I attended the big rally with Obama in Berlin Thursday evening, not as a press representative but as one of the crowd. And what a giant crowd it was! The news reports counted “over 200,000,” but, to someone sandwiched in so tight I could hardly lift my hand to scratch my itching nose, much less […]
Geography Archives: Africa
Countries in the continent of Africa
No Human Being Is Illegal
In April 2006, hundreds of thousands of immigrant rights protestors marched in cities across the United States. They countered prolonged debates about the pros and cons of comprehensive immigration reform with a short but sweet affirmation, scrawled on placards: “No Human Being Is Illegal.” Their direct assertion challenged the deeply entrenched practices of our government […]
Jesse Helms and the Theater of the Depraved
On July 8, the resplendently Caucasian, flag-loving, fag-hating, five-term Senator Jesse Helms exited the political scene, stage right, to begin his long-awaited dirt nap. All the world being a stage, a host of players, including Dick Cheney and John and Cindy McCain, assembled sorrowfully near the starred-and-striped coffin containing the body of the hidebound conservative […]
Palestine in the Middle East: Opposing Neoliberalism and US Power (Part 1)
Adam Hanieh, “Palestine in the Middle East: Opposing Neoliberalism and US Power: Part 2,” MRZine, 19 July 2008. Over the last six months, the Palestinian economy has been radically transformed under a new plan drawn up by the Palestinian Authority (PA) called the Palestinian Reform and Development Plan (PRDP). Developed in close collaboration with institutions […]
Palestine in the Middle East: Opposing Neoliberalism and US Power (Part 2)
Adam Hanieh, “Palestine in the Middle East: Opposing Neoliberalism and US Power: Part 1,” MRZine, 19 July 2008. Neoliberalism, the “New Middle East” and Palestine In the late 1960s, with the definitive collapse of British and French colonialism in the Middle East, the US rose to become the dominant imperial power within the region. Because […]
Declaration by Zimbabwean Civil Society regarding a Transition to Democracy in Zimbabwe
Briefly. . . 15 July 2008 Broad Zimbabwean Civil Society adopted Declaration calling for establishment of transitional authority, drafting of a new peopled-driven constitution and subsequent democratic elections DECLARATION BY ZIMBABWEAN CIVIL SOCIETY REGARDING A TRANSITION TO DEMOCRACY IN ZIMBABWE following the “Whither Zimbabwe: National Civil Society Consultative Conference” We, civil society organizations acting on […]
Oil Prices and the Economy
With oil prices having more than doubled over the last 12 months, various reasons are being cited for the price increases. Adhip Chaudhuri, a visiting professor of economics at Georgetown University’s campus in Doha, Qatar, explains the cause and effect of high oil prices. Is the increase in oil prices plunging the global economy into […]
Letter from Gonubie
July 13, 2008 It is hard to believe that I am in my fifth week of working and living in South Africa. I am doing really well in acclimating to new work, new home, and new challenges. I moved into a small place in a seaside town called Gonubie, just outside of East London. It […]
Support Striking Namibian Workers at Lev Leviev Diamonds!Protest Firing Threats, Abusive Managers
July 5, 2008 Management at Lev Leviev Diamond Polishing Company (LLD) in Windhoek, Namibia is threatening to fire 153 diamond polishers who have been on strike since June 19th protesting abusive managers as well as overdue job appraisals, promotions, wages and outstanding overtime pay. The company, owned by Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev, whose companies […]
Can Reparations for Apartheid Profits Be Won in US Courts?
A telling remark about US imperialism’s double standards was uttered by Clinton-era deputy treasury secretary Stuart Eizenstat, who a decade ago was the driver of reparations claims against pro-Nazi corporations, assisting plaintiffs to gain $8 billion from European banks and corporations which ripped off Holocaust victims’ funds or which were 1930s beneficiaries of slave labor […]
We Can End Apartheid in Israel, as We Did in South Africa
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict often inspires a sense of powerlessness. What can average Americans do to bring an end to this decades-old conflict when our leaders have failed so miserably? And what good is speaking out about Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land as the primary obstacle to peace when even former President Jimmy Carter and Nobel […]
The Fires Within: Sri Lanka at War
Click on the image to go to the video. Cf. Nermeen Shaikh, “Photographing Conflict to ‘Give a Voice’: Ron Haviv Discusses Recent Sri Lanka Project,” Asia Society, 12 June 2008. This video was released on the Web site of Asia Society. | | Print
Women Worst Hit by Food Crisis
Women in poor countries are bearing the brunt of the current food crisis. Today we highlight some of the dimensions of the crisis as it affects women. The current food crisis is yet another reminder of the feminisation of poverty. Women produce most of the food in poor countries, yet they have less access to […]
How Europe Underdevelops Africa and How Some Fight Back
In even the most exploitative African sites of repression and capital accumulation, sometimes corporations take a hit, and victims sometimes unite on continental lines instead of being divided-and-conquered. Turns in the class struggle might have surprised Walter Rodney, the political economist whose 1972 classic How Europe Underdeveloped Africa provided detailed critiques of corporate looting. […]
Obama’s Missteps
On his first day as the presumptive Democratic candidate for president earlier this month, Barack Obama committed a serious foreign policy blunder. Reciting a litany of pro-Israeli positions at the annual meeting of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), he avowed: “Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided.” In […]
Cuito Cuanavale: A Tribute to Fidel Castro and the African Revolution
In March 2008, the President of the African National Congress of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, led a high-level delegation of South African parliamentarians to the site of the victory of the forces of liberation at Cuito Cuanavale in Angola. This visit was linked to the numerous ceremonies in Angola to commemorate the victory of Angola, […]
Xenophobia, Neo-liberalism, and NEPAD: The End of African Unity?
Introduction In August and September of 1974, people across the length and breadth of South Africa celebrated the coming independence of Angola, Guinea-Bissau, and Mozambique. People like Mamphela Rampele led massive rallies honoring the success of the liberation movements in these countries. There was even spontaneous dancing in the streets, and the air was filled […]
Their Crisis or Ours? The Battle over the World’s Food Supply Relocates to Rome
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization is currently holding an emergency summit in Rome that will be focusing on the ongoing global food crisis, but rejuvenating and protecting agriculturalists does not seem to be on the agenda. In the past couple of months, the attention of the world has been directed at the issue […]
South Africa: A Drive through a Xenophobic Landscape
19 May 2008: Friends, this is simply an account of what I saw and experienced in a twenty four period. It might be incomplete. It is not an analytical piece as such, but I hope a small step towards trying to understand what had taken place in this city, in this country that I […]
Say No to Xenophobia
As everybody in our country knows, the Congress of South African Trade Unions has been at the forefront of the campaign to create jobs and eradicate poverty. For years we have fought to ensure that this struggle is taken seriously and remains at the centre of the national agenda. COSATU has done everything in […]
