Reading

Created
Thu, 25/07/2024 - 20:42
An interview with The Ink, about where we are, how we got here and where we need to go. George Monbiot, interviewed by The Ink, 9th July 2024 TI: Can you walk us through how you define neoliberalism” — the “Invisible Doctrine” of the book’s title. And of “capitalism,” for that matter? GM: Let’s start […]
Created
Thu, 25/07/2024 - 19:41

Last week, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza strip is unlawful. It also found Israel guilty of violating the prohibition on racial segregation and apartheid. Even though this merely confirms what has already been asserted for decades by Palestinian civil society, human […]

Created
Thu, 25/07/2024 - 14:47

Political Economy Seminar

Class, Party, and American Politics in 2024

Speaker: Matthew Karp, Princeton University

Time and date: Friday, 2 August 2024, 4-5:30 pm

Location: A02 Social Sciences Building, Room 650, The University of Sydney

Abstract: It may be the most pervasive question in twenty-first century politics, all across the post-industrial world: Why have so many working-class voters, the backbone of socialist and progressive struggles across the twentieth century, turned away from parties of the left? Everyone from Thomas Piketty to J.D. Vance seems to have weighed in, but the debate rages on. This talk explores the emergence of what some call “class dealignment” in the United States, focusing especially on the last two decades, and evaluating the current shape of both the Republican and Democratic political coalitions. Drawing on my work with the Center for Working Class Politics, I argue that dealignment represents an existential crisis for the American left and suggest some ways left-wing politicians might push back against these macro trends.

Created
Thu, 25/07/2024 - 14:28
From The Guardian Among many other challenges in dealing with the failure of urban policy in Australia, the Minns (NSW state) government is faced with the task of renegotiating, or repudiating, the disastrous set of contracts for toll roads in New South Wales made by its predecessors (Labor and Liberal) with the Transurban group. As […]
Created
Thu, 25/07/2024 - 11:54

The 17th Annual E.L. ‘Ted’ Wheelwright Lecture

Dollar Hegemony as Law-Making Power, or How the Dollar Shapes the Rules of Global Capitalism

Speaker: Ntina Tzouvala (ANU)

Date and time: Thursday 12 September, doors open 5:30 pm, lecture 6-8 pm

Location: University of Sydney, venue to be advised. Please register to be updated on the venue.

Registrations: https://events.humanitix.com/17th-annual-wheelwright-lecture

Lecture abstract

Created
Thu, 25/07/2024 - 10:37
I have just witnessed the most pathetic and humiliating hour which I, as an American, have experienced in my lifetime. After virtually every sentence uttered by the notorious war-criminal Benjamin Netanyahu, no matter how inane or blatantly false, virtually all the attending political prostitutes infesting the U.S. Congress rose (53 times!) in a loud standing Continue reading »
Created
Thu, 25/07/2024 - 09:30
And it’s going to hurt them Awwww. They have belatedly realized that their piggishness might not be the selling point they thought it was. It’s too late, I’m afraid. We know who they are: That’s very nice, I’m sure. But unless Fox News and the right wing media lay off of it, it’s going to be out there. And it’s going to gross out over half the population. . And they need to have a talk with Donald Trump: Also, respects to our potentially new Democrat Challenger, Laffin’ Kamala Harris. She did poorly in the Democrat Nominating process, starting out at Number Two, and ending up defeated and dropping out, even before getting to Iowa, but that doesn’t mean she’s not a “highly talented” politician! Just ask her Mentor, the Great Willie Brown of San Francisco. I’m sure I don’t have to point out that he has suggested exactly the same thing about NY Attorney General Leticia James and Fulton County prosecutor Fani Willis, both of whom are Black women. He’s the one who gives permission for this garbage, not Mike Johnson.
Created
Thu, 25/07/2024 - 08:00
Trump’s team is reportedly super loyal to him so this is pretty stupid in any case. They just screwed up on a grand scale. Cheatle resigned which I think is fine since the buck has to stop at the top and it’s clear the Secret Service fell down on the job. But this looney tunes stuff from a member of congress (yes, it’s Marge Greene, one of their most popular members) is unfortunately par for the course.