SOUTH AFRICA

Terry Bell: Still hoping – after 22 years

A labour dispute at the then Midrand municipality in 1994 has rumbled on for 22 years and has again, this year, come to the fore. In the process it has thrown into sharp focus some serious problems facing the labour movement… fin24.com/

EDUCATION
Higher education not a commodity

Through their protests, campaigns and actions students have placed several fundamental issues on the public agenda. Among the most important of these is the question of the public good with regard to education — the requirement that a democratic state is enjoined by its mandates to give effect to the promise of quality higher education to all its citizens… mg.co.za/

Deconstructing Decolonisation: Can racial assertiveness cure imagined inferiority?

There is nothing so powerful as an idea whose time has come. Decolonisation is one such idea… dailymaverick.co.za/

INTERNATIONAL

In their presidential primary, France’s Socialists tack to the left

As France prepares for its presidential election this spring, the unexpected is becoming routine. Now comes January’s surprise. Polls suggested that Manuel Valls, a centrist who served as prime minister until last month, was the front-runner in the first round of the Socialist presidential primary on January 22nd. Instead he finished second; first place went to Benoît Hamon, a figure from the party’s left wing… economist.com/

Regime Change Comes Home: The CIA’s Overt Threats against Trump

The norms of US capitalist democracy include the election of presidential candidates through competitive elections, unimpeded by force and violence by the permanent institutions of the state. Voter manipulation has occurred during the recent elections, as in the case of the John F. Kennedy victory in 1960 and the George W. Bush victory over ‘Al’ Gore in 2000… petras.lahaine.org/