In regular high-school rituals, teachers berate students for their disinterest in, mockery of, and/or failure to focus on “the important issues” in elections for student government. Students are forced to hear about cherishing their right to vote, taking the issues seriously, and participating fully. Most never do. Some notice that teachers likewise take little interest […]
Geography Archives: United States
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 […]
South Africa’s Role in Nigeria and the Nigerian Elections
Introduction From the very start, the recent Nigerian elections, which saw Olusegun Obasanjo placing his hand-picked successor Umaru Yar’ Adua into the Presidential palace, were mired in controversy. The ballot papers for the election, which were printed in South Africa, contained no counterfoils or serial numbers — features which would have made vote riggingdifficult. In […]
Stop the Raids! Street Protest Is the Source of Our Power
On Wednesday, June 6, federal agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted a sweep of homes in New Haven, Connecticut. They arrested 33 immigrant workers and set off a series of mass protests calling for the release of detainees and an immediate halt to federal raids. On Saturday, June 16, a mass mobilization […]
An American Student’s Perspective on the Venezuelan Revolution
I recently returned from an eleven-day trip to Venezuela, traveling with fellow students from Rutgers University. The country has been the scene of intense political strife and polarization throughout the nearly ten years that Hugo Chávez’s government has been in power, and during our stay we witnessed various aspects of this conflict. We arrived […]
Miles for Peace
Sponsored by “Mercy for All” (www.mercyforall.org) — in partnership with other NGOs — a cycling tour around Europe and North America is conveying the Iranian people’s message of peace, friendship, and solidarity to the rest of the world. On this journey, which began on 10 May 2007, are fourteen Iranian cyclists. They traveled across four […]
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 […]
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 […]
Disabling Law — the Judicial Assault on Worker Rights
Seventeen years ago, James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) fought for the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Now Sensenbrenner is trying to repeal the “judicial amendments” that have destroyed the ADA. The ADA is not the only workplace law to suffer from judicial amendments. In the Civil Rights Act of 1991, Congress legislatively overruled judicial […]
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 […]
In Favor of Democracy in the Media, for the Legitimate Right of the Venezuelan Government to Decide Who Shall Broadcast on Its Airwaves [A favor de la democracia en los medios, por el derecho legítimo del gobierno venezolano a disponer del espacio radioeléctrico]
A mediados de los años setenta, los países no alineados reclamaron un Nuevo Orden Mundial económico e informativo. Esa decisión provocó con el tiempo la retirada de Estados Unidos de la UNESCO. Durante muchas décadas, apenas cinco grandes monopolios retuvieron el control de los flujos informativos. Es solamente ahora cuando la exigencia de entender la […]
Build the Grassroots Anti-War Movement! Help Support SDS!
SDS Is Back! And Just in Time. . . . Mark Rudd I really appreciate your help with this. I’ve been corresponding with these SDS kids since the fall and meeting them on their campuses across the country. They’re accomplishing a lot. If you have any questions or want to discuss the re-formation of SDS […]
Class Considerations in a Globalized Economic Order
The following is the text of Delia D. Aguilar’s keynote address at the 22-23 March 2007 Pacific Northwest Regional Conference of the National Association for Chicana/o Studies, University of Washington: “Class Dismissed? Reintegrating Critical Studies of Class into Chicana and Chicano Studies.” — Ed. I cannot begin to tell you how delighted I am at […]
Do Zionists Run America?
James Petras, The Power of Israel in the United States (Atlanta: Clarity Press, 2006) 190 pages, $16.95 paperback. Widely known as an expert in Latin American history and social movements, and a prolific critic of U.S. imperialism, James Petras has ventured forth in his latest book The Power of Israel in the United States, and […]
Zero Hour for Venezuela’s RCTV
The expiration of Venezuelan broadcaster RCTV‘s public concession draws near: at 11:59pm on Sunday, May 27th, RCTV’s concession will expire without renewal, and its space on channel 2 will be handed over to the newly-founded Venezuelan Social Television (TVes), which will begin broadcasts at 12:15am on May 28th. This sovereign decision of the Venezuelan government […]
For the Deaf Who Won’t Listen
A summary of the FAO declaration from its headquarters in Rome, on May 16, 2007. World cereal production is on track to reach a record level in 2007. In spite of this, supplies will be barely adequate to meet increased demand, boosted by the development of the biofuels industry. International prices for most cereals have […]
Let’s Not Trivialize Discrimination in Iran
WCP leader Maryam Kousha addresses protesters in London in 2005. Also pictured is Peter Tatchell. It is a sad day when self-described progressive gay rights defenders risk their credibility to promote the agendas of Middle Eastern fanatics. Yet that was just the scenario when Doug Ireland and Peter Tatchell broke with several reputable rights groups […]
The Closing of the University Commons
The closing of the university commons should come as no surprise. Instead, we might do better to consider the brief opening in the 1960s as a dramatic break with a less pleasant but long-standing tradition — one in which higher education in the United States was a site of intolerance rather than openness. Historically, the […]
The Nepali Revolution and International Relations
This article by John Mage of Monthly Review also appears in the May 19th, 2007, issue of Economic and Political Weekly of Mumbai, India. A revolutionary civil war in Nepal ceased de facto with the popular triumph over King Gyanendra in April 2006, and de jure with the peace agreement reached in November 2006. The […]
