Teamster Rank-and-File Reformers Are Making a Bid for Union Leadership
At last weekend’s Teamsters for a Democratic Union convention, nearly 400 rank-and-file Teamsters convened to discuss taking power in their union and organizing Amazon.
19372 Articles by: Enver Motala
Enver Motala is an associate of the Centre for Education Rights and Transformation (CERT) at the University of Johannesburg and of the Centre for Integrated Post-School Education and Training at the Nelson Mandela University.
The Pandora Papers Have Exposed the Corrupt System that Lets the Rich Worldwide Avoid Paying Taxes
The Pandora Papers — 12 million files on the global 1 percent and the legal tricks they use to get out of paying taxes — are one of the biggest journalistic bombshells in years. They expose a system with one set of standards for the rich and another for everyone else.
Congress Can’t Let Opioid Billionaires Get Legal Immunity
Legislation to hold the Purdue Pharma Sackler family accountable is stalled as the Chamber of Commerce begins lobbying on the bill. Congress can’t let the criminals that fueled the opioid crisis get away with murder.
Steven Donziger Was Imprisoned by the 1 Percent’s Favorite Judge
Loretta Preska, the judge who did Chevron’s bidding in the case against activist Steven Donziger, has a history of conflicts of interest and pro-corporate rulings. And she’s not alone — corporate influence and conflicts of interest are rampant in the courts.
Squid Game Is an Allegory of Capitalist Hell
Like Parasite before it, Netflix’s survival thriller Squid Game dramatizes the horrors of modern inequality and exploitation in South Korea — and shreds the capitalist myth that hard work guarantees prosperity.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Jacobin: On Kyrie Irving’s Vaccine Refusal
NBA great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar writes in Jacobin arguing that athletes like Kyrie Irving aren’t making a “personal choice” by refusing the COVID vaccine — they’re jeopardizing the public health of all through their platforms.
Pablo Iglesias: The Left Needs to Break the Reactionary Stranglehold Over the Spanish State
In Spain, a center-left coalition government faces opposition not just from right-wingers and business leaders but from parts of the judiciary and police. For Pablo Iglesias, it’s time the Left pushed back against right-wing dominance in the state machine.
Australia’s Welfare System Is Designed to Force the Unemployed Into Low-Wage Casual Work
Australia’s unemployment benefit is one of the lowest in the OECD. This isn’t just a by-product of austerity politics — it’s designed to force the unemployed into low-paid, casual work, undermining wages and conditions across the board.
Saadi Yacef Fought for Algeria’s Freedom — Then Immortalized It on Film
Gillo Pontecorvo’s 1966 film The Battle of Algiers immortalized Algeria’s fight against French colonial rule. But Saadi Yacef, who died last month at age 93, stood out among the movie’s stars, for he had also been a key leader of the armed struggle in real life.
Canada’s National Energy Program Showed What a Public Energy Policy Can Achieve
In 1980, Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau introduced the National Energy Program. Though flawed, the policy showed how state intervention in the energy sector could overcome the boom-and-bust of the business cycle.
The French Revolution Was the Beginning of the Modern World
Conservative ideologues have dismissed the French Revolution as an unnecessary bloodbath. But a fresh look at the Revolution shows us its vital relevance to contemporary political issues, from demands for economic equality to the struggle against racism.
The Use of Ivermectin to Treat COVID Has Roots in Our Broken Health Care System
It’s easy to laugh at people eating “horse paste.” But the widespread willingness to take off-label treatments and drugs formulated for animals stems from problems in our privatized health care system, from domestic pharma prices to global vaccine inequality.
The Sopranos Goes Phantom Menace on Us
We asked our film critic — who has somehow never seen The Sopranos — to watch HBO’s new prequel film The Many Saints of Newark to see if it could work on its own merits.
Kyrsten Sinema: “Senators Need to Hear From Their Constituents”
We have audio of Kyrsten Sinema telling lobbyists how important it is to hear from constituents “early and often” months before she started ducking Arizonans’ questions.
Gladys Berejiklian’s Resignation Shows That When Big Business Is in Charge, Corruption Is Inevitable
On Friday, New South Wales’s Liberal premier Gladys Berejiklian resigned after the announcement of a new anti-corruption probe into her conduct. The news created a political crisis and exposed the corruption endemic in Australia’s most populous state.
A Television Makeup Artist Explains Why IATSE Members Are Willing to Strike
IATSE members voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike today. In the television and film industry, where long hours and unpredictable schedules are the norm, crew members are being pushed to their breaking point.
Will the Media Finally Learn Something From Its Fake “Havana Syndrome” Debacle?
Yet more evidence emerges that the so-called Havana Syndrome caused by a “microwave weapon” in US diplomats and intelligence personnel was a psychosomatic illness. Maybe it’s time for national security reporters to stop letting anonymous officials make wild claims to stoke conflict and inflate their budgets.
No, Progressive Challengers Are Not “Far Left”
The Democratic establishment just launched a new PAC to go to war against progressive candidates who challenge incumbents — and the media is doing everything they can to help.
Ending the War in Afghanistan Won’t End Inflated Defense Spending
While preparing to consider big cuts to the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill, Congress is simultaneously advancing a defense spending plan that would pay out more than twice that in the same time period.
Austin Is Ground Zero for a Different Kind of Neoliberalism
Known for its quirky institutions, eccentric characters, and progressive culture, Austin’s famous “weirdness” has long masked a deeper commitment to neoliberalism — which has in turn accelerated its de-weirding.