Transnational Institute
Jeb Sprague y Cesar Rodriguez
Desde el derrame de petróleo crudo en el Golfo de México hasta los ultrajes perpetrados contra los inmigrantes en Arizona, el gobierno de los Estados Unidos parece estar sumido en una emergencia tras otra. Pero las dos crisis tienen sus raíces en las estructuras fundamentales de nuestra sociedad, estructuras que han sido transformadas por la globalización.
La explosión de una plataforma de perforación submarina, que ocurrió el 20 de abril a unas 80 kilómetros de la costa de Luisiana, ocasionó el peor derrame de petróleo de la historia de los Estados Unidos. Unos tres días antes, la gobernadora del estado de Arizona, Jan Brewer, firmó el proyecto de ley SB 1070, la cual dispone que los policías locales deben pedir documentos de residencia a cualquier persona que ellos sospechen de ser indocumentada. Aunque parezcan ser hechos no relacionados, es importante considerar la manera cómo los dos están intrínsicamente conectados en un sistema que valora la acumulación del capital por encima del sustento y la sobrevivencia del pueblo y el medio ambiente.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
Dual Crises of Globalization: Arizona and the Gulf of Mexico
Transnational Institute
Jeb Sprague and Cesar Rodriguez
From the plumes of corporate crude in the Gulf of Mexico, to the assault on migrants in Arizona, the U.S. appears locked in a continual state of emergency. However, both crises have their roots in fundamental structures of our society that are at the core of globalization today.
The explosion on April 20th at BP’s offshore drilling rig fifty miles off the coast of Louisiana led to the worst oil spill in the country’s history, killing 11 workers and unplugging an oil gushing vein in the sea floor. Just three days later, Arizona governor Jan Brewer signed into Law SB 1070, which requires state police there to check the legal status of anyone suspected of being undocumented. While seemingly unrelated events, it is important that we consider how the two are intricately connected within a system that values the accumulation of capital over the livelihoods and survival of people and the environment.
Sociologist Leslie Sklair has described two central crises in the era of globalization: (1) a class polarization crisis with the “creation of increasing poverty and increasing wealth within and between communities and societies;” and (2) an ecological crisis with “the unsustainability of the system.”
Jeb Sprague and Cesar Rodriguez
From the plumes of corporate crude in the Gulf of Mexico, to the assault on migrants in Arizona, the U.S. appears locked in a continual state of emergency. However, both crises have their roots in fundamental structures of our society that are at the core of globalization today.
The explosion on April 20th at BP’s offshore drilling rig fifty miles off the coast of Louisiana led to the worst oil spill in the country’s history, killing 11 workers and unplugging an oil gushing vein in the sea floor. Just three days later, Arizona governor Jan Brewer signed into Law SB 1070, which requires state police there to check the legal status of anyone suspected of being undocumented. While seemingly unrelated events, it is important that we consider how the two are intricately connected within a system that values the accumulation of capital over the livelihoods and survival of people and the environment.
Sociologist Leslie Sklair has described two central crises in the era of globalization: (1) a class polarization crisis with the “creation of increasing poverty and increasing wealth within and between communities and societies;” and (2) an ecological crisis with “the unsustainability of the system.”
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Inmigrantes se juegan la vida en el desierto de Arizona
Por Jeb Sprague
Muro fronterizo entre México y Estados Unidos en paso Mariposa
Crédito: Jeb Sprague/IPS
NOGALES, México, 23 abr (IPS) - "Tengo que volver a Arizona, es mi hogar", dice el mexicano Sergio, de 26 años, mientras coloca su última pastilla purificadora en un cubo de agua turbia. Su hijo vive en ese estado de Estados Unidos donde él mismo pasó la mayor parte de su vida.
Sin documentos, Sergio, como otros inmigrantes, no puede obtener una licencia de conducir. Cuando usaba una identificación falsa, lo detuvieron en un control de tráfico de rutina y, tras hacerle pasar cuatro meses en la cárcel, lo deportaron a México.
Muro fronterizo entre México y Estados Unidos en paso Mariposa
Crédito: Jeb Sprague/IPS
NOGALES, México, 23 abr (IPS) - "Tengo que volver a Arizona, es mi hogar", dice el mexicano Sergio, de 26 años, mientras coloca su última pastilla purificadora en un cubo de agua turbia. Su hijo vive en ese estado de Estados Unidos donde él mismo pasó la mayor parte de su vida.
