thebarricade

The Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index has released its annual report on the freedom of the press. Its findings prompted Philip Burov, a member of the editorial board of the Barricade, to write a very insightful article on the way this well-known organization established hierarchies between countries with regards to the freedom of expression. His article prompted us to invite Ivan Radev, from the Association of European Journalists in Bulgaria, to discuss the freedom of the press in his country. Bulgaria was placed 112th in the ranking of countries, and while this may show that the freedom of the press in this country is indeed endangered by political and economic pressures, it puts it on the same level as Myanmar, which is a little odd, since the political events taking place there with the military junta regaining power are far more violent than those taking place in Bulgaria. At the same time, Reporters Without Borders places Ukraine in a higher position, even though the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced it had launched an investigation into Viktor Medvedchuk. He is the leader of Opposition Platform - For Life, the largest non-government party in the country’s parliament. A number of his supporters and members of the 'Ukrainian Choice' pressure group are also facing potential charges. In the first part of the programme, Boyan Stanislavski and Maria Cernat discussed the general context of the so-called fight against disinformation, and in the second half they discussed discuss the situation of Bulgaria with Ivan Radev from the Association of the European Journalists - Bulgaria

Yeah, sure! Lukashenko is clearly a bad guy, but what makes you think those against him are so great? "On the barricades" — s02e33 #otb #OnTheBarricades #Belarus #Protasevich #protests #democracy #humanrights #EasternEurope #Russia #regimechange #Lukashenko Aleksander Lukashenko has been the undisputed leader of Belarus for over 25 years. How is this even possible? Is it truly only through the plethora of dictatorial measures he employed during that time? Certainly not! The international media would have us believe that history began 15 minutes ago and that everything is black and white. This is not only dishonest (misinformation, if you will), but also insulting to their audience's intelligence. There is no doubt that the political process in Belarus is even remotely similar to that seen in countries where the liberal-democratic order has long been established and has become a dominant part of the political culture. Belarus clearly employs some very serious authoritarian measures, and there can hardly be any talk of political democracy, particularly in the last decade. To simply dismiss it as a bad political practice and rant and rave about human-rights violations (of which there are many, no doubt) is infantile and meaningless, as it leaves us with no understanding of the situation and no ideas about how it might be transformed. The only conclusion one can draw from international media coverage of recent events is that Lukashenko is an evil persona who brutally treats the good people who want to depose him. This is not just a simplistic viewpoint; it is intellectual boorishness that anyone claiming to have a nuanced viewpoint should reject, regardless of what they think of Lukashenko or their political convictions and affiliation. The hosts of "On the Barricades," Maria Cernat and Boyan Stanislavski, discuss Belarus and its dictatorial ruler with Malgorzata Kulbaczewska-Figat, a Polish researcher and expert in Eastern European and post-Soviet affairs, as well as a journalist with the Polish leftist webportal Strajk.eu. Why is Lukashenko still in power after more than a quarter-century? Why have the Russians become so enraged with him over the last decade? How are Belarussian society's legitimate grievances used as geopolitical leverage against Russia? Why should Protasevich's arrest come as a surprise? This and more can be found in the 32nd episode of "On the Barricades," hosted by Maria Cernat and Boyan Stanislavski, the editors of "The Barricade."

We cover the most important events of the previous few weeks in this episode, which we usually release at the end of the month. "On the barricades" — s02e32 Unquestionably, a major shift in international relations is taking place right in front of our eyes. Anyone who is not completely blind can see that the takeover of a Ryanair flight by Belarus, which was then forced to land in Minsk instead of Vilnius, and a rather controversial person named Roman Protasevich was arrested as a result, proves that point. The decade of the 1990s has come to an end! The United States' unipolar era has come to an end! The West's hysterical reaction was primarily a manifestation of their psychological problem when confronted with other governments having the audacity to do things that were previously reserved only for Western powers. In this segment of the program, Maria Cernat and Boyan Stanislavski discuss why the Left is once again ignorant and indolent, failing to propose any ideas for radical change in our countries' foreign policies. Why not at the very least engage in a debate? No, there's too much cowardice and conformism. In the end, the Left in our region, Eastern Europe, will be forced to stand by and watch as the right-wing continues to score points by making all sorts of demagogic statements about national sovereignty and dignity. Also, the hosts of "On the Barricades" make some interesting points about the impotence of Poland's so-called "democratic opposition," which hasn't been able to defeat the ruling Catholic-fundamentalist party for six years, and the utter failure of the Women's Strike, which brought hundreds of thousands of people out on the streets last fall against the governing Catholic-fundamentalist party. There is nothing left of it today, and those who claim to be descendants of the movement are extremely ignorant. Also, the hosts of "On the Barricades" make some interesting points about Poland's so-called "democratic opposition," which hasn't been able to defeat the ruling Catholic-fundamentalist party in six years, and the Women's Strike, which drew hundreds of thousands of people to the streets last fall to protest the draconian anti-abortion measures enacted. There is nothing left of it today, and those who claim to be descended from it are incredibly ignorant.

