I saw Michael Moore’s SICKO last week. By now who doesn’t know that SICKO is a savage and hilarious demolition job on the US health care insurance corporations and their self-serving myths about the national health care systems of countries like Canada and Cuba? But this is not a review of SICKO. I’ll just say […]
Geography Archives: Middle East
Target the Weakest Link
CHAIN OF DISASTERS & THE WEAKEST LINK The only thing that Bush’s “war on terror” has spread faster than disaster and misery has been opposition to its means and ends. Six years into this self-righteously promoted crusade, Washington is more isolated internationally than ever. Within the U.S., the Commander Guy’s approval rating has fallen below […]
Darfur: Give Them a Megaphone Instead
Harlem’s Canaan Baptist Church, long associated with human rights activism, hosted a fundraising rally for women in Darfur, on June 13. Billed as “Voices for the Voiceless,” the program featured speeches and fund-pitches by the program’s emcee, business developer Judith Price, and main speaker, peace activist and church leader Dr. Thelma Adair, with proclamations by […]
Leading Iranian NGOs Express Opposition to Sanctions, Military Intervention, and Foreign Interference in Iran
28 June 2007 On the 20th anniversary of the chemical bombing of the Kurdish city of Sardasht in western Iran, a crime committed by the puppet Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussain and with full provision, support, and acquiescence of Western governments, the Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII), commemorates the forgotten victims […]
Setting Priorities Straight in the Struggle: On Iran and the Iranian Role in the Arab Region
Before we deal with the topic of the Iranian role in the Arab region, it is useful to recall the complexity of Iran and its different entanglements: For one, Iran is not a “Banana Republic,” and its regime is not a puppet or a client regime of Imperialism. Iran has a regional project and works […]
The Rushdie Affair, Part Two
How should progressives respond to the ongoing brouhaha about Salman Rushdie‘s knighthood? We should begin by reminding ourselves, particularly if we live in the West, that the so-called “Muslim” response to the announcement of Rushdie’s knighthood does not speak for the majority of Muslims, or for what matters to most Muslims in the world. […]
What the Hell Is Going On in Palestine?
Dr. Hisham Bustani is a writer and activist, based in Amman, a founding member of the Resistant Arab People’s Alliance and a member in its Coordination Committee. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Socialist Thought Forum in Jordan. INTRODUCTION: Hisham Bustani on the Turmoil in Gaza The Jordanian Marxist writer […]
With Defenders Like Nazanin, Who Needs Enemies?Part 2
According to a promotional flyer handed out at Borders Books stores in advance of Nazanin‘s visits, she is on a mission to “speak out for those who cannot” and stands against “senseless child executions in Iran.” Nazanin also takes credit for the release of a woman from death row in Iran. Fair enough. But Nazanin’s […]
Middle East Studies Association Letter to the US Commission on Civil Rights regarding Its “Campus Anti-Semitism” Campaign
June 11, 2007 Gerald A. Reynolds Chair of the Commission United States Commission on Civil Rights Regional Office 624 Ninth Street, NW Washington DC 20425 Dear Chairman Reynolds and Members of the Commission, I write to you on behalf of the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) and its Committee on Academic Freedom […]
Haniyeh: “We Are the Legitimate Government” [Haniyeh : “Nous sommes le gouvernement légitime”]
EXCLUSIF LE FIGARO : Le premier ministre palestinien du Hamas, Ismaïl Haniyeh, a reçu notre correspondant dans sa maison du camp de réfugiés de Chati, ciblée par des bombardements jeudi. Le Figaro : Certains accusent le Hamas d’avoir mené un coup d’État dans la bande de Gaza. Que leur répondez-vous? Ismaïl Haniyeh : Je leur […]
The G-8 Summit and the Provocateurs, or Coming through the Rye
Vacationers visiting Baltic Sea beaches in the area have always loved the little small-gauge railroad affectionately called Mollie. But during the G-8 summit of presidents and premiers, Mollie was strictly reserved for those directly connected with the conference in the swank hotel at the beach. To all others it was definitely a No Go Zone. […]
The Turkish Elections — What’s at Stake . . . and What Isn’t
Turkey — We landed in Istanbul May 16 for work and to visit family and friends. We traveled to Ankara, then went southeast to villages near Kayseri, then back to Istanbul for an international anthropology conference before visiting the port city of Izmir for a few days, traveling inland again to the textile center […]
DePaul Students Rally for Academic Freedom
Continuing an uphill battle with the DePaul University administration, student and community groups will gather at 55 E. Jackson (Jackson and Wabash) 13 June 2007 at 11 a.m. for a rally, in a plan to escalate pressure on the nation’s largest Catholic university. The protest is in support of academic freedom, as well as tenure […]
DePaul Students Sit-In for Academic Freedom
Upset over DePaul University‘s denial of tenure to Professors Norman Finkelstein, and Mehrene Larudee, and after a meeting between 30 student leaders and DePaul President Fr. Dennis Holtschneider at his office, students have taken action to defend academic freedom which is under attack at the nation’s largest Catholic institution. After an unsuccessful meeting where their […]
The US and the 21st Century
Introductory Note: This essay is an adaptation and reworking of a historic 1963 document of the Students for a Democratic Society. Its original was mimeographed in several thousand copies and distributed jointly by the SDS National Office and the newly-created Economic Research and Action Project (ERAP). America and the New Era was intended to be […]
“We Are Already Dead”: Avraham Burg Attacks the Jewish State, the “Zionist Ghetto” [“Nous sommes déjà morts” : Avraham Burg attaque l’Etat juif, “ghetto sioniste”]
“Avoir défini l’Etat d’Israël comme un Etat juif est la clef de sa perte. Un Etat juif, c’est explosif, c’est de la dynamite.” Ces propos sont ceux de l’ex-président de la Knesset de 1999 à 2003 et ex-président de l’agence juive, Avraham Burg. M. Burg n’a jamais mâché ses mots, mais, dans un entretien publié […]
Just Got Kicked in the Shins by an Israeli Soldier
Frankly, the last time a boy kicked me in the shins was . . . well never, because even in grade school I think we were all taught not to do that. I am, after all, a 5 ft 1 inch girl in flip-flops with her hands above her head, wearing a pink shirt, […]
Support the Lawsuit of Vietnamese Agent Orange Survivors against Dow Chemical! All Out on June 18th!
3 million Vietnamese people and tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers are affected by Agent Orange — a chemical weapon used by the U.S. government during the Vietnam War which causes cancer, other life-threatening illnesses, and serious birth defects in children — even those born several generations after the war. U.S. veterans received some compensation […]
Saadia Toor and Kourosh Shemirani on Liberal Imperialism and Women and Queers in Iran
Listen to Saadia Toor (Assistant Professor, Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work, College of Staten Island) and Kourosh Shemirani (of the Queer Iranian Alliance) on Doug Henwood’s Behind the News (WBAI, 99.5 FM, 31 May 2007) on liberal imperialism and how Western leftists should think about the conditions of women and LGBTQ people in Iran and […]
A Light Within (the Heart of Empire): The 2007 US Social Forum
What happens when hundreds or even thousands of small and not-so-small organizations come together to meet, dialogue, and present their ideas over the course of a long weekend? The World Social Forum (WSF), an annual gathering of tens of thousands of people from over 100 countries, has provided this space for those able to […]
