In other words, Chinese nationalism under Xi is emerging as a composite of three inter-connected traditions. It evidences: a nationalist-revisionist core; a Marxist, historically determinist rationale concerning the inevitable collapse of the international capitalist order led by the United States; while also wrapping itself in the classical garmentry of universal Confucian values, Tianxia, and other forms of more ancient Sino-centrism.

https://trackingpeoplesdaily.substack.com/p/ideology-matters-my-review-of-kevin

Real resistance is not #Resistance. It’s much more than that. If you truly want to stop Trump, you’ll have to go outside, talk to other people, and do hard work. You’ll have to intervene in political events yourself, not wait for someone else to do it for you, because no politician is going to swoop in and save the day.

- the Black Panther Party fought racism and deprivation by running extensive mutual aid programs that gave free meals to schoolchildren living in poverty and free medical care to people who couldn’t get it any other way
- The Young Lords, a group of militant Puerto Rican and Latino activists occupied Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx to demand better healthcare for their community and launched a “Garbage Offensive” to protest the lack of sanitation services
- César Chávez and the United Farm Workers led strikes and marches across the American Southwest for more than a decade, and successfully pressured California’s Governor Jerry Brown into signing the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act in 1975.
- When Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, former Panther Malik Rahim and his comrades organized the Common Ground Collective and held free health clinics for the people George W. Bush was busy neglecting
- Latin America has a long and honorable record of resisting dictators: Chileans fought Pinochet and overthrew him.
- In Argentina, when President Fernando de la Rúa ordered people to stay in their homes during a 2001 financial crisis, they defied him en masse, showing up to his speeches and drowning out his voice with the sound of banging pots and pans
- Today, they’re doing the same to Milei. Plus, the Argentinian labor movement has launched nationwide strikes that shut the entire country down for 24 hours. Local officials, too, have refused to go along with Milei’s agenda. In the province of La Rioja, the regional government has responded to Milei’s austerity cuts by creating a whole new currency, the “chacho,” to fund state services and jobs that Milei refused to provide for
- Elsewhere, there are nonprofits like Women on Waves in the Netherlands—together with more secretive and unofficial networks based in Mexico—that smuggle abortion pills into countries that ban them,
- In Britain, activists for Palestine successfully shut down an Elbit weapons factory in Tamworth this March.
- The uprisings against police brutality after George Floyd’s murder were some of the largest and most impressive in American history, and the protesters didn’t just walk in a circle waving signs
- People have been making life hell for Republican school administrators by dumping memes and gibberish into the “snitch line” websites they build to report “wokeness” in schools.
- There are the Democratic Socialists of America’s famous brake light clinics, which take away one of the most common excuses cops use to pull people over and harass them.

Many of the greatest social movements in American history involved civil disobedience and illegal acts: think of Rosa Parks at the front of the bus, or the Stonewall riots, or the Flint sit-down strike of the 1930s. Unjust laws have to be defied, not followed.

Now is the moment to find a socialist, anarchist, green, mutual aid, or anti-war group near you, or to start one. They will be badly needed. Now is the time to unionize your workplace, so you and your fellow workers will have the power to say no to exploitation and abuse. Now is the time to reach out to your friend, classmate, or relative who was deceived into voting for Trump, and help them see through his lies.

https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/america-needs-resistance-not-resistance

Babler’s failings exemplify a dilemma facing all modern social democratic reformist projects, including recent efforts to reverse the decades-long technocratic-neoliberal turn of such parties.

https://jacobin.com/2024/12/austria-babler-spo-left-right/

On 14 January 2025, the European Commission (“Commission”) published the findings of its first investigation under the EU’s International Procurement Instrument (“IPI”). Findings of the investigation concludes that China unfairly treated EU medical devices and suppliers in its public procurement.[1] The Chinese government did not contest these findings, but noted (accurately) that it had not undertaken any international commitments on public procurement

https://competitionlawblog.kluwercompetitionlaw.com/2025/01/25/first-international-procurement-instrument-case-in-china/

Dal 1991 a oggi in Italia i salari sono cresciuti soltanto dell’1% mentre nei Paesi Ocse la crescita è stata del 32,3%. Inoltre la quota dei salari sul Pil è passata nello stesso arco di tempo dal 60 al 40% mentre quella dei profitti dal 40 al 60%. Questi dati suggeriscono due considerazioni.

