Archive | Commentary

Open class struggle is every capitalist ruler’s nightmare.  As long as poor working people suffer in silence, business can continue as usual.  Heads of state can go on pushing the buttons and pulling the levers of power according to plan with little interference from below. There is a point in time, however, when the legions […]

The US left today confronts a remarkable opportunity.  George Bush and Sarah Palin effectively reopened the explicit debate over capitalism versus socialism.  More than that, their interventions, combined with the current crisis of capitalism, disrupt the conventional, classic definitions of both isms.  Thus, the debate over them is now transformed in advantageous ways for the […]

The media were predicting a disaster for Venezuela’s Chavistas.  Desperate for news that was fit to print, the opposition-controlled Venezuelan press and its foreign counterparts convinced many that the time had come for Hugo Chávez and his Bolivarian Revolution, after stumbling in a slim referendum defeat last year, to finally come crashing down under its […]

Zaa Nkweta: With Colombia in the midst of economic crisis, highlighted by the fall of several pyramid schemes, Colombia President Álvaro Uribe has vowed to stamp out corruption, arresting 52 employees and declaring the state of emergency.  I spoke to Forrest Hylton about the actions that the Colombian government has undertaken. Forrest Hylton: Uribe is […]

  The Real News: The 800 billion announced Tuesday and 7.76 trillion from the Bloomberg estimate add up to $8.56 trillion or $26,500 for every man, woman, or child in the United States.  We spoke to journalist and author Nomi Prins about where these trillions might come from. Nomi Prins: . . . All of […]

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 […]

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, […]

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

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]