Sin documentos, Sergio, como otros inmigrantes, no puede obtener una licencia de conducir. Cuando usaba una identificación falsa, lo detuvieron en un control de tráfico de rutina y, tras hacerle pasar cuatro meses en la cárcel, lo deportaron a México.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Migrants Risk Everything in Arizona Desert Crossing
By Jeb Sprague
INTER PRESS SERVICE (IPS)
Photo of: Border leading into the desert at the Mariposa port-of-entry.
NOGALES, Mexico, Apr 17, 2010 (IPS) - As he drops his last purification tablet into a pail of swirling, murky water, Sergio, 26, stares out toward the desert. Recently deported from Arizona, where he has a young child and where he has lived for the majority of his life, he explains, "I have to return, it's my home."
Lacking official U.S. documentation, Sergio, like other undocumented migrants is unable to get a driver's license. Using a fake ID, he was originally deported to Mexico after being pulled over in a routine traffic stop and jailed for four months.
INTER PRESS SERVICE (IPS)
Photo of: Border leading into the desert at the Mariposa port-of-entry.
NOGALES, Mexico, Apr 17, 2010 (IPS) - As he drops his last purification tablet into a pail of swirling, murky water, Sergio, 26, stares out toward the desert. Recently deported from Arizona, where he has a young child and where he has lived for the majority of his life, he explains, "I have to return, it's my home."
Lacking official U.S. documentation, Sergio, like other undocumented migrants is unable to get a driver's license. Using a fake ID, he was originally deported to Mexico after being pulled over in a routine traffic stop and jailed for four months.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Dr. William I. Robinson: "Understanding Global Capitalism"
An excellent talk here by Professor William I. Robinson titled "Understanding Global Capitalism." He gave this talk in 2008 in the Philippines.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Haití, un desastre clasista
Rebelion
Jeb Sprague
Sólo cinco días antes del terremoto que destrozó Puerto Príncipe el 12 de enero, el Consejo de Modernización de las Empresas Públicas (CMEP) del gobierno haitiano anunció la privatización del 70% de Teleco, la compañía estatal de teléfono de Haití.
Hoy Puerto Príncipe está en ruinas con miles, posiblemente cientos de miles de muertos, barrios enteros destrozados, muchas personas enterradas vivas. De pueblos de toda la península del sur, como Léogâne, se dice que están en la ruina total, con un número de víctimas incalculable. El presidente de Haití, René Préval, y su administración se han revelado ineptos, ausentes y ni siquiera se les oye en la radio local.
Jeb Sprague
Sólo cinco días antes del terremoto que destrozó Puerto Príncipe el 12 de enero, el Consejo de Modernización de las Empresas Públicas (CMEP) del gobierno haitiano anunció la privatización del 70% de Teleco, la compañía estatal de teléfono de Haití.
Hoy Puerto Príncipe está en ruinas con miles, posiblemente cientos de miles de muertos, barrios enteros destrozados, muchas personas enterradas vivas. De pueblos de toda la península del sur, como Léogâne, se dice que están en la ruina total, con un número de víctimas incalculable. El presidente de Haití, René Préval, y su administración se han revelado ineptos, ausentes y ni siquiera se les oye en la radio local.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Haiti's Classquake
Znet
Jeb Sprague
Just five days prior to the 7.0 earthquake that shattered Port-au-Prince on January 12th, the Haitian government's Council of Modernisation of Public Enterprises (CMEP) announced the planned 70% privatization of Teleco, Haiti's public telephone company.
Today Port-au-Prince lies in ruins, with thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands dead, entire neighborhoods cut off, many buried alive. Towns across the southern peninsula, such as Léogâne, are said to be in total ruin with an untold number of victims. Haiti's president, René Préval, and his administration remain largely inept, absent from Port-au-Prince and even the local radio.
Jeb Sprague
Just five days prior to the 7.0 earthquake that shattered Port-au-Prince on January 12th, the Haitian government's Council of Modernisation of Public Enterprises (CMEP) announced the planned 70% privatization of Teleco, Haiti's public telephone company.
Today Port-au-Prince lies in ruins, with thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands dead, entire neighborhoods cut off, many buried alive. Towns across the southern peninsula, such as Léogâne, are said to be in total ruin with an untold number of victims. Haiti's president, René Préval, and his administration remain largely inept, absent from Port-au-Prince and even the local radio.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Transnational Capitalist Class in the Global Financial Crisis: A Discussion with Leslie Sklair
JEB SPRAGUE
Globalizations
ABSTRACT In an interview, Leslie Sklair, author of The Transnational Capitalist Class (2001) and Professor Emeritus in Sociology at the London School of Economics, discusses his thoughts on today’s global financial crisis, its connections to a globally dominant social class—the transnational capitalist class—as well as his views on the US invasion and occupation of Iraq, and clarifications on his theoretical approach.
