Born on this day in 1931, the heroic revolutionary faces a dangerous new wave of White House aggression. We must treat his birthday as a rallying cry to resist the illegal siege of Cuba, writes ROGER McKENZIE
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And they call this democracy?
Why doesn't the average citizen's desire for Scandinavian-style social democracy find its expression in elections? Because what little popular sovereignty the US had has been savagely undermined year upon year since the civil rights era, explains ZOLTAN ZIGEDY
Polls show that most people want the US government to play an active role in ameliorating social problems but have lost almost all hope in their political representatives — the result is a grotesque charade at election time devoid of substance
RAMZY BAROUD decries the rats of Gaza, the rodent and human type. Both abound as profiteering from tragedy reaches obscene levels
When gas company bosses gorged on assets, the GMB union fought back with the help of a 20-stone saddleback sow. MAT COWARD tells the story
JOHN REES looks at why the June 20 international anti-war conference is such a vital initiative
ROGER McKENZIE highlights how health workers in DRC are struggling to contain a deadly Ebola outbreak in a region already suffering conflict, aid cuts and a legacy of imperialist degradation
Associate Professor BUI QUANG TUAN explains how modernisation and growth are helping to unlock new foreign investment in the Vietnamese economy
THE idea of the US as a citadel of democracy is based on an enduring myth. The frequent references, even on the left, to “saving our democracy” or “protecting our democracy” from Trump, the Russians, the Chinese, Islam, or any other forces lurking in the cabinet of popular demonology, is sheer nonsense. There is little to save or protect and the threat resides elsewhere.
The idea of invading, occupying, or undermining the governments of other countries to promote “our” democracy is, therefore, equally nonsense.
Certainly there are many ready to vigorously contest these claims. How can a country that has the longest unbroken history of regular elections not be democratic? What could be more democratic?
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