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Endorse Our Proposal!
We have placed a Proposal for a Participatory Socialist International online for you to consider endorsing. The page includes the proposal and also information about its origins, process and context including the Fifth International gathering planned for Caracas this April, as well as a link if you decide to endorse, and, of course, a list of initial endorsers and links to see all endorsers.
We hope you will join Vandana Shiva, Noam Chomsky, Fernando Vegas, John Pilger, Trevor Ngwane, Pervez Hoodbhoy, Susan George, Boris Kagarlitsky, Francois Houtart, Michael Albert and many more...to Endorse!
We also have an extensive vision and strategy poll online for all Sustainers, Writers, Free Members, and Resoc members. Taking this poll will aid new ZCom efforts. Please Take the Poll
Two recent books on the future, both seeking to interpret selected aspects of a rapidly moving, technologically complex world, are each deeply flawed but well worth examining for what's missing.
The government of Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, is bolstered by thousands of newly trained police and security forces whose stated aim is to eliminate Islamist groups that may pose a threat to its power - namely Hamas and their supporters.
This article briefly examines some major areas of American foreign policy and the continuities and changes therein after a year of Obama’s presidency.
Progressive activists and writers continually bemoan the fact that the news they generate and the opinions they express are consistently ignored by the mainstream media, and thus kept from the masses of the American people. This disregard of progressive thought is tantamount to a definition of the mainstream media. It doesn't have to be a conspiracy; it's a matter of who owns the mainstream media and the type of journalists they hire - men and women who would like to keep their jobs; so it's more insidious than a conspiracy, it's what's built into the system, it's how the system works. The disregard of the progressive world is of course not total; at times some of that world makes too good copy to ignore, and, on rare occasions, progressive ideas, when they threaten to become very popular, have to be countered.
Most people - to paraphrase the radical British poet Adrian Mitchell - ignore most history because most history ignores most people. It is traditionally the domain of “great” people: conquerors and kings, statesmen and generals, prophets and pioneers. Other people - the overwhelming majority - don’t get much of a look in. At best they are like extras in a Hollywood epic, relegated to the periphery. Or, at most, momentarily - and anonymously - propelled to the centre of the action in a mob or battle scene.
The country faces a serious crisis in the form of a manufactured crisis over the budget deficit. This is a crisis because concerns over the size of the budget deficit are preventing the government from taking the steps needed to reduce the unemployment rate. This creates the absurd situation where we have millions of people who are unemployed, not because of their own lack of skills or unwillingness to work, but because people like Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke mismanaged the economy.
The Golden Rule is in danger. No, not the famed ethical code -- though proponents of selfishness certainly have ignored it -- but a thirty-foot sailing ship of the same name that rose to prominence about half a century ago.
Beginning his fourth year as president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa confronts a major challenge from some of the very social actors that propelled him into office, primarily over the control of the country's extractive resources.
If there is any indicator of the toll that the Great Recession has taken on the public, it would be the statistics beginning to emerge about hunger in the US.
If freedom is defined by a state’s non-participation in economic processes, as the Heritage Foundation suggests, then Haiti today would win first prize, as after the earthquake, it has no government at all.
A country of sharp inequality and class polarization, Honduras recently returned to the frontlines in the battle for Latin America’s soul. The terrain of struggle has shifted on multiple occasions over the last seven months, following the military coup against the democratically-elected President, Manuel “Mel” Zelaya. The battle entered its latest phase last week with the ascension to power of Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo. Lobo was inaugurated on January 27, following his victory in the fraudulent November 29 election last year. Hundreds of thousands of Hondurans greeted the inauguration with a spirited march through the capital, Tegucigalpa, against the coup and his presidency.
Optimism dominated Obama’s State of the Union address. He confidently stated that the financial system had stabilized, and economic growth had begun. It was the same “we’ve turned the corner” cheerleading that begun on day two of the recession; and the same corner has been proclaimed “turned” and returned dozens of times since by the media, politicians, and Wall Street CEO’s.
Organized labor and its allies are rightly alarmed over the high incidence of on-the-job accidents that have killed or maimed many thousands of workers. But they haven’t forgotten  nor should we forget  the on-the-job violence that also afflicts many thousands.
In the immediate aftermath of a catastrophe like the earthquake in Haiti, you’re focused on one question: How can I help? It’s the right question, but the answer isn’t always what it seems. Many people assume that donating to a large relief agency is the surest way to help meet the overwhelming need. People trust a name-brand; and in fact, these organizations do have a critical role to play, especially where government doesn’t or can’t assume full responsibility for disaster relief.
