Archive | September, 2006

  Prodded by Amnesty International (AI), the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Asian Human Rights Commission, Reporters Without Borders, and other international organizations, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo recently cobbled a group to look into the allegations of massive human rights violations — over 729 victims of extrajudicial killings, and 180 involuntary “disappearances,” by the latest count — during her […]

John Bellamy Foster NAKED IMPERIALISM: The U.S. Pursuit of Global Dominance by John Bellamy FosterREAD EXCERPT BUY THIS BOOK Here are two opportunities to listen to John Bellamy Foster, editor of Monthly Review and the author of Naked Imperialism among many other publications. On Tuesday, 19 September 2006, C.S. Soong, the host of Against the […]

Coordinatrice des Campagnes civiles internationales pour la protection du peuple palestinien (CCIPPP), Nahla Chahal est chercheur à Paris.  Elle fut l’une des dirigeantes, dans les années 1970, de l’Organisation d’action communiste du Liban (OACL).  De retour du Liban, où elle a passé plus d’un mois pendant l’offensive israélienne, elle raconte et analyse ces événements. Quel […]

To the Government of India, Members of the Judiciary, and All Citizens, To build a truly democratic and plural India, we must collectively fight against laws and policies that abuse human rights and limit fundamental freedoms. This is why we, concerned Indian citizens and people of Indian origin, support the overturning of Section 377 of […]

  Caracas, 27 August 2006 Dear Friend, It is my great pleasure, on behalf of the Centro Internacional Miranda (CIM, Miranda International Centre), to contact you to tell you that the Centro Internacional Miranda now exists.  As a sympathizer with and an activist in the Bolivarian cause, we value your cooperation highly and we hope […]

Michael Lebowitz, Martha Harnecker y Luis Bonilla.  Credito: MIGUEL ACURERO Caracas.  A pesar de tener activo cinco meses, ayer viernes fue presentado oficialmente el Centro Internacional Miranda (CMI), que tendrá como objetivo determinar los aspectos ideológicos que enmarcarán el proceso de transformación del país hacia el modo del socialismo del siglo XXI, con la participación […]

“A critical component of the overall strategy is to contain expenditures within revenues and available financing, by prioritizing expenditures, controlling the wage and pensions bill, reducing subsidies on petroleum products, and expanding the participation of the private sector in the domestic market for petroleum products. . . . The authorities have recently increased prices of […]

Mexico stands at the brink of a social upheaval of major proportions after the Electoral Tribunal threw out most challenges by presidential candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador, leading him to call for the creation of a new government.  (See “Election Decision Favors Felipe Calderon of the Pan.”)  In the face of what he calls a […]

One of the least-known stories of the Irish who came to America in the 1840s is that of the Irish battalion that fought on the Mexican side in the U.S.-Mexico War of 1846-1848.  They came to Mexico and died, some gloriously in combat, others ignominiously on the gallows.  United under a green banner, they participated […]

Thousands of Sacramento County workers in a coalition of labor unions went on strike on September 5.  The union coalition includes the local chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Service Employees International Union Local 535, Stationary Engineers Local 39 AFL-CIO, and the United Public Employees Local 1. Labor leaders and […]

  A mass breakout from Dili’s Becora jail has opened a new phase in the East Timor crisis. On 30 August, Alfredo Reinaldo, a key figure in the rebellion which brought down the Alkatiri government, waltzed out the gate with 56 other prisoners.  Until that happened, the tiny, impoverished country had seemed to be slowly […]

Seguramente, ésta será la última oportunidad en que pueda dirigirme a ustedes.  La Fuerza Aérea ha bombardeado las antenas de Radio Magallanes.  Mis palabras no tienen amargura sino decepción.  Que sean ellas un castigo moral para quienes han traicionado su juramento: soldados de Chile, comandantes en jefe titulares, el almirante Merino, que se ha autodesignado […]

  I am honored to write this preface to the Turkish edition of my book, Naming the System: Inequality and Work in the Global Economy.  I thank Neset Kutlug and everyone else who helped bring this edition to fruition.  I wrote the book with an international audience in mind, so it is gratifying to see […]

Praise/Protest your Senator for voting for/against the use of cluster bombs in Lebanon. In response to Israel’s use of American-made cluster bombs in heavily populated areas of Lebanon, Senators Feinstein and Leahy introduced legislation that would require recipients of such munitions not to use them in or near civilian centers.  The Cluster Munitions Amendment failed […]

  A small kitten scampers up the steps of ivy-laden Cobb Hall at the University of Chicago.  Nearby, a mohawked student attempts to spear a stale, “dumpstered,” bagel mid-air with a PVC pipe.  He’s surrounded by dozens of other young radicals mingling in the school’s immaculate green courtyard, chatting about music, activism, and revolution.  Just […]

  In the Name of God Ladies and Gentlemen, Distinguished Guests, “As-Salam-u-‘Alaikum” — Peace be upon you. Knowledge of the human soul has been one of the most significant debates in philosophical discourse throughout history.  A part of this tale was written in the Orient and another part in the Occident.  It is important to […]

I took my Harry Choates CD off the player even though that Cajun violin he plays had a lot to say a year after Katrina hit.  The new Bob Dylan album was in my hand and it was time to put the little disc on.  Modern Times is what he’s calling it.  The cover has […]

“I was born by the river in a little tent And just like the river, I’ve been running ever since It’s been a long time coming But I know a change is gonna come.” — Sam Cooke Dear family & friends, “A Change Is Gonna Come” was one of my favorite anthems back in the […]

Click on the photo for a larger view. Stephen Philion, Assistant Professor of Sociology at St. Cloud State University, contributed the photographs. | | Print

  Michael Perelman, Railroading Economics: The Creation of the Free Market Mythology, Monthly Review Press, 2006, 238 pages, $20.00 RAILROADING ECONOMICS: The Creation of the Free Market Mythology by Michael Perelman BUY THIS BOOK Railroading Economics by Michael Perelman is an indictment of economists.  But the indictment is not, thankfully, the familiar rehearsal of untenable […]