On 26 February 2020, Dr Jose Eliseo Rocamora launched Impossible Is Not So Easy. It was not exactly a book, according to Joel himself, because it was “just” a published collection of his articles. Apparently, he took to heart the opinion of his friend and mentor, Benedict Anderson, who said that a compendium of one's articles cannot be considered a real book. Ben Anderson famously wrote the definitive book on the evolution of nation-states, Imagined Communities. Much later, Ben – defying (…)

The world of yesterday at the abyss: How can a solidary vision be built that does not side with one imperialist camp or another, but rather relies on liberation from below? A conversation with British-Syrian author Leila al-Shami and Ukrainian socialist Oleksandr Kyselov. WOZ: Leila al-Shami, Oleksandr Kyselov, in international politics it seems that only might makes right anymore. The World Economic Forum (WEF), taking place this week in Davos, also stands for this. Are we witnessing a (…)

I needed to explain myself to the judge. Naga City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge (ret.) Soliman Santos—or simply Sol to his colleagues and comrades—had been judiciously following up on the review of his book that I had promised for quite a long while. I've been reading it “in small increments,” I said. His reply, likely his way of showing patience with my glacial pace, was that “later generations of activists” who read Tigaon 1969: Untold Stories of the CPP-NPA, KM, and SDK may find (…)

Le 9 janvier dernier, Eleni Varikas s'est éteinte. Dans le Club de Mediapart, deux textes (ici et là) ont été publiés en l'honneur de cette penseuse du genre et féministe internationaliste. Ils racontent l'héritage d'une vie de résistance et d'indocilité, mais aussi une pensée féministe indissociable de tous les autres violenté·es. Fille de l'un des fondateurs de l'opposition de gauche antistalinienne en Grèce et d'une exilée grecque de l'Asie mineure, Eleni Varikas s'est politisée dans le (…)

Prime Minister Takaichi announced the dissolution of The House of Representatives and the general election at a press conference on January 19th. The general election is to be held on Sunday, February 8th. This brief essay will examine the current political situation, focusing on what the snap election means and why a new party, the Centrist Reform Coalition, was formed by the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) and the Komeito Party (Komeito). Why Prime Minister Takaichi Called a Snap (…)

In Christoph Dehn's profoundly disturbing novel, Jan, a retired official of a German development agency operating in the Philippines, returns to look for an ex-lover, Diwa, an ex-cadre of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) who wrote to him from out of nowhere. Jan wants to reconnect and ask Diwa about her disappearance. Deep down, he hopes to rekindle their affection for one another and, as he tells his daughter, “to finish an old story.” It turns out to be neither a simple nor (…)