Last night, I saw Al Gore’s new movie, An Inconvenient Truth. There is much to like in this film, not least its clear presentation of stark and convincing evidence about the reality of global warming. But, as you might guess from knowledge of its star’s balsa-wood political career, this movie is a sheep in wolf’s […]
Geography Archives: Americas
South America, Central America, United States & Canada
The Fallout from Falling US Wages
Real wages in the US rose during every decade from 1830 to 1970. Then this central feature of US capitalism stopped as the figures below show: Source: Labor Research Associates of New York based on data from the US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics; wages expressed in constant 1982 dollars. 1964 $302.52 1974 […]
MEK Tricks US Progressives, Gains Legitimacy
On May 26, 2006, a representative of the violent Iranian fugitives based in Iraq, known as MEK, addressed a forum — an anti-war forum — sponsored by the liberal Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists in Berkeley, California, as he had done the year before. Introduced as Ali Mirardal, the speaker lamented human rights abuses in Iran […]
Port Militarization Resistance, Olympia, May 2006
Click on a photo for a larger view. 23-25 May 2006 29 May 2006 On the eighth day of the Olympia Port Militarization Resistance, the U.S.S. Pomeroy has docked to take the Stryker Brigade to Iraq. The resistance escalates, the Port fence is shaken and nearly taken down before a riot squad enters the […]
Immigrants, Advocates Take Sides on Senate Guest-Worker Bill
Andrew Stern, president of the 1.7-million-member Service Employees International Union, once likened the leadership of a mass movement to the crew on a sailboat. What matters is the wind in the sails, he said, not the fight over who steers. The wind behind the movement for immigrant rights had reached gale force by May […]
A Specter Is Haunting the AFL-CIO’s Foreign Policy Program: The Worker to Worker Solidarity Committee
The room had been arranged, the speakers ready — with a last minute, unannounced substitution of Wilfredo Berrios of El Salvador’s SUTTEL (telecom) union replacing Miguel Gonzalez Vargas from the Oil Workers Union of Venezuela who had not been able to come due to problems back home — and the only remaining question was, “Would […]
Presbyterians of the World, Unite!
In June 2004, the General Assembly, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), resolved to consider a phased, selective divestment from companies profiting from Israel’s occupation. Subsequently it came under intense pressure from Jewish organizations (and their allies) and will consider rescinding the resolution at the next General Assembly meeting on June 15-22 in Birmingham, Alabama. To firm up […]
Queen Hussein
The Palestinian gay and lesbian community has yet to leave the closet, but it’s on its way. Today it’s possible to go to parties of gays from the Occupied Territories and see young residents of the West Bank perform drag. They have not told their mother about this, but one day they intend to […]
Cadet Bush at West Point: Screw That Chin In, Beanhead!
Mister Bush, you deserve a good reaming for your performance at the United States Military Academy graduation on Saturday. Post around to my room for some character guidance. Come in, wackhead. Slam up against that wall! Suck up that capacious gut! Shoulders back! Pop up that puny chest! Fingers along the seams of your trousers! […]
Canadian Union Takes Important Step against Israeli Apartheid
At the annual convention of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario, held 24-27 May 2006 in Ottawa, the union passed a resolution of historic importance. Resolution 50 — adopted unanimously by the 900 delegates at the largest convention in the union’s history — expressed support for the global campaign against Israeli apartheid. The […]
Iranian Cold Warriors in Sheep’s Clothing
Erik C. Nisbet & James Shanahan, “MSRG Special Report: Restrictions on Civil Liberties, Views of Islam, & Muslim Americans,” Media & Society Research Group, Cornell University, December 2004 Actual mass murderers are higher on my watch list than those who just think or shout hateful beliefs. But you would be mistaken if you thought the […]
Stop Saying This Is a Nation of Immigrants!
A nation of immigrants: This is a convenient myth developed as a response to the 1960s movements against colonialism, neocolonialism, and white supremacy. The ruling class and its brain trust offered multiculturalism, diversity, and affirmative action in response to demands for decolonization, justice, reparations, social equality, an end of imperialism, and the rewriting of history […]
Ontario’s “Sharia Law” Controversy: How Muslims Were Hung Out to Dry
“A lie can travel halfway around the world,” the American writer Mark Twain once said, “while the truth is putting on its shoes.” That statement could apply to the recent phony debate over “sharia tribunals” in Ontario. Odds are that if you consulted the average man or woman in the street on the matter, you […]
Finding Common Ground in New Orleans: An Interview with Malik Rahim
Malik Rahim Malik Rahim is a longtime activist and co-founder of Common Ground. Founded last September, Common Ground is a grassroots collective that has provided 80,000 people in and around New Orleans with legal, health, bio-remedial, immigrant, and eviction defense services. See www.commongroundrelief.org. Global Exchange will present Mr. Rahim, along with Uruguayan author Eduardo Galeano […]
Iraq, Iran, and the New World Order
The present crisis concerning Iran’s nuclear program cannot be reduced to merely the ongoing rivalry between Tehran and Washington. Rather, it reveals all the new parameters of the post-Cold War world order that American strategists want to avoid. Iran’s Machiavellian diplomatic brinkmanship has succeeded so far, not only because the Ahmadinejad administration is exploiting the […]
The One Cent Solution: A Day Without a Transportation Worker
Someone left a copy of the May 17 Wall Street Journal on a break table at work. I picked up a section and flipped through it. Familiar corporate names popped from the headlines — then, a common thread emerged from the journalist’s prose. Wal-Mart: “The retailer said its second-quarter results could be weighed down by […]
The Next Greed Revolution
“Green-minded activists failed to move the broader public not because they were wrong about the problems, but because the solutions they offered were unappealing to most people.” — Alex Steffen, “The Next Green Revolution,” Wired Magazine, May 2006 — It’s about time you woke up to the good news, Jimmy! If we can just unleash the […]
First Working-Class Film and Video Festival in Turkey a “Resounding Success”
The first international working-class film and video festival titled “Against Neo-Liberalism, 20 Countries and 40 Films” was held in Turkey in early May 2006 — a resounding success. Over 8,000 attended the various film screenings, and, for the first time, working people in Turkey had an opportunity to see the global struggle of other […]
Circling the Wagons and Building Walls:Washington’s Immigration Policy
So Bush and company want to put thousands of armed troops on the border between the United States and Mexico. The supposed reason for this move is to stem the flow of immigrants coming into the US from the south. I have a feeling that this move will be probably popular in Congress and amongst […]
Stiglitz: Those Who Must Be Compensated Are the Bolivians, Not the Companies [De haber compensación, debe ser para los bolivianos, no para las empresas: Stiglitz]
Consecuencias de largo alcance tras la nacionalización en Bolivia: FMI La manera de negociar con los afectados será el factor clave, según el organismo financiero Evidente, el fracaso del modelo neoliberal impuesto por EU, sostiene el Nobel de Economía Imagen de la planta de gas San Alberto, que operaba la brasileña Petrobras, el pasado 1º […]
