Archive | February, 2008

  To buy a DVD of Aristide and the Endless Revolution (Dir. Nicolas Rossier, 2005), visit <www.aristidethefilm.com/>. | | Print

In the strange world of Israeli academia, an Arab college lecturer is being dismissed from his job because he refused to declare his “respect for the uniform of the Israeli army.”  The bizarre demand was made of Nizar Hassan, director of several award-winning films, after he criticized a Jewish student who arrived in his film […]

One at a time, the teachers came out of the sub-zero January cold and into the lobby of Wayne State University’s McGregor Hall in Detroit.  By the time the board of governors meeting began — where the teachers had three minutes total to detail their concerns — they were together in force. Before they went […]

These words will be published tomorrow, on February 29. A great many tasks lie immediately ahead of us. The 10th International Conference of Economists on Globalization and the Problems of Development, a conference I have always attended and in which I have always expressed different points of view, will begin on Monday the 3rd. Judging by the international developments we’ve witnessed, this conference will doubtless be of great importance, owing to the presence of prestigious economists, some Nobel Prize laureates and two eminent heads of State.I wish to address a specific issue in this, today’s reflection.

To Whom It May Concern: The President’s proposed Fiscal Year 2009 budget eliminates funding for the American Time Use Survey (ATUS). This data source, which became fully operational in 2003, is an annual survey that provides the only available information on how Americans use their time.  In the view of many social scientists, it is the […]

Left Forum 2008 Each spring in New York City, Left Forum gathers intellectuals and activists from around the world to address the burning issues of our times.  The theme for 2008 is “CRACKS IN THE EDIFICE.”  We will examine the context of an empire in the throes of collapse and discuss the possibilities for social […]

Max Elbaum will be on two panels at Left Forum 2008: “The State of the Anti-War Movement” and “Looking Back, Looking Forward: The Legacy of ’68.” — Ed. WAR/PEACE AT THE PIVOT If the U.S. can be forced to withdraw completely from Iraq, many more positive changes become possible. But if the U.S. continues its […]

This statement/call was provided by the Center for Labor Renewal co-convenor Jerry Tucker, who will be the moderator of the CLR-organized “Reorganizing the Working Class” panel at Left Forum 2008. — Ed. Statement & Call for the Elimination of Two-Tier Workplaces On Saturday, January 26, 2008, over 80 U.S. and Canadian auto industry worker-activists met […]

A two-day national agrarian strike against a pending Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States ended on Wednesday February 20th, leaving four farmers dead after President Alan Garcia declared a state of emergency and ordered a violent crackdown.  Farmers are demanding financial support from the government in the face of a predicted increase in […]

Clever public relations make millions believe that taxes are “too high,” as if all citizens and all businesses were in the same boat when it comes to paying taxes.  Actually, we are in different boats, some sailing, some stalled, and some sinking.  Taxes on some of us are indeed high or too high, but others […]

In recent weeks, external and internal pressures against Venezuela’s Bolivarian revolution have intensified dramatically. It is clear that US imperialism and the US-backed Venezuelan opposition see the defeat of Chavez’s proposed constitutional reforms on December 2 as a green light to push forward their plans to destabilize the government. In addition, growing internal problems, with […]

There was plenty of suspense Sunday evening in Hamburg, Germany’s second biggest city.  Would the mayor, Ole von Beust, win a majority again and keep ruling the city-state without requiring support from any other parties?  Or could the Social Democrats, possibly with the help of the Greens, overtake him and regain control of a city […]

The way Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported on Haiti and Venezuela in its 2008 World Report reveals an underlying assumption that the U.S. and its allies have the right to overthrow democratic governments.1 The Venezuela section of the report said nothing about ongoing attempts by the U.S. to overthrow the Chavez government.  It is a […]

James L. Gelvin.  The Israel-Palestine Conflict: One Hundred Years of War.  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. x + 294 pp. Illustrations, maps, notes, bibliographies, glossary, time line, biographical sketches, index. Those who have noted, but not read, James Gelvin‘s The Israel-Palestine Conflict: One Hundred Years of War may well ask themselves, “do we need another […]

Meeting Resistance: A film by Molly Bingham and Steve Connors.   Now showing at various locations.  For a schedule, go to: www.meetingresistance.com.   Available soon on DVD. Meeting Resistance is that rarest of discourse in the contemporary world — the true voice of the victims of US imperialism — edited, of course, as any coherent documentary must […]

  Here are two documents on the Kosovo question in light of international law: an appeal of the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law and a diplomatic initiative of University of Belgrade law students. — Ed. APPEAL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF BELGRADE FACULTY OF LAW The Senate of the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law […]

  Analytical Monthly Review, published in Kharagpur, West Bengal, India, is a sister edition of Monthly Review.  Its February 2008 issue features the following editorial. — Ed. In the aftermath of the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, many of our friends persuaded themselves that the high tide of the danger of Sangh Parivar-BJP fascism had passed. […]

That Tuesday, there was no fresh international news. My modest message to the people of Monday, February 18 had no problem being widely circulated. I began to receive news from 11:00 a.m. The previous night I slept like never before. My conscience was at rest and I had promised myself a vacation. The days of tension, with the proximity of February 24, left me exhausted.

The status of the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt remains unsettled.  Egypt is under heavy pressure from both Israel and the United States to reestablish control and seal the border.  In an uncharacteristically blunt criticism of the regime of President Husni Mubarak, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice testified before the House Foreign Affairs […]

  Introduction Japan’s vast higher education system has around 5,000 institutions.  This includes a tertiary level of about 1,300 government-approved, degree-awarding colleges and universities.  Seven hundred forty-five of these are designated as ‘daigaku,’ a term which refers to any institution that has received government sanction to award four-year degrees equivalent to a baccalaureate.  These four-year […]