In his 1994 book entitled The Location of Culture, post-colonial theorist Homi Bhaba writes that “cafes are part of the social phenomena of the ‘third place’ [which] . . . people occupy outside of the home and work. It’s a place to relax, to be alone, to socialize, to read, to gossip, to meet […]
Geography Archives: Europe
Countries in the continent of Europe
Uncle Sam
People accuse me of a double moral standard, but really I don’t have any moral standard! Eneko Las Heras, born in Caracas in 1963, is a cartoonist based in Spain. The cartoon above was first published on his blog . . . Y sin embargo se mueve on 3 March 2011. Translation by Yoshie Furuhashi […]
Call for an Audit Commission on Greek Public Debt
We the undersigned believe that there is a pressing need for an Audit Commission to examine Greek public debt. Current EU and IMF policy to deal with public debt has entailed major social costs for Greece. Consequently, the Greek people have a democratic right to demand full information on public and publicly-guaranteed debt. The aim […]
Imperialists Prepare for Military Intervention in Libya
The Libyan exiles and defectors begging for no-fly zones failed to get them at the United Nations Security Council on Saturday, but they are inching closer to lining up Western military support nonetheless. This just in from the Wall Street Journal today: The Pentagon is repositioning warships and planes in the waters off Libya to […]
What Does the Libyan Opposition Want?
As everyone knows, Muammar Gaddafi is an authoritarian dictator. Authoritarian dictators are a dime a dozen in world history, though, so that is not what would distinguish him from the rest of his kind in history books. What might make him stand out is this: in the twilight of his autocratic career, Gaddafi had become […]
What Is the National Front for the Salvation of Libya?
In his blog Lenin’s Tomb, Richard Seymour asserts confidently: Because the trouble for the US and UK governments in this revolt is that they really, really don’t want Gadaffi to fall. Gadaffi is someone with whom they can do business. By contrast, the National Front for the Salvation of Libya, long a leading element in […]
Azmi Bishara on Libya
On Al Jazeera, Dr. Azmi Bishara said that the violence unleashed in Libya against the Libyan people is beyond belief — indicative of desperation on the part of the political order — or rather “disorder” — in Libya, attempting to put a quick end to the uprising before escalation, as the situation is a […]
What Would NATO Do?
“I’ve also asked my administration to prepare the full range of options that we have to respond to this crisis.” — Barack Obama, “On the Turmoil in Libya,” 23 February 2011 Ben Ali Mubarak Gaddafi NATO Eneko Las Heras, born in Caracas in 1963, is a cartoonist based in Spain. The cartoon above was first […]
Interview with John Tully, Author of The Devil’s Milk: A Social History of Rubber
Why, of all possible commodities, did you choose to write a book on rubber? The Devil’s Milk: A Social History of Rubber” width=”260″ height=”393″ border=”0″ title=”BUY THIS BOOK”>THE DEVIL’S MILK: A Social History of Rubberby John Tully BUY THIS BOOK The Devil’s Milk: A Social History of Rubber Book Launch with author John Tully Tuesday, […]
Winners Still Undecided, in Germany and the Middle East
Which way to look? So much was happening inside and outside Germany! Most dramatic were the revolutionary events on the southern shores of the Mediterranean. Aside from amazement that those decade-long dictators could be forced out by the will of the people, there were some worries among sun-seeking German vacationers who annually flee the icy […]
For a New Europe: University Struggles Against Austerity
We, the student and precarious workers of Europe, Tunisia, Japan, the US, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Peru and Argentina, met in Paris over the weekend of the 11th-13th of February, 2011 to discuss and organize a common network based on our common struggles. Students from Maghreb and Gambia tried to come but France refused them entry. […]
Father Thomas J. Hagerty: A Forgotten Religious Communist
In the usual roll call of religious communists, Father Thomas J. Hagerty — one of the central figures involved in establishing the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW, or the Wobblies) in 1905 — seems to have slipped off the radar, with nary an entry on the Marxist Internet Archive and the smallest comment on […]
Is There a Tahrir Square in Washington?
Egyptians are celebrating the ouster of Hosni Mubarak, as I write. Inshallah they will celebrate for a long time to come. But leaderless crowds are not well placed to govern. The triumph of the Egyptian people leaves the military in control. Let us hope that Egyptians will find no reason to share the complaint of […]
Spain: All for One and a Few against All
The Six Mercenaries All for One and a Few against All Cf. “Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and the highest leaders of trade unions and employers signed . . . at the Moncloa Palace the economic and social accord to face the crisis. The photo of the pact, featuring the six “musketeers” joining their […]
While You Are Watching Other People’s Revolutions. . .
You are watching other people’s revolutions, in Tunisia, Egypt, etc., on TV, thinking, “Wow, that’s wild”; meanwhile, your pocket is being picked and your brain is being taken from you, too. . . . Juan Ramón Mora is a cartoonist in Barcelona. This cartoon was first published in his blog on 29 January 2011 […]
At Your Age
“At your age, I was already working.” “And, at your age, grandma, I’ll be still working.” Juan Kalvellido is a Spanish cartoonist. This cartoon was first published in Kaos en la Red on 1 February 2011; it is reproduced here for non-profit educational purposes. Translation by Yoshie Furuhashi (@yoshiefuruhashi | yoshie.furuhashi [at] gmail.com). Cf. Kalvellido, […]
Plan B for a Post-Mubarak Egypt?
“Freedom lies behind a door closed shut,” the great Egyptian poet Ahmed Shawqi wrote in the last century. “It can only be knocked down with a bleeding fist.” More than that is bleeding in the Arab world at the moment. The uprisings we are witnessing in Egypt have been a rude awakening for all those […]
Islam as Democracy against the Dictatorships of the Western Powers
The West has financed dictatorships in the Middle East and Arab World for more than a century. The pro-democracy protests against Western-backed dictatorships in the Arab world have shown, once again, the immense hypocrisy of our rulers. Which side are the Western governments on — the side of protesters or the side of dictators? The […]
“Big Setback” for Haitian Democracy as U.S. Gets Its Way; Forces Runoff Elections between Two Right-Wing Candidates, CEPR Co-Director Says
Second Round Will Be between Candidates Who Received around 6.4% and 4.5% Percent Support from Registered Voters in First Round, Respectively Haiti’s democracy and national sovereignty were severely undermined today, Mark Weisbrot, the co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), said today, reacting to news that Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) had […]
Haiti Resists US Pressure, Announces Aristide Can Return
It didn’t get much attention in the media, but U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did something quite surprising on Sunday. After taping interviews on five big Sunday talk shows about Egypt, she then boarded a plane to Haiti. Yes, Haiti. The most impoverished country in the hemisphere, not exactly a “strategic ally” or a […]
