities….
Apr 21
Cary Fraser is a historian of international relations, who teaches the history of American foreign policy, American and Caribbean history in the 20th century and the history of the African Diaspora in the Atlantic world at Penn State University. First published in Truthout.org 20 April 2011
The recent decision by the Obama administration to spearhead the NATO effort to oust Muammar Qaddafi from power in Libya reflects the oft-evident American penchant for war as a substitute for intelligent diplomacy. It was this mindset during the George W. Bush administration which led the US into pursuing two expensive and indecisive wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Barack Obama has now opted to pursue a third…
Apr 20
I believe that if we are serious about global politics and about the future for Africans inside and outside of Africa, we need to be focused on how the world works and be able to engage on global levels that matter…
Apr 20
The author is Professor of African American Studies and Political Science at Syracuse University.
The Western bombardment of Gaddafi’s forces in Libya has become an opportunistic public relations ploy for the United States Africa Command (Africom) and a new inroad for US military stronghold on the continent. This involvement of Africom in the bombardment is now serving to expose the contradictions and deceit that have surrounded the formation of this combatant command, which is a front for military humanitarian assistance to Africa in coordination with the US Department of State and the US Agency for International Development (USAID)…
Apr 18
As citizens successfully block a proposed aluminum smelter, is Trinidad and Tobago changing course away from dependence to mega-industrial projects gas to supporting small-scale farmers and fishers?…