En una entrevista, Leslie Sklair, autor de La clase capitalista trasnacional (2001) y profesor eme´rito en sociologı´a de la Facultad de Economı´a de Londres, discute tanto sus pensamientos sobre la crisis financiera global actual, y sus conexiones con una clase social global dominante—la clase capitalista trasnacional—como sobre su punto de vista sobre la invasio´n y ocupacio´n de Iraq por los E.E.U.U., y las aclaraciones sobre su enfoque teo´rico.
Globalizations
ABSTRACT In an interview, Leslie Sklair, author of The Transnational Capitalist Class (2001) and Professor Emeritus in Sociology at the London School of Economics, discusses his thoughts on today’s global financial crisis, its connections to a globally dominant social class—the transnational capitalist class—as well as his views on the US invasion and occupation of Iraq, and clarifications on his theoretical approach.
En una entrevista, Leslie Sklair, autor de La clase capitalista trasnacional (2001) y profesor eme´rito en sociologı´a de la Facultad de Economı´a de Londres, discute tanto sus pensamientos sobre la crisis financiera global actual, y sus conexiones con una clase social global dominante—la clase capitalista trasnacional—como sobre su punto de vista sobre la invasio´n y ocupacio´n de Iraq por los E.E.U.U., y las aclaraciones sobre su enfoque teo´rico.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Haiti and the Jean Dominique Investigation: An Interview with Mario Joseph and Brian Concannon
Jeb Sprague
Journal of Haitian Studies
On April 3, 2000, Jean Dominique, Haiti’s most popular journalist, was shot four times in the chest as he arrived for work at Radio Haïti. The station’s security guard Jean-Claude Louissant was also killed in the attack. The President of Haiti, René Préval, ordered three days of official mourning and 16,000 people reportedly attended his funeral. A documentary film released in 2003, The Agronomist, by Academy Award-winning director Jonathan Demme featured Dominique’s inspiring life. However, since Dominique’s death the investigation into his murder has sparked a constant point of controversy.1
Attorneys Mario Joseph and Brian Concannon worked for the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI), a human rights lawyer’s office supported by both the Préval and Aristide governments. The BAI was tasked with helping to investigate the killings. A discussion with the two attorneys reveals the unpublished perspective of former government insiders who worked on the case and their thoughts on the role of former Senator Dany Toussaint, the investigation headed by Judge Claudy Gassant, the mobilization around the case, and recent revelations made by Guy Philippe, a leader of the ex-military organization Front pour la Libération et la Réconstruction Nationales (FLRN).
This interview was conducted over the telephone and by e-mail during April and May of 2007.
Journal of Haitian Studies
On April 3, 2000, Jean Dominique, Haiti’s most popular journalist, was shot four times in the chest as he arrived for work at Radio Haïti. The station’s security guard Jean-Claude Louissant was also killed in the attack. The President of Haiti, René Préval, ordered three days of official mourning and 16,000 people reportedly attended his funeral. A documentary film released in 2003, The Agronomist, by Academy Award-winning director Jonathan Demme featured Dominique’s inspiring life. However, since Dominique’s death the investigation into his murder has sparked a constant point of controversy.1
Attorneys Mario Joseph and Brian Concannon worked for the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI), a human rights lawyer’s office supported by both the Préval and Aristide governments. The BAI was tasked with helping to investigate the killings. A discussion with the two attorneys reveals the unpublished perspective of former government insiders who worked on the case and their thoughts on the role of former Senator Dany Toussaint, the investigation headed by Judge Claudy Gassant, the mobilization around the case, and recent revelations made by Guy Philippe, a leader of the ex-military organization Front pour la Libération et la Réconstruction Nationales (FLRN).
This interview was conducted over the telephone and by e-mail during April and May of 2007.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
FINANZAS Choque a la vista en cumbre del G-20
por Jeb Sprague
IPS
PITTSBURGH, Estados Unidos, 21 sep (IPS) - Miles de manifestantes de todo Estados Unidos se congregarán en esta ciudad para protestar contra la cumbre del Grupo de los 20 (G-20) esta semana, que contará con 4.000 policías para proteger a los delegados de los respectivos países.