The Israeli military may be much less effective in winning wars than it was in the past, thanks to the stiffness of Arab resistance. But its military strategists are as shrewd and unpredictable as ever. The recent rhetoric that has escalated from Israel suggests that a future war in Lebanon will most likely target Syria as well. While this doesn’t necessarily mean that Israel actually intends on targeting either of these countries in the near future, it is certainly the type or language that often precedes Israeli military maneuvers.
Over the past four decades Israel has defrauded Palestinians working inside Israel of more than $2 billion by deducting from their salaries contributions for welfare benefits to which they were never entitled, Israeli economists have revealed.
Congratulations to the Swiss Canton of Jura, which recently accepted the asylum claims of two Uighur prisoners at Guantánamo, and to the Swiss federal government for agreeing to accept Jura’s decision on Wednesday.
The Global War on Terror is now resulting in an erosion of civil liberties in the United States. We must consider cases such as the one of Fahad Hashmi, which illustrates the overreaching powers that have come to characterize the Federal Government, the intelligence community, and the American justice system through the War on Terror.
Feburary 1st, 2010 was the 50th anniversary of the student sit-in at a white’s only, Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro, N.C. that sparked the 60’s civil rights movement. I suspect that those four brave students, Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, Ezell Blair Jr. and David Richmond, had no idea that their action would be the spark that it was. I suspect that they did what they did because it was the right thing to do and because of people and events that influenced them to the point where they felt the strength to take this very real risk.
U.S. military action in Afghanistan originated in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. That was then. This is now. Reasons for the war have become more cloudy as other factors have developed.
Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates's trip to Pakistan this weekend has in many ways been public relations disaster, and I think it is fair to say that he came away empty-handed with regard to his chief policy goals in Islamabad. Getting Pakistan right is key to President Barack Obama's policy of escalating the Afghanistan War, and judging by Gates's visit to Islamabad, Obama is in worse shape on the AfPak front than he is even in Massachusetts. Since he has bet so heavily on Afghanistan and Pakistan, this rocky road could be momentous for his presidency.
On January 12, Haiti was hit with an earthquake 7.0 on the Richter scale, leaving possibly 200,000 dead and 3 million affected. Much of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital, is now living in makeshift camps with their water, food, and health at risk. While many countries around the world responded with aid, the US and Canada also quickly deployed troops. This talk will discuss current events and press coverage in the context of the past decade of Western policy towards Haiti, as well as the prospects for constructive relief and solidarity work.
An excerpt from the DVD "Theory and Practice: Conversations With Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn" in which Prof. Zinn answers interviewer Sasha Lilley's questions about anarchism and Marxism.
Writer Justin Podur visited Haiti in 2005, studying the government after the coup that overthrew the elected government of Jean Bertrand Aristide in 2004. In this video recorded January 18, 2010, he discusses the Haiti earthquake and some of the political context of relief efforts, including how Haiti was governed prior to the earthquake.
If freedom is defined by a state’s non-participation in economic processes, as the Heritage Foundation suggests, then Haiti today would win first prize, as after the earthquake, it has no government at all.
Feburary 1st, 2010 was the 50th anniversary of the student sit-in at a white’s only, Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro, N.C. that sparked the 60’s civil rights movement. I suspect that those four brave students, Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, Ezell Blair Jr. and David Richmond, had no idea that their action would be the spark that it was. I suspect that they did what they did because it was the right thing to do and because of people and events that influenced them to the point where they felt the strength to take this very real risk.
President Salvador Allende once again overlooks baroque Presidential Palace La Moneda in the heart of Santiago de Chile. This time his body is not made of flesh and bones but of stone - he is nothing more than a statue - but his head is still high, his eyes are fixed towards the future and it seems that he is marching forward surrounded by his stunningly beautiful country.
Look at the front page of the New York Times (Jan 17)... and you'd swear that chaos and violence are running rampant in Haiti, that everyone from journalists to relief workers must be risking their necks just to venture out into the streets... Then listen to the audio feed from the same Times reporters... It turns out there are just a few pockets and a small number of vandals at work. The overwhelming majority of Haitians are attempting to survive without trashing their stores and knifing each other over welfare supplies. Even more ironic, the Times audio report says that fears of such violence are playing a part in delaying the aid effort, with relief workers leery of possible danger. Unfortunately the Times itself, by playing the sensational photos...is itself putting out a badly distorted picture of what is actually going on.
