MAY 6, 2006, New York City Stew Albert Photo by Robert Altman © 2006 Stew Albert was our troubadour, poet, writer, our cherished moral center. On May Day 1971, in Washington DC during the May Day antiwar demonstrations that brought hundreds of thousands of activists to shut down the city, Stew Albert and Judy Gumbo […]
Geography Archives: Middle East
Port Militarization Resistance, Olympia, May 2006
Click on a photo for a larger view. 23-25 May 2006 29 May 2006 On the eighth day of the Olympia Port Militarization Resistance, the U.S.S. Pomeroy has docked to take the Stryker Brigade to Iraq. The resistance escalates, the Port fence is shaken and nearly taken down before a riot squad enters the […]
Poet, Playwright, and . . . Radical?The Politics of Shakespeare’s Plays
Shakespeare. Undeniably one of the most well-known names in the world. His plays are performed all over the planet in several different languages, and his collected works are read by millions (if not, in fact, billions) of people. Thousands of theatre companies around the world are dedicated to his work and he is taught as […]
Presbyterians of the World, Unite!
In June 2004, the General Assembly, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), resolved to consider a phased, selective divestment from companies profiting from Israel’s occupation. Subsequently it came under intense pressure from Jewish organizations (and their allies) and will consider rescinding the resolution at the next General Assembly meeting on June 15-22 in Birmingham, Alabama. To firm up […]
Queen Hussein
The Palestinian gay and lesbian community has yet to leave the closet, but it’s on its way. Today it’s possible to go to parties of gays from the Occupied Territories and see young residents of the West Bank perform drag. They have not told their mother about this, but one day they intend to […]
Canadian Union Takes Important Step against Israeli Apartheid
At the annual convention of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario, held 24-27 May 2006 in Ottawa, the union passed a resolution of historic importance. Resolution 50 — adopted unanimously by the 900 delegates at the largest convention in the union’s history — expressed support for the global campaign against Israeli apartheid. The […]
Cadet Bush at West Point: Screw That Chin In, Beanhead!
Mister Bush, you deserve a good reaming for your performance at the United States Military Academy graduation on Saturday. Post around to my room for some character guidance. Come in, wackhead. Slam up against that wall! Suck up that capacious gut! Shoulders back! Pop up that puny chest! Fingers along the seams of your trousers! […]
Iranian Cold Warriors in Sheep’s Clothing
Erik C. Nisbet & James Shanahan, “MSRG Special Report: Restrictions on Civil Liberties, Views of Islam, & Muslim Americans,” Media & Society Research Group, Cornell University, December 2004 Actual mass murderers are higher on my watch list than those who just think or shout hateful beliefs. But you would be mistaken if you thought the […]
Join Us with Simultaneous Protests against Boycott of Elected Palestinian Authority
On Saturday, June 3 at 7 PM, a coalition of Israeli peace groups and movements will hold a protest march and rally in Tel-Aviv. We will protest against the boycott of the Palestinian elected authority, against the siege and starvation of the Palestinian people, for negotiations without preconditions — to sum it up, against the […]
Two, Three, Many Olympias
There’s a great tradition amongst the world’s citizenry that is perhaps best expressed in the words spoken by the late Berkeley radical Mario Savio. During the Free Speech actions of 1964 that were aimed at the University of California’s repressive administrative dictates against student and staff political activity, Mario said: There’s a time when the […]
Ontario’s “Sharia Law” Controversy: How Muslims Were Hung Out to Dry
“A lie can travel halfway around the world,” the American writer Mark Twain once said, “while the truth is putting on its shoes.” That statement could apply to the recent phony debate over “sharia tribunals” in Ontario. Odds are that if you consulted the average man or woman in the street on the matter, you […]
“The Caiman”: Moretti Faces the Soul of Italy [“Le Caïman”: Moretti face à l’âme italienne]
Par quel étrange paradoxe Le Caïman, qui est moins personnel que Je suis un autarcique (1976), moins drôle que Sogni d’Oro (1981), moins virtuose que Palombella Rossa (1989), moins émouvant que Journal intime (1993) ou moins romanesque que La Chambre du fils (2001), se révèle-t-il le film le plus fort réalisé à ce jour par […]
Iraq, Iran, and the New World Order
The present crisis concerning Iran’s nuclear program cannot be reduced to merely the ongoing rivalry between Tehran and Washington. Rather, it reveals all the new parameters of the post-Cold War world order that American strategists want to avoid. Iran’s Machiavellian diplomatic brinkmanship has succeeded so far, not only because the Ahmadinejad administration is exploiting the […]
The Shah: America’s Nuclear Poster Boy
Back in the good old days, the regal Shah served as the poster boy for US power companies selling nuclear reactors TO A SKEPTICAL AMERICAN PUBLIC! Click on the image for a larger view. Based in Washington, DC, Rostam Pourzal writes about the politics of human rights for Iranian expatriate journals. MRZine has published his […]
First Working-Class Film and Video Festival in Turkey a “Resounding Success”
The first international working-class film and video festival titled “Against Neo-Liberalism, 20 Countries and 40 Films” was held in Turkey in early May 2006 — a resounding success. Over 8,000 attended the various film screenings, and, for the first time, working people in Turkey had an opportunity to see the global struggle of other […]
Circling the Wagons and Building Walls:Washington’s Immigration Policy
So Bush and company want to put thousands of armed troops on the border between the United States and Mexico. The supposed reason for this move is to stem the flow of immigrants coming into the US from the south. I have a feeling that this move will be probably popular in Congress and amongst […]
LETTER TO KOFI ANNAN: Steps Taken against Iran That Are Not Taken against Israel Lack Credibility
May 18, 2006 To: The Honorable Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations Re: The Iranian threat to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Your Excellency, Iran’s nuclear projects acquire an alarming significance with Iran’s recent threat to withdraw its acceptance of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The Middle-East is a volatile region. […]
Good Neighbor Senator Sessions Walls Out Mexico . . . and Robert Frost
“The Senate fence measure was embodied in an amendment offered by Senator Jeff Sessions, Republican of Alabama, who borrowed from the poet Robert Frost. ‘Good fences make good neighbors,’ he said. ‘Fences don’t make bad neighbors.’” — New York Times, 17 May 2006 What Senator Sessions knows is of no interest to me. It must […]
The Sewing Factory in Gaza, the Administration in Tel-Aviv, and the Owners in New York: Israeli Industrialists’ Strategy in the Global Supply Chain
The aim of this paper is to try to understand the Israeli industrialists’ strategy in the globalization process in the course of the recent years. The new strategy was implemented in the days of the first Intifada (the Palestinian uprising) in the late 80s. At that time voices were heard in the Association of Israeli […]
The Nakba: Then and Now
On the 58th anniversary of the Nakba, or the “Catastrophe,” prominent Palestinians share their thoughts on the day when more than 700,000 of their brethren became refugees. The Institute for Middle East Understanding asked the panel, ranging from business leaders to comedians, what comes to mind on the 58th anniversary of the Nakba and why […]