We cover the most important events of the previous few weeks in this episode, which we usually release at the end of the month. "On the barricades" — s02e31 This year's selection was particularly difficult because there were so many interesting political developments in Eastern Europe (or in the West, but where our region was involved in one way or another). Regardless, we had no choice but to face it. The hosts of "On the Barricades," Maria Cernat and Boyan Stanislavski, did select the events that they discussed in this program, but even careful selection resulted in an episode that was so long that it had to be split into two parts. So, here's the first one. In this episode, we talk about the Romanian circus, with the country's right-wing, neoliberal extremist government sending an official letter to all Romanian MEPs urging them to vote against legislation that could lead to wage equality across the EU. No, they explicitly want Romanian workers to be treated unfairly, to be paid less for the same jobs, to be less secure, and to be treated as second-class citizens in the EU. And they're not afraid to admit it! Our discussion will teach you more about this pathological approach.

Divided we fall or what is wrong with the Left? #thebarricade #socialism #Left #socialdemocracy #USSR #China #economicplannig #technology We continue our series on the Left's weaknesses. Globally, the Left has failed spectacularly over the last few decades. Clearly, there are numerous factors at play, some of which we have already discussed in previous episodes of our show. We recorded the third episode last month, in which we began discussing the economic policies that the Left could pursue (or at least start debating). This episode continues our conversation of the socialist economy, focusing on how it could actively outcompete capitalist economies through efficiency and innovation. We also address the issue of the democratic architecture of such a system. Enjoy the show, and please send us your comments and questions via the comments section, email at english@baricada.org, or one of the social media platforms where we regularly update our readers on new publications, such as Facebook or Twitter.

The Indian version of the Corona Virus was covered extensively during the past weeks in the mainstream media. The terrible images of people being cremated in the fields because the Indian crematoriums were no longer coping with the high death toll made it to the front pages of all major journals across the world. Barring a few exceptions, there were no articles that tried to take a closer look at India to discover how the largest producer of vaccines faced such a tragedy. India was not only notorious this year for the catastrophic management of the pandemic. The largest strike ever recorded in human history started last November when more than 250 million people joined a protest that marked their opposition against the cutting of farming subsidies by the right-wing government of Narendra Modi. Little has been said about the structural causes of these extraordinary events taking place in the second-largest country in the world by population. We invited On the Barricades, Vijay Prashad, renowned activist, scholar, and political commentator, to explain to our viewers in Eastern Europe and across the world how it was possible to have 250 million people on strike at the beginning of the year and how the largest producer of vaccines in the world failed so miserably in dealing with the pandemic.

"On the barricades" — s02e34 #Bulgaria #US #Balkans #Washington #Borissov #authoritarianism #corruption #otbonthebarricades That's a difficult question to answer. There are numerous candidates. To be more specific, almost anyone could be a candidate. The American embassy in Sofia even went so far as to organize a casting call. The US ambassador to Bulgaria facilitated a meeting with all opposition parties, which is not the first time Washington has acted in such a blatant manner. However, for the last nearly 15 years, the Americans have relied solely on the infamous mobster Boyko Borissov and his party GERB, which was founded nearly two decades ago with the help of German conservatives. The Americans, or, more broadly, the West, are tired of their viceroy in Bulgaria. Clearly, the territory's importance is growing, and while they need a puppet ruler there, they can't rely on someone as inept and incapable as Boyko Borissov. Borissov's regime came to an end when sanctions were imposed on some of his close oligarchic friends, the reason being, of course, corruption. In Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, Serbia, Moldova, and other countries in the region, corruption is discovered and forgotten in cycles. When the "international community" starts hyperventilating about this issue, you can bet something bad will happen. The main question here is whether the regime that follows the one we can see will be any better. Is there any hope for a genuine change in Bulgaria? Get this and more from the hosts of "On the Barricades," Maria Cernat and Boyan Stanislavski, who have invited a special guest for you. It's Georgi Hristov, a Bulgarian leftist journalist and activist; he'll offer his analysis and opinions, and hopefully make the situation clear to you! Enjoy the show!

