The Party of Wall Street has raged on for decades, writes David Harvey, academic and renowned teacher of Karl Marx's 'Capital'. Now is the time for the values of the Occupy Movement to rise up.

In this keynote lecture delivered at the annual conference of the Stanford Forum for African Studies in Palo Alto, California, on 29 October Pius Adesanmi explores how capitalism has organised human history and experience in the pursuit of profit. The full lecture is available here.

Bongani Masuku believes that Swaziland has reached a point of no return. The momentum towards democracy and a society free of corruption and royal abuse in the name of culture is irreversible.

Rasna Warah cautions that, if Kenyans cannot see the link between government failure and the rise of home-grown terrorism, then the military project of eliminating Al-Shabaab in the country and across the border in Somalia will go nowhere.

Placing workers at the heart of 21st struggles for social, economic and political emancipation is the objective of the newly launched ‘Global African Worker’. Bill Fletcher, leader of the project, sets out the importance of building ‘real links between individuals and social movements who are conducting similar and sometimes overlapping struggles against racism and global capitalism.’

‘Israel subjects the Palestinian people to an institutionalised regime of domination amounting to apartheid as defined under international law,’ a jury at the Russell Tribunal on Palestine (RToP) has found, following a series of hearings from 5-6 November. The tribunal is calling on Israel to dismantle the system and ‘to cease forthwith acts of persecution against Palestinians’.

While the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Australia included no commitment to oppose homophobic persecution and to protect the human rights of LGBTI persons, Commonwealth of Nations Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma did speak out against homophobic persecution. In addition, the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) will be empowered to deal with serious or persistent human rights violations by member states, which could include action against countries that perpetrate homophobic persecution.

The findings of this study published by the Organisation for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa (OSSREA) revealed that there has been a steady increase in overall student enrolment from the academic years 2000/2001 to 2006/2007 in selected universities. There was variation in female student enrolment during this period, but in all cases it was below 50 per cent. Data regarding student enrolment in the various faculties/schools by gender from Kenyatta and Egerton universities revealed that female students were concentrated in the humanities and social sciences. Women academic staff were found to be underrepresented in the universities. Women staff were found to be missing from the senior university management positions.

Liberian opposition radio and TV stations were shut down by the authorities on 8 November 2011 on the orders of a criminal court in Monrovia. The stations are being accused of spreading messages that the authorities said could incite violence. The stations, Kings FM belonging to the Congress for Democratic Change’s (CDC) Vice Presidential Candidate, George Weah; Love FM and TV owned by Benoni Urey, a known sympathiser of the National Patriotic Party (NPP) which has entered into an alliance with the CDC and Power FM and TV. The Media Foundation for West Africa’s (MFWA) correspondent reported that the affected stations would remain closed until their representatives appeared before the court on 10 November.

Equatoguinean president Teodoro Obiang has proposed several changes to the constitution of Equatorial Guinea, including establishing a limit of two terms of seven years on the presidency, creating the office of vice-president, adding a second chamber to parliament, and creating a 'Court of Auditors' to oversee government programs, contracts and expenditures. This post lists the proposed changes.

'The challenge to end economic, geographic, gendered Apartheid is huge. Much of this challenge exists at a local level. But, as this guide shows, the Constitution empowers communities to claim their rights. Activists must connect the dots and ensure that Government prioritises the rights of people. We encourage you to use this guide to do that!' - Pregs Govender, deputy chairperson, South African Human Rights Commission, in the Forward to 'Making local government work: an activist guide.'

Returning to Haiti a year later, Sokari Ekine hopes to see ‘some positive change in the lives of people’, but instead she finds a ‘continuation of the slow and aggressive violence against the 99 per cent.’

Are debt strikes, the next logical step in the fight against Big Finance's domination of the 99 percent? asks this article from 'One of the fascinating things about the media dominance of Occupy Wall Street has been how the conversation has shifted away from the deficit-obsession of the last few years. Suddenly the debt that everyone is talking about is personal, individual debt - student loans, mortgages, credit cards and other ways the big banks control our lives.'

At the outbreak of the Libyan conflict, it was estimated that over 900 Sahrawi children and youth, 100 Palestinian students, and up to 70,000 Palestinian migrant workers were based in Libya. Their presence in Libya, and both the challenges they have faced since February 2011 and the nature of international
responses to these challenges, highlight a range of issues, which this paper, produced by the UN Refugee Agency, explores.

