Evo Morales’ Vice President believes that regional backing neutralized the most radical sectors among secessionists. The 10oC “summer” weather in Bolivia’s capital city is strongly felt in Bolivian Vice President Álvaro García Linera’s house, which has no heating, like nearly all the houses in La Paz. For almost an hour we went over the conjuncture […]
Archive | Commentary
Monthly Review Magazine
Venezuela’s Chavez: Socialism Still Our Goal
A collective discussion is occurring throughout the revolutionary movement led by President Hugo Chavez following the defeat of the proposed constitutional reform proposals — that were intended to deepen the revolution to help open the way towards socialism — in the December 2 referendum. Defeated by the narrowest of margins, the result took both sides […]
Confronting US Imperialism in Somalia
Towards the end of 2006, US-backed Ethiopian forces, with the direct support of American air power, rolled into Somalia to oust the Union of Islamic Courts that had restored peace and security in much of southern Somalia during their brief reign of power. The illegal invasion and occupation of Somalia that installed a puppet […]
Norwegian Medicine for Vedanta
On 19 November, the Norwegian Embassy in New Delhi received some unusual visitors. Even the police and security personnel stationed in the heavily-guarded Chanakyapuri area of Delhi where Norwegian and other embassies are located could not figure out the purpose of these visitors. Though they were Indian citizens, ethnically they belonged to a distinct tribal […]
The Last Letter of Patrice Lumumba [La dernière lettre de Patrice Lumumba]
Ma compagne chérie, Je t’écris ces mots sans savoir s’ils te parviendront, quand ils te parviendront et si je serai en vie lorsque tu les liras. Tout au long de ma lutte pour l’indépendance de mon pays, je n’ai jamais douté un seul instant du triomphe final de la cause sacrée à laquelle mes compagnons […]
Good Time Charlie’s War
George Crile (Charlie Wilson’s War, 2003) credits the Houston Congressman with convincing House Members to overcome their valid doubts and keep funding Zia ul Haq. Members knew in 1979 that the Pakistani dictator had overthrown and murdered President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (Benazir‘s father), that his human rights record was abominable, and that he fostered a […]
Reply to Stephen Zunes on Imperialism and the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict
Are there valid reasons to question the ICNC’s role in contemporary U.S. imperialism? We think so.
Africom: The New US Military Command for Africa
On 6 February 2007, President Bush announced that the United States would create a new military command for Africa, to be known as Africa Command or Africom. Throughout the Cold War and for more than a decade afterwards, the U.S. did not have a military command for Africa; instead, U.S. military activities on the African […]
The Futility of Sanctioning Tehran
Do facts matter in international relations? One day after the latest US National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) established with high confidence that Iran is not developing nuclear weapons, President Bush stepped in front of the cameras to declare that the NIE makes it clear that Iran needs to be taken seriously as a threat to peace. […]
Biofuels, BP-Berkeley, and the New Ecological Imperialism
British Petroleum, Beyond Petroleum . . . Biofuel Promoter, Biosphere Plunderer. Regardless of what the BP abbreviation actually stands for, one thing is clear: this oil giant knows a good deal when it sees one. For a relatively small financial contribution, BP appropriates academic expertise from a leading public research institution, founded on 200 years […]
The Failure of Climate Change Economics
In 1896, the Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius developed a theory to explain the likely impact of burning coal on the climate. Arrhenius claimed that, due to human activity, the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere would increase, creating an “enhanced” greenhouse effect. His theory did not enjoy consensus in his time, but the scientific community […]
Television, Murder, Vietnam, and a Thirteen Year Old Kid in America 1968
I was a kid in 1968. It was the year I turned 13 and it was the year my dad began to prepare to go to Vietnam. The Tet offensive was on the television in January. I remember the picture of the South Vietnamese police chief killing a suspected NLF fighter. After that, my father […]
After Bali: Time for a Different Kind of Climate Politics
“We are ending up with something so watered down there was no need for 12,000 people to gather here in Bali to have a watered-down text. We could have done that by email.” — Dr. Angus Friday, Chair of the Alliance of Small Island States In a narrow and formal sense, last month’s Climate Change […]
Beyond Abstract Art — Reflections of Life: The Amazing World of George Brodsky
The Cantellops Art Gallery at La Roche College will feature the first-ever exhibition of American artist George Brodsky (1901-1999) from Jan. 14-31. “Beyond Abstract Art — Reflections of Life on Shell, Rock, Bark and Flat Surfaces: The Amazing World of George Brodsky” will be open to the public for viewing daily from 10 a.m. to […]
Turkey’s Dreyfus Affair (of Sorts)
On October 21, 2007, after an ambush on a military outpost in an Eastern province of Turkey, eight soldiers of the Turkish army were captured by PKK (Kurdish Workers’ Party) militants and were taken across the border to Northern Iraq where they were held captive for two weeks before being released. Release, however, didn’t bring […]
Ethnic Woes a Legacy of Colonialists’ Power Game
Kenya appears to be on the brink of an ethnically charged civil war following a disputed election on December 27. President Kibaki was declared the winner of a second term after a vote that opposition candidate Mr Raila Odinga denounces as rigged and that European Union observers agree was seriously flawed. As tens of […]
Karl Marx, Journalist: An Interview with Jim Ledbetter
DISPATCHES FOR THE NEW YORK TRIBUNE: Selected Journalism of Karl MarxBUY THIS BOOK Jim Ledbetter recently edited a volume of Marx’s journalism entitled Dispatches for the New York Tribune (published in Britain last year and available in February in the US). I interviewed Jim via email about the content and significance of these writings. Q: […]
More on “Nonviolent Imperialism”
To the Editors: I am writing in response to Michael Barker’s commentary titled “Peace Activists, Criticism, and Nonviolent Imperialism” (MRZine, January, 2008). I agree with all of his observations and would just like to add a few of my own. I have never heard of the International Center for Nonviolent Conflict, but the name implies […]
Straight Facts about the Persian Gulf “Incident”
Iran’s release of the video taken on the morning of Sunday, January 6th in the Strait of Hormuz, clearly debunks Pentagon’s hype of depicting a routine patrolling operation by the Iranian Navy as an act of unfathomable aggression against the United States. The timing of this so-called “provocation” incident in the Persian Gulf just before […]
PNU’s Coup: How Can Kenyans Fight Back?
PART ONE From the look of things, it would appear that we are still a long way from resolving the serious post-election crisis that is gripping and almost crippling Kenya. Even after Raila Odinga and the Orange Democratic Movement considerably softened their pre-conditions for internationally mediated talks with their opposite numbers by dropping their […]
