The historic election of Barak Obama brought with it high expectations for a new direction in American foreign policy towards Cuba. Unfortunately, hope has turned into disappointment halfway through his first term: the President continues to miss opportunities to alter the dynamics of the consistently contentious US-Cuba relationship. While the recent discharge of political […]
Subjects Archives: Movements
“Dear Afghanistan”: A New Year’s Call for Peace
While the US may be the world’s single superpower in military terms, it faces another superpower: the voices of war-weary millions who detest violence and killing. In Afghanistan, in the United States, and among the populations of countries whose governments have joined the NATO coalition, millions of people are calling for an end to war […]
We Are Afghans for Peace
“We believe the US and NATO forces cannot liberate Afghan women, nor defeat the Taliban, nor bring peace and stability to Afghanistan.”
Afghanistan and Iran: War, Human Rights, and Socioeconomic Development
Listen to the interview with Jerica Arents and Mary Dean: Jerica Arents: What’s interesting, we heard many people who are in higher echelons of society [in Bamiyan Province in Afghanistan] say that “US forces need to stay, they are protecting us,” but ordinary people, ordinary Afghans, whom we talked to said, “We want the […]
Palestine Solidarity Activist Maureen Murphy on Receiving FBI Subpoena
December 22, 2010 The Committee to Stop FBI Repression is circulating the following statement from Palestine solidarity activist Maureen Murphy. Maureen is the managing editor of the popular online publication, Electronic Intifada, and she is also the co-chair of the Chicago Committee Against Political Repression, which has been leading work in Chicago to oppose […]
Georgia Prisoners’ Demands Delivered to Sonny Perdue’s Offices in Washington, DC
On December 20, dozens of people crowded the office of Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue and the National Governors Association offices in Washington, DC, to present the governor with the demands set by prisoners in his state who had been on strike since December 9: a living wage for work, educational opportunities, decent health care, […]
A Land Called Paradise
In December 2007, over 2,000 American Muslims were asked what they wished they could say to the world. This is what they said. Lena Khan is an independent filmmaker. Music by Kareem Salama. You can vote for this film at the Web site of Women’s Voices Now, “a not-for-profit social enterprise,” which is holding […]
Fintan O’Toole’s Own Cultural Revolution
Fintan O’Toole. Enough Is Enough: How to Build a New Republic. Faber. £12.99. Suppose you were swept to power on the back of a massive popular vote — say something like 80%, the kind of number that usually has the USA and its client states jumping up and down and calling you a leftist narco-terrorist. […]
Pseudo-Privatization in the Islamic Republic: Beyond the Headlines on Iran’s Economic Transformation
When discussing the current state of Iran’s economy, commentators, activists, politicians, and the U.S. government all seem to agree on the massive role played by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Stanford University Professor Abbas Milani told an audience at the Carnegie Endowment in Washington, D.C. in June 2010 that this “military junta” controls “minimally […]
Why the Labor Show Isn’t Being Broadcast on KPFA
To listeners of the labor show on KPFA, Today is the fifth Wednesday that you haven’t heard the labor show at its normal time, 7:30 AM on Wednesday. I’m writing to explain why, and to ask you to take action to support the work we’ve done and would like to continue. This show broadcast for […]
WikiLeaks Cables Show Why Washington Won’t Allow Democracy in Haiti
The polarization of the debate around WikiLeaks is pretty simple, really. Of all the governments in the world, the United States government is the greatest threat to world peace and security today. This is obvious to anyone who looks at the facts with a modicum of objectivity. The Iraq war has claimed hundreds of thousands, […]
It’s Sandy Pope vs. Hoffa Jr. for Teamster President
December 14, 2010 We did it! Teamsters across the country hit the pavement and collected the signatures we needed to accredit our campaign for General President. The election rules required that we turn in 33,437 signatures. Our goal was 40,000. Today, our campaign turned in more than 50,000 signatures to the Election Supervisor. It […]
Lift Sanctions against Iran: Interview with Hooman Majd
Hooman Majd: Most average Americans, if they only follow the news on Iran the way it is presented, wouldn’t even know that there is a parliament, wouldn’t even know that there are three branches of government in Iran, like America: there’s the executive; there’s the legislative, which is the parliament; and there’s the judiciary. […]
Israel and the Iranian Opposition
On Sunday, 12 December, the Iran Committee organized a demonstration in Amsterdam against “human rights violations” in Iran. This committee was initiated by the Centre for Information and Documentation about Israel (CIDI), which is an influential pro-Israel lobby. The leadership of this committee consists of right-wing politicians, Christian fundamentalists, anti-Muslim racists, and unfortunately a […]
Egyptian Elections and US Foreign Policy
Reed Lindsay: It’s election day in Egypt, the second round of parliamentary balloting. But in this working-class suburb of Cairo, few people seem to care. “There are no free and fair elections. All the opposition parties withdrew. A lot of us are unemployed. So why should we vote?” “All we are seeing is corruption, […]
Anti-Democratic Behavior of US and Canadian Governments Denounced by Their Own Citizens on Global Day for Climate Justice at UN Climate Change Conference
US and Canadian UN COP16 observers and climate justice activists will demonstrate against their governments’ position at the climate change conference by joining the Via Campesina and Espacio Mexicano marches and sit-ins throughout Cancun today, then gather at the Cancun Messe this afternoon at 4pm to deliver a specific message to US & Canadian […]
Ex-offenders and the Labor Market
Executive Summary: We use Bureau of Justice Statistics data to estimate that, in 2008, the United States had between 12 and 14 million ex-offenders of working age. Because a prison record or felony conviction greatly lowers ex-offenders’ prospects in the labor market, we estimate that this large population lowered the total male employment rate that […]
Visualizing Social Movement Cultures: Movement as Producer
Social movements redefine what it means to be an artist. Dara Greenwald is a media artist. Her collaborative work often takes the form of video, writing, and cultural organizing. Some of her works may be viewed at <daragreenwald.com>. Josh MacPhee is an artist, curator, and activist. He is a member of the art collective […]
The FBI and the Murder of a Black Panther: From COINTELPRO to Post 9/11 Repression
It was cold in the tiny, windowless interview room at the Wood Street Police Station. I looked across the wooden table at the large-boned woman with a short Afro who was shaking and sobbing. . . . “Fred never really woke up,” she said. “He was lying there when they pulled me out of […]
Haiti: A Seismic Election
Juliana Ruhfus: In these elections Haitians actually have a choice between no less than 19 different presidential candidates. . . . Haiti’s political history has been one of revolt, dictatorship, and violence. . . . Democracy arrived in the country in 1990, with the election of the priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide. But, over the following […]
