Geography Archives: Americas

The Cantellops Art Gallery at La Roche College will feature the first-ever exhibition of American artist George Brodsky (1901-1999) from Jan. 14-31.  “Beyond Abstract Art — Reflections of Life on Shell, Rock, Bark and Flat Surfaces: The Amazing World of George Brodsky” will be open to the public for viewing daily from 10 a.m. to […]

DISPATCHES FOR THE NEW YORK TRIBUNE: Selected Journalism of Karl MarxBUY THIS BOOK Jim Ledbetter recently edited a volume of Marx’s journalism entitled Dispatches for the New York Tribune (published in Britain last year and available in February in the US).  I interviewed Jim via email about the content and significance of these writings. Q: […]

Iran’s release of the video taken on the morning of Sunday, January 6th in the Strait of Hormuz, clearly debunks Pentagon’s hype of depicting a routine patrolling operation by the Iranian Navy as an act of unfathomable aggression against the United States. The timing of this so-called “provocation” incident in the Persian Gulf just before […]

  PART ONE From the look of things, it would appear that we are still a long way from resolving the serious post-election crisis that is gripping and almost crippling Kenya. Even after Raila Odinga and the Orange Democratic Movement considerably softened their pre-conditions for internationally mediated talks with their opposite numbers by dropping their […]

To the Editors: I am writing in response to Michael Barker’s commentary titled “Peace Activists, Criticism, and Nonviolent Imperialism” (MRZine, January, 2008).  I agree with all of his observations and would just like to add a few of my own. I have never heard of the International Center for Nonviolent Conflict, but the name implies […]

“If we want to talk of socialism,” says Argenis Loreto, “we must first resolve the people’s most urgent needs: water in their homes, accessible health care, easy access to housing.” In the Venezuelan municipality of Libertador (state of Carabobo), of which Argenis is mayor, “we have 90% poverty.  Ending that is our first task.  I […]

All peace activists want peace, but do activists want peace at any cost?  In Aldous Huxley’s classic book, Brave New World, peace came at a high price, but there was ‘peace’ nonetheless.  Arguably, ‘peace’ also exists within most Western citizens’ minds, mainly because their daily lives are neatly partitioned off from the multitude of ultra-violent […]

I am referring to a Chilean woman, Elena Pedraza, a highly educated specialist in rehabilitation. More than 40 years ago she paid her first visit to Cuba. Allende, a medical doctor, was not yet the president of Chile. The Cuban Revolution was almost 8 years old and it was already training teachers, doctors, physical therapists and health specialists, full speed ahead.

Amidst her welcome critique of the biofuel mania, Vandana Shiva‘s ZNet commentary last month (December 13, 2007) also made this point: “The Kyoto Protocol totally avoided the material challenge of stopping activities that lead to higher emissions and the political challenge of regulation of the polluters and making the polluters pay in accordance with principles […]

  or what does the Internet have to do with you watching so many damned reruns The Writers Strike: Why We Fight Haskell Wexler Supports WGA UNITED HOLLYWOOD is an unofficial blog started by a group of Writers Guild of America West strike captains.  The contributors are both writers and non-writers.  If you’d like to […]

Despite being the most impoverished country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti lags behind many countries in the Americas in obtaining debt relief through a program run by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. A hard-hitting paper published in December by the Washington D.C.-based Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) argues that […]

Roberto Regalado.  Latin America at the Crossroads.  Translation by Peter Gellert.  Ocean Press (www.oceanbooks.com.au), 2007, US$17.95; América latina entre siglos. Ocean Press, 2007, US$17.95. This compact book by Roberto Regalado, a veteran member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, strongly reaffirms the need for revolution in Latin America and beyond. Regalado, […]

THE MAN WHO HATED WORK AND LOVED LABOR by Les LeopoldBUY THIS BOOK I just finished reading Les Leopold’s biography of Tony Mazzocchi, The Man Who Hated Work and Loved Labor.   I finished it in about a day.  It’s that kind of a read, an old-fashioned page turner for anyone interested in the working class […]

Right & Left confront at blockade “Let’s go unblock the road, compañeros!” a man in an old baseball cap yells as he joins a group of people hauling rocks and tires from a central intersection in Cochabamba.  This group of students and union activists are mobilizing against a civic strike led by middle-class foot soldiers […]

I have been asked to speak on ‘Future of Socialism’. What I am going to say is based on my recently published book, Crisis of Socialism — Notes in Defence of a Commitment, which may be referred to for the detailed argument in support of the propositions I am going to advance with the help of passages culled from this book. I am going to deal with the question in four separate but interrelated segments of my address.

  “O there are times, we must confess To harboring a whim — we Like to picture old Karl Marx Sliding down our chimney” — Susie Day“Help fund the good fight.   By contributing to MR, you help reinforce the left and reclaim the future.” — Richard D. Vogel “To do my part, I just […]

(to the Cuban National Assembly, December 28, 2007)

Comrades of the National Assembly:

You have no easy task on your hands…

“O there are times, we must confess To harboring a whim — we Like to picture old Karl Marx Sliding down our chimney” — Susie Day “Help fund the good fight.   By contributing to MR, you help reinforce the left and reclaim the future.” — Richard D. Vogel “To do my part, I just […]

“O there are times, we must confess To harboring a whim — we Like to picture old Karl Marx Sliding down our chimney” — Susie Day “Help fund the good fight.   By contributing to MR, you help reinforce the left and reclaim the future.” — Richard D. Vogel “To do my part, I just […]

“O there are times, we must confess To harboring a whim — we Like to picture old Karl Marx Sliding down our chimney” — Susie Day “Help fund the good fight.   By contributing to MR, you help reinforce the left and reclaim the future.” — Richard D. Vogel “To do my part, I just […]