In Praise of the Shadow Economy

By Andrew Leonard, Salon. “Half the workers of the world work in jobs that are off the books… The combined economic activity of these 1.8 billion workers adds up to $10 trillion. If this informal economy were squeezed into a single political structure, it would be the second largest economy in the world,” Robert Neuwirth writes in Stealth of Nations: The Global Rise of the Informal Economy.

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Dady Chery’s Top 10 Reasons Why MINUSTAH Should Go | Les 10 premières raisons pour lesquelles la MINUSTAH devrait partir | Las 10 primeras razones para qué la MINUSTAH deba irse | Lista dos dez principais motivos pelos quais a MINUSTAH deveria ir-se

By Dady Chery, Haiti Chery (English, French) | Spanish translation by Fernando Moyano | Portuguese translation by Murilo Otávio Rodrigues Paes Leme. MINUSTAH’s worst crime so far is killing over 8,000 Haitians with cholera. It is a degraded, degrading, and unwanted occupation force that must go. (English | French | Spanish | Portuguese)

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Scientists Hail Africa’s Steps Into Space

By Staff Writers, Space Daily | NASRDA | Stephen Clark, Spaceflight Now. Last month Nigeria launched two satellites, Nigeriasat 2 and Nigeriasat X, used for forestry, mapping, disaster monitoring and security applications. In 2009 South Africa launched SumbandilaSat and last year formed its own space agency.

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Siege By Boko Haram Due to Economic, Not Religious Frustration

By Toluwa Olusegun, IPS. Lagos, Nigeria – The sectarian crisis and recent violence by extremist groups, like the June 16, 2011 bomb blast on the Nigerian Police Headquarters, were borne out of anger at prevailing economic conditions rather than religious frustration.

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Understanding the War in Libya

Editorial, Granma. In the war against Libya, Washington is simultaneously pursuing several objectives: taking control of oil, protecting the safety of Israel, preventing the liberation of the Arab world, hindering African unity, and setting up NATO as Africa’s watchdog.

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