December 2013
Discussion on the prospective of Syrian Islamism
Actually we deliberately want to stress the reciprocity and similarity of the phenomenon of sectarianism from both sides of the Syrian civil war though the more suitable notion would be communalism built on a specific group identity.
On the meaning of the Geneva negotiations
Discussion, Jan 17, Aachen, Germany: Hassan al Hachimi, Zuhat Kobani, Samir Aita, Salah-Aldin Siedo, Huda Zein, docent university Cologne, Wilhelm Langthaler, Leo Gabriel
What’s new in the Syrian war in the run-up for negotiations in Geneva
by Wilhelm Langthaler
1. Chemical arms deal reinstating Assad as an interlocutor of the west acknowledging that he will not be toppled any soon by military means. 2. US-Iran rapprochement. 3. Military advances by the Assad side. 4. Weakening of the popular support base of the insurgency as it falls under Jihadi control. 5. Marginalisation of pro-western military forces. 6. Radical opposition of Saudis to a settlement with Iran expressed in continued support for Jihadism. 7. Assad’s reinforced refusal of any democratic reform or any power sharing compromise with Russian backing.
Conference 11-12 January, Chianciano Terme, Italy
How to exit from the Euro – this is the main question posed at the conference. Are we supposed to wait fatalistically for the collapse? Or do we try to build a popular movement in order transform the exit into a step towards a better future?
by Leonardo Mazzei
The international corporate media decided to maintain low profile, but for weeks Italy is revolting. From the northeast down to Sicily a movement called “Forconi” (dung forks) is rocking the country. Actually the Forconi, originating from Sicily, are only one component of the mobilization lending their name.
The common currency was conceived as the final act of the unification of the capitalist elites in the frame of the European Union. The Euro should have sealed the brazen regime of the capitalist oligarchy led by Germany.