Archive | Commentary

I’ve been thinking a lot about courage. Right now, while I’m snug and fed this Thanksgiving holiday in the comfort of my home, halfway around the world a group of teenagers is sitting in a jail cell today, demonstrating the very definition of courage and sacrifice.  It’s frustrating.  Humbling.  And I’m damn glad to have […]

November 24, 2008 — This morning Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) announced that the opposition won in two more states, in Tachira and Carabobo, which had been too close to call last night when the first results had been announced.  Members of Chávez’s PSUV (United Socialist Party of Venezuela) thus won governorships in 17 states, […]

  In an effort to establish peaceful diplomacy with the government and people of Iran, and to model for the new Obama administration the power of cooperative good will, three highly regarded American peace makers have ventured to Iran.  CodePink cofounders, Jodie Evans and Medea Benjamin, along with former Army Colonel and decorated Foreign Service […]

The crisis in the auto industry is about many things: the possible collapse of GM, Detroit gas guzzlers, auto emission standards, the environment, and the need for mass transportation, among others.  But as became clear this last week, at the center of it all is the struggle between management and the workers, that is, between […]

November 23, 2008 — President Hugo Chavez’s governing party, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), got mixed results in the regional and local elections today, winning strongly in 17 out of 23 states, but losing the country’s two most populous states and the Capital District of Caracas, with two more states still to be […]

  Since the Bush administration began transporting men and boys to Guantánamo Bay in January 2002, it has tried to prevent them from presenting their cases before a neutral federal judge.  Indeed, the naval base was turned into a prison camp precisely to keep the detainees away from impartial courts.  The government argued that federal […]

Thousands of Icelanders protested in Reykjavik on Saturday, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Geir Haarde and Central Bank Governor David Oddsson, for bankrupting their country.  A group of protesters also stormed the city’s central police station to release one of the protesters arrested the day before. ITN News, 23 November 2008

Play now: Jerry Tucker: Even though it’s more than tempting to look at the mistakes — and they are gross in many instances — that have been made by the auto management in this country, at this stage of this crisis, it’s hardly the time to just dwell on that fact and not do something, […]

The worldwide media attention surrounding our massive grassweb efforts for gay rights has been tremendous.  Join the Impact was a HUGE success and will continue to thrive because of our efforts. We’ve reacted to anti-gay ballot initiatives in California, Arizona, Florida, and Arkansas with anger, with resolve, and with courage.  NOW, it’s time to show […]

The American Empire, like other empires in the past, relies on two myths.  The first is that, internally, the American system is a meritocracy.  “Hard work and enterprise can overcome a disadvantage at birth whereas rich good-for-nothings soon lose their wealth.”  The second is that American foreign policy is principled and essentially just.  “It is […]

An Open Letter to Those Seeking to Build a World from Below, in Which Many Worlds Are Possible We call on all anarchists, horizontalists, autonomists, anti-capitalists, anti-authoritarians, and others organizing a world from below to bring our best creative spirits to the project of a “Celebrate People’s History and Build Popular Power” bloc on January […]

Play now: Doug Henwood: What’s the likelihood that GM, Ford, Chrysler — all running low on cash, they’re talking about having only a couple of months of money left to keep going — they could enter bankruptcy, wipe out a bunch of their debts, and break those contracts?  It could be the effective end of […]

It is estimated that foreigners poach $300 million from Somali fisheries each year.  Somalia’s armed sailors extort about one-third that amount — $100 million — from the owners of captured ships.  So, who are the real pirates? Play now: Glen Ford is Executive Editor of Black Agenda Report.  Ford’s commentary was broadcast by Black Agenda […]

I did not want to talk a lot, but he obliged me to expand on things; I asked some questions and, basically, listened to him. His words recounted the feats of the Chinese people in the last 10 months.  Heavy and unseasonal snowfall, an earthquake that devastated surface areas equivalent to three times the size […]

In the face of mass protests to roll back the recent anti-gay marriage election ballot measures, especially California’s Proposition 8, some leftists are a bit queasy.  Why, they ask, should radicals be so adamant about defending the right of gays and lesbians to enter into an institution that is decidedly mainstream and tied to the […]

The overall consumer price index fell by 1.0 percent in October, driven by an 8.6 percent drop in energy prices.  The core CPI also fell in October, declining 0.1 percent primarily as a result of a 1.0 percent drop in apparel prices.  Over the last quarter, the CPI has fallen at a 4.4 percent annual […]

The middle-of-the-night eviction last week of an elderly Palestinian couple from their home in East Jerusalem to make way for Jewish settlers is a demonstration of Israeli intent towards a future peace deal with the Palestinians. Abu Dhabi TV, 10 November 2008 Mohammed and Fawziya Kurd are now on the street, living in a tent, […]

The Honorable Henry Reid Senate Majority Leader Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable Nancy Pelosi Speaker of the House Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Mitch McConnell Senate Minority Leader Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable John Boehner House Minority Leader Washington, DC 20515 Dear Sen. Reid, Sen. McConnell, Speaker Pelosi, and Rep. Boehner: We, the undersigned economists, […]

  The events that have been happening during the last one week in the adivasi (tribal) belt of West Midnapur district in West Bengal are so unprecedented that the authorities do not know how to respond to them, and the media doesn’t understand their significance. Even the political parties and civil society are at a […]

Introduction The Venezuelan economy has grown more than 94 percent since the current expansion began in the second quarter of 2003.1  The overwhelming bulk of this growth has been in the non-oil sector.2  Throughout most of these five and a half years of unprecedented growth, the economy has often been characterized as an “oil boom […]