A heinous scandal is brewing in Bulgaria, with wealthy businessman and landowner Svetoslav Ilchovski at the center, who recently testified before a parliamentary commission about the Bulgarian PM's gangsterism. "The Barricade" has published a lengthy article on Ilchovski-gate, which can be found here thebarricade.online/another-heinous…andal-bulgaria/ Boyan Stanislavski and Maria Cernat, hosts of "On the barricades" will discuss this issue with Bulgarian leftist journalist and activist Georgi Hristov on Sunday, May 16th. However, before they discuss Svetoslav Ilchovski's stunning testimony and the origins of the peculiar model of "parliamentary democracy" that was established in Bulgaria after 1989, they will discuss the prospects open to the provisional government appointed by President of the Republic Roumen Radev following the subsequent failures of the three largest parliamentary parties. Is there anything this government can accomplish in the three months before the announced early elections on July 11? Many non-political experts were appointed, which appears to be a logical and rational decision given the nature of this administration. One thing is certain: whatever this government does, it will have to contend with Borissov's machinery, which allows him to control the entire institutional and economic infrastructure of the state and then use it to his (and his oligarchic friends') benefit. The mechanism is straightforward: nepotism and corruption. The boss, Boyko Borissov, makes all appointments in all existing public institutions. For nearly 15 years, the cadreship of the entire state apparatus has been cultivated to serve him and his gang, and it has been ensured that everyone is completely obedient. Can a massive cleansing take place in a matter of months? Can the provisional government accomplish anything else?

Interview with Ricardo Petrella Ricardo Petrella is one of the most important public intellectuals and European officials to be demanding that Covid-19 vaccines be available to everybody. Petrella is a renowned scholar, and has honorary degrees from eight universities. He is the president of Institut European de Recherche sur la Politique de l’Eau (IERPE) in Brussels (www.ierpe.eu). He has written extensively, from a very nuanced position, on the militaristic approach to the pandemic, and about the ongoing competition that makes scientists from various countries compete, rather than collaborate. On this edition of our show we discuss the necessity of free and available vaccines, and how the privatization of knowledge leads to a situation where cooperation and progress are replaced by competition and stagnation. We invite you to a very challenging discussion of the various ways that the privatization of knowledge is the ultimate form of privatization, since symbolic goods, such as patents, articles, and scientific results, can be sold and resold forever. We explore how this world of privatized information is handling the current pandemic.

This day used to be an opportunity for the labor movement to show its strength, for its leaders to deliver populist speeches to large crowds, and for social-democratic politicians to engage in intense virtue signaling. Only the latter has survived, and it is in a rather artificial and unconvincing form.For the last two decades, the Left in general, particularly in Europe, has used May Day for sloganeering and various historical analyses. Things have only recently begun to change slightly, particularly in Eastern Europe. There are more and more discussions on contemporary issues important to the Left, and there is finally some solid criticism of capitalism. "The Barricade" joins this trend by featuring a conversation with Dr. Harriet Fraad. She is a New York-based American feminist activist, psychotherapist, and hypnotherapist. She has been a psychotherapist and hypnotherapist for nearly four decades and is considered one of the feminist movement's founders, thanks in part to her founding of the Women's Liberation Movement in 1968. She is also the founder of the journal "Rethinking Marxism," and she focuses on the intersection of economics and psychology. Harriet Fraad is also the host of the popular YouTube podcast "Capitalism Hits Home."The hosts of the "On the Barricades" show, Maria Cernat and Boyan Stanislavski, will discuss with their special guest the devastating effects of modern capitalism on people's psychology. This is a civilizational and global issue that affects all capitalist societies. Suicide rates and the sudden rise of what are commonly referred to as "diseases of despair," such as depression or anxiety, are strongly linked to the increasingly toxic atmosphere created by the capitalist environment, in which there is no certainty, no stabilization, and no clear prospects for future development, let alone prosperity, of social groups and individuals. This coincides with a massive ideological offensive against the natural human concepts of community and collectivism, in favor of individualism!The latter was accompanied by an explosion of a new industry in which self-appointed experts teach people how to be more effective and happier regardless of the circumstances around them by improving their pattern of thinking. This is not only a lie, but a logical aberration bordering on insanity.

