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Free Bahrain!  Chicago Rally, 29 April 2011

Hundreds of protesters gathered in Chicago’s Daley Plaza on April 29, 2011 to demand an end to the oppression of the people of Bahrain “at the hands of the Bahraini military and the security forces provided by other states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).”  The action was heavily attended by representatives from Chicago area […]

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Fourth Generation War

“Never did so many lie so much so wholesale” Monument to the Unknown Liar Washington, DC, 2011 This cartoon was first published in Ciudad CCS; it is reproduced here for non-profit educational purposes.  Translation by Yoshie Furuhashi (@yoshiefuruhashi | yoshie.furuhashi [at] gmail.com). var idcomments_acct = ‘c90a61ed51fd7b64001f1361a7a71191’; var idcomments_post_id; var idcomments_post_url; | Print

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When China Overtakes the United States

Various observers have noted this week that China’s economy will be bigger than that of the United States in 2016.  This comes from the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) latest projections, which were made in its semi-annual April World Economic Outlook database.  Since 2016 is just a few years away, and it will be the first […]

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The Triumph of Propaganda

This cartoon was first published in Ciudad CCS; it is reproduced here for non-profit educational purposes. var idcomments_acct = ‘c90a61ed51fd7b64001f1361a7a71191’; var idcomments_post_id; var idcomments_post_url; | Print

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State and Municipal Debt: The Coming Crisis?

Testimony to the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on TARP and Financial Resources, 15 March 2011 Thank you, Chairman McHenry and Ranking Member Quigley, for inviting me to testify before the subcommittee and to share my views on the debt problem facing state and local governments.  I will make three main points in my […]

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The Bipartisan Assault on Home-based Caregivers

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is not alone in bashing public employees these days.  In the view of his fellow GOP governor, Mitch Daniels from Indiana, a possible presidential candidate next year, collective bargaining has transformed civil servants into “a new privileged class.”  For right-wing Republican governors and legislators, the solution to state and local government […]

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Russia Defends Syria from Outside Interference

United Nations, April 27 (Xinhua) — Russia said here on Wednesday that the current situation in Syria, despite an increase in tension and confrontation, does not threaten international peace and security, but “a real threat to regional security . . . could arise from outside interference in Syria’s domestic situation.” Alexander Pankin, Russia’s deputy permanent […]

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Further House Price Declines in the United States

The price decline since July has eliminated more than $1 trillion in housing wealth. The Case-Shiller 20-City index fell by 1.1 percent in February, the fifth consecutive month where it has fallen by at least 1.0 percent.  It is now down by 6.5 percent from its peak in July.  Eighteen of the twenty cities had […]

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Vik Arrigoni, Remembered for His Dreams

On April 9, Vittorio Arrigoni — Vik to us — wrote to me in an e-mail that “I will go out immediately after this shame” ends.  The “shame” was Israel’s latest flurry of F-16-delivered explosives that landed on the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip. On April 14 at noon I learned of Vik’s abduction at […]

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Chávez Condemns Plot against Syria

Caracas, 25 April (PL) — Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez said today that the government of Syria is a victim of a plot to justify future actions — including military ones — against it. “They are infiltrating terrorists into Syria and causing violence and deaths, and all of a sudden the president is pronounced guilty, immediately, […]

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Easter Peace March in Berlin

The Easter holiday in Germany lasts from Good Friday to Easter Monday, four days.  It arrived very late this year, at the end of April, and amazing summer weather drew multitudes to lakes or the seaside.  Some, it was hoped — if not exactly multitudes — would be drawn by their consciences to a rather […]

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Obama Declares Manning Guilty Before Trial

  President Barack Obama said on April 21 that PFC Bradley Manning “broke the law.” Obama: “So people can have philosophical views [about Bradley Manning] but I can’t conduct diplomacy on an open source [basis]. . . .  That’s not how the world works.  And if you’re in the military. . . .  And I […]

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From Places Like Mine and Yours

On the progressive potential of small, quasi-autonomous states (like Scotland, Ireland, Greece, Portugal, etc.). . . . The strong Scottish accent was conspiring with the noisy pub background to make it difficult for me to understand the words spoken in my ear by an imposing trade union figure.  Thankfully, I managed to decipher his words, […]

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Maseerat al ‘Awda, the Return to Palestine March

  Following a general meeting that brought together representatives from various Palestinian and Lebanese civil society organizations as well as individual activists, the Organizing Committee of Maseerat al ‘Awda, the Return to Palestine March, has announced the launch of its preparatory activities. The “Return to Palestine March” will take participants to the border with Occupied […]

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