Subjects Archives: Media

RELIGION AND THE HUMAN PROSPECT by Alexander SaxtonBUY THIS BOOK I first met Alexander Saxton in 1997 at a conference on the “problem of whiteness,” held at the University of California, Berkeley, at which we were both speakers.  Although we had never met, I considered him a mentor, particular his book, The Rise and Fall […]

The man in the cardboard box wakes up in America on the morning after the election after a night of clattering in the fuzz of high frequency bands the static on the screen attracts the dust of Emperors and Czars and postmen. He tastes the residue on his tongue babies cry, the smoke of the […]

  Cornell Global Labor Institute Honors Oscar Olivera On October 5, 2006, the Cornell Global Labor Institute held a reception to celebrate its second anniversary.  The guest of honor was Oscar Olivera, the Executive Secretary of the Federation of Factory Workers from Cochabamba , Bolivia.  The Federation was key in the formation of the Coordinator […]

En setiembre del 2006, en Lewisburg, Tennessee, un grupo de vecinos protestó porque la dirección de la biblioteca pública estaba invirtiendo recursos en la compra de libros en español.  De los sesenta mil volúmenes, sólo mil pertenecen a alguna lengua diferente al inglés.  El presupuesto del presente año, calculado en trece mil dólares, destina la […]

The left does not address public education often enough.  When it does, the focus is on financial inequities, racial segregation, or the testing fetish.  These are critical issues, but there is another of even greater significance.  If tomorrow we were to abolish the tests, remove the inequities, and integrate the schools, the educational system itself […]

Pauline Kael, the American film critic, once said that Gillo Pontecorvo was the most dangerous kind of Marxist: a Marxist poet.  When the Italian film director died last week at the age of 86, he had not made a full-length feature in over twenty-five years.  Yet the potency of Pontecorvo’s firebrand poetry can still be […]

In case you’ve been too stunned by other newsworthy disasters to pay proper attention, the Military Commissions Act of 2006 was just signed into law.  This law gives the U.S. government legal permission to do things they’ve been doing sub-legally for years, such as: designate people as “unlawful enemy combatants”; deny these people the right […]

Oiseau terrorisé par l’enfer tombant du ciel, Muhammad se niche dans l’étreinte de son père : Protège-moi De l’envol, père, mon aile est encore Petite pour le vent . . . et la lumière est noire Muhammad Voudrait rentrer à la maison, Sans vélo . . . ou chemise neuve. Il voudrait retrouver le banc […]

The National Conference for Media Reform Memphis, Tennessee January 12-14, 2007 Media reform is coming to Memphis! Mark your calendar and make your reservations — registration for the 2007 National Conference for Media Reform is now open.  This one-of-a-kind event will take place on January 12-14, 2007, in the home of the blues and birthplace […]

« Qu’est-ce que cela peut faire que je lutte pour la mauvaise cause, puisque je suis de bonne foi ?  Et qu’est-ce que ça peut faire que je sois de mauvaise foi, puisque je lutte pour la bonne cause. » — Jacques Prévert A 84 ans, il reste un éternel jeune homme.  Ce Casamançais de […]

  Nearly 45 religious leaders from Christian and Muslim faith backgrounds met with the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Sept. 20, in an open discussion about the role religious communities can play in reversing the deepening crisis between Iran and the United States. This was the first face-to-face meeting between the Iranian leader and leaders from […]

  Prodded by Amnesty International (AI), the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Asian Human Rights Commission, Reporters Without Borders, and other international organizations, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo recently cobbled a group to look into the allegations of massive human rights violations — over 729 victims of extrajudicial killings, and 180 involuntary “disappearances,” by the latest count — during her […]

  Caracas, 27 August 2006 Dear Friend, It is my great pleasure, on behalf of the Centro Internacional Miranda (CIM, Miranda International Centre), to contact you to tell you that the Centro Internacional Miranda now exists.  As a sympathizer with and an activist in the Bolivarian cause, we value your cooperation highly and we hope […]

  In the Name of God Ladies and Gentlemen, Distinguished Guests, “As-Salam-u-‘Alaikum” — Peace be upon you. Knowledge of the human soul has been one of the most significant debates in philosophical discourse throughout history.  A part of this tale was written in the Orient and another part in the Occident.  It is important to […]

POST-9/11 SCIENCE: AMERICANS ARE WORLD’S ONLY HUMANS (PU) Just in time for the 5th anniversary of the World Trade Center disaster, scientists have discovered that United States citizens — alone out of every other people on planet Earth — possess qualities identifying them as homo sapiens. The finding was announced today at the Center for […]

  (for Ash and his birthplace) Within the rubble, Child’s face, doll’s face, unblinking Blushing in red dawn Russell Ragsdale is a chef in Almaty, Kazakhstan.  Visit his blog: Yuckelbel’s Canon.

To anyone who understands the real history of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and has read the many meticulously well-documented books on this topic by scholars and activists,1 the mainstream media coverage of Israel’s war on Lebanon and Gaza is woefully inadequate and decidedly biased.  Again and again, over the last two weeks, the media in the […]

IRAN: A THREAT TO THE UNITED STATES? Issues to be addressed include: The century-long history of big power intervention in Iran. The US-Iran conflict over Iran’s nuclear energy program.  What are the international legal issues?  What do the Iranian people think? Impact of sanctions or US military intervention.  What is the likely impact on Iran […]

Friday, July 14, 2006 Bang?  Blog! 2 years of laziness before starting this blog. i’ll begin then by thanking israel who burned in one night two years of efforts to avoid getting myself trapped in this adventure.  good job guys!  especially the airport party.  and the bridges.  no way to leave the country.  nothing else […]

  A significant sentence. On the Al Jazeera Web site, there was a report of Saudi Arabia’s condemnation of Hamas’ and  Hizbullah’s “adventurism.”  The Saudis claimed that “gains” made by Arab leaders were being put in danger.  The Al Jazeera report carried the pithy comment to the effect that the Saudi government did not say […]