In 1973 the democratically elected leader of Chile, socialist Salvador Allende, was toppled from power. Army general Augusto Pinochet became the leader of Chile for the next sixteen years. During that time, the Chicago Boys – a name attributed to the economists educated in the 70’s at the University of Chicago, where Milton Freedman was a leading figure – had the perfect opportunity to transform Chile into the laboratory for the neoliberal ideas, that were later implemented in numerous countries all over the world, including Romania and Bulgaria. During the 80s, Pinochet imposed a Constitution that made Chile the most neoliberal country. Private healthcare system, private pensions, private education, private water supply. Everything except the army was into private hands. The army was supposed to receive 10% of the revenues form cupper exploitation. A militarized right wing dictatorship that led to the situation where the top 1% owned 26% of the wealth in Chile, while 50% of the poorest families owned 20% of Chilean wealth. And yet, there are people that lionized general Augusto Pinochet for “bringing order” into the Chilean Society. This is why we invited Paula Llanos Becerra, a Deuche Welle sports commentator and a feminist, to discuss the situation in Chile. It is one of the most optimistic interviews in terms of people finally getting rid of a constitution that held them hostages to the neoliberal dogma for almost 40 years. I discussed the protests with Paula that started in 2019 and how the Chileans have managed to elect new representatives to rewrite the constitution. Feminist organizations, representatives of the indigenous people, representatives of the LGBT community, of workers are now in the process of rewriting the fundamental laws of their country. We invite you to follow our inspiring discussion with Chilean feminist journalist Paula LLana Becerra.

On the barricades ― s02e24 Because it's the last Sunday of the month, the hosts of "On the Barricades" will discuss their April thumbs ups and thumbs downs. Maria Cernat and Boyan Stanislavski will address the situation in East Ukraine and Russia, as well as the Czech Republic and Poland's bizarre moves against Moscow. Aside from that, the results of the most recent Bulgarian parliamentary election will be considered. It will soon be a month since the election, and there appear to be no prospects for forming a government. Are there going to be early elections? Also, Romania. One of the right-wing parties in parliament proposed legislation requiring schools to adjust their schedules to meet the needs of the horeca (hotels, restaurants, and coffee shops) industry! Furthermore, an incredible situation occurred in which the prime minister fired the minister of health, resulting in a war between two right-wing political celebrities. The situation in Poland, where the ruling right-wing coalition is led by the conservative-fundamentalist party Law and Justice, will also be briefly discussed. In Poland, early elections are not out of the question.

“On the barricades” — s02e23 w/ Ingeborg Eliassen The concept of "vaccine nationalism" is not widely understood. However, it has gained popularity among journalists and researchers who have been following the progress of Covid-19 vaccines. The United States and Israel, the two countries that have just paid the price that the large manufacturers demanded, are vaccinating their populations at breakneck speed. The EU, which attempted to bargain, was badly beaten by pharmaceutical corporations, and it now faces serious supply problems in order to meet the agreed-upon amounts. Money talks once more, and the clients who pay the most are the corporation's "natural" priority. And, while this may be good for corporate profits, it is a truly disastrous strategy for the global population's health. The saying goes, "Nobody is safe until we are all safe." Massive vaccination in only one region or in the wealthier countries will result in new mutations and even higher spending on new medications. Speaking of funding, it took a significant public investment to develop the vaccines, but corporations now require governments to purchase the final product. Profits come first, once again? Then there's the question of patents. Can they be swayed, at least for a while? This and other questions were addressed in this episode of "On the Barricades," in which the special guest was Norwegian investigative journalist and researcher Ingeborg Eliassen, a prominent member of the Investigate Europe collective. Read an interesting article by Ingeborg Eliassen on the matters discussed in the interview: https://bit.ly/3tJOBY0 Also, visit the website of Investigate Europe: https://www.investigate-europe.eu/en/

