Archive | October, 2010

  The free trade push has begun again.  Both U.S. President Barack Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak are calling for ratification of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, which was signed by the two countries’ trade representatives in April 2007 but has yet to be approved by either the U.S. Congress or the South […]

  In 1961, the Non-Aligned Movement was founded in Belgrade, led by such leaders as Tito, Nehru, Nasser, and Sukarno, who were seen as champions of the developing world.  Now, on the eve of its 50th anniversary, the movement is a forgotten quasi-bloc, a rather loose league of nations ranging from extremely impoverished Malawi to […]

There are few terms in our political vocabulary as damning as ‘fanatic’.  Beyond tolerance and impervious to communication, the fanatic stands outside the frame of political rationality, possessed by a violent conviction that brooks no argument and will only rest, if ever, once every rival view or way of life is eradicated.  A fanatic, Winston […]

  Dayo F. Gore, Jeanne Theoharis, Komozi Woodard, eds.  Want to Start a Revolution?: Radical Women in the Black Freedom Struggle.  New York: New York University Press, 2009.  ix + 353 pp.  $79.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-8147-8313-9; $25.00 (paper), ISBN 978-0-8147-8314-6. In the last two decades, a growing field of movement scholarship has complicated conventional representations […]

In June of last year, when the Honduran military overthrew the social democratic government of Manuel Zelaya, President Rafael Correa of Ecuador took it personally.  “We have intelligence reports that say that after Zelaya, I’m next,” said Correa. Yesterday it turned out to be true.  Some analysts are still insisting that what happened was just […]

  From the Carondelet Palace, President Correa expressed his condemnation of the attitude of police.  He congratulated the people for their courage.  With such loyalty no one can defeat us, he said.  He thanked the world leaders and organizations that expressed their support for the government.  He declared that Ecuador will not submit to anyone. […]

Testimony before the Congressional Out of Poverty Caucus Hearing on “An Emergency Response to the Crisis of Poverty in America,” 30 September 2010. Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak today to the Congressional Out of Poverty Caucus on the poverty crisis facing America. In 2009, the national poverty rate hit 14.3 percent, […]

An alarming trend is sweeping Europe.  Far-right parties, using anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant rhetoric, have made electoral gains in several European countries.  In the June European parliament elections, these parties were able to garner votes in a way they haven’t before.  The British National Party (BNP), which has its roots in fascist parties of the past, […]

  Part 1 Aijaz Ahmad: Israel, which is completely isolated in the region, is very unhappy about the fact that Turkey is rising as a power which is establishing very productive and extensive contacts in the region.  Israel was very happy when both of them were completely isolated in the region: Turkey was in the […]