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in the 1950s, the white minority regime in Zimbabwe launched an ambitious development scheme for peasant agriculture, known as the Native Land Husbandry Act. It was abandoned in 1962 in the face of massive rural opposition. This paper explores the key provisions of this surprising scheme and its origins in the political economy of the colony and the contradictory interests of the settler community. It then looks at why Africans rejected the measure, arguing the NLHA undermined key peasant strategies for production, environmental management, and survival in the colonial order. Peasants initially tried to evade the impositions of the scheme, but then became defiant as the state tried to coerce them to follow the law. Protests spread throughout the country, creating a state of ungovernability that threatened white rule. These developments played a key role in rural mobilisation and the emergence of land-based nationalism in Zimbabwe, factors that continue to shape the political and social landscape today.

This paper discusses Romani migration to the U. K. from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in the closing years of the twentieth century, with particular reference to the Czech and Slovak Republics. These case studies were chosen to illustrate wider points because they are the best documented, particularly with regard to illuminating sociological research on motivations for migration. Comparisons with similar migration to Canada shed further light on the situation. Refugees from these CEE countries have met a hostile reception in the U. K. It is argued here, however, that popular ignorance alone does not provide a sufficient explanation for this hostility: rather, the condemnation of Romani asylum seekers is seen as an expression of a deep-rooted and long-standing anxiety in the U. K. about immigration and its potential consequences. In spite of their relatively insignificant numbers, Roma have acted as convenient motifs in this ongoing discourse, being assigned a prominent symbolic role at a time of heightened political sensitivity.

Examines attempts at Romani ethnic mobilization, focusing on post-WWII Czechoslovakia & the territory following the 1989 Velvet Revolution & addressing structural constraints on such mobilization. It is argued that Romani mobilization was limited by contemporary dominant ideologies, specific political forms, & the state perception of Romani economic value. In addition, the ambitions of governments representing majorities played a role. The context for Romani mobilization is sketched, along with the origins of ethnogenesis. Before exploring Romani mobilization under communist rule, communist policies toward the Roma are touched on. Following WWII, Czechoslovakia tried & failed to assimilate the Roma, & in the wake of this, Gypsy-Roma associations emerged. Attention turns to postcommunist Romani mobilization, noting that, despite difficulties in sustaining grassroots mass support, Romani organizations have increased their international visibility. It is concluded that Romani anger is growing over the failure of postcommunist democracy to protect their basic human rights & improve their material conditions, raising the question of whether interethnic violence might ensue. 89 References. J. Zendejas

Examines attempts at Romani ethnic mobilization, focusing on post-WWII Czechoslovakia & the territory following the 1989 Velvet Revolution & addressing structural constraints on such mobilization. It is argued that Romani mobilization was limited by contemporary dominant ideologies, specific political forms, & the state perception of Romani economic value. In addition, the ambitions of governments representing majorities played a role. The context for Romani mobilization is sketched, along with the origins of ethnogenesis. Before exploring Romani mobilization under communist rule, communist policies toward the Roma are touched on. Following WWII, Czechoslovakia tried & failed to assimilate the Roma, & in the wake of this, Gypsy-Roma associations emerged. Attention turns to postcommunist Romani mobilization, noting that, despite difficulties in sustaining grassroots mass support, Romani organizations have increased their international visibility. It is concluded that Romani anger is growing over the failure of postcommunist democracy to protect their basic human rights & improve their material conditions, raising the question of whether interethnic violence might ensue. 89 References. J. Zendejas

Octopus is a real-life thriller that tells the inside story of a GBP300 million hedge fund fraud and the wild-goose chase through Europe by its drug-fuelled manager for a lucrative "secret market" beneath the financial market we all know. Sam Israel was a man who seemed to have it all. Born into one of the world's richest families, he founded his own hedge fund, promising his investors guaranteed profits. But, after suffering devastating losses and faking tax returns, Israel knew his real performance would soon be discovered. So when a former CIA-operative turned conman told him about a "secret market" run by the Federal Reserve, Israel bet his last $150 million of other people's money on a chance to make it all back. So began his crazy year-long adventure in a world populated by clandestine bankers, conspiracy theories, and gun-toting spooks issuing cryptic warnings about a mysterious cabal known only as the Octopus..