energy
The buck stops here?
Amidst late-noughties currency fluctuation, Daniel Berchenko considers the history of the dollar's haphazard rise to global currency standard, its geopolitical consequences and the difficulty of breaking its hold
In a briefing at the Council on Foreign Relations last March, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner admitted that he was ‘open' to a Chinese proposal to replace the dollar as the world's reserve currency. Within moments, Geithner's offhand remark appeared on Bloomberg monitors around the world, roling currency markets.
France: transport strikes to continue
The strike action that has paralysed France's public transport system since Tuesday is set to continue for at least another day.
The TGV ran 90 out of 700 trains. The other national service, Corail, ran only 12 trains out of a normal service of 300. With the local TER services few trains ran, although a scab service of 2000 buses was in operation. Transport authorities are promising to improve the situation tomorrow, claiming one in three TER services will run, 50 Corail and 150 TGVs.
France: rail and energy workers announce strikes over retirement reforms
A strike at the SNCF (French National Railway Company) has been called for October 18th.
An inter-union grouping composed of CGT, SUD-rail, FO, CFTC and CFE-CGC has called the action in relation to government attempts to change their retirement circcumstances. The other two recognised rail unions are awaiting the Government offer.
New Zealand: International solidarity as miners launch indefinite strike
Australian miners refused to cross a picket line yesterday at the Spring Creek coal mine as indefinite industrial action there entered its fourth day.
About 140 Reefton and Dunollie miners were due to meet in Runanga at 1pm to decide their next step.
In an escalation of previous action, the Spring Creek miners walked off the job on Friday morning.
Sixth week, second day update from Hunterston electricians strike
Second day of our sixth week in our dispute with BK.
Our dispute continued today and we were shown a great deal of support from fellow Hunterston employees. Those employees had to endure long waits at the picket and still had the courtesy to stop and listen. We cannot stress enough how much we appreciate their support and understanding of our plight.
Hydro-jihad: water conflict and the class struggle - Melancholic Troglodytes
The Iraq War underlined the significance of three main commodities in the Middle East, namely: labour power, oil and water. This text investigates the role of water in relation to the class struggle.
"To the man who refuses his surplus water, Allah will say: 'Today, I refuse thee my favor, just as thou refused the surplus of something that thou hadst not made thyself."
Strange Victories
Strange Victories
- by Midnight Notes
Originally published in Midnight Notes #1, 1979
Published as a pamphlet by Elephant Editions, London, 1985
Also included in the collection - Midnight Oil: Work, Energy and War 1973-1992 .
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INTRODUCTION
Oil Wars and World Orders - Old and New
Aufheben analyse the 2003 invasion of Iraq in the context of US foreign policy and geopolitics since the 1980s.
While the American-led interventions in Bosnia and Kosovo during the 1990s were presented as ‘humanitarian wars’, it was hard to disguise the fact that the invasion of Iraq was primarily motivated by a drive to reassert American power, and in particular its control over the world’s oil supplies.
Escape from the Law of value?
In Aufheben 3 (Summer 1994), we reviewed Midnight Oil: Work, Energy, War, 1973-92, a collection of articles from the American autonomist journals Zerowork (1974-9) and Midnight Notes (1979-).
Review: Midnight Oil
In asserting the centrality of class struggle Midnight Oil is an important attempt to go beyond Lenin's theory of imperialism as a means of understanding the Gulf War. Unfortunately the inadequacy of their understanding of capitalism leads them on some bizarre theoretical wanderings in their search for an alternative.
