Sept. 5, 2007. Hundreds of Professor Norman Finkelstein‘s supporters try to escort the fired teacher onto campus of DePaul University in Chicago. Finkelstein, denied tenure by pro-Zionist administration because of his questioning of Israeli foreign policy, gives a statement (excerpts) after his final meeting with University officials. Produced by Labor Beat. Labor Beat is […]
Geography Archives: Middle East
I Will Salute No More Forever
St. Louis — His government broke his heart but it could not break Air Force veteran Charles Powell’s spirit. Fighting back tears, the 64 year-old vet stood tall and resolute in front of 400 of his comrades, describing in verse the final steps of a painful disillusionment. Each summer during the national convention of Veterans […]
Two Sides of Sanctions
Iran and the US both deploy sanctions against each other’s citizens; Iran is criticized but the US seems to get away with it. On a sunny day in Washington, DC, my imaginary American scholar, Hannah Esfandiari, was sitting in her Kalorama-located house, opening a letter she had just received from Tehran, Iran. It was a […]
Why We Oppose the Indo-U.S. Military Ties
Since the 1990s, the U.S. government made overtures to the Indian Government for a military alliance. When the Bush administration came to power it wanted India to be a part of its missile defence shield. Since 9/11, the Indian and U.S. navies and Special Forces have conducted a number of joint exercises in the Indian […]
Postcard form Palestine [Carte postale de Palestine]
A Ramallah l’enfant éventré par une bombe à fragmentation me regarde les yeux mi-clos comme pour me dire « Pourquoi ? » In Ramallah the child blown apart by a fragmentation bomb looks at me with his half-closed eyes as if to say “Why?” This poem was posted to assawra by Djamal Benmerad, an Algerian […]
Neo-Nazis in Germany, or Déjà Vu?
An argument at a summer fair in the small town of Muegeln, between Leipzig and Dresden, ended with a mob of fifty drunken young men wielding knives and other weapons and shouting “Foreigners Get Out!” chasing eight men from India — longtime residents in Muegeln — across the town square. The Indians, some badly wounded, […]
“Labour for Palestine” Responds to U.S. Anti-Boycott Statement
27 August 2007 In July 2007, a group of labour leaders from the U.S. issued a statement opposing the growing international campaign of boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel. The statement was signed by a number of presidents from unions including the American Federation of Teachers, the American Postal Workers Union, the Communication Workers […]
Two Years Post-Katrina: Racism and Criminal Justice in New Orleans
Two years after the devastation of New Orleans highlighted racism and inequality in the US, the disaster continues. New Orleans’ health care and education systems are still in crisis. Thousands of units of public housing sit empty. Nearly half the city’s population remains displaced. A report released this week by the Institute for Southern Studies […]
Zionists Attack Mural of Palestinian Resistance
We are writing to ask for your support for a mural on 24th and Capp St that is under attack by Zionists. The mural depicts related images of struggle by indigenous communities against forces of imperialism, racism, and economic oppression. Its major theme is breaking down walls — those in Mexico, Palestine, Iraq — […]
Former Enemies Find New Way Forward
St. Louis — A young man from Palestine and another from Israel riveted 400 U.S. military veterans to their seats last week in this city on the Mississippi River. What captivated the audience was their recent decision to put down the guns they’d pointed at each other for years. The two members of Combatants for […]
Moratorium Marathon for Peace
“WAR . . . huh . . . yeah What is it good for? Absolutely nothing.” — Edwin Starr‘s No. 1 Hit, “WAR,” 1970 Edwin Starr’s antiwar blockbuster hit Number 1 less than a year after the Vietnam Moratorium brought millions of us into the streets in October 1969. Nearly forty years later, we are […]
Peace Movement Overthrows Government, Cheney Dies
(PU) Former Vice President Richard B. Cheney was found dead today at the Daniel Ellsberg Reeducation Center for War Criminals and the Psychopathically Challenged. Using twine he had pilfered from a macramé class, Mr. Cheney apparently hanged himself after a particularly grueling group therapy session in which participants were asked to go deep within themselves […]
Iran’s Progress in Mastering Nuclear Energy Sparks New Threats of Aggression
In recent months Iran has made large strides toward mastering nuclear technology. Alarmed by these advances, the Bush administration and its European allies have stepped up their hostile actions and threats, specifically: Attempting to prevent the entry into service of Iran’s first nuclear power plant at Bushehr. The Bushehr reactor will use nuclear fuel […]
A Year after the Second Lebanon War: Most of the war Crimes Were Israel’s
This week marks a year since the end of hostilities now officially called the Second Lebanon war by Israelis. A month of fighting — mostly Israeli aerial bombardment of Lebanon, and rocket attacks from the Shia militia Hizbullah on northern Israel in response — ended with more than 1,000 Lebanese civilians and a small but […]
On the Concept “Totalitarianism” and Its Role in Current Political Discourse
A Cardinal Principle of Modern Liberalism The basic assumption of modern liberalism is that freedom is involved in an ongoing, all encompassing struggle against a dangerous enemy, totalitarianism. The existence of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union were and still are presented as the quintessential totalitarian formations. Liberal thinkers stress that totalitarianism is on the […]
Neo-Con Censorship: A Threat to All of Us
If someone can silence whatever he or she doesn’t like, we are all going to be in big trouble soon. While everyone is on holidays, a new blow to online free speech has taken place, and I would like to share it with you and ask for help. Last Friday, my blog was shut down […]
Oppose the New “Settler University”
[O]ccupation proceeds from the same ideological infrastructure on which the 1948 ethnic cleansing was erected [. . .] and in whose name there take place every day detentions and killings without trial. The most murderous manifestation of this ideology is now in the Territories. It should and must be stopped soonest. For that, no expedient […]
Nobel Laureates and International Organisations Speak Out on Hiroshima’s Anniversary: For a Middle East Free of All Weapons of Mass Destruction
International Statement for a Middle East Free of All Weapons of Mass Destruction Despite the unfolding tragedy in Iraq and the dangerously spiraling crises in the Middle East, another war of an unprecedented scale, this time against Iran, is looming near. The environmental and human cost of this war would, by comparison, dwarf the suffering […]
We Are All Prophets Now: Responsibilities and Risks in the Prophetic Voice
Sermon delivered August 5, 2007, at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church. It may be the fate of humans always to believe that we live at the most important time in history, that our moment is the decisive moment. But even factoring in this tendency toward collective self-centeredness, it is difficult to ignore that today we face […]
Hassan Juma’a, President of Iraqi Federation of Oil Union
حسن جمعه عواد الاسدي رئيس اتحاد نقابات النفط Hassan Juma’a Awad al Assadi, President of the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions (IFOU), spoke to over 200 people at Friends Meeting House in London on Wednesday, 18 July 2007. The IFOU represents 26,000 workers across Iraq. They have struck three times against the privatization of Iraqi […]
