South Africa
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South Africa: Forging a New Movement – Numsa and the Shift in SA Politics By Leonard Gentle
The decision of the National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa (NUMSA) to cut ties with the African National Congress (ANC) has received poor analysis. Comment has tended to focus on the possibility of a new political party in 2019 or whether all this means that Zwelenzima Vavi will get his job back. As… Continue reading
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Red tide rising: Numsa in attack mode By Ranjeni Munusamy
Elections 2014 will come and go, the ANC will be top of the pops, and a new bag of Liquorice Allsorts will fill the parliamentary benches. The great shake-up in South African politics looks set to happen after the elections – and metalworkers’ union Numsa is likely to play a big role in the new… Continue reading
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South Africa: Infrastructure ‘fast-track’ may trip up government and corporations By Patrick bond
What we academics often term South Africa’s ‘Minerals-Energy Complex‘ (MEC) keeps getting away with murder, including economic strangulation. As just one example, in spite of a recent trade surplus, the balance of payments is going into extreme deficit largely because MEC multinational mining houses – especially BHP Billiton, Anglo, DeBeers, Lonmin and Glencore – vacuum… Continue reading
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The African National Congress: The Rise and Tragic Fall of a Revolutionary Movement By Anthony Monteiro
Black “rule” in South Africa is illusory. “White supremacy without the obvious hand of white people is the form of social and political control, which replaces legal apartheid.” The revolution was derailed. “The road from the Freedom Charter, to the Morogoro Consultative Conference, to the 1994 elections, to the murder of 34 miners at Mirikana… Continue reading
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Democratic Left Front: Together, a new South Africa is possible
There is a spectre haunting the ruling class and government in South Africa: it is the radical anti-capitalist movement that the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) has given birth to at its historic special national congress held last week. The Democratic Left Front (DLF) congratulates NUMSA for this congress that united metalworkers… Continue reading
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Mandela and Cuba: another memory hole By Alex Doherty
Recognition of the role of Cuba in aiding the ANC whilst the western powers backed apartheid is hardly serviceable in maintaining the conventional Cold War narrative. Hence the media’s impressive avoidance of the context of the Castro-Obama handshake and its significance. Continue reading
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Madiba – The Rebranding of a Freedom Fighter – Part 2 by Akwesi Shaddai
One noticeable absence from Nelson Mandela’s memorial service was the former President of Libya, Muammar Gaddafi. Arguably, had he not been murdered at the instigation of the West in 2011, it is likely that Gaddafi would have been honoured with an opportunity to commemorate his comrade. Indeed, when Nelson Mandela was released from prison in… Continue reading
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South Africa Under the ANC: A Flawed Freedom By John S. Saul
Has the time come when it might be possible to move past the well-deserved praise-song phase of the marking of Nelson Mandela’s death in order to strike a more careful balance sheet on the meaning for present-day South Africa of his storied career? Continue reading
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Chavez vs. Mandela: Why did the media scorn one and mourn the other? By Hassan Reyes
For those many who identify with a progressive or liberatory politics, 2013 will be remembered as a year where two recognized leaders of the Left passed away. Continue reading
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How the ANC Sold Out South Africa’s Poor By Ronnie Kasrils
South Africa’s young people today are known as the Born Free generation. They enjoy the dignity of being born into a democratic society with the right to vote and choose who will govern. But modern South Africa is not a perfect society. Full equality – social and economic – does not exist, and control of… Continue reading
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Video: The Secret History of How Cuba Helped End Apartheid in South Africa
As the world focuses on Tuesday’s historic handshake between President Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro, we look back at the pivotal role Cuba played in ending apartheid and why Castro was one of only five world leaders invited to speak at Nelson Mandela’s memorial. In the words of Mandela, the Cubans ‘destroyed the myth… Continue reading
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CIA and Mandela: Can the Story Be Told Now? Agency's role in Mandela capture still mostly not news
Back in 1990, FAIR (Extra!, 3/90) noted that the media coverage of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison failed to mention there was strong evidence that the CIA had tipped off South African authorities to Mandela’s location in 1962, resulting in his arrest. So with coverage of Mandela’s death dominating the media now, can the story… Continue reading
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“Mandela and Just People” By John Bart Gerald
And there are all those who fought South Africa’s apartheid in other countries. Payment in social justice is owed by wealthy South Africans, foreign corporations at work in South Africa, each of the Euro-American leaders flocking to South Africa with their final respects. The un-stated portion of their respect is that the independence Mandela won… Continue reading
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“Mandela and Just People” By John Bart Gerald
And there are all those who fought South Africa’s apartheid in other countries. Payment in social justice is owed by wealthy South Africans, foreign corporations at work in South Africa, each of the Euro-American leaders flocking to South Africa with their final respects. The un-stated portion of their respect is that the independence Mandela won… Continue reading
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Nelson Mandela: Obama, Clinton, Cameron, Blair – Tributes of Shameful Hypocrisy By Felicity Arbuthnot
Accusing politicians or former politicians of “breathtaking hypocrisy” is not just over used, it is inadequacy of spectacular proportions. Sadly, searches in various thesaurus’ fail in meaningful improvement. The death of Nelson Mandela, however, provides tributes resembling duplicity on a mind altering substance. Continue reading
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NYT Takes Mandela's Death as a Chance to Mock His Fight to Free His Country By Jim Naureckas
Former New York Times executive editor Bill Keller wrote his paper’s obituary for Nelson Mandela (12/6/13). As you might have guessed, it glosses over the CIA’s role in helping the apartheid government catch Mandela (Extra!, 3-4/90): “Upon his capture he was charged with inciting a strike and leaving the country without a passport” is all… Continue reading
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Shimon Peres on Mandela and Apartheid: Now & Then By Adam Horowitz
Now: The world lost a great leader who changed the course of history. On behalf of the citizens of Israel we mourn alongside the nations of the world and the people of South Africa, who lost an exceptional leader. Then: In November 1974, Shimon Peres came to Pretoria to meet secretly with South African leaders.… Continue reading
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Nelson Mandela’s years in power: Was he pushed or did he jump? By Patrick Bond
The death of Nelson Mandela, at age 95 on December 5, 2013, brings genuine sadness. As his health deteriorated over the past six months, many asked the more durable question: how did he change South Africa? Given how unsatisfactory life is for so many in society, the follow-up question is, how much room was there… Continue reading
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The Legacy of Nelson Mandela: A Dissenting Opinion By Jonathan Cook
Let me start by recognising Mandela’s huge achievement in helping to bring down South African apartheid, and make clear my enormous respect for the great personal sacrifices he made, including spending so many years caged up for his part in the struggle to liberate his people. These are things impossible to forget or ignore when… Continue reading
The New Dark Age 