Unmasking the Modern Surveillance State
THE SHADOWY and secretive National Security Agency (NSA) has been exposed to the light of day by revelations that show the vast extent of U.S. government spying, at home and around the globe. The truth about two outrageous surveillance programs–apparently run for years by the world’s biggest spying agency with the support of Democrats and […]
What’s behind the tensions on the Korean peninsula?
North Korea is a state many commentators – even on the left – feel they do not have to take seriously: the funny hairstyles, the platform shoes; the bombast and hyperbole of the state media. If there is not belittling humour, extreme moralism obscures any political analysis. The same phrases are swapped between left and […]
ANZAC Day: Lest we remember
Lest we forget: 48 Japanese prisoners of war massacred in Featherston following a peaceful protest. New Zealand’s army taking part in the dismemberment of the Korean peninsula, and working with the US army of occupation in post-war Japan to deport Koreans. New Zealand’s military commitment to the war against Vietnam’s national liberation. A decade of […]
US rhetoric and sanctions ramp up dangerous tension with North Korea
North Korea recently issued a “No.1 combat readiness alert” announcing that the “North and South are at war”. Leader Kim Jong-un also put his strategic missile units on standby for launch. South Korea’s mainstream media and politicians say North Korea is “making intentional provocations, ramping up tension”. Socialists should not support such actions by North […]
Lies, damned lies and weapons of mass destruction
March 19-20 marks 10 years since the beginning of the war on Iraq. Before the war, Socialist Alternative argued, along with other opponents of US imperialism, that the war was predicated upon lies and would bring nothing but death and carnage to Iraq. There are times you would love to be proven wrong. This was […]
North Korea: A nuclear bogeyman created by the US
North Korea’s state-controlled news agency, Korean Central, says that the country’s recent nuclear test was conducted to strengthen North Korea’s overall nuclear capabilities. North Korea’s nuclear test has nothing to do with anti-imperialism or socialism. Its nuclear programme—pursued at the expense of its people’s livelihoods—will only increase tension in the region. As socialists who oppose […]
The real invasion of Africa is not news
A full-scale invasion of Africa is under way. The United States is deploying troops in 35 African countries, beginning with Libya, Sudan, Algeria and Niger. Reported by Associated Press on Christmas Day, this was missing from most Anglo-American media. The invasion has almost nothing to do with “Islamism”, and almost everything to do with the […]
The roots of France’s war in Mali
France, the former slave power of West Africa, has poured into Mali with a vengeance in a military attack launched on January 11. French warplanes are bombing towns and cities across the vast swath of northern Mali, a territory measuring some 1,000 kilometers each, from south to north and east to west. French soldiers in […]
Marching against the TPPA: What really happened
Between 200 – 300 people marched in Auckland yesterday against the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, the latest ‘free’ trade agreement designed to give maximum gains to New Zealand business and pain to workers globally. The negotiations – conducted in secret conditions making a mockery of democracy, as Jane Kelsey points out – were going on at SkyCity’s […]
Stop Imperialism! Stop The TPPA!
The TPPA began life as a proposal for a free-trade pact between four Pacific nations that are relatively insignificant on the world stage: Brunei, Chile, Singapore and New Zealand. The entry of the United States and Australia into the negotiations in 2008, along with other nations transformed the TPPA from a small, regional deal to […]
