Transnational news - 9 July 2009

Editor's Picks

Honduran coup tries to halt advance of Latin American left
Roger Burbach
The coup against Manuel Zelaya represents a last ditch effort by Honduras’ entrenched economic and political interests to stave off the advance of the new left governments in Latin America.
See also Honduras: The futility of the coup, by Atilio Borón, Civil society letter to EU officials (PDF), and more analysis here

	The global food price crisis - a critique of orthodox perspectives Walden Bello In an extract from his forthcoming book Food Wars, Bello critiques the orthodox views of economist Paul Collier on the causes of the global food price crisis. Industrial agriculture and its damaging transformation of land, nature, and social relations is responsible for today's food crises.

	From Golden Triangle to Rubber Belt? The Future of Opium Bans in the Kokang and Wa Regions Tom Kramer In the Kokang and Wa regions in northern Burma, opium bans may have ended poppy cultivation but at the cost of pushing farming communities into chronic poverty. The promoted alternative of Chinese monoculture rubber plantations have not benefited the population.

	Back to basics Praful Bidwai The Indian Left can recover from its electoral rout if it rethinks its strategy, projects an egalitarian vision, and fights for radical pro-poor alternatives in every field.

Obituaries

	Peter Gowan: In Memoriam The Left has suffered a major loss with the untimely death of Peter Gowan, one of the most respected critical political economists in the world, says Leo Panitch, co-editor of Socialist Register.

Histories of the Present: Giovanni Arrighi, the Longue Duree of Geohistorical Capitalism, and the Current Crisis
Tom Reifer
The range and scope of Giovanni Arrighi’s intellectual work – and in particular his ability to provide analysis rooted in a long-term geohistorical context - is truly an astonishing achievement, while his generosity of spirit towards his intellectual interlocutors had few equals.

Publications

	Neither War Nor Peace The Future Of The Cease-Fire Agreements In Burma Tom Kramer Whilst a twenty year ceasefire still holds, there is unlikely to be peace and democracy in Burma without a political settlement that addresses ethnic minority needs and goals.

	Food Wars Walden Bello A penetrating analysis of the various causes of the food crisis that pushed hundreds of millions into poverty: highlighting the destructive role the IMF and WTO played in restructuring the worldwide agricultural system.

The Global Fight for Climate Justice
Anticapitalist Responses to Global Warming and Environmental Destruction
Ian Angus (ed)
Kevin Smith of Carbon Trade Watch, Patrick Bond and others make a compelling case that saving the world from climate catastrophe will require much more than tinkering with technology or taxes. Only radical social change can prevent irreversible damage to the earth and civilization.

Global perspectives

China's Uighur conundrum
John Gittings
For years, Beijing has talked up the threat of ethnic separatism in Xinjiang. Is reality finally catching up with the story?

Keynes: A Man for this Season?
One of the most significant consequences of the collapse of neoliberal economics has been the revival of the great English economist John Maynard Keynes. But to solve our problems, we don't just need Keynes. We need our own Keynes, says Walden Bello.

U.N. General Assembly president urges rich countries to better address the economic crisis
Nick Buxton
Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, UN General Assembly president, in his short period in office has rattled the Security Council powers, because he reflects the emergence of a growing political movement against “business as usual.”

Adult fairytales
Boris Kagarlitsky
Not a single representative of the Russian political elite believes in the proclaimed ideas of free trade, but they can’t admit this as abandoning their ideology would be seen as damaging to their authority.
See also Taking credit for Sweden’s defeat

Progressive demolition in Amazonia
Saul Landau
As unrelenting human predators continue to covet Amazon wealth the world watches anxiously, but watching will not stop the destruction

Cross of Charter impasse, unfolding economy
Walden Bello
With its representative institutions severely weakened by unscrupulous political machinations, the fate of Philippine constitutional democracy – and our economic survival - will once again depend on the direct democracy of the streets.

Land, Rural Social Movements and Democratisation in Indonesia
Dianto Bachriadi
Although support from urban-based students and activists was important, rural protest in Indonesia during President Suharto's regime was primarily built on protest and organisation around land issues.

Hypocrisy and internal contradictions that will tear Kenya apart
Antony Otieno Ong’ayo
As Kenya's exploitative elites continue to monopolise the country's resources, profound change will be needed to halt a debilitating 46-year status quo of marginalisation and impoverishment for much of the Kenyan populace.

New car habit can cure hard times
Saul Landau
In response to economic bad news, industry leaders encouraged the public to relapse into a bad habit as the way of saving the economy.

En español

Selección del editor

El golpe de Honduras pretende detener el avance de la izquierda latinoamericana
Roger Burbach
El golpe contra el presidente hondureño Manuel Zelaya representa un último esfuerzo desesperado por parte de los intereses políticos y económicos del país de frenar el avance de los gobiernos de la nueva izquierda que están extendiéndose en América Latina.
Véase también: Honduras: la futilidad del golpe, por Atilio Borón
Más análisis y llamadas a la acción>

	«Lloré de alegría con Obama» Entrevista con Susan George. Por María Dolores Tortosa Ahora es la oportunidad de resolver la crisis financiera y la climática con una conversión radical y masiva en una economía solidaria, abierta, ecológica, sin combustible fósil, con un 'new deal' que no termine en una guerra.

	El hábito del auto nuevo puede curar los tiempos duros Saul Landau En respuesta a las malas noticias económicas, los líderes de la industria alentaron al público a que tengan una recaída en un mal hábito como forma de salvar la economía.