“But we can’t eat rights, hawu!” Those five words of protest from the lips of South Africa’s underclass sting like a slap in the face. Good liberals will always take offense. We find ourselves scrambling desperately to battle the mad claim that “things were better under apartheid.” “But of what worth is a job,” we […]
Subjects Archives: Movements
Politics of the Earthquake: Respect the People of Haiti
In June of 2004, I went to Haiti with two other members of the Haiti Action Committee. We were there to investigate the effects of the political earthquake in which the democratically elected government of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide had been overthrown by a coup orchestrated by the United States, France and Canada. What we […]
Secularism: For a Broad, Open, and Democratic Debate
The journal À bâbord! [To Portside] will sponsor, on Friday, 22 January at the University of Québec at Montreal, a colloquium titled “Québec in Search of Secularism.”1 With Guy Rocher, Françoise David is a guest of honor at the event. For several months, nay several years, there has been an intense debate on secularism, […]
Who Will Lead Haiti’s Security?
There appear to be some rising tensions between countries leading the relief efforts in Haiti. We know the US is sending in upwards of 10,000 troops to the country. But since 2004, Brazil’s military has been the commanding force leading the Haiti UN peacekeeping mission, technically referred to as MINUSTAH. Brazil has about 1,700 […]
China to Send “Lower-level” Envoy to P5+1 Talks on Iran Sanctions
In yet another demonstration of the (in)effectiveness of the Obama Administration’s quixotic quest to get China on board for what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton used to call “crippling sanctions,” the Chinese foreign ministry announced that Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei, who has been representing Beijing at meetings of the P5+1 political directors regarding […]
Make Bologna History!
Celebrating Bologna? We don’t think so. International Call for Participation On March 11 and 12, 2010, the education ministers of 46 European countries will celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Bologna process in Vienna and Budapest. Given the current situation in many European universities and the ongoing protests for the freedom of education, this […]
Emir Sader: The Post-Neoliberal Challenge
With the passing of a year and the coming of another, it’s time to look at the balance sheet and define the prospects. Who can help us do so better than Brazilian sociologist and political scientist Emir Sader, one of the best-known critical thinkers in our America today? Sader is currently executive secretary of […]
Year of Resistance: Interview with Eva Golinger
Listen to Sheehan’s interview with Golinger: Eva Golinger: Venezuela is a very wealthy country in oil and gas reserves. It’s actually one of the largest oil producers in the world. It has over 24% of oil reserves in the entire world. That’s a lot for a country of 27 million people. And of course […]
Invitation to a Home-Based Worker Organizing Forum
Dear Brother or Sister: We are writing because of our shared interest in the challenge of organizing and representing home-based workers. As labor activists, direct care providers, or academic researchers, we have all been involved in aiding or studying organizing work among publicly-funded personal care attendants and child care providers, plus other types of […]
Wake Up, It’s Happening NOW!A New Immigrant Revolution Takes Shape
On January 1, five South Florida residents stopped eating in a protest action. They are demanding that the Obama administration take measures now to put an end to the deportations that are separating families — at least until Congress can provide more permanent relief by fixing our harsh immigration laws. The Fast for Our Families […]
Labor Leaders of Venezuela’s Heavy Industries Respond to Electricity-Saving Measures
The Venezuelan government’s measures to reduce national electricity consumption amidst nationwide shortages and rolling power outages have provoked varied responses from unionists in the basic industries, especially the steel and aluminum sectors. Venezuela’s electricity consumption has increased by more than 40% over the last ten years, driven largely by five years of consecutive high economic […]
The Changing Face of Labor, 1983-2008
The kind of left-wing politics that arises when men in the private sector are the majority of organized labor and the kind that may arise when women in the public sector are the majority of it cannot be the same. In the core capitalist countries, it is likely to be a Left which has figured […]
Stop-Loss
Listen to “Stop-Loss” “Army Specialist and Iraq war veteran Marc Hall was incarcerated by the US Army on December 11, 2009, in Liberty County Jail, Georgia, for recording a song [“Stop-Loss”] that expresses his anger over the Army’s stop-loss policy. Stop-loss is a policy that allows the Army to keep soldiers active beyond the […]
Iran: The Green Movement and US Foreign Policy
Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich: . . . I think there’s nothing new that the West is painting a distorted image of what’s going on in Iran. I also want to mention that it’s very normal to have political dissent in any country. Iran is not unique in that sense. But what’s happening is by distorting the […]
Mousavi Makes Five Proposals
Former presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi has issued a statement in which he condemned the disrespect of religious sanctities by some protesters on Ashura day (December 27) and made five proposals for resolving the current issues facing the country, the Tabnak website reported on Friday. The reformist politician also criticized some of the actions taken […]
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
On December 31, 2009, a march and demonstration is planned in the Gaza Strip to protest the occupation and siege of the territory. Tens of thousands of Gazan residents, joined by hundreds of marchers from the U.S. and around the world, are expected to take part in this historic act of civil disobedience. The […]
Gaza Aid Convoy Members on Hunger Strike
Sunday 28 December 10.35am. Aqaba, Jordan The compound where our convoy members gather during the day, here in Aqaba, is full of activity. In exactly an hour, more than 30 of us will begin a hunger strike in protest at Egypt’s refusal to allow the convoy entry onto its soil. Everyone else is making […]
Labor Movement?
The 2010 Statistical Abstract of the United States (and especially Tables 574 to 650), published by the US Census Bureau, provides many statistics that can update understanding of today’s working class and possibilities of its movement. The Abstract counts 154 million people as members of the US labor force in 2008. Of these, 129 million […]
Senate Speech Heralds a New Social Movement
This week, the sincere effort of millions of people across the nation once again proved effective in the face of determined opposition from the White House and Congress, as single payer health reform reached another milestone in its historic journey. When the Senate initiated its debate on health insurance reform, Senator Bernie Sanders offered […]
SMS Iran (after Gilles Peress)
Every gathering with a foretold script. The security barriers mark a neutered zone for dissent. Finally though, there is this one day in Brooklyn. The air is traversed (by bridge) and the marchers walk from one bank to another. It isn’t a miracle but it is beautiful. x number of women and men for […]