In 2013 a law against gay propaganda was adopted in Russia. So far, no prominent cases of activists have been brought to the attention of the international press. But this year, feminist activist Yulia Tzvetkova was accused of spreading pornography and gay propaganda! What she shared online were artistic representations of the female body, and cartoons promoting healthy representations of women. It is so interesting and quite controversial, that the Russian authorities have nothing against huge beauty corporations promoting images of Photoshopped barely dressed lingerie models, but use the full force of the state against a feminist portraying a woman’s body in innocent cartoons. No state violence against the fashion industry that promotes models 28% thinner than the normal woman. Full repression destined to smear and silence a woman promoting body positivity. She is also accused of drawing rainbows and gay couples. And yet, no problem with adult magazines, no problem with visual representations of women in advertising. The case of Yulia Tzvetkova is proving beyond doubt that feminism is one thing that makes capitalists and patriarchal leaders such as Vladimir Putin go hand in hand. To destroy it! You will discover the tactics the Russian government is using against feminists and activists by listening to the interview I’ve conducted with Mariya Caschilova. She currently works with an NGO called OVD info. It protects the freedom of assembly in Russia. In 2019 when she represented Yulia Tsvetkova in administrative court hearings, she worked with the Moscow community center for LGBT initiatives. The interview was translated by her friend Dmitri Piskunov.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Joe Biden, have discussed Ukraine-related tensions, security concerns, and the need for nuclear arms control, with the White House proposing a formal meeting in “a third country.” The exchange comes amid widespread concern that fighting in the Donbass region between Kiev forces and fighters from Moscow-backed self-proclaimed republics could escalate into a full-fledged conflict. The new standoff is the result of Kiev's large-scale mobilization of troops and equipment, which prompted Russia to beef up its own military presence near its western border. Of course, the corporate western media portrays this as "Russian aggression." A few days before the virtual meeting between Putin and Biden, Boyan Stanislavski spoke with Mark Sleboda, an international security analyst, university lecturer, and frequent commentator on various alternative media outlets, about the recent buildup between Ukraine and Russia. Mark Sleboda provides a detailed analysis not only of the most recent escalations on the border between Ukraine and the two self-proclaimed republics in the country's east, but also of the international context and the internal problems that underpin the ongoing crisis. He went into great detail about the historical context and all of the critical events that led to the current situation. What role does the Nord Stream 2 pipeline play in all of this? Why has Zelensky not kept any of his campaign promises since becoming Ukraine's president? He campaigned on resolving the conflict with the two Donbass republics peacefully? Why has he given up on this idea? Why would he make such ridiculous demands as recognizing Ukraine as a NATO member right away? Will this be a farcical reenactment of Georgia's 2008 attempt to attack Russia? What is at stake, and what is the goal? After everything that has happened since 2014, can Ukraine still exist as a unitary state? In this extremely informative interview with Mark Sleboda, you will find answers to these and many other questions.

On April 4th the General Election was held in Bulgaria. Another stage of the political, social and cultural degradation and destitution was marked. This time the most emblematic element was the massive vote for a freshly formed party led by a primitive TV host and con artist Slavi Trifonov. His "party" ended up second, after the oligarchic clan led by the notorious gangster and Bulgaria's PM for the last dozen years Boyko Borissov. The central opposition organization - the Bulgarian Socialist Party was degraded to the 3rd place; this is how his voters "thanked" it for transforming itself into a purely bureaucratic, spineless structure that put forward pro-business economic agenda and a rather maniacal patriotism, which was difficult to distinguish from some far-right nationalistic and anti-progressive hysterical clichés. Maria Cernat and Boyan Stanislavski, the hosts of "On the barricades" sat down to discuss this matter with the Bulgarian analyst, academic and author Todor Todorov. They discussed not only the outcome of the elections and the actual pat situation for Borissov's oligarchic club, but also the utter plight of the Bulgarian Left, that over the last decades, hasn't come up with any inspiring vision or a program of radical changes and departures, from the plutocratic capitalist system. ******************** Check out our website at https://thebarricade.online/ ******************** Subscribe to our YouTube channel https://bit.ly/Barricade_YT ******************** Subscribe to our Rumble channel https://rumble.com/user/thebarricade ******************** Follow us on Spotify http://bit.ly/Barricade_SF ******************** Follow us on SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/baricada ******************** Like our Facebook page https://.facebook.com/EnBaricada/ ******************** Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/_the_barricade_ ******************** Follow us on Instagram https://instagram.com/thebarricade/ ******************** Hey there! The Barricade is a leftist media outlet set up by a group of activists and journalists from around Eastern Europe. This channel is part of our efforts to provide analyzes, news as well as opinions and comments from and on our region, often disregarded by the West (including the left) in a very colonial manner. One of our tasks is to confront such an approach as well as many other naïve and superficial views about Eastern Europe and its left. It has history, experience and competence to participate in the global debates. And we're doing this via this channel and its flagship show "On the barricades" hosted by Boyan Stanislavski and Maria Cernat. Please, support us by becoming a Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/thebarricade Thanks so much! See you on the barricades!