La prima. Il modello economico italiano -se così si può definire- negli ultimi trent’anni ha impoverito i lavoratori e arricchito il capitale. La seconda. I contratti nazionali non sono stati in grado di difendere la tenuta salariale, alla faccia di chi sostiene che siano sufficienti a garantire i redditi dei lavoratori di fronte alla perdita di potere d’acquisto. Una nota, invece, per chi tira sempre in ballo la scarsa produttività del sistema economico italiano: i salari sono cresciuti assai meno anche della produttività, che evidentemente ha giovato solo ai profitti.

In Italia non indicizziamo gli stipendi ma le tariffe telefoniche, gestite dai fondi, possono seguire, e dunque alimentare, il corso dell’inflazione. Sembra incredibile ma nulla è ormai incredibile nel nostro Paese

https://altreconomia.it/litalia-e-un-paese-per-ricchi/

For capitalists whose businesses are predicated upon ensuring a reliable supply of workers, preferably at low wages, this impending labor shortage poses a challenge. The shrinking supply of laborers will, as a simple matter of supply and demand, push the price of labor upward. [...] Many low-income countries themselves have already arrived at below-replacement fertility rates. In the long run, it seems that such countries will be unable to provide comparable numbers of immigrant laborers as they had previously.

[...] So slower economic growth due to lower birth rates, even to the extreme point of absolute population decline, does not in and of itself result in a decline in average living standards. It simply poses the old question of economic distribution on new terms.

[...] Even left-wing writers have warned of an impending “Social Security cliff” facing the United States in the not-too-distant future because of current demographic trends.
The reasoning for this worry is: Social Security is essentially a giant fund into which different segments of the population either pay into or withdraw from. Payments are contributed by those in the workforce, and withdrawals are made by the elderly. [...] dependency ratios do not account for the possibility that different workers could contribute different amounts of inputs to the fund. In particular, rising labor productivity over time would entail that the same number of working hours would be generating sufficient output to support an increasing number of dependents. Indeed, increasing labor productivity is precisely what has been happening over the past several decades. Projecting into the future, even historically low levels of labor productivity growth would ensure that the fiscal gain of more productive workers more than compensates for the increased disbursements caused by the shift toward the elderly in the old-age dependency ratio.

Demographic aging caused by birth-rate decline does not inevitably entail a rollback of the welfare state. What it may do is pose a choice between welfare-state cuts, on the one hand, or clawing away additional funds from capitalists and/or high-income earners, on the other. And we face this choice largely because workers have lost ground in the class struggle over the past several decades.

Even if a more generous welfare state does not successfully raise birth rates, it is worth putting in place anyway because it eases the considerable burdens of current and future parents and children. It is a shame that the political right has managed to masquerade as a “pro-family” political force when it is dead set against providing the material support that would enable families to flourish. In this respect, the Left has a prime opportunity to seize the “pro-family” mantle from conservatives.

https://jacobin.com/2025/01/falling-birth-rates-welfare-families/

Per esaminare la relazione tra prestiti di Pechino e della Banca Mondiale e la partecipazione, a monte e a valle, nelle catene del valore globali, lo studio combina i dati a livello di prestito con quelli sul commercio nelle catene del valore globali. I risultati della nostra analisi mostrano che i prestiti cinesi destinati a finanziare investimenti infrastrutturali, in particolare quelli mirati ai settori dei trasporti e delle comunicazioni, che sono più efficaci nel ridurre i costi commerciali, contribuiscono a una maggiore partecipazione delle economie africane alle catene del valore. Questo non avviene, invece, nel caso dei prestiti della Banca Mondiale, in parte a causa della scala più piccola e del diverso tipo di infrastrutture finanziate.

