At a press conference today, journalist Akbar Ganji had just finished vilifying the “intolerant culture” of non-Europeans when he failed to intervene against Western censorship happening right before his eyes. He is touring the United States to, in his words, raise awareness about government abuses in Iran, including his six-year imprisonment that ended last March. […]
Geography Archives: Americas
South America, Central America, United States & Canada
Teamsters: Disarray on the Eve of the Election
While much of the media focused in late May on another failed search for Jimmy Hoffa, the long dead former leader of the Teamsters union, the living members of the Teamsters had to contend with a union increasingly in disarray under the leadership of his son — James P. Hoffa, Jr. The current problems center […]
Neocon Redux: Blame Iran, Back Israel
Israel’s military offensives in Gaza and Lebanon have reenergized the neoconservatives, who see an opportunity to regain influence lost as a result of setbacks in Iraq. While insisting on unconditional U.S. support for Israel, the neoconservatives are also pushing for possible U.S. attacks on Tehran’s nuclear facilities in retaliation for its support of Hezbollah. […]
Palestine Sans Frontières
Since the commando assault on 25 June 2006 that led to the death of two Israeli soldiers and the abduction of Corporal Gilad Shalit, Israel has intensified the almost daily bombing of Gaza which it had started six months ago in response to the Qassam missiles launched towards the Israeli town of Sderot and the […]
Letter to President George W. Bush
Dear President Bush: You have been a weak president, despite your strutting and barking, when it comes to doing the right things for the American people within the Constitution and its rule of law. This trait is now in bold relief over the Israeli government’s escalating war crimes pulverizing the defenseless people and country of […]
The Fifth Day of the Aggression
Circular of the Political Bureau of the Lebanese Communist Party on Current Developments for Party Organizations and Friends On Current Developments: The Fifth Day of the Aggression Since the start of the aggression, our party has defined its position and stance as being at the head of those opposing with all possible means the aggression […]
When Worlds Collide
When Fabio Grosso placed his penalty kick into the back of the French goal, Italians around the globe erupted into a state of euphoria. I was one of those Italians, hungrily following every kicked ball throughout Italy’s run to winning its fourth World Cup, which ranks second only to Brazil’s five. For my brother […]
A Tale of Two Quagmires
A significant sentence. On the Al Jazeera Web site, there was a report of Saudi Arabia’s condemnation of Hamas’ and Hizbullah’s “adventurism.” The Saudis claimed that “gains” made by Arab leaders were being put in danger. The Al Jazeera report carried the pithy comment to the effect that the Saudi government did not say […]
McDonough Calls Canada’s Gov’t on War Crime Complicity
July 14, 2006 Hon. Peter MacKay Minister of Foreign Affairs Lester B. Pearson Bldg., A-10 125 Sussex Dr. Ottawa, ON K1A 0G2 Dear Minister, I write to express outrage at your government’s response to the destruction levelled by Israel on the innocent civilians in Gaza and Lebanon. The world has rightly condemned the killings and […]
A Lesson of Lidice
Click on the cartoon for a larger view. A Lesson of Lidice Carlos Latuff, born in Rio de Janeiro on 30 November 1968, is a political cartoonist. He is the author of the famous “We Are All Palestinians” series, comparing oppressed peoples at various times and places (Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto, Blacks in South […]
Collective Punishment
Click on the cartoon for a larger view. Collective Punishment Carlos Latuff, born in Rio de Janeiro on 30 November 1968, is a political cartoonist. He is the author of the famous “We Are All Palestinians” series, comparing oppressed peoples at various times and places (Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto, Blacks in South Africa, Blacks […]
“Recognize the Centrality of the Palestine Question”: An Interview with George Galloway
George Galloway MP is the controversial British politician who has proved a thorn in the side of advocates of the Iraq war. He is a fierce advocate of the Palestinian state, and a redoubtable campaigner against oppression and injustice throughout the world. In 2005 he made a memorable appearance before the US Senate, successfully […]
What Do the Iranians Want?
The priority of the Iranian people, according to the Zogby poll released on 13 July 2006,1 is economy: 41% say economy should be Iran’s top priority, a far larger proportion than those who regard nuclear capability (27%) or freedom (23%) as the most important. The correct priority if you ask me, as the Supreme Leader […]
CUPE “Boycott Israel” Debate Rages On
As trade union and community activists, socialists, and officials in our respective union organizations, we strongly support the recent Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario resolution supporting the international Boycott Israel campaign. The resolution criticizes Israel’s continuing occupation of Palestinian territory, characterizing it as “apartheid.” It calls on the union to develop an […]
Global Oil Market Dangers
International intrigues and eventually war — with all its now daily horrors — flow partly from the highly unstable economics of global oil. Not only has this been true for a long time, it promises to continue that way unless and until some mass movement ends it. The report of US planning to bomb Iran […]
Sophie Maslow and Woody Guthrie
“Sophie’s body looked so healthy and so active it looked like it would do almost anything she told it to do. All she had to do was notify it.” — Woody Guthrie My mother, Marjorie Mazia, and Sophie Maslow were both dancers with the Martha Graham Dance Company in the 1930s – 50s. It […]
Impeach the President of the United States
We have pledged to help reclaim the honor of the United States of America. Accordingly, we call for the impeachment of the president of the United States, George W. Bush. Since lying in combat could needlessly cost the lives of fighting men and women, West Point graduates have been trained to live by a code […]
Race Track
Working people like to gamble. It adds excitement to life and allows us to dream that we might be able to live without working at jobs we detest. As a boy, I played poker, shot nine-ball, pot bowled, bet the ponies, and even hit the bingo tables once. “Hap,” the man who ran the […]
Darkness on the Edge of Cairo
Every day I walk from my fashionable neighborhood to the university and pass a pair of very kind, white-uniformed police officers. They stand in their almost blindingly clean attire, only a block from my crumbling apartment building, smoking Egypt’s cheapest Cleopatra cigarettes and directing traffic. “Ya Pasha!” they shout, “Habibi!” This is my daily greeting […]
Open Letter to Monthly Review Editors
I received the following open letter from Yassamine Mather, signed by seventeen activists and intellectuals in the Iranian diaspora including herself, and with her permission, I am publishing it here. Among activists and intellectuals on the Left committed to the advancement of women in particular and the working class in general, as well as to […]