Dani Nabudere’s ‘undying commitment to practical Pan-Afrikanism on grassroot level leaves us all with an enormous challenge in continuing his legacy and insist that all his sacrifices and achievements must never be in vain,’ writes Baba Buntu.

Lack of transparency, resulting in inadequate regulation, underpins the current global financial crisis, argues Charles Abugre. The secrecy ultimately hurts the poor and erodes the social contract that underpins government accountability to deliver to citizens.

In light of 2012 elections, Kenya’s decision to defend its borders may be seen as a bold statement on security to win popularity, writes Abena Afia. But at this time of extreme famine and internal turmoil, Somalia needs the support of the international community, not another war.

A Ugandan court on Thursday 10 November sentenced the man suspected to have murdered a gay rights activist in January this year, to 30 years in prison. The 30 year sentence was passed by Justice Joseph Mulangira after the man admitted to have murdered David Kato 46, on 26 January 2011. This verdict was passed based on the evidence produced in court by the lead state prosecutor, Ms. Loe Karungi.

Kenya’s foray into Somalia, led from behind by US Africa Command (AFRICOM), ‘represents a heightened threat to peace and reconstruction in Africa, especially East Africa’, argues Horace Campbell. AFRICOM’s attempts at remilitarisation will not solve Africa’s problems, says Campbell, when 'the root cause' of the ‘threats to stability and security challenges’ across the continent is ‘the exploitation and plunder’ of its resources.

Peter Wuteh Vakunta celebrates the works of three dissident Cameroonian musicians who are unafraid to tell President Paul Biya to his face about the sufferings of the people under his very long rule.

I'm writing to inform you that I was elected vice president of the African Union’s ECOSOCC at its fourth General Assembly, on 1 November 2011 in Nairobi.

This election is certainly an honour, but it is also a great responsibility and I invite you all to join me to ensure the mission’s full success!

The challenges in Africa are enormous and we need as a society to play our part in the construction of our continent. Africa needs all her daughters and sons!

Sub-saharan Africa’s business regulatory environment, Cameroon and Liberia’s wasted potential, Eritrean politics and appropriate state models for Somalia are among the topics featured in this week’s review of African blogs, by Dibussi Tande.

Egyptian military prosecutors have extended the detention of a prominent activist and blogger, pending investigations into accusations that he incited violence and attacked military personnel during deadly protests. The extension will add 15 days to Alaa Abd El Fattah's previous sentence of 15 days, which was handed down on 30 October after he refused to be interrogated by a military prosecutor.

This issue includes:
- The 50th Anniversary of Fanon: Culture, Consciousness and Praxis
- Frantz Fanon: Existentialist, Dialectician, and Revolutionary
- Revisiting Fanon, From Theory to Practice: Democracy and Development in Africa
- Hegel and Fanon on the Question of Mutual Recognition: A Comparative Analysis
- Fanon Now: Singularity and Solidarity
- Reading Violence and Postcolonial Decolonization Through Fanon: The Case of Jamaica.

AKina Mama wa Afrika (AMwA) is seeking a consultant to assist in developing a standardized Curricula for its African Women’s Leadership Programme.The curricula will be based on the training framework of the African Women’s Leadership Institute (AWLI) which aims to build leadership at both personal and collective level. Closing date of applications is 18th November 2011.

In December 2010, the Economic Performance and Development programme of the HSRC, with the support of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation (RLF) and OSISA, coordinated a live webcast of the international conference, ‘Global Crisis, Rethinking Economy and Society’, hosted by the Chicago Center for Contemporary Theory at the University of Chicago. The fascinating presentations and debates at this gathering, where world renowned intellectuals shared their views, are available through the link provided.

Nigerian newspaper NEXT shone like a million stars on 1 November as one of its editors and two of its reporters scooped two of the three awards on offer at the FAIR (Forum for African Investigative Reporters) African Investigative Journalism Awards in Johannesburg, South Africa. Pambazuka News contributor Khadija Sharife’s untangling of pharmaceutical medicines pricing, with devastating consequences for young children in need of anti-diarrhoea treatment, which she did for Al Jazeera Africa, received a special mention from a number of judges.