Los gobernantes del G-20, conformado por los ocho países más industrializados y economías emergentes, se reunirán este jueves y el viernes para examinar el cumplimiento de sus objetivos de restaurar el crecimiento de la economía mundial y reformar los sistemas financieros multilaterales.
IPS
PITTSBURGH, Estados Unidos, 21 sep (IPS) - Miles de manifestantes de todo Estados Unidos se congregarán en esta ciudad para protestar contra la cumbre del Grupo de los 20 (G-20) esta semana, que contará con 4.000 policías para proteger a los delegados de los respectivos países.
Los gobernantes del G-20, conformado por los ocho países más industrializados y economías emergentes, se reunirán este jueves y el viernes para examinar el cumplimiento de sus objetivos de restaurar el crecimiento de la economía mundial y reformar los sistemas financieros multilaterales.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Activists, Big Business Converge on G20 Meet
By Jeb Sprague
INTER PRESS SERVICE (IPS)
Local activists say development has been an undemocratic process geared toward the beautiful downtown.
PITTSBURGH, Sep 20, 2009 (IPS) - As media and government delegates prepare for the G20 Summit to be held Sep. 24-25 in Pittsburgh, local business and activist groups are promoting clashing visions of days to come.
Hit hard over the last quarter of the twentieth century with a collapsing steel industry, recession and falling population, Pittsburgh is still a decent place to live - often highly rated because of low housing costs.
INTER PRESS SERVICE (IPS)
Local activists say development has been an undemocratic process geared toward the beautiful downtown.
PITTSBURGH, Sep 20, 2009 (IPS) - As media and government delegates prepare for the G20 Summit to be held Sep. 24-25 in Pittsburgh, local business and activist groups are promoting clashing visions of days to come.
Hit hard over the last quarter of the twentieth century with a collapsing steel industry, recession and falling population, Pittsburgh is still a decent place to live - often highly rated because of low housing costs.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Haiti: Calls Mount to Free Lavalas Activist
By Wadner Pierre and Jeb Sprague
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Aug 20, 2009 (IPS) - Government authorities in Haiti face recent criticism over allegations that they continue to jail political dissidents.
On Aug. 7, Amnesty International called for the release of Ronald Dauphin, a Haitian political prisoner. Dauphin is an activist with the Fanmi Lavalas movement of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. He was seized by armed paramilitaries on Mar. 1, 2004 - the day after Aristide's government was ousted in a coup d'état.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Aug 20, 2009 (IPS) - Government authorities in Haiti face recent criticism over allegations that they continue to jail political dissidents.
On Aug. 7, Amnesty International called for the release of Ronald Dauphin, a Haitian political prisoner. Dauphin is an activist with the Fanmi Lavalas movement of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. He was seized by armed paramilitaries on Mar. 1, 2004 - the day after Aristide's government was ousted in a coup d'état.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Book Review of 'The Dialectics of Globalization'
The Dialectics of Globalization: Economic and Political Conflict in a Transnational World
Jerry Harris
Newcastle, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2008, 2nd edition. 285 pp.
Globalizations
Jerry Harris has provided a wide-ranging yet detailed investigation into the unfolding of global capitalism. The book, Dialectics of Globalization, published (2006, 2008) in the years leading up to the ongoing global financial crisis, illuminates the hyper-intensification of political and economic changes leading us to where we are today. Made up of a collection of updated journal articles, it amasses an impressive body of work conceptually rooted in an understanding of globalization in its entirety.
Key for accepting the approach in his book, Harris argues that class relations in globalization must be reconceptualized beyond the confines of the nation-state. The rapid changes in production, technology, finance/capital accumulation have transformed the international economy into a global economy, creating consensus among corporate elites that barriers to investment and trade must be removed. A transnational capitalist class (TCC), promoting this project and directly involved in the accumulation of global capital, is now the dominant socio-economic group. Harris takes his readers through the maturing of this process, providing fascinating insight on the technological and financial engines propelling its expansion, as well as case studies that examine the process of global capitalism in countries ranging from Germany to Brazil and India.
Jerry Harris
Newcastle, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2008, 2nd edition. 285 pp.
Globalizations
Jerry Harris has provided a wide-ranging yet detailed investigation into the unfolding of global capitalism. The book, Dialectics of Globalization, published (2006, 2008) in the years leading up to the ongoing global financial crisis, illuminates the hyper-intensification of political and economic changes leading us to where we are today. Made up of a collection of updated journal articles, it amasses an impressive body of work conceptually rooted in an understanding of globalization in its entirety.