La relazione positiva tra prestiti infrastrutturali cinesi e partecipazione alle catene del valore globali è più forte nella componente a valle, cioè in quelle fasi che prevedono l’uso di beni importati per la produzione di prodotti destinati all’esportazione. Focalizzandosi sulle fasi a valle, che aggiungono valore ai prodotti, paesi ricchi di risorse, ma poveri di tecnologie sofisticate (come lo sono molte economie africane), possono iniziare a produrre beni più avanzati e trarre maggiori benefici dal commercio e dall’integrazione globale, attraverso una crescente specializzazione in settori a più alto valore aggiunto.

https://lavoce.info/archives/106877/la-cina-in-africa-fa-prestiti-utili/

so much for MAHA

https://truthout.org/articles/trump-withdraws-proposed-pfas-limitations-giving-green-light-to-polluters/

Like a lot of what Sam says, this is based on the conjecture, or in this case multiple conjectures:

1) The entirely speculative conjecture that LLMs or something else OpenAI figures out how to be build will be enormously profitable. So far the [cost of] infrastructure field-wide ($250B, perhaps) has enormously outweighed total revenue, perhaps 50:1.

2) The entirely speculative conjecture that any profits will actually do much to help the American people, as opposed to just enriching those who own that infrastructure. Yes, some people will be employed building data centers; but if the data centers work towards better AI, many others will lose their jobs. Net effect is entirely unclear.

https://spectrum.ieee.org/stargate

In conclusione, pare evidente come il sistema di compartecipazioni fisse nel tempo ipotizzato dal Ddl Calderoli non sia sostenibile, se si intende finanziare i fabbisogni come si è finora fatto. La crescita della spesa per le regioni del Centro e del Nord è stata superiore alla crescita dei gettiti Irpef. Se dunque il processo previsto dal Ddl andrà avanti, sarà necessario pensare, come anche l’Ufficio parlamentare di bilancio evidenzia, a uno schema di compartecipazioni dinamico, che tenga conto sia della variazione del livello dei fabbisogni, che della differente crescita delle basi imponibili sul territorio nazionale.

TLDR: l'autonomia differenziata è insostenibile

https://lavoce.info/archives/102935/come-si-finanzia-lautonomia-differenziata/

The union drive at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Vance, Alabama, has taken a new approach, abandoning the traditional methods that previously failed. Workers have embraced a more worker-led strategy, leveraging modern tools like social media and rapid communication to gain momentum.

Key strategies include:
- Core Group: A small, dedicated group of 20 workers started the campaign, much smaller than the hundreds previously recommended. This core group was deeply committed and set the stage for broader support.
- Identifying "Talkers": Instead of a formal committee, the focus was on finding respected workers ("talkers") who could informally spread the union message, building relationships rather than requiring formal commitments.
- Floor Walkers and Riders: Workers with mobility within the plant, like team leaders and floor walkers, helped spread the word across the plant quickly, a crucial factor in the campaign's success.
- Technology for Speed: QR codes and text messages allowed for fast distribution of union cards, bypassing traditional, slower methods like house calls and meetings.
- Dealing with Management Resistance: Mercedes management’s anti-union stance is predictable but mild, so organizers focused on building internal support before management could escalate its opposition.
- Building a Worker List: Organizers created a detailed list of workers, allowing them to track support, follow up on union cards, and target areas with weaker backing.
- Creating Momentum: Fast communication and regular updates generated excitement and unity, making workers feel part of a successful effort.

The campaign saw impressive results: 1,500 signed cards in seven weeks, compared to just 30% in six months during previous attempts. With momentum building, the focus now is on reaching 50% support, and organizers continue to recruit more talkers to ensure success. Despite ongoing resistance from management, workers feel empowered and determined to push forward.

https://jacobin.com/2024/01/mercedes-benz-union-organizing-strategy-alabama/