Subjects Archives: Democracy

What Michael T. Heaney and Fabio Rojas’ “The Partisan Dynamics of Contention: Demobilization of the Antiwar Movement in the United States, 2007-2009” (Mobilization 16.1; now linked to MRZine) shows is that, in the United States, the anti-war/peace movement is much narrower and more shallow than many believe.  Whereas there remains an enduring core of genuinely […]

The trajectory of the democratic movement in the Arab world was never going to be a straight line with clear goals and objectives.  The Arab regimes are not homogeneous; they have medieval Islamist monarchies, as in Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states, and secular but completely authoritarian regimes, both Western puppets like Mubarak and […]

  Freedom for the five Cuban patriots! Gervasio Umpiérrez is a cartoonist based in Montevideo, Uruguay.  This cartoon was published in his blog on 25 April 2011.  Cf. “U.S. Government Asked the Court to Deny Gerardo Hernandez’s Habeas Corpus Motion” (26 April 2011); “The U.S. Government Asked the Court to also Deny Antonio Guerrero’s and […]

  Nicolas Sarkozy: “Boys, these are the pillars that support authentic democracies!” Barack Obama: “Well said, Sarko!” José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero: “This is not Iraq . . . This is not Iraq . . . This is not Iraq . . . This is not Iraq . . .” Ferran Martín, born in Barcelona in […]

I was familiar with the content of compañero Raúl’s report to the 6th Congress of the Party. He had shown it to me a few days previously on his own initiative, as he has done on many other occasions without me asking him to because, as I already explained, I had delegated all my responsibilities within the Party and the state in the proclamation of July 2006.… Doing so was a duty that I did not hesitate for a second to fulfill.

This morning at 10:00am I listened to the delegates’ debates at the 6th Congress of the Party.… There were so many commissions that, logically, I couldn’t listen to everyone who spoke.… They were meeting in five commissions to discuss a number of issues. Thereafter I, too, took advantage of the breaks to breathe calmly and eat some energy providing food. They surely had more of an appetite given their work and age.

On behalf of the American University Anthropology department, I am deeply honored to welcome you all to AU, and to the Latin American Solidarity Coalition’s “Conference to Build a Stronger Movement to End US Militarism and the Militarization of Latin America.” It’s exciting personally to be involved in such an important event — after all, demilitarization of the Americas is now more important than ever — and I sincerely hope that we can continue this relationship and work to increase AU’s involvement with the event in the years to come, not only because it would save us money on the facility fees, but more importantly, because there is a deep thirst among AU students to become more engaged in this kind of solidarity work and because, I believe, the AU community can contribute to it in important ways. This conference is a perfect fit with all of the best aspects of this university, and those aspects — the dedication to community involvement, to social action and public intellectualism — always need reinforcing.

  Presidential chief of staff Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei has said that he has not decided yet to run for the 2013 presidential election. “Ask about my candidacy for the presidential election six months before the election,” he told reporters on Saturday when asked about his plans for the next presidential election. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s close […]

  International Solidarity Movement activist Vittorio Arrigoni was kidnapped in Gaza today.  News sources in the Gaza Strip say that the kidnappers are members of a Salafi group.  In a YouTube video, the group threatens to kill Arrigoni in 30 hours, counting from 11 AM in Gaza (10 AM in Italy), if the Hamas government […]

  Tuesday, April 12, 2011 Yassin Al-Hajj Saleh in the New York Times Of course, Saleh suffered from the brutality of the Syrian regime and I share many of his criticisms of the Syrian regime although I don’t share his decision to write about Syria in racist anti-Syrian (people) right-wing publications, like An-Nahar and Al-Hayat […]

  The Icelandic nation has now delivered its verdict and shouldered unequivocally the responsibility it is granted by the Constitution.  The turnout was high by Western standards, and this, together with the extensive and thorough debate in the run-up to the referendum, shows clearly how important the issue was to the nation. The people have […]

Recent events in Wisconsin have highlighted the necessity of collective bargaining.  The governor of Wisconsin notwithstanding, collective bargaining is recognized internationally in numerous conventions, constitutions, and courts as a human right. Legal Background Our Constitution addresses the right of collective bargaining.  The Thirteenth Amendment provides that “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment […]

  The West should not arm the Libyan opposition, says Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. This video was released by Press TV on 30 March 2011.  Cf. “Moscow absolutely disagrees with statements by certain participants in the operation in Libya and their intentions to arm rebels who resisted Muammar Gaddafi’s troops” (“Russia, Austria Reveal Close […]

  Against the strong will of Ohioans, the House Commerce and Labor Committee passed a version of Senate Bill 5 today that goes further in gutting the rights of workers and destroying the working middle class than the bill passed by the Senate. This blatant assault on working families, orchestrated by Gov. Kasich and his […]

COSATU has reiterated its position in support of the legitimate and genuine struggles of the people and workers of the Middle East and North Africa for democracy, human dignity and social justice.  In doing so, we however, seek to exercise caution in the manner Western powers claim to be advancing the struggle for democracy in […]

  Is the “Provisional Transitional National Council of Libya” the kind of leadership for whom self-respecting Libyans would want to carry assault rifles, machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, Manpads, and so on?  IMHO, a resounding NO, but, dear reader, draw your own conclusion. — Ed. * * * Excerpt from Eric Ruder, “No U.S. intervention in […]

  Position Statement of the Coalition for a Republic In the name of our glorious religion and international conventions on human rights and on the principle of the right of nations to decide their destiny, and based on our long struggle and sacrifices against the oppressive and corrupt Al-Khalifa regime, we hereby declare a tripartite […]

Iran’s Chairman of Assembly of Experts Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani lost his post as head of the body on Tuesday, Iranian news agencies said.

“We don’t want to negotiate. We want to end the monarchy. We want to end the monarchy. Down with the monarchy!” “Down with the monarchy!” “The people want democracy!” “The people want democracy!”

  Ohio’s Senate Bill 5 passed today, 17-16. — Ed. Rigged Game So, after a full and fair debate on SB#5 before a Committee the majority of whom are Republicans, the Bill was going down to defeat.  Two Republican Senators, Hughes and Seitz had reasoned the Bill was unfair to public employees and was overreaching. […]