Workers said they were sleeping in woods near the warehouse to save money on transport. Photo copyright Cascade News (2016).

Amazon workers sleeping in tents: on the logic of serfdom

14th February 2017

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A brief analysis of the ‘economic rationalization’ that emerged throughout the comment sections of articles about Amazon employees, who chose to sleep in tents outside their warehouse to save money. At the end of last year, stories emerged claiming that Amazon employees had been sleeping in tents directly outside their companies’ warehouse in Fife, Scotland.…

The art of attention: Berger has spent much of his life interrogating what it is to see, feel and to “separate fact and imagination”. Photo: FRANCK COURTÈS/AGENCE VU

John Berger: Art is an adventure and a way of discovering the world

14th February 2017

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The influential art critic, artist and novelist John Berger passed away last week on January 2nd. He was one of the pioneering voices of innovative art programmes on the British TV, offering a then (and still) unique view of art as a discovery open to everyone, notwithstanding their education, age or profession. Berger believed in…

1898. Los últimos de Filipinas movie poster, directed by Salvador Cano. Produced by Enrique Cerezo PC, 13 TV, CIPI Cinematográfica S.A., and ICAA. Licensed under Fair Use.

The end of an empire – 1898: The Last Garrison of the Philippines

9th May 2017

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In 1898, Spain and America entered a three-month war that ended with the Spanish Empire’s defeat and relinquishing of all of its remaining Pacific and American holdings – namely Cuba and the Philippines – after its defeat. For the Philippines, the war arguably marked the beginning of the path to becoming the nation it is…

Alexandrov Ensemble

A thought on the Alexandrov Ensemble tragedy and art propaganda

14th February 2017

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As we are all aware, populism exists across the whole political spectrum; yet we have learned to react to anything which differs from the left-winged consensus with anger and hysteria. What recently caught my attention was the reaction of much of the  Western liberal crowd to the tragic perish of one third of the Alexandrov…

Reading tip of the day: “The plastic backlash”

2nd January 2019

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Stephen Buranyi, “The plastic backlash: what’s behind our sudden rage – and will it make a difference?”, The Guardian (13 November 2018). Let’s start the new year on an ecological note. Many readers likely noticed that in the recent months in Europe but also elsewhere in the world, there has been a growing momentum against the…

Viktor Orbán. Photo: ATTILA KISBENEDEK, AFP, Getty Images 2018

Orbán triumphant. How to understand Hungarian 2018 elections?

21st April 2018

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The final results of the Hungarian general election are out. The governing Fidesz party scored an overwhelming victory. Viktor Orbán, the Hungary’s well-known right-wing populist leader, will have another four years to lead his illiberal regime. It is the first time after the fall of the communism in Hungary when a party will be governing…

Jeremy Corbyn speaking at a political rally at Liverpool Adelphi Hotel banquet room on 1st August (2015). Author: YouTube/exadverso Link: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Corbyn_Liverpool_2.png

Corbyn on Russia: diplomacy, evidence and common sense

21st March 2018

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Jeremy Corbyn is the leader of the British Labour Party, who does not hide his adherence to principles of the “traditional left” – as opposed to the neoliberalism of the “third way”, which is still being advocated by ideological heirs of Tony Blair. Corbyn is a politician of quite a rare breed as he does…

Central Europe snubbed in the vote for EU agencies

21st November 2017

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The EU tightens the grip on the institutions in its core while leaving Central Europe behind. Equality and geographical balance are pretty words, but when it comes to making decisions, Western Europe seems to have little patience for “snivelling” Eastern neighbours who don’t tow the line. That is undoubtedly the main message that will be…

Against Capitalism: Resisting Wage Labour in the 19th Century

10th April 2017

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In the advanced economies of Europe, you would be hard pressed to find somebody who still calls themselves an ‘artisan’. The closest you might find, perhaps, is a marketing savvy barista whose artisan job title indicates they have mastered the complex arts of pouring coffee in a fashionable café. Yet throughout most of the 19th…

Mezquita de Córdoba, from the website Periodista Digital, 2015

From palaces to parades: How Spain treats its Islamic past

26th February 2017

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In the gardens of the Royal Alcázar of Seville stands a simple, unadorned column with a short, poignant inscription written in Spanish: ‘The city of Seville to its poet-king Almutamid ibn Abbad, on the 9th century of his sad exile, 7 September 1091, Rachab 384’. Centuries after the city was re-taken by the Christians during…

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