Archive | April, 2011

Or what’s behind Germany’s hesitant statements on Greek debt restructuring, Ireland’s move against subordinated bondholders, and the ECB’s stance on interest rates. . . . Europe is at it again, trying to pretend that it has stemmed the tide of insolvency through its program of lending huge amounts of money (at high interest rates) to […]

Several thousands of Tunisians protested outside the Saudi Embassy on 15 April 2011, demanding the extradition of fugitive Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Cf. “Former President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia, who fled the country after a popular uprising forced him out in January, is now facing 18 legal cases, Tunisia’s official news agency […]

  Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, April 17, 2011, the Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa’adat salutes all of the over 5,700 Palestinian prisoners inside the Israeli occupation’s jails, and calls upon all those concerned for justice and freedom to join and build the largest possible international movement to secure the freedom of all Palestinian prisoners, and of […]

On behalf of the American University Anthropology department, I am deeply honored to welcome you all to AU, and to the Latin American Solidarity Coalition’s “Conference to Build a Stronger Movement to End US Militarism and the Militarization of Latin America.” It’s exciting personally to be involved in such an important event — after all, demilitarization of the Americas is now more important than ever — and I sincerely hope that we can continue this relationship and work to increase AU’s involvement with the event in the years to come, not only because it would save us money on the facility fees, but more importantly, because there is a deep thirst among AU students to become more engaged in this kind of solidarity work and because, I believe, the AU community can contribute to it in important ways. This conference is a perfect fit with all of the best aspects of this university, and those aspects — the dedication to community involvement, to social action and public intellectualism — always need reinforcing.

  Presidential chief of staff Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei has said that he has not decided yet to run for the 2013 presidential election. “Ask about my candidacy for the presidential election six months before the election,” he told reporters on Saturday when asked about his plans for the next presidential election. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s close […]

Today I had the privilege of appreciating the impressive parade with which our people commemorated the 50th anniversary of the socialist nature of the Revolution and the Bay of Pigs victory.… Also, on this same day, the 6th Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba began.

We return from a recent trip to the region persuaded that the main question engaging people with respect to the “Arab spring” is no longer “who’s next,” but rather “how far will Saudi Arabia go in pushing a counter-revolutionary agenda” across the Middle East?  Whether Saudi Arabia is really capable of coping with the momentous […]

The United States is planning to open a new military base in the Islas de la Bahía (Bay Islands) in Honduras, according to a report in the Honduran newspaper El Heraldo this Wednesday. The news emerged after the meeting between Honduran Defense Minister Marlon Pascual and the head of the US Sothern Command Douglas Fraser. […]

“Get Out of Bahrain Now!” Saudi Embassy, Washington, DC, 15 April 2011 For more information about this rally, visit the Web site of its coordinator the American Council for Freedom in Bahrain: .  Cf. “Washington, DC: Rally against Human Rights Abuses in Bahrain” (MRZine, 15 April 2011). | Print

“With our soul and blood, we’ll redeem Bahrain!”  “Down with Hamad, Down with Hamad!” Funeral March for Torture Victim Abdul Karim Fakhrawi, to the Hoora Cemetery, Manama, Bahrain, 13 April 2011 Diraz, Bahrain, 15 April 2011 Cf. Andrew Hammond, “Gulf Media Find Their Red Line in Uprisings: Bahrain” (Reuters, 14 April 2011). | Print

Weeks of highly publicized debates — some in Congress, more in the mass media — brought Republicans and Democrats to a budget deal.  To maximize public attention, they threatened a possible government shutdown.  Both parties said that large government deficits and accumulated debt were “serious problems.”  They agreed that solving them required only spending cuts, […]

  The Supreme Court has granted bail to civil rights activist Dr. Binayak Sen. Ilena Sen: This Part of Nightmare Is Over See, also, Jonathan Kennedy and Lawrence King, “The Conviction of Binayak Sen” (The Lancet, 16 April 2011); “Binayak Sen’s Mother Anasuya Sen: He Is Honest and Patriotic” (NDTV, 14 April 2011); PTI, “Supreme […]

The consumer price index rose 0.5 percent in March.  Over the last three months, headline inflation has run at a 6.1 percent annualized rate as food and, especially, energy prices have risen much faster than core prices.  Core inflation rose only 0.1 percent last month and at a 2.0 percent rate over the last three […]

Candlelight March in Solidarity with the People of Bahrain, 14.04.11 Funeral March for Saudi Torture Victim Mohammad Hassan al-Hayek, 14.04.11: “The People Want Human Rights” Jaroudiya and Awamiya Villagers Participate in the Central Qatif March, 14.04.11 The Message of the People of Qatif to the House of Saud, 15.04.11: “Friday, 22 April 2011 Will Be […]

Carlos Latuff is a Brazilian cartoonist.  Cf. “The Egyptian Health Ministry has said that more than 800 people were killed during the 18-day revolt that ended Mr. Mubarak’s rule” (David D. Kirkpatrick and Liam Stack, “Prosecutors Order Mubarak and Sons Held,” New York Times, 13 April 2011). | Print

Palestinians across the Gaza Strip and the West Bank will join today in mourning slain activist Vittorio Arrigoni.  People will gather both in the Al Manara square in Ramallah and at Al Jundi al Majhoul, the unknown soldier park, in Gaza City.  Mourners will be received by the ISM and local popular committees and BDS […]

The reconvening of the UN in late September and the possible recognition of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders may be a crucial political moment in the struggle for Palestinian liberation — or not.  Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has characterized it as a looming “diplomatic tsunami” for Israel; Ali Abunimah, a prominent Palestinian-American […]

  The murder of human rights activist, Vittorio Arrigoni, is a tragedy for his family, for those of us who knew him, and for the Palestinians who loved and admired him.  The Steering Committee of Freedom Flotilla 2 condemns this senseless murder and the people who are behind it.  They took the life of one […]

“Demand an end to the intimidation, torture and killing of peaceful protesters, human rights activists, and health and medical personnel in Bahrain at the hands of the Bahraini military and security forces provided by Saudi Arabia and other states.” — American Council for Freedom in Bahrain Washington, DC, 15 April 2011 For more information about […]

Carlos Latuff is a Brazilian cartoonist.  | Print