Suggested readings #4

Over the last two days I have translated into Portuguese two texts by Slavoj Zizek for the website of the Libertária journal. The first one is titled Clear racist element to hysteria over new coronavirus and was written, as we see it, too prematurely (3rd of February) and would be rather outdated if it wasn’t for the detail of having noticed that in Lisbon and neighbouring city Amadora (where I currently reside) the groceries and minimarkets owned by Indian and Chinese immigrants are fully stocked with full shelves while those owned by Portuguese citizens, as well as all supermarkets and hypermarkets, have empty shelves and long lines of people at their doors, so it’s worth a read. 

The second text is a rather realistic analysis of the political battle currently being staged in the United States, although my view is that the current outbreak will most likely result on the postponement of this years presidential elections by Donald trump, all for the good of “national security”. Below is a small taste of the US enters brutal ideological civil war as four-party system begins to take form:

"The US is now transforming itself from a two-party state into a four-party state: there are really four parties that fill in the political space - the establishment Republicans, establishment Democrats, alt-right populists and democratic socialists."

Suggested readings #3

For as little time as I had, I was able to finish the translation of a great piece taken straight from the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation’s collection of essays titled A Season in Hell for Libertária. This A Season in Hell collection is an homage to the French poet Arthur Rimbaud, it is directed be Ethan Earle (more famously known for his wort at The Nation magazine) and is available in French (on a partnership with the Canadian online magazine Ricochet), in German (on a partnership with Die Linke’s Neues Deutschland newspaper) and in English (on a partnership with Jacobin magazine). The Rosa Luxemburg foundation gave us permission to translate one of the pieces into Portuguese: Which way off the roundabout, Where the yellow vests are heading next by Ethan Earle.

I’m currently translating We need a full public service internet – state-owned infrastructure is just the start by Christian Fuchs, originally published in The Conversation. Christian is a member of the Labour Party, Professor and Director, Communication and Media Research Institute, at the University of Westminster. This will be one of the pressing issues on the future of Democracy, the Portuguese Socialist Party government tried to make some progress on it by trying to push for a Social Tariff up to 2023 to make sure everyone has affordable Internet access, Labour went further than this and proposed free public owned Internet, and I’m pretty sure many other Progressive parties will have their say on what we call Digital Democracy. A very compelling read.

Suggested Readings #2

There's been quite a fuss around the British election this week, and I just thought it would be useful to suggest a few readings from a more activist viewpoint, my personal view being that, besides the onslaught that Jeremy Corbyn was subject to in mainstream media, the main issue was that Labour did not embrace Brexit, thus losing the election. We will be publishing Portuguese translations of these three peaces in Libertaria.pt:

- Labour Lost Because it Failed to Grasp the Democratic Opportunity of Brexit by Lee Jones in Brave New Europe.

- Labour’s failure to realise this was a 2nd Brexit referendum hands Britain to Boris by Simon Rite in RT News.

and

- Lessons of the election: Don’t mourn - organise! by Rob Sewell at Socialist Appeal.

My only hope is that like the Bernie Sanders campaign did back in 2016 within the Democrat Party, that the Jeremy Corbyn campaign and leadership over the last years will seed the Labour Party giving way for many young local, regional and national leaders and MPs to flourish and return the Party to its rightful place as one of the main inspirations behind European Socialism. People tend to forget, but over a century ago the first steps toward Democratic Socialism were taken by the British Labour Party and the German Social-Democrat Party, these parties used to be people's parties and workers parties for most of their lives, long before its leadership became havens for businessmen and upper class lawyers that have to contact with the real world and with the citizens daily ordeals, and in order to survive and thrive as a real alternative to the Neoliberal nightmare we are all living in, they need to return to their original identities as working class parties.

Suggested Readings #1

Over the last few days a few of my translations got published over here, two of which I consider to be mandatory reading for any Progressives out there and so I’m directing you to the originals: The Lies About Assange Must Stop Now by John Pilger, journalist and awarded documentary director, that in this short piece depicts the bias – or even outright lies – with which Julian Assange has been pictured on mainstream media.

Now jumping to a more practical and philosophical issue, Andre Vltchek, investigation journalist and veteran war reporter, made the best of his short stay in Paris on the way to Bolivia, after being stationed on Lebanon and Hong Kong, to wonder “what emotions your work, your words and images, truly evoke. Or do they evoke any emotions at all?” A beautiful piece in Andre’s unique poetic writing, please take a look at Lies Which the West Manufactures and then Consumes. Two essential readings that helps understand the current reality about the news media, although a bit depressing given all its harsh realism.