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Drop Charges, Release Dr. Binayak Sen Forthwith
We, the undersigned, are dismayed at the continued detention of Dr Binayak Sen, General Secretary of the Chhattisgarh People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), since May 14. Dr Binayak Sen is also the National Vice-President of the PUCL, one of the oldest civil liberties organisations in India
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The Turkish Elections — What’s at Stake . . . and What Isn’t
Turkey — We landed in Istanbul May 16 for work and to visit family and friends. We traveled to Ankara, then went southeast to villages near Kayseri, then back to Istanbul for an international anthropology conference before visiting the port city of Izmir for a few days, traveling inland again to the textile center […]
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In Favor of Democracy in the Media, for the Legitimate Right of the Venezuelan Government to Decide Who Shall Broadcast on Its Airwaves [A favor de la democracia en los medios, por el derecho legítimo del gobierno venezolano a disponer del espacio radioeléctrico]
A mediados de los años setenta, los países no alineados reclamaron un Nuevo Orden Mundial económico e informativo. Esa decisión provocó con el tiempo la retirada de Estados Unidos de la UNESCO. Durante muchas décadas, apenas cinco grandes monopolios retuvieron el control de los flujos informativos. Es solamente ahora cuando la exigencia de entender la […]
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The Nepali Revolution and International Relations
This article by John Mage of Monthly Review also appears in the May 19th, 2007, issue of Economic and Political Weekly of Mumbai, India. A revolutionary civil war in Nepal ceased de facto with the popular triumph over King Gyanendra in April 2006, and de jure with the peace agreement reached in November 2006. The […]
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Center for Labor Renewal Statement on Worker Migration
The Center for Labor Renewal was conceived in 2005 when the national U.S. labor union leadership was engaging in a ‘debate’ which largely ignored the fundamental crisis of our nation’s working class. It was launched in the Spring of 2006 following a meeting of activists from unions, worker centers, educators, and working class organizations […]
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On Biofuels and an Energy Revolution
I hold nothing against Brazil, even though to more than a few Brazilians continuously bombarded with the most diverse arguments, which can be confusing even for people who have traditionally been friendly to Cuba, we might sound callous and careless about hurting that country’s net income of hard currency. However, for me to keep silent […]
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The Music of Industrial Relations and the Reality of the Australian Labor Party
Labor Party leader Kevin Rudd and his deputy Julia Gillard are performing three different and sometimes discordant tunes as they ride high in the polls and promote their industrial relations policy. This is not just a matter of vote maximising; it tells us a lot about the nature and transformation of the Australian Labor […]
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The Nepali Revolution and International Relations
A revolutionary civil war in Nepal ceased de facto with the popular triumph over King Gyanendra in April 2006, and de jure with the peace agreement reached in November 2006. The Royal Nepal Army (“RNA”) now calls itself the Nepal Army, and the peace agreement requires its democratization under the authority of the new government that includes the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). As of the date of writing this has not yet occurred and the Nepal Army is still commanded by those, primarily of the quite literally feudal elite, who — with U. S. “advisers” — had pursued the civil war with lawless brutality and impunity. Yet it is important not to underestimate the extent of the revolutionary changes in Nepal. Today both Nepal Army and the revolutionary armed forces (the People’s Liberation Army or “PLA”) are given in substance equal status under a peace agreement negotiated by the Nepalis themselves, and administered with the assistance of the United Nations.
