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Chávez Proposes International of Left Parties [Propone Chávez Internacional de partidos de izquierda]
Caracas, 25 ago (PL) Partidos y movimientos de izquierda de América Latina y el Caribe fueron convocados hoy por el presidente venezolano, Hugo Chávez, a realizar en 2008 una reunión para crear una organización internacional. Al hablar ante miles de aspirantes a miembros del Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV), Chávez precisó que recientemente conversó […]
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A Blood Pressure Lowering Guide to the Democratic Party and Democrats
Many folks on the Left, and in our labor movement, are afflicted with frequent bouts of anguish and outrage as we observe the action or inaction of some Democrat in office — or running for office. Those on the Left who claim to be recovered — or never afflicted — by this disease often seem […]
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Defective Toys and Worker Exploitation in the PRC
The hullabaloo in the international capitalist media over defective Chinese-made toys and the massive Mattel recall in mid-August 2007 — including 7.3 million Polly Pocket™ play sets and a quarter-million Pixar cars “Sarge” (die-cast military jeeps) — should remind us where our solidarity must lie: with the exploited Chinese workers on the job. They are […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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The U.S.-Indian Nuclear Deal: An Unequal Colonial Treaty
Analytical Monthly Review, published in Kharagpur, West Bengal, India, is a sister edition of Monthly Review. Its Summer 2007 issue features the following editorial. — Ed. Prior to the Friday, August 3rd, 2007 release of the agreed text of the U.S.-Indian nuclear agreement, the media build-up in favor of civilian nuclear technology “transfer” and […]
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Po’pay, A True American Hero
The Pueblo Revolt, which began on 10 August 1680 under the leadership of Po’pay, was the most successful example of American Indian resistance to colonialism in North America, liberating the Pueblo people from Spanish colonizers for over a decade. Po’pay, A True American Hero, produced by the Pueblo of Ohkay Owingeh and Skalalitude Productions […]
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Opening Doors to New Alliances: A Review of New Departures in Marxian Theory by Stephen A. Resnick and Richard D. Wolff
NEW DEPARTURES IN MARXIAN THEORY by Stephen A. Resnick and Richard D. Wolff BUY THIS BOOK Being a Marxist requires considerable gumption — especially in the United States. Those who take Marxism seriously in a hostile intellectual and political environment are only too aware of this struggle. At worst, interest in Marxism is perceived […]
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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 […]
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Empire and Its Fixers
Ayub Nuri, a Kurdish man from Halabja, was a fixer for the Western media in Iraq (he is now based in New York City, having received a scholarship from Columbia).1 A fixer, in the words of Nuri, is “a journalist’s interpreter, guide, source finder and occasional lifesaver.”2 Local fixers, more or less, shape what foreign […]
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New Element Discovered: Capitalisium
A public university sociology department has recently announced the discovery of the most toxic element yet known to social science. This new element has been named Capitalisium (Cp). Capitalisium is a very volatile, dynamic, and toxic element, containing 1 positron, 1 neutron, and 1 huge electron along with boards of electrons, various vice electrons, […]
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Community Protests Human Rights Violations against Transpeople in California Prisons
Join the silent protest at the courthouse, make calls to Attorney General Jerry Brown and Federal Receiver Robert Sillen to support a transgender woman rape survivor. When: 8:00am – 9:30am Monday July 30th, 2007. Where: Civic Center Courthouse, 400 McAllister Street @ Polk St, San Francisco. Clothing: Wear RED, as Alexis has chosen the […]
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Profit without End: Capitalism Is Just Getting Started
Debates concerning the “Socialism of the 21st Century” are experiencing an upswing at the moment. However, this century will initially be rather one of capitalism than socialism. Not because there is once more an economic recovery. Prosperity and crisis alternate constantly in capitalism, but behind this up-and-down process are tendencies towards an extension and further […]
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Fighting with Audacity, Intelligence, and Realism
Achievements of the Cuban Revolution are well known to Monthly Review readers. What is striking about Raúl Castro Ruz’s address on 26 July 2007 (an excerpt from which is reproduced below), on the occasion of Cuba’s National Day of Rebellion, is not his tribute to them but his candid assessment of the “errors which […]
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Raul Castro: Open to Dialogue with Next American President [Raul Castro se dit ouvert au dialogue avec le futur président américain]
Le chef de l’Etat cubain par intérim, Raul Castro, s’est dit ouvert au dialogue avec le futur président des Etats-Unis, afin de pacifier les relations entre les deux pays, lors d’un discours à Camagüey, à l’occasion de la fête nationale cubaine, jeudi 26 juillet. La future administration américaine “devra décider si elle maintient la politique […]
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Oaxaca: A Call for International Solidarity
Oaxaca, 20 July 2007 — The struggle between the popular movement of rebellion and the government’s actions to totally crush it is at a critical point. I believe the situation is extremely dangerous for many oaxaqueños. Five days ago the governments (Oaxaca State and Mexican Federal — fully backed by the United States, I’m […]
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The Prophecy of Bolívar: US Interventions in Latin America [La Profecía de Bolívar: Intervenciones de EEUU en Latinoamérica]
“Estados Unidos parece destinado a plagar la América de miserias en nombre de la libertad”. Con esta profética frase de Simón Bolívar en 1826, el Libertador hizo la crónica anunciada de una historia de intervenciones, militares y políticas, disfrazadas unas y en forma abierta otras, con las cuales el gigante del norte impuso su dominio […]
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The Putin Charisma
Vladimir Putin has not been getting good press in the United States or even Western Europe in the last year or so. He has been charged with being authoritarian, with attempting to recreate Russia‘s imperial control over its neighbors, and with reviving Cold War obstructionism in the United Nations. So it is with some surprise […]