Being a feminist in a conservative country with a government that overtly fights to limit the rights of women can be a very challenging task. Nevertheless, there are fierce women that do not back down from attacks directed at them and their liberties. We invited such a woman on the Barricades! İrem Kayıkçı, from the feminist organization Mor Dayanışma (Purple Solidarity) in Turkey, agreed to discuss the decision of president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of withdrawing from the Istanbul Convention. Irem is part of a major grass-roots feminist organization in Turkey that has dozens of branches all over Turkey and she, as a socialist feminist, is part of their collective struggle with a neoliberal ultra-conservative government that aims to take back some of the important rights that women in Turkey have gained. Turkey is a country with very high levels of domestic violence, ending in the murder of hundreds of women. The feminist organizations, according to İrem Kayıkçı, show that more than 300 women were murdered by men last year and the number is growing. Maria Cernat and Boyan Stanislavski wanted to analyze the possible reasons motivating president Erdoğan as well as the structural causes of such high levels of male violence against women. Irem provided useful data regarding unemployment among Turkish women as well as very insightful opinions on how a mass grass-roots feminist organization is the only way to fight a very aggressive conservative president. ******************** Check out our website at https://thebarricade.online/ ******************** Subscribe to our YouTube channel https://bit.ly/Barricade_YT ******************** Subscribe to our Rumble channel https://rumble.com/user/thebarricade ******************** Follow us on Spotify http://bit.ly/Barricade_SF ******************** Follow us on SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/baricada ******************** Like our Facebook page https://facebook.com/EnBaricada/ ******************** Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/_the_barricade_ ******************** Follow us on Instagram https://instagram.com/thebarricade/ ******************** Hey there! The Barricade is a leftist media outlet set up by a group of activists and journalists from around Eastern Europe. This channel is part of our efforts to provide analyzes, news as well as opinions and comments from and on our region, often disregarded by the West (including the left) in a very colonial manner. One of our tasks is to confront such an approach as well as many other naïve and superficial views about Eastern Europe and its left. It has history, experience and competence to participate in the global debates. And we're doing this via this channel and its flagship show "On the barricades" hosted by Boyan Stanislavski and Maria Cernat. Please, support us by becoming a Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/thebarricade Thanks so much! See you on the barricades!

