Countless academics have sought to measure the tangible benefits of being a union member. The difference between union and non-union wages, often referred to as the “union premium,” can be calculated in many different ways. It’s a profoundly complex field. . . . Here’s a classic example of the poop one has to wade […]
Geography Archives: Asia
Countries in the continent of Asia
Pakistan at the Precipice
To watch my country of birth unravel has been a curious thing. As the Taliban continues to sweep across vast swaths of northern Pakistan, American pundits and officials ask incredulously, “How can their government let this happen? How can their people let this happen?” The United States looks on anxiously like a jolted passerby watching […]
Stealth Move in Washington Aims to Get $100 Billion for IMF without Congressional Debate
“You don’t have to do this.” Those are the near-last words of several victims in the Coen brothers’ classic, No Country for Old Men, as they try to convince the movie’s unrelenting assassin that he should spare them. The assassin, played by Javier Bardem, finds this annoying, because in his mind these murders are pre-determined. […]
Indonesia: Tough Times for Returning Labor Migrants
JAKARTA, 14 May 2009 (IRIN) — For Risti Ariyani, the dream of working abroad and helping her family is over. Her contract with a computer components factory in Malaysia was abruptly cancelled because of the global financial crisis, leaving her no choice but to return home to Central Jaffa Province. “My family was counting on […]
US Pakistan Policy Is Floundering
Aijaz Ahmad and Paul Jay
Paul Jay: So, we left off the first segment of the interview with you suggesting that there really doesn’t seem to be any kind of sensible strategy of the US in Pakistan and Afghanistan. What would the sensible strategy be right now? Obama seems to have . . . it’s very strange, they assessed the […]
Tariq Ali: “Nobody in Washington Knows What the War Aim Is”
Tariq Ali says in an interview with Der Standard: To continue its war in Afghanistan, the US accepts the risk of destabilizing Pakistan. But only a regional diplomatic approach can help. STANDARD: How would you evaluate the danger often invoked today that Pakistan is collapsing and its nuclear weapons may fall into the hands […]
US Policy Makes Things Worse in Pakistan
Aijaz Ahmad and Paul Jay
Paul Jay: So, President Karzai has just been in Washington, President Zardari has been in Washington, meeting President Obama. What effect are the policies of the three presidents having in Pakistan? Aijaz Ahmad: We know that the pressure from the United States that has been mounted over the last two weeks has led to […]
From Blunder to Blunder in Afghanistan
“I also made it clear that the United States will work with our Afghan and international partners to make every effort to avoid civilian casualties as we help the Afghan government combat our common enemy,” US President Barack Obama promised. He received his Afghan and Pakistani counterparts Hamid Karzai and Asif Ali Zardari at […]
Iran Urges International NGOs to Help Refugees There
DUBAI, 10 May 2009 (IRIN) — The Iranian government is seeking greater assistance from international NGOs to meet the needs of hundreds of thousands of refugees, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Some international NGOs already work with refugees in Iran, but several left the country earlier this decade because of difficult working conditions. […]
Africa: Tractored Out by “Land Grabs”?
JOHANNESBURG, 11 May 2009 (IRIN) — Rich countries and firms are leasing or buying massive tracts of land in developing nations for the production of food or biofuel. An area equivalent to Germany’s farmed land is at stake, and tens of billions of dollars on offer. On the plus side, agro-industrial production could develop underused […]
Hundreds of Thousands Displaced by Fighting in Pakistan Highlands
MARDAN DISTRICT, Pakistan, May 8 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency said Friday there was a situation of “massive displacement” in north-west Pakistan, as the confrontation between government forces and militants becomes more widespread and people take advantage of the partial lifting of curfews to move into safer areas. The provincial government estimates between […]
The Obama Government’s First Massacre
One may have more or less sympathy for the new US president, more or less believe in his words, more or less value the change in the US government’s tone when handling its differences with other governments. But there is a limit when it comes to judging the character of a president and a government. […]
‘Financialisation’ and the Tendency to Stagnation
John Bellamy Foster and Fred Magdoff, The Great Financial Crisis: Causes and Consequences, New York: Monthly Review Press/Kharagpur, India: Cornerstone Publications, 2009, pp 160, US$12.95/Rs 100. Beginning with the failure of two Bear Stearns hedge funds and the consequent freezing of the high-risk collateralised debt obligations market in June 2007, the financial crisis deepened […]
CAIR’s Humanitarian Mission to Iran for Saberi, Momeni, and Levinson
The current relation between the U.S. and Iran is not pretty; in fact, it is like a roller-coaster ride. This is bad news for Muslims in America and abroad. Iran is bitter over its billions of dollars in frozen assets still in U.S. banks for the last three decades, following the takeover of our embassy […]
Guerrilla Ad Campaign Replaces “Study in Israel” Billboards
Students and community members near the UC Berkeley campus were surprised one weekend to see a series of bus shelter billboards asking, “What country uses live ammunition against unarmed children?” Below a photo of identically dressed schoolboys in front of a barbed wire fence is the answer: Israel. The guerrilla ads replaced ads which […]
Stanford Anti-War Alumni, Students Call for Condi War Crimes Probe
During the Vietnam War, Stanford students succeeded in banning secret military research from campus. Last weekend, 150 activist alumni and present Stanford students targeted Condoleezza Rice for authorizing torture and misleading Americans into the illegal Iraq War. Veterans of the Stanford anti-Vietnam War movement had gathered for a 40th anniversary reunion during the weekend. The […]
Pakistan: Who’s to Blame?
Speaking at the National Assembly, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani said that the military could stop the Taliban and that the country’s nuclear weapons were safe. “Does this parliament not have moral courage to stop them?” he asked. Pakistan is on a precipice. The Swat Valley, once called the Switzerland of Pakistan for […]
On Islam and Gender Justice
Zainah Anwar, ed., Wanted — Equality and Justice in the Muslim Family, Kuala Lumpur: Musawah/Sisters in Islam (www.musawah.org/info@musawah.org), 2009, pp. 261, ISBN: 978-983-2622-26-0, 28 Malaysian Ringgit. Muslim family laws have for long been — and continue to be — a hugely controversial subject. Critics contend that these laws seriously militate against basic human rights, especially […]
Sex Workers March on May Day in India
Sex workers from Kolkata took to the streets in their dozens to demand the legalization of the world’s oldest profession on International Labor Day. Sonagachi is the biggest red light district in Kolkata and one of the largest in Asia. Around 500 sex workers took part in the march, which was organized by a […]
The Return of the Shadow
A talk given at a Left Forum panel, April 2009. It’s spring and I’ve been thinking a lot lately about reincarnation. If I’m a good adjunct can I come back as a tenured professor? If I stay a loyal Cub fan, can I come back as a Yankee fan? Actually, it’s political reincarnation that I’ve […]
