Review: The Ghost of Karl Marx

The Ghost of Karl Marx by Ronan de Calan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Jeez, even in a kid's book, Marx work is a bit dense (for kids I mean). That being said, a wonderful introduction into radical thinking that we will all need to practice if we wish to build a better world. Read it to your kids, give it to your "sleeping" coworkers, and wake them, for the time is nigh and revolution is in the air.

View all my reviews

Review: Marx's Capital: An Illustrated Introduction

Marx's Capital: An Illustrated Introduction by David N. Smith
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A lovely summary of Capital that is exactly what people in our dumbed down society need. All of the major points of Capital are covered, and while even this version can get a bit dense when describing surplus value and variable capital for example, on the whole it's a very straightforward no nonsense accessible intro into what is the by far and away the most comprehensive critique of capitalism that exists. I seriously think we need to make this particular companion to Capital required reading among the fast food joints, restaurants, retail places and any other major service job industries that make up the bulk of jobs in the U.S. I think we could have a lot of worker cohesion... consider getting this if you work in a major chain store like WalMart or McDonalds, and share it with your coworkers, form unions, and unite!

View all my reviews

A quick reaction from Storming the wall: climate change, migration and Homeland security

An abrupt climate change scenario and its implications for United States national security, the name of the report by peter Swartz and Doug Randall for the Pentagon in 2003:

"the United States and Australia are likely to build defensive fortresses around their country is because they have the resources and reserves to achieve self-sufficiency. With diverse growing climates, wealth, technology and an abundance of resources the United States can likely survive shortened growing cycles and harsh weather conditions without catastrophic losses. Borders will be strengthened around the country to hold back unwanted starving immigrants from the Caribbean islands (an especially severe problem) Mexico and South America."

since that report the United States has doubled its number of armed patrol agents. And it has added over 650 miles of walls and barriers along the US Mexico border. Furthermore this trend is worldwide, at the time of the Berlin Wall falling in 1988 there was a 16 border fences on the planet, today there are over 70 and the number has sharply increased after 9/11.

So this is where the ruling class is at, this is how they're dealing with climate change they're not having a green New Deal, they're laying the foundations for a fascistic 1984 type dystopian Society that has militarized borders and police to deal with refugees from climate catastrophes.

This is why it is imperative on leftists everywhere especially those of us in first World societies to put forward, educate agitate and organize alternative solutions, like a green New deal to this gross expansion of power by the ruling class in the government and private sector. It's quite literally socialism or barbarism.

Bad News from Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting by Alan Macleod
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

an absolute must read especially given the current state of affairs in Venezuela and the US ratcheting up it's coup attempt.

View all my reviews

Narrative of the life of frederick douglass an american slave by Ferederick douglass
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Knowing that slavery is wrong, and reading a first hand account of it are two very different things. This is the first time I've read what slavery was like in the first person and at times my eyes became misty just picturing the utter horror of what Fred went through. The fact that this was going on not even 170 years ago, as a totally normal and accepted thing... Well it certainly explains how racism has been passed down through generations, this kind of thing doesn't just go away because the practice of chattel slavery stops. Right after the civil war, the klan appeared all over the south to persecute recently freed slaves and in many cases the klan members were a part of the local police! This is the history of the southern states and as a person who has grown up and live in a southern state, I'm disgusted and appalled that humans treated their fellow human this way. If you ever hear someone say that slavery was just 170 years ago and it has no bearing on present day life, have them read this book.

View all my reviews