What’s behind the Pope’s Tour to Cuba and the US?

Saturday September 19 began Pope Francis’ visit to Cuba and then, to the United States. The tour will include some important meetings, such as a meeting with Fidel Castro, a meeting with Barack Obama, and other historic visits. Pope Francis will also become the first pope to address the US Congress. As the Pope’s spokesman said, the tour will be one of the “longest and more complex”. The Pope seeks to strengthen the influence of the Vatican on Cuban "openness" and to rebuild the image of the Catholic Church in the eyes of the major world power, the United States.

And now, we’re going to bomb Syria to solve the “migrant problem” ?

During his sixth press conference at the Elysee, Francois Hollande has just formalized what was being said in ministerial corridors for several days. Starting today, French reconnaissance aircrafts will fly over the Syrian territory and raids could begin as soon as possible. France will for the time being coordinate "its efforts” with the anti-Daech international coalition – to bomb not only the positions of the Islamic State in Iraq, but also, from now on, Syria. A response to the flow of refugees by tackling the “root causes”, or the officialization of a new imperialist disaster, already announced?

Rhetoric vs Reality in Obama’s Prison Reform

Since July, Obama has made a series of declarations about the need to reform the U.S. prison system. But given his record on incarceration over the past six-and-a-half years, what change can we expect the president to offer now to the 2.2 million people locked up across the country?

Obama’s Clean Power Plan Leaves Main Polluters Off the Hook

Amidst cheers for Obama's supposedly bold climate protection plan, critiques from some environmentalist groups arise. The new show of commitment to reduce green house emissions covers up the ongoing permissive policies toward fracking and the oil industry.

Cuba: Thaw in relations with imperialism II

Illustration by Natalia Rizzo (Ideas de Izquierda) Read previous article: Cuba: Thaw in relations with imperialism The “thaw” between the United States and Cuba has opened a new strategic setting and is already influencing all the orders of Cuban life. It is true that the laws of blockade like the Helms-Burton Act, are still in […]

Cuba-US relations: Embassies, Flags and Big Business

Cuba and the US agreed on the formal restoration of full diplomatic relations and also announced the reopening of embassies in both countries at the end of the month.

Health Care Reform for Profit

During the first days of 2014, Obamacare was put into effect, the hard-promoted health care reform, pushed by US President Barack Obama since his first presidential campaign. Beyond its difficulties in implementation something is certain: the reform was designed to the measure of the big corporations. It’s well-known that the USA has one of the […]