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Timor Poll Won’t End the Crisis
The first round of East Timor’s presidential election, held on 9 April 2007, was inconclusive, yet it brought some issues into sharp focus. Voters punished the ruling party Fretilin for presiding over a collapse in social order; but they showed little enthusiasm for the free-market polices of rival candidate Jose Ramos Horta. A sizeable […]
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Hands off Azmi! The Dangerous Politics of “A State for All Its Citizens”
Murmurings of a political tsunami are emerging with regards to Israel’s policies towards the “non-Jewish” citizens of the “Jewish democratic state.” Azmi Bishara, perhaps the most prominent political leader of the Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel, was in the midst of engaging in his routine activities of propagating the rights of the Palestinian Arab […]
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For Revolutionary Dignity: President Chávez Announces World Bank Debt Has Been Paid Off [Por la dignidad revolucionaria Presidente Chávez anunció pago de deuda con el Banco Mundial]
“Con este último pago (al Banco Mundial), esa deuda que era en 1998 de casi 3 mil millones de dólares, les puedo decir hoy que no tenemos ni un centavo de deuda ni con el Fondo Monetario Internacional, ni con el Banco Mundial”, exclamó. Declaraciones del Presidente Chávez (MP3 3m) Haga click para escuchar el […]
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The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (and Why They Don’t Want Anyone to See It)
“Out of sight, out of mind” is a basic rule of political propaganda. If a political event is not reported to the public, the public cannot react to it. If that same event is misreported, public reaction can be manipulated. U.S. reports on the attempted coup to overthrow Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in 2002 were […]
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Mugabe: Talks Radical, Acts Like a Reactionary
If you want to know what’s going on in Zimbabwe, you could try taking seriously the view commonly argued by the independent left in this region, namely that Mugabe talks radical — especially nationalist and anti-imperialist — but acts reactionary, especially to the urban poor and working people. Fortunately, we have a fresh version of […]
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Boots Riley Comes Out Swinging against the War in Iraq: The Coup Calls Up MySpace Friends to Encourage G.I. Rebellion
Boots Riley — The Coup‘s revered, thought-provoking MC — is hoping to utilize a post of his band’s incendiary, anti-war song “Captain Sterling’s Little Problem” on its MySpace Blog as a means to spark a G.I. Rebellion against the War In Iraq. Riley is encouraging The Coup’s 25,000 MySpace friends to download the “Pick A […]
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The Beginnings of a New Democratic Nepal?
John Mage of Monthly Review and Bernard D’Mello. deputy editor of Economic and Political Weekly (“EPW”) of Mumbai, India, visited Nepal in February, and trekked into Rolpa, the original base area of the revolutionary “people’s war.” The following account appears simultaneously on MRZine and in the current (March 17th) issue of EPW. Over the last […]
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Strategy and Resource Shift Needed: Auto Workers Union Need Organizing Campaign Based on an Army of Member-Organizers
Key to a new organizing strategy is for the UAW to hire and train an “army” of member-organizers. With the recent loss of many experienced members in the Big Three, this could be a good way to put talented union members to work. Photo: Jim West As the UAW prepares for this summer’s negotiations with the […]
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The Swedish Welfare State: A Model for Canadian Labor?
When I ask Canadian trade unionists and activists fighting against lower labor and social standards about their political vision, they often refer to European welfare states, notably Sweden. The Swedish social system, their reference implies, proves that there is an alternative to the neo-liberal politics of boosting profits at the expense of working people. It […]
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Help Direct the Rudderless Labor Media
In the 1980s, the right wing began its media blitz and has kept it up since then, but the labor movement has failed to match it or even develop a minimal communications network to reach union and non-union workers with information crucial to their wellbeing. The movement has no national newspaper or magazine and no […]
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Uprising against the “War on Terror”: The Danger of US Foreign Policy to International Security
For those among us who hoped that 2007 would be a more orderly year in world politics, the current trends have been frustrating. Over the past few weeks, the Bush administration has pursued the escalation of two major international crises. The first major crisis is taking place in Somalia, where the Ethiopian Army and its […]
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Freedom Fight: An interview with Milenko Srećković
Milenko Srećković is a spokesperson for the Balkan anarchist movement FreedomFight and is one of the editors of the webzine www.freedomfight.net. Q: Could you start by telling us a bit about the alternative media initiative you are involved with? A: FreedomFight is an anarchist, alter-globalist movement created in Serbia in 2003. The FreedomFight movement […]