When the United States first realized circa 1970 that its hegemonic dominance was being threatened by the growing economic (and hence geopolitical) strength of western Europe and Japan, it changed its posture, seeking to prevent western Europe and Japan from taking too independent a position in world affairs.
American historian, playwright and social activist Howard Zinn died January 27, 2010, aged 87. Below is an excerpt from his recent book A Power Governments Cannot Suppress published by City Lights Books.
Two recent books on the future, both seeking to interpret selected aspects of a rapidly moving, technologically complex world, are each deeply flawed but well worth examining for what's missing.
The government of Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, is bolstered by thousands of newly trained police and security forces whose stated aim is to eliminate Islamist groups that may pose a threat to its power - namely Hamas and their supporters.
This article briefly examines some major areas of American foreign policy and the continuities and changes therein after a year of Obama’s presidency.
Beginning his fourth year as president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa confronts a major challenge from some of the very social actors that propelled him into office, primarily over the control of the country's extractive resources.
Organized labor and its allies are rightly alarmed over the high incidence of on-the-job accidents that have killed or maimed many thousands of workers. But they haven’t forgotten  nor should we forget  the on-the-job violence that also afflicts many thousands.
Two recent books on the future, both seeking to interpret selected aspects of a rapidly moving, technologically complex world, are each deeply flawed but well worth examining for what's missing.
On January 12, Haiti was hit with an earthquake 7.0 on the Richter scale, leaving possibly 200,000 dead and 3 million affected. Much of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital, is now living in makeshift camps with their water, food, and health at risk. While many countries around the world responded with aid, the US and Canada also quickly deployed troops. This talk will discuss current events and press coverage in the context of the past decade of Western policy towards Haiti, as well as the prospects for constructive relief and solidarity work.
President Salvador Allende once again overlooks baroque Presidential Palace La Moneda in the heart of Santiago de Chile. This time his body is not made of flesh and bones but of stone - he is nothing more than a statue - but his head is still high, his eyes are fixed towards the future and it seems that he is marching forward surrounded by his stunningly beautiful country.
Look at the front page of the New York Times (Jan 17)... and you'd swear that chaos and violence are running rampant in Haiti, that everyone from journalists to relief workers must be risking their necks just to venture out into the streets... Then listen to the audio feed from the same Times reporters... It turns out there are just a few pockets and a small number of vandals at work. The overwhelming majority of Haitians are attempting to survive without trashing their stores and knifing each other over welfare supplies. Even more ironic, the Times audio report says that fears of such violence are playing a part in delaying the aid effort, with relief workers leery of possible danger. Unfortunately the Times itself, by playing the sensational photos...is itself putting out a badly distorted picture of what is actually going on.
When the United States first realized circa 1970 that its hegemonic dominance was being threatened by the growing economic (and hence geopolitical) strength of western Europe and Japan, it changed its posture, seeking to prevent western Europe and Japan from taking too independent a position in world affairs.
U.S. military action in Afghanistan originated in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. That was then. This is now. Reasons for the war have become more cloudy as other factors have developed.
On January 12, Haiti was hit with an earthquake 7.0 on the Richter scale, leaving possibly 200,000 dead and 3 million affected. Much of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital, is now living in makeshift camps with their water, food, and health at risk. While many countries around the world responded with aid, the US and Canada also quickly deployed troops. This talk will discuss current events and press coverage in the context of the past decade of Western policy towards Haiti, as well as the prospects for constructive relief and solidarity work.
An excerpt from the DVD "Theory and Practice: Conversations With Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn" in which Prof. Zinn answers interviewer Sasha Lilley's questions about anarchism and Marxism.
Applications for ZMI 2010 are now being accepted. Watch video introduction above. More information can be found on ZNet. Deadline for applications is Feb. 12.
I'd like to ask the 44 Nobel laureates who added their names and endorsements to the Open Letter on Iran published in the New York Times on February 7, 2010
The foreign policy segments of Obama's State of the Union address were striking both in terms of their brevity and his failure to link the economic problems at home with imperial overreach abroad. While an improvement over the neoconservative orientation
As it has in the past, the United States appears to be focusing on a military solution to complex social, political and economic problems. The result may be to exacerbate the very problem of extremism the Obama administration hopes to suppress.
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Several attempts have been made since the 60s to unify, theoretically, the diverse social movements, with the hope that this will aid the aborted fulfillment of the radical promise of the 1960s. The approach taken here to this quest for unification will b
