“Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery.” — Bob Marley, “Redemption Song,” 1979 I’ve got it made. I’m sixty-one years old and I’ve been retired for two and a half years. I’ve got a pension, health insurance, and money in the bank. I own my own home. I’m debt free. I’m a fortunate man, but it wasn’t […]
Geography Archives: United States
South African Trade Unions and ANC Youth League Protest against NATO Bombings of Libya
NUMSA and other COSATU workers, ANC Youth League President Julius Malema, and members of the South African Communist Party gathered outside the United States Embassy in Pretoria, Gauteng to demonstrate against the NATO bombings of Libya. “South Africa should not have voted for that resolution,” said Malema, referring to UN Security Council Resolution 1973 […]
Bernard-Henri Lévy’s “SOS Syrie” Conference: Zionists, Muslim Brothers, and Other Leaders of “Change in Syria”
Bernard-Henri Lévy, well known for his devotion to humanitarian military interventions, organized a conference to “stop the massacre” in Syria, “SOS Syrie,” in Paris on the fourth of July. There is no doubt that BHL is eager to replicate his Libyan success in Syria. Given the clear Russian opposition to any military intervention in Syria, […]
Oil and the Iranian-Saudi “Cold War”
One of last month’s most interesting developments in Persian Gulf power politics played out not in the Middle East, but in Vienna, Paris, and Washington. For these Western cities were the venues for an important series of exchanges that revealed much about the changing balance of power among the Middle East’s major oil producers, including […]
The Myths of Capitalism
There is a pervasive view that growth under capitalism, though it may worsen poverty, even absolute poverty, to start with, eventually leads to a lowering of poverty. The experience of the English Industrial Revolution is invoked in this context. There has been a huge debate among economic historians about the impact of the Industrial Revolution […]
U.S. Boat to Gaza Seized by Greek Authorities and Captain Jailed: Passengers Determined to Free Captain and Set Sail Again
After a two-hour standoff at sea, the U.S. Boat to Gaza The Audacity of Hope was seized by the Greek Coast Guard and forced to return to the port of Piraeus under military escort. The boat’s captain has been put in jail, charged with disturbing sea traffic — which includes endangering the lives of […]
Washington Plans Further Actions against Venezuela
The US government has been increasing aggressive actions against the Chavez administration in an attempt to isolate the major petroleum-producing nation and aid in ousting the Venezuelan President. During a hearing last Friday, June 24, in the Foreign Relations Committee of the House of Representatives regarding “Sanctionable Activities in Venezuela,” Democrats and Republicans requested the […]
Prisoners in Pelican Bay SHU to Go on Indefinite Hunger Strike July 1st!
Prisoners in the Security Housing Unit (SHU) at Pelican Bay State Prison (California) are going on an indefinite hunger strike as of July 1, 2011 to protest the cruel, inhumane, and torturous conditions of their imprisonment. The hunger strike has been organized by prisoners in an inspiring show of unity across racial and geographic […]
A Resurgence of Nuclear Power Poses Significant Challenges
Advocates of nuclear power are promoting a “nuclear renaissance” based on claims that a new generation of reactors will produce relatively cheap electricity while solving the threat posed by global climate change. U.S. power producers have proposed building more than 30 new nuclear reactors — and some proponents have called for building as many as […]
Work Till You Drop: Who Benefits from the End of Retirement?
During the last century, the establishment of Social Security and the tax-favored employer pension plans that followed transformed and improved the lives of American workers. Combined with economic growth, these institutions meant that both the rich and the poor lived longer and every worker became entitled to pensions at the end of their working lives. […]
Is the U.S. Government Prepared for a Greek Debt Default?
The European authorities are playing a dangerous game of “chicken” with Greece right now. It is overdue for U.S. members of Congress to exercise some oversight as to what our government’s role is in this process, and how we might be preparing for a Greek debt default. Depending on how it happens, this default could […]
Work Sharing: The Quick Route Back to Full Employment
Excerpt: There are two basic ways to increase employment: increasing output and thereby increasing the demand for labor, or dividing up the existing work among more workers. . . . Work sharing is not a new idea. The idea of shortening work time to create more work has a long history. . . . [I]n […]
After the “West”
The notion of the “west”, like any such construct, has various associations depending on who is using it, where and in what circumstances. Many people (especially in other parts of the world) tend to associate the “west” with military campaigns and foreign interventions by Nato and its leading states, the United States and Britain. More […]
June 27: Demonstrate against US/NATO Attacks on Libya
The United National Antiwar Committee (UNAC) calls for demonstrations on June 27 against the US/NATO attacks on Libya. June 27 is the date that the NATO mandate expires and their new mandate comes into effect. The United National Antiwar Committee was founded at a conference of 800 in Albany, NY in July 2010. For […]
Turkey Cools Down Tempers over Syria
As Monday dawned, Turkey kept its fingers crossed in keen anticipation of the nationwide address by President Bashar al-Assad on the situation in Syria. Ankara sent an open message ahead of Assad’s speech that if he failed to announce reforms even in a third attempt, he would “miss a big chance” to preserve power. Turkey […]
Michigan Citizens Take Emergency Manager Law to Court, Citing Unconstitutional Power Grab
June 22, 2011 Citizens from across Michigan today announced they are taking Michigan’s controversial emergency manager law to court, filing a lawsuit that charges Gov. Rick Snyder and the Legislature with implementing an unconstitutional power grab that effectively silences citizens. “The emergency manager law is a shameless power grab by Lansing politicians and their […]
Beyond the Crisis: Markets, Planning, and a Utopian Vision Inspired by the American National Football League
The Crisis, especially in Europe, is all-consuming. Every day our minds are hijacked by its latest twist. Here in Athens, a general strike almost brought the government to its knees and has kick-started a process that will, inevitably, lead to what can only be described as regime change. While history is preparing the next regime […]
Iran: Subsidy Reform, “Stagflation,” and the Need for Industrial Policy
Iran’s biggest economic problem is the growing production slump at its factories and workshops. For both workers and the business elite, Iran’s domestic industrial troubles are far more pressing — and generating far more public anxiety — than international sanctions. The biggest danger for Iran in 2011 is the combination of higher unemployment and inflation […]
Presentation to the United Nations Decolonization Committee Hearings on Puerto Rico
The National Lawyers Guild was founded in 1937 as an alternative to the American Bar Association, which did not admit people of color. The National Lawyers Guild is the oldest and largest public interest/human rights bar organization in the United States. With headquarters in New York, it has chapters in every state. From its […]
Falling Behind: Life Expectancy in US Counties from 2000 to 2007 in an International Context
Excerpt: Across US counties, life expectancy in 2007 ranged from 65.9 to 81.1 years for men and 73.5 to 86.0 years for women. When compared against a time series of life expectancy in the 10 nations with the lowest mortality, US counties range from being 15 calendar years ahead to over 50 calendar years […]
