Marvin Perry, Frederick M. Schweitzer, eds. Antisemitic Myths: A Historical and Contemporary Anthology. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2008. xxiii + 352 pp. $65.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-253-34984-2; $24.95 (paper), ISBN 978-0-253-21950-3. This collection of ninety-some documents is the third major product of a long-term collaboration between historians Marvin Perry and Frederick Schweitzer. It is intended […]
Geography Archives: Europe
Countries in the continent of Europe
Iran’s Green Protesters: “Death to China! Death to Russia!”
Mousavi, Rafsanjani, and their supporters get an F in foreign policy: “‘Death to China!’ and ‘Death to Russia!’ chanted supporters of presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi during a sermon by influential former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, according to news reports” (Kristen Chick, Christian Science Monitor, 17 July 2009). “Death to China! Death to Russia!” […]
Pro-War Left in Germany?
Klaus Lederer, leader of the Left Party in Germany, at an 11 January 2009 pro-Israel demonstration titled “Solidarity with Israel — Against the Terrorism of Hamas” On this coming Thursday (16 July 2009), the leader of the left-wing party in Berlin, Klaus Lederer, will speak at the offices of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation in […]
On the Increasingly Complex Relationship between Immigration Policy and (Inter)national Security
Ariane Chebel d’Appollonia, Simon Reich, eds. Immigration, Integration, and Security: America and Europe in Comparative Perspective. The Security Continuum: Global Politics in the Modern Age. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2008. xi + 480 pp. $65.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-8229-4344-0; $27.95 (paper), ISBN 978-0-8229-5984-7. Migration and security have always been linked, but, as Ariane Chebel […]
Recapturing the Middle Ground: “Reasonable Belief” in the European Enlightenment
David Jan Sorkin. The Religious Enlightenment: Protestants, Jews, and Catholics from London to Vienna. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008. xv + 339 pp. $35.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-691-13502-1. On January 14, 1791, the Comte de Mirabeau delivered a speech to the National Assembly in defense of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, the controversial project […]
Interview with Argentine Economist Claudio Katz: “The Solution to the Crisis of Capitalism Has to Be Political”
The exit from the systemic crisis of capitalism needs to be political, and “a socialist project can mature in this turbulence.” So says the Argentine economist, philosopher, and sociologist Claudio Katz, who also warns that the “global economic situation is very serious and is going to have to hit bottom, and now we are […]
Obama’s Silence Kills Palestinians
Let’s do a couple of thought experiments. The former U.S. representative and Green Party presidential candidate, Cynthia McKinney, leaves on a humanitarian mission to Iran alongside several other international activists. They are arrested, harassed, detained for several days, and their humanitarian aid, films, cameras, PCs taken away from them to leave no evidence behind. Can […]
Crises in versus of Capitalism
Capitalism has generated recurring “crises” everywhere and throughout its history. It alternates bursts of growth and prosperity with crisis periods when many workers lose jobs and homes, bankruptcies close enterprises, production shrinks, and governments reduce public services. Growth periods almost always promote speculation, overproduction, inflation, and excess debts that crises then erase or even reverse. […]
An Open Letter to the Anti-War Movement: How Should We React to the Events in Iran?
The “Iranian people” have not spoken. What’s happening in Iran today is a developing conflict between two forces that each represent millions of people. There are good people on both sides and the issues are complicated. So before U.S. progressives decide to weigh in, supporting one side and condemning the other, let’s take a little […]
War, Islamists, and the Left
The US war machine continues to inflict untold miseries on the people of the world and particularly those of the Muslim faith. Barack Obama, the first black president in the history of the United States, has repeatedly promised to repair some of the damage wreaked by his predecessor on the international stage. But the […]
Russian Public Wary of Obama
Questionnaire/Methodology (PDF) When President Obama arrives in Russia for the Moscow summit he may face a cool reception. A new poll of Russians, conducted by the Levada Center as part of a larger WorldPublicOpinion.org poll, finds that just 23 percent of Russians have confidence in Obama to do the right thing in international affairs, while […]
The Israeli Idea of a “Palestinian State”
To judge by the next day’s headlines, Benjamin Netanyahu’s policy speech last month was a great success. “Israeli Premier Backs State for Palestinians,” declared the New York Times. “Israel Endorses Two-State Goal,” said the Washington Post. “Netanyahu Backs Palestinian State,” announced the Guardian. He did no such thing, of course, unless by “state” one understands […]
Iran: An Alternative Reading
Iran does not just have an authoritarian system of government, it has a totalitarian one. It is powerful, highly centralised, with sophisticated administrative and control systems, and it applies an ideology that claims to have answers for everything and that seeks to permeate all aspects of life. Instead of a political party and youth organisations, […]
North Korea: “Sanity” at the Brink
Nations that chart a self-defining course, seeking to use their land, labor, natural resources, and markets as they see fit, free from the smothering embrace of the US corporate global order, frequently become a target of defamation. Their leaders often have their moral sanity called into question by US officials and US media, as has […]
Doctors and Nurses Protest in Tehran, 16 June 2009
Rasoul Akram Hospital’s doctors and nurses protest the deaths of seven people last night, reportedly shot by basij. Iran – State TV: Seven People Killed Near Rally SiteVideo by France 24 Doctors and Nurses Protest in Tehran, 16 June 2009Video by Saeid Saeid, born in Kermanshah, is an electrical engineer in Enschede, the Netherlands.
Workers Creating Hope: Factory Occupations and Self-Management
Introduction In most countries, political leaders and bosses are using the global economic crisis to once again unleash an attack on workers and the poor. As part of this, we have seen corporations around the world trying to make workers pay for the crisis by retrenching tens of millions of people. In the most extreme […]
Obama’s Cairo Speech: A Rhetorical Shift in US Imperialism
Barack Obama’s Cairo speech heralds a shift from the Islamophobic rhetoric of the Bush regime, but not from the long-term aims of the U.S. empire. Predictably, Barak Obama’s speech in Cairo came under hysterical criticism from the right. Sean Hannity screamed that Obama gave “sympathizers of 9/11” a voice on the world stage, Charles Krauthammer […]
Ideas for the Struggle #4 Should We Reject Bureaucratic Centralism and Use Only Consensus?
This is the fourth in a series of articles on “Ideas for the Struggle” by Marta Harnecker. 1. For a long time, left-wing parties were authoritarian. The usual practice was bureaucratic centralism, very much influenced by the experiences of Soviet socialism. All criteria, tasks, initiatives, and courses of political action were decided by the party […]
Interview with Manushi Bhattarai, Nepali Student Leader
Below is an Interview with Manushi Bhattarai.* She is part of the Maoist Ticket that swept the student elections at Tribhuvan University — Nepal’s largest. She discusses the revolution, recent political developments, the international situation, and the role of youth. Ben Peterson: Thanks a lot for meeting with me. The All Nepal National Independent Student […]
Obama’s Doublespeak on Iran
On the US-Iran relationship, President Obama seems to be talking from both sides of his mouth. From one side we hear promising messages of dialogue and a “new beginning” with Iran; from the other side provocative words that seems to be coming right out of the mouth of his predecessor, George W. Bush. For example, […]