Too early to say definitely, but one thing is absolutely certain: The class balance of forces in Romanian society have shifted. The last three decades were a time of a brutal ideological offensive of neoliberalism in Romania (and Eastern Europe in general). It has had a massive effect — large portions of the public opinion in that country, despite lacking any material incentive, preach or support extremist pro-business, libertarian policies. This is also the profile of the current government, led by the bankster Florin Cîțu. Yet, there are limits to even the most efficient propagandistic festivals. It started with students a dozen weeks ago, who protested for economic reasons, instead, and departed from the West-orchestrated cyclical festival of anticorruption outrage. Moments later, the miners were on the move organizing wild-cat strikes and occupations, threatening with hunger strikes... and a few days ago the Bucharest subway workers paralyzed the capital of Romania for a day, refusing to drive the trains. What's going on in Romania and what are the 50 shades of ongoing working class protests? The Romanian leftist activist and journalist, Radu Stochiţa, explains it all, in detail, in a discussion with Boyan Stanislavski, the host of "On the barricades." ******************** Check out our website at https://thebarricade.online/ ******************** Subscribe to our YouTube channel https://bit.ly/Barricade_YT ******************** Subscribe to our Rumble channel https://rumble.com/user/thebarricade ******************** Follow us on Spotify http://bit.ly/Barricade_SF ******************** Follow us on SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/baricada ******************** Like our Facebook page https://.facebook.com/EnBaricada/ ******************** Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/_the_barricade_ ******************** Follow us on Instagram https://instagram.com/thebarricade/ ******************** Hey there! The Barricade is a leftist media outlet set up by a group of activists and journalists from around Eastern Europe. This channel is part of our efforts to provide analyzes, news as well as opinions and comments from and on our region, often disregarded by the West (including the left) in a very colonial manner. One of our tasks is to confront such an approach as well as many other naïve and superficial views about Eastern Europe and its left. It has history, experience and competence to participate in the global debates. And we're doing this via this channel and its flagship show "On the barricades" hosted by Boyan Stanislavski and Maria Cernat. Please, support us by becoming a Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/thebarricade Thanks so much! See you on the barricades!

In this episode of "On the barricades," Maria Cernat and Boyan Stanislavski discuss the departure of the Eastern European Left from its core values and orientation towards the working class and how it has strangely fallen into all kinds of increasingly-weird woke-liberal meanders. On the barricades — s02e15 The current situation in Romania is a great example of this. The social mobilizations that have taken place over the last couple of weeks are a lab-clean example of the working class moving to defend itself from the nearly-libertarian policies of the ruling right-wing. It started with student protests. Now, we can observe a series of wildcat strikes and occupations in coal and uranium mines. Furthermore, the workers in the company running the Bucharest subway trains have recently staged a one-day stoppage that paralyzed the city and ignited an immense discussion in Romanian society. But the Left is nowhere near to be found. No attempts were made to intervene in the growing movement, the only spontaneous class-based fight in recent decades. What seems to be the problem? The Polish Left seems to be in slightly better shape. It has parliamentary representation and has been hovering around 9% in the polls for the last half-year. It could certainly grow, but does it actually want to? The intuition of the left's activists and sympathizers is somewhat twisted, mostly due to the right-wing idea of staging a spectacular war of symbols in the public sphere instead of actually discussing and implementing rational policies. Why is the Left buying into this so-called "strategy?" Why can't the leaders of these various organizations offer anything inspiring and new? Is the Left lacking in ideology to such a paralyzing extent? ******************** Check out our website at thebarricade.online/ ******************** Subscribe to our YouTube channel bit.ly/Barricade_YT ******************** Subscribe to our Rumble channel rumble.com/user/thebarricade ******************** Follow us on Spotify bit.ly/Barricade_SF ******************** Follow us on SoundCloud @baricada ******************** Like our Facebook page www.facebook.com/EnBaricada/ ******************** Follow us on Twitter twitter.com/_the_barricade_ ******************** Follow us on Instagram www.instagram.com/thebarricade/ ********************

