“Man’s greatness consists in his ability to do and the proper application of his powers to things needed to be done.” — Frederick Douglas Over time, fads come and go, yet for organized labor certain basic principles hold true. In the “big picture” search for answers to the problems faced by labor today, outspoken […]
Geography Archives: Vietnam
No Human Being Is Illegal
In April 2006, hundreds of thousands of immigrant rights protestors marched in cities across the United States. They countered prolonged debates about the pros and cons of comprehensive immigration reform with a short but sweet affirmation, scrawled on placards: “No Human Being Is Illegal.” Their direct assertion challenged the deeply entrenched practices of our government […]
Evaluation of the June 28-29, 2008 National Assembly to End the Iraq War and Occupation
Our overall assessment is that the conference was an overwhelming success. Over 400 people from many parts of the country and Canada attended, including a bus of 44 — mostly youth — from Connecticut (see breakdown by states below*). The conference met its main objective, which was to urge united and massive mobilizations in the […]
Arroyo Welcomes More US Participation in the “Killing Fields” of the Philippines in the Guise of Humanitarian Intervention
A historic event worthy of the Guinness Book may have occurred in Washington in the last week of June. The worst “torture” president that the United States has ever had met the most corrupt and brutal president ever inflicted on the Filipino people. Grotesque or farcical? Bush is now credited with the horrendous deaths […]
Che Guevara’s Final Verdict on the Soviet Economy
One of the most important developments in Cuban Marxism in recent years has been increased attention to the writings of Ernesto Che Guevara on the economics and politics of the transition to socialism. A milestone in this process was the publication in 2006 by Ocean Press and Cuba’s Centro de Estudios Che Guevara of Apuntes […]
South Africa: A Drive through a Xenophobic Landscape
19 May 2008: Friends, this is simply an account of what I saw and experienced in a twenty four period. It might be incomplete. It is not an analytical piece as such, but I hope a small step towards trying to understand what had taken place in this city, in this country that I […]
Making a Killing from Hunger: We Need to Overturn Food Policy, Now!
For some time now the rising cost of food all over the world has taken households, governments and the media by storm. The price of wheat has gone up by 130% over the last year.1 Rice has doubled in price in Asia in the first three months of 2008 alone,2 and just last week it […]
The End of Osheroff’s Dance: Lessons from a Life of Resistance and Love
As Abe Osheroff’s body slowly began to betray him in his 80s and 90s, one of his favorite lines was, “I have one foot in the grave but the other keeps dancing.” That dance ended on Sunday, April 6, when the 92-year-old Osheroff died of a heart attack at his Seattle home. Osheroff is remembered […]
Confronting the Economic Crisis: The New Deal at 75 — Lessons for Today
When I was growing up in the 1950s, a photo of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1932-1945) still hung in the homes of some family members and friends. Our only four-term president was remembered by them as the leader — and even the savior — of the country. Those like my parents, who experienced the Great […]
Unpleasant Anniversaries
March is a cruel month in the recent history of the Middle East. This year is the fifth anniversary of the death of Rachel Corrie who was crushed to death by an Israeli soldier driving an armored Caterpillar D9 bulldozer on March 16, 2003 as she attempted to stop the gigantic vehicle from destroying the […]
The March 20, 2008 US Declaration of War on Iran
March 20, 2008, destined to be another day of infamy. On this date the US officially declared war on Iran. But it’s not going to be the kind of war many have been expecting. No, there was no dramatic televised announcement by President George W. Bush from the White House oval office. In fact […]
An Open Letter to All Feminists: Statement of Solidarity with Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim Women Facing War and Occupation
As feminists and people of conscience, we call for solidarity with Palestinian women in Gaza suffering due to the escalating military attacks that Israel turned into an open war on civilians. This war has targeted women and children, and all those who live under Israeli occupation in the West Bank, and are also denied […]
Carl Oglesby’s Ravens in the Storm
Carl Oglesby was once the president of the original Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). Before that, he was working for a defense contractor. His last project with the company was to develop a method of delivering Agent Orange so that it would cover the Vietnamese jungle (and the humans therein) with the chemical as […]
The Dollar and US Hegemony: Suspended in Air
Once again, speculation about a dollar crash abounds. The hegemonic roles of the US currency and economy have repeatedly been called into question since the 1970s. Skeptics saw each major economic downturn and depreciation of the dollar as the beginning of the end of US hegemony. In defiance of the often predicted decline, the US […]
Good Time Charlie’s War
George Crile (Charlie Wilson’s War, 2003) credits the Houston Congressman with convincing House Members to overcome their valid doubts and keep funding Zia ul Haq. Members knew in 1979 that the Pakistani dictator had overthrown and murdered President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (Benazir‘s father), that his human rights record was abominable, and that he fostered a […]
Reply to Stephen Zunes on Imperialism and the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict
Are there valid reasons to question the ICNC’s role in contemporary U.S. imperialism? We think so.
Television, Murder, Vietnam, and a Thirteen Year Old Kid in America 1968
I was a kid in 1968. It was the year I turned 13 and it was the year my dad began to prepare to go to Vietnam. The Tet offensive was on the television in January. I remember the picture of the South Vietnamese police chief killing a suspected NLF fighter. After that, my father […]
Straight Facts about the Persian Gulf “Incident”
Iran’s release of the video taken on the morning of Sunday, January 6th in the Strait of Hormuz, clearly debunks Pentagon’s hype of depicting a routine patrolling operation by the Iranian Navy as an act of unfathomable aggression against the United States. The timing of this so-called “provocation” incident in the Persian Gulf just before […]
Peace Activists, Criticism, and Nonviolent Imperialism
All peace activists want peace, but do activists want peace at any cost? In Aldous Huxley’s classic book, Brave New World, peace came at a high price, but there was ‘peace’ nonetheless. Arguably, ‘peace’ also exists within most Western citizens’ minds, mainly because their daily lives are neatly partitioned off from the multitude of ultra-violent […]
Pakistan: Notes on a Tragedy
In the next few weeks we shall witness a torrent of sorrow and regret, as any such horrific loss of life should provoke. But clearly the story is unfinished, despite the seeming finality of Benazir Bhutto’s murder. In two suicide attacks inside Pakistan since October, at least 160 have been slaughtered, including the country’s former […]
