I’ve talked with the Syrian president, our brother Bashar, a couple of minutes ago. Syria is a victim of a fascist onslaught. God Help Syria! Hugo Chávez Frías is the president of Venezuela. Translation by Yoshie Furuhashi (@yoshiefuruhashi | yoshie.furuhashi [at] gmail.com). Cf. Karin Leukefeld, “Syriens Kommunisten sehen »Chance« für Veränderungen” (junge Welt, 14 May […]
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News updates or analysis.
Naguib Sawiris, a Frank Capitalist
I absolutely love how shamelessly frank Naguib Sawiris‘s tweets tend to be. . . Hossam el-Hamalawy is an Egyptian socialist, journalist, and photographer. Visit his blog: . Follow Hossam el-Hamalawy at . This article was first published in his blog on 21 May 2011 under a Creative Commons license. | Print
School Daze
Terry Everton is a cartoonist. Visit his blog Working Stiff Review at . Cf. Bill Bigelow, “Got Coal? Teaching About the Most Dangerous Rock in America” (Rethinking School, Spring 2011); “Wisconsin Uprising: Justice Is in the Air” (Rethinking School, Spring 2011). | Print
Rebellion of the Indignant: Notes from Barcelona’s Tahrir Square
There is no doubt about it. The wind that has electrified the Arab world in recent months, the spirit of the repeated protests in Greece, the student struggles in Britain and Italy, the mobilizations against Sarkozy in France . . . has come to Spain. These are not days of “business as usual.” The comfortable […]
Justice
ICC to Sudan: “Who committed the crimes of genocide?” STL to Lebanon: “Who killed Hariri?” Justice, however, is asleep when it comes to Iraq, Gaza, and Afghanistan. . . . Fahd Bahady is a Syrian cartoonist. This cartoon was first published in his blog on 9 March 2011; it is reproduced here for non-profit educational […]
May 15: The Return to Palestine, from the Maroun Ar-Ras Border
In 2006, I found myself working with a variety of Palestinian groups who wanted to establish an educational center downtown, to create a space for discussion of their legitimate grievances, both about the right of return to Palestine and their situation within Lebanon. The center went up, but then a few days later Israel started […]
To the Spanish People, a Message of Solidarity from Ard al-Liwa, Egypt
“All of the Egyptian people are behind you and anyone who wants to make a revolution, anyone who wants to achieve something. There is a saying: If the people want life, destiny should give it to them.” Hamdy Reda is an Egyptian visual artist. Artellewa Space for Contemporary Art in Giza, established in 2007, […]
STL Redux
Opportunistic Leb Tribunal changes indictment to now finger Syria. Oh please. http://bit.ly/jCNnIK #STL #Bellemare #Imperialism Sharmine Narwani is a Senior Associate at St Antony’s College, Oxford University. Read her blog Mideast Shuffle at <mideastshuffle.com>. Follow Narwani at <twitter.com/#!/snarwani>. The text above is one of her tweets today. Cf. Elias Muhanna, “Syria: Conveniently Vulnerable Once Again?” […]
Valuing the Invaluable: Rethinking and Respecting Caring Work in Canada
Abstract: Using concepts of feminist economics, this paper demonstrates the range of ways in which carework is undervalued in Canada, from the labour of the unpaid care worker within the home, to the paid labour of the registered nurse in institutions. Through qualitative analysis of various caring occupations, and a comparison of wages of caring […]
An Independent Citizens’ Debt Audit for Ireland
Introduction We, the undersigned, are sponsoring a citizens’ debt audit for Ireland. In the interest of transparency, we wish to know how the Irish debt — especially the bank debt for which the state has assumed responsibility — was incurred and to whom it is owed. We sponsor this audit as organizations that have […]
Who Benefits from Sanctioning Syria’s Assad?
Sanctioning President Assad — what can it accomplish? Most importantly, it will help President Obama in his presidential campaign. He can stand as someone who acts firmly against Arab dictators. He killed Bin Laden and sanctioned Bashar al-Assad. He takes decisive action and stands with the Arab street and for democracy. This will serve him […]
Obama on the Middle East: Sticking with a Failed Script
May 18, 2011 In an effort to define the dominant narrative about the ongoing Arab awakening and America’s role in the Middle East, President Obama will give what the White House is billing as a major address on Middle East policy. However eloquently delivered, the address will not be able to overcome or compensate for […]
The Revolt in Syria
The movement, which I’d call a popular movement for a Syrian revolution, has sought the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad since it first began in the southern city of Daraa when [two teenagers were arrested for painting a slogan on the walls] that has been the main one at every demonstration ever since: “The people […]
Regaining Vision
Address to the Conference “Debt and Austerity: From Southern Countries to Europe,” Athens, Greece, 6-8 May 2011 Honorable guests, Dear participants, Comrade activists, Fellow fighters, The Greek initiative for the establishment of a Committee for the Accounting Audit of Its Public Debt welcomes you to this very important three-day event for the exchange of […]
Who’s Winning the Great Game in the Middle East?
Meanwhile, Iran keeps growing its nuclear program (Bushehr, Natanz, Isfahan, etc.) . . . Fahd Bahady is a Syrian cartoonist. This cartoon was first published in his blog on 17 May 2011; it is reproduced here for non-profit educational purposes. Cf. “‘Sit long enough by the river and the corpse of your enemy will float […]
Tariq Ali on Syria and Libya: “Whenever the West Intervenes, It’s a Disaster”
Tariq Ali and Rory Suchet
Tariq Ali: I don’t think sanctions work. They are essentially a symbolic measure. Usually when sanctions are applied against a country, they affect the poor people in that country more than the ruling elites, as we saw for years before the United States invaded Iraq in 2003. They had imposed a bloody sanctions regime, […]
The New and Improved Jesus
Terry Everton is a cartoonist. Visit his blog Working Stiff Review at . | Print
Mass Protest in Spain: No Vote for Traditional Parties!
Madrid. Tens of thousands of people, especially youth, demonstrated again on Tuesday evening in the Spanish capital of Madrid, against the political and economic system of the country, which they called corrupt. The participants in the rally at the central Puerta del Sol square shouted slogans such as “Less Policing, More Education” and “They Call […]
Opposition’s Call for General Strike Falls on Deaf Ears in Syria
DAMASCUS, May 18 (RIA Novosti) The Syrian opposition’s calls to hold a general day-long strike on Wednesday have been largely ignored, Aljazeera reported. The Syrian opposition called for a general strike as the government denied reports that it has been burying anti-government protesters in mass graves. “Wednesday will be a day of punishment for the […]
Notes from the Liberation Without Borders Tour in Tunisia
13 May 2011 Tonight, the transnational delegation from the Knowledge Liberation Front (KLF) reunited in Tunis to begin the Liberation Without Borders Tour. This delegation is a project of activist research that was initiated at a meeting in Paris last February. It aims to reinforce the relations with the Tunisian movement activists that were forged […]