On this episode of "Divided we Fall" we discuss the economy and the Left's overall failure to draft a meaningful economic program that would give people a sense of how a departure from a capitalist regime would look. #whatswrongwiththeleft #dividedwefall #plannedeconomy #economicplan #China #USSR #sovietmodel #sovietbloc #lefteconomy #lefteconomicpolicies #distribution #fiveyearplans #5yearplans #programfortheleft #socialism #transitiontosocialism #newsocialism #bettersocialism #anticapitalism Again, this speaks to the problems we've been discussing in previous episodes. One of them is that the Left refuses to learn from its past. In the 20th century, the USSR and the Soviet Bloc were a phenomenon many on the western Left looked up to. Some were critical, and some praised this model, but once this experiment came to an end in the early 1990s, no specific conclusions were drawn, or at least not to the extent that would enable us to put forward a modern and viable concept of a socialist economy. Pat Byrne and Boyan Stanislavski discuss the notion of planning an economy as a means to overcome the unpredictable, anarchic and utterly unjust rule of the so-called "free market." Also, they speak about the difference between a planned and a command economy; the latter is a more accurate description of the Soviet model, the bottom line of which was actually the policy developed and implemented between 1918 and 1921 during the war against revolutionary Russia. It was called "war communism" and it was a wartime strategy, which failed during peacetime and led to the enormous economic stagnancy in the USSR in the 1980s. Pat and Boyan also deliberate on the Chinese economic model, which is based on five-year plans. It's a very different phenomenon from the one that used to be in place in the Soviet Bloc. Since Deng Xiaoping's reforms in the 1970s, things in the PRC went in a completely different direction and allowed the creation of a truly booming economy, which is on a path to outcompete the American one as the top economic player in the world. Also, Chinese society is developing at an astonishing rate, in science, industry and culture. The Left is ignoring that, so far. In this episode, Pat and Boyan discuss how the Left could present a coherent economic program. ******************** Check out our website at https://thebarricade.online/ ******************** Subscribe to our YouTube channel https://bit.ly/Barricade_YT ******************** Subscribe to our Rumble channel https://rumble.com/user/thebarricade ******************** Follow us on Spotify http://bit.ly/Barricade_SF ******************** Follow us on SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/baricada ******************** Like our Facebook page https://.facebook.com/EnBaricada/ ******************** Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/_the_barricade_ ******************** Follow us on Instagram https://instagram.com/thebarricade/ ******************** Hey there! The Barricade is a leftist media outlet set up by a group of activists and journalists from around Eastern Europe. This channel is part of our efforts to provide analyzes, news as well as opinions and comments from and on our region, often disregarded by the West (including the left) in a very colonial manner. One of our tasks is to confront such an approach as well as many other naïve and superficial views about Eastern Europe and its left. It has history, experience and competence to participate in the global debates. And we're doing this via this channel and its flagship show "On the barricades" hosted by Boyan Stanislavski and Maria Cernat. Please, support us by becoming a Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/thebarricade Thanks so much! See you on the barricades!

After the three years Giuseppe Conti, an independent technocrat that was suggested by the Five Stars Movement, served as PM of the country it is now Mario Draghi, the ex-chief of the European Central Bank (2011-2019), that stepped in to become the new PM in Italy. Italy is very important to Romania since a lot of workers migrated there due to the language similarities to find better employment opportunities. The Romanians form the biggest community of migrants in Italy. More than 1.2 milion people migrated there pushed by the poverty and the high unemployment rates in Romania. But the Italy is not always the heaven they dreamed of most of the jobs being in the care system or constructions, jobs that are often unskilled and low paid. Giuseppe Conti is credited with taking some very progressive measurements such as the establishment of the guaranteed minimum income, the nationalization of the Italian Highway Company ASPI and the Italian flag carrier Alitalia and Italy's largest steel company Ilva. But he also took harsh measurements against illegal immigration. Now Italy is governed by one of the world’s top financiers. We invited Cecilia Capanna, Italian activist, journalist and musician to talk about something that is not very popular in mainstream press. We want to find out how Italian politics is reflecting on women and feminist moments in Italia. And then on to Eastern Europe; Russia is trending in the news, again, since the devastating remarks of the American president about how the Russian one is "a killer." This definitely speaks more to the continued rotting of the empire, rather than its relations with the biggest and most important country of our region. In the second part of the program, except for some brief commentary on the political class in the USA having lost it completely, Boyan Stanislavski and Maria Cernat speak about the current situation in Ukraine's east, where another offensive by Kiev is looming, as well as the 7th anniversary of the "annexation" of Crimea. ******************** Check out our website at https://thebarricade.online/ ******************** Subscribe to our YouTube channel https://bit.ly/Barricade_YT ******************** Follow us on Spotify http://bit.ly/Barricade_SF ******************** Follow us on SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/baricada ******************** Like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/EnBaricada/ ******************** Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/_the_barricade_ ******************** Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thebarricade/ ******************** Hey there! The Barricade is a leftist media outlet set up by a group of activists and journalists from around Eastern Europe. This channel is part of our efforts to provide analyzes, news as well as opinions and comments from and on our region, often disregarded by the West (including the left) in a very colonial manner. One of our tasks is to confront such an approach as well as many other naïve and superficial views about Eastern Europe and its left. It has history, experience and competence to participate in the global debates. And we're doing this via this channel and its flagship show "On the barricades" hosted by Boyan Stanislavski and Maria Cernat. Please, support us by becoming a Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/thebarricade Thanks so much! See you on the barricades!