Africa Middle East Refugee Assistance (AMERA) is a UK-based refugee rights organization assisting refugees who seek asylum in Egypt. Our Egypt office (AMERA-Egypt) serves more than 1000 refugees each year and involves the efforts of more than 40 staff, interns, and interpreters from Egypt and other countries. AMERA is committed to providing holistic services for refugees and migrants in Cairo through pairing legal aid with psychosocial assistance. The Community Outreach Team comes in as AMERA's outlet to the different refugee communities around Cairo.

Two South Sudanese independent journalists have been imprisoned over a column critical of President Salva Kiir, according to local journalists and news reports. On 1 November South Sudan National Security Services (NSS) agents in the temporary capital of Juba arrested Peter Ngor, editor of the private daily Destiny, and ordered the indefinite suspension of his newspaper for running an 26 October opinion article by columnist Dengdit Ayok, news reports said. The article, titled 'Let Me Say So', criticised the president for allowing his daughter to marry an Ethiopian national and accused him of 'staining his patriotism', news reports said.

One of Africa’s oldest radio stations, the Monrovia-based Eternal Love Winning Africa (ELWA) has been burnt by unknown arsonists, sources said. ELWA is an American-owned Christian station that was not among the four that were ordered closed by the government. Information about the burning of the station was still scanty, but its neighbours explained that it was set ablaze early Wednesday by unknown arsonists, who had not claimed responsibility for the act.

At least eighteen people are dead and scores wounded in a fierce fighting between the army and the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) in South Sudan Friday, the military has said. 'Heavily-armed' SAF forces attacked Kuek area in Upper Nile state along the borders with Sudan’s White Nile state, leading to death of five of his soldiers and 13 of the attackers, said The SPLA spokesman, Col. Philip Aguer Panyang. At least 26 were wounded on the side of the SPLA and 47on the SAF side, according to Aguer.

Equatorial Guineans voted Sunday in a referendum on a new constitution that would limit presidential terms to two and strengthen the small oil state's democracy. The opposition has branded the vote a 'masquerade' because the text does not make clear whether President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, Africa's longest-serving leader, will have to step down when his term ends in 2016. Obiang, who currently chairs the African Union, is on an offensive to win himself a clean bill of health on the international scene and reverse his country's reputation as one of Africa's most corrupt and autocratic.

Rebels in Sudan's Darfur region and in the troubled border states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan have formed an alliance to overthrow the government of President Omar al-Bashir, a statement released by the rebels said. The alliance, called the Sudanese Revolutionary Front, is bent on 'toppling the regime of the [Sudan's ruling] National Congress Party with all possible means' and replacing it with a democratic system, the groups said in the joint statement sent to the Reuters news agency on Saturday.

Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale has warned the ANC leadership not to underestimate the power and influence of the youth wing president Julius Malema and his executive. Sexwale, who testified for Malema during the disciplinary hearings into his conduct, was speaking at a gala dinner in Eastern Cape organised by the Dr AB Xuma Foundation. In what appeared to be a thinly veiled attack on President Jacob Zuma, Sexwale warned that no one was guaranteed re-election to a party position, the Times reported. The ANC's national disciplinary committee announced last week that Malema had to vacate his position as youth league leader after an effective suspension of five years.

About 1,841 Zimbabweans who were living in South Africa illegally had last week trickled back into the country as the first batch of those deported arrived. Most of the deported Zimbabweans spoke out about their chilling experience at the hands of South Africans. 'Life in South Africa is very difficult for foreign nationals. Every day I was constantly reminded that I was a foreigner and most of the South Africans call us makwerekwere, a derogatory term used to mock foreigners,' said Alson Mhiri, a deportee.

Many of the world’s women are moving closer to gender equality, but substantial gaps remain between men and women in health, education and, particularly, political and economic participation in a number of countries, including some of the most developed, according to a new global report. Measuring against 2010 rankings, for example, the Sixth Annual World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2011 found that New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom showed slight declines in their overall gender equality rankings, while Brazil, Ethiopia, Qatar, Tanzania and Turkey posted gains.

Right2Know is calling on all supporters to come to Parliament on Wednesday 13h00 for a protest. This follows the move to bring the Secrecy Bill back to National Assembly for further deliberations as confirmed by the Office of the ANC Chief Whip last week.

German Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul apologised in August 2004 at a big rally in Okakarara for the genocide committed 100 years ago by the German imperial army. Almost eight years later the German parliament (Bundestag) rejected two motions by three opposition parties for a formal apology of the German parliament and so refused to acknowledge the genocide in contradiction to the assessment of historians.