Key for accepting the approach in his book, Harris argues that class relations in globalization must be reconceptualized beyond the confines of the nation-state. The rapid changes in production, technology, finance/capital accumulation have transformed the international economy into a global economy, creating consensus among corporate elites that barriers to investment and trade must be removed. A transnational capitalist class (TCC), promoting this project and directly involved in the accumulation of global capital, is now the dominant socio-economic group. Harris takes his readers through the maturing of this process, providing fascinating insight on the technological and financial engines propelling its expansion, as well as case studies that examine the process of global capitalism in countries ranging from Germany to Brazil and India.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
HAITÍ Comicios con exclusiones avalados por la ONU
Por Jeb Sprague*
NUEVA YORK, 17 abr (IPS) - Las elecciones legislativas de este domingo en Haití están marcadas por la proscripción del partido centroizquierdista Fanmi Lavalas (FL), que cuenta con gran respaldo entre la mayoría pobre.
Y, a medida que avanza la crisis económica mundial, funcionarios de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas (ONU) en Nueva York y en Puerto Príncipe se la ven en figurillas para defender un problemático proceso electoral al mismo tiempo que ruegan por la ayuda de los donantes.
NUEVA YORK, 17 abr (IPS) - Las elecciones legislativas de este domingo en Haití están marcadas por la proscripción del partido centroizquierdista Fanmi Lavalas (FL), que cuenta con gran respaldo entre la mayoría pobre.
Y, a medida que avanza la crisis económica mundial, funcionarios de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas (ONU) en Nueva York y en Puerto Príncipe se la ven en figurillas para defender un problemático proceso electoral al mismo tiempo que ruegan por la ayuda de los donantes.
Haiti: Fanmi Lavalas Banned, Voter Apprehension Widespread
By Jeb Sprague*
INTER PRESS SERVICE
NEW YORK, Apr 17, 2009 (IPS) - Weekend senatorial elections in Haiti are mired in controversy as Fanmi Lavalas (FL), the political party widely backed by the poor majority, has been disqualified.
As the global financial crisis unfolds, U.N. officials in New York City and Port-au-Prince are struggling to defend a troubled electoral process while gathering donor aid.
Meanwhile, a recent study by the Florida-based advocacy organisation Haiti Priorities Project (HPP) has found widespread popular apprehension and disaffection among Haitians ahead of the upcoming senatorial elections.
INTER PRESS SERVICE
NEW YORK, Apr 17, 2009 (IPS) - Weekend senatorial elections in Haiti are mired in controversy as Fanmi Lavalas (FL), the political party widely backed by the poor majority, has been disqualified.
As the global financial crisis unfolds, U.N. officials in New York City and Port-au-Prince are struggling to defend a troubled electoral process while gathering donor aid.
Meanwhile, a recent study by the Florida-based advocacy organisation Haiti Priorities Project (HPP) has found widespread popular apprehension and disaffection among Haitians ahead of the upcoming senatorial elections.
Friday, December 26, 2008
A Review of Three Recent Books on Haiti
by Jeb Sprague
NACLA
The ProPheT and Power: Jean-BerTrand arisTide, The inTernaTional CommuniTy, and haiTi by Alex Dupuy, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2006,
258 pp., $30.95
An unBroken agony: From revoluTion To The kidnaPPing oF a PresidenT by Randal Robinson, Basic Civitas Books, 2007, 304 pp., $16.95
Damming The Flood: haiTi, arisTide, and The PoliTiCs oF ConTainmenT by Peter Hallward, Verso, 2008, 442 pp., $29.95
Four years after the second ouster of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Haiti’s first democratically elected presi- dent, three books exploring the 2004 coup have appeared, ranging widely in their interpretations of events.
NACLA
The ProPheT and Power: Jean-BerTrand arisTide, The inTernaTional CommuniTy, and haiTi by Alex Dupuy, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2006,
258 pp., $30.95
An unBroken agony: From revoluTion To The kidnaPPing oF a PresidenT by Randal Robinson, Basic Civitas Books, 2007, 304 pp., $16.95
Damming The Flood: haiTi, arisTide, and The PoliTiCs oF ConTainmenT by Peter Hallward, Verso, 2008, 442 pp., $29.95
Four years after the second ouster of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Haiti’s first democratically elected presi- dent, three books exploring the 2004 coup have appeared, ranging widely in their interpretations of events.
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