Gberie: Sierra Leone Elections14 Oct 2007The peaceful transfer of power from ruling party to opposition after democratic elections still merits headlines in West Africa. When this happens in a country with a history of political violence, coups and a brutal civil war (only recently ended), the effect is chastening.
Raina: Right-Wing Constructions of God14 Oct 2007Say: ‘Unbelievers, I do not serve what you worship,nor do you serve what I worship. I shall never servewhat you worship, nor will you ever serve what Iworship.
Gopal: A shameful silence14 Oct 2007We have become accustomed to theatrical displays of intolerance: death threats against writers, bonfires of novels, plays shut down, vandals defacing paintings. The danger, however, is that this obscures the more insidious forms that the suppression of dissent can take.
Fall: Justice for Sankara14 Oct 2007[Aziz Fall, Co-ordinator of the International Campaign for Justice for Sankara (ICJS) Interview by Koni Benson and Mukoma Wa Ngugi] President Thomas Sankara, affectionately referred to as Africa’s Che Guevera was assassinated in Burkina Faso on October 15th, 1987. Twenty years later, his assassins remain in power and continue to reverse the revolutionary changes Sankara initiated.
Karpel: The one who makes people talk14 Oct 2007“We – Israeli soldiers – were put there to punish the Palestinians,” says Ilan Vilenda, an Israeli soldier who served in Rafah during the first Intifada. Ilan is the only soldier of 21 who agreed to have his name published, after he was interviewed by psychologist Nofer Ishai-Karen.
Barker: Promoting Humanitarian Imperialism in Cuba and Beyond14 Oct 2007“People in Need (PIN) is a Czech organization that provides relief aid and development assistance, while working to defend human rights and democratic freedom… PIN is one of the largest organizations of its kind in post-communist Europe, and has administered projects in thirty-seven countries over the past fourteen years.” – People in Need (2007) Formerly known as the Epicentrum Foundation, People In Need was founded in 1992 by “conflict journalists” and “dissidents and leaders of the Czechoslovak Velvet Revolution”, only changing it name to People in Need (PIN) in 1994 when they began to work in partnership with Czech Public Service Television.
Ritter: Oil, Israel, and America: The Root Cause of the Crisis14 Oct 2007There is no shortage of examples of historical points of friction between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States to draw upon in order to illustrate the genesis of the current level of tension. One can point to the Islamic revolution that cast aside America’s staunch ally, Reza Shah Pahlevi, the period of reactionary exportation of Islamic “revolution” that followed, the take over of the US Embassy and subsequent holding of Americans hostage (replete with a failed rescue mission), the Iranian use of proxies to confront American military involvement in Lebanon, inclusive of the bombing of the Marine barracks and US Embassy compounds, America’s support of Saddam Hussein during the 8-year war between Iran and Iraq, the ‘hot’ conflict between Iran and the United States in the late 1980s, or Iran’s ongo.
Bloice: When All is Said and Done: It’s the Occupation14 Oct 2007The reason there is no progress toward ending the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians and a more general move toward peace in the Middle East is that some people are opposed to it and there is a widespread notion floating around that all the opposition is all on one side. Don’t believe it.
Raitt: Stealth nuke effort should be stopped14 Oct 2007Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Graham Nash and Harvey Wasserman are among the co-founders of Musicians United for Safe Energy. They recently recorded a music video that can be seen at NukeFree.
Markland: White guys with guns: Canada’s military in Afghanistan14 Oct 2007The current incarnation of the Canadian military mission in Afghanistan began in February of 2006, and followed earlier military commitments beginning in the fall of 2001. Now operating mainly under NATO command as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), the array of Canadian Forces’ roles has several notable aspects, some of which overlap: about 1200 troops make up the Canadian battle group headquartered at Kandahar Airfield, along with several hundred support personnel; over 100 soldiers comprise the bulk of the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) based out Camp Nathan Smith in Kandahar City; the Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team (“omelette”), which embeds with and trains Afghan troops; and the Strategic Advisory Team (SAT) which is embedded with various Afghan government ministries in Kabul.
Ehrenreich: John Templeton’s Universe13 Oct 2007What is the purpose of the universe, anyway? I hadn’t started reading the Sunday papers with this question in mind, but after slogging through mass rapes in Congo, bombings in Baghdad and K-Fed’s worthiness as a father, I could no longer dodge it. Then, in the middle of the New York Times Week in Review section-some of the priciest real estate in the print industry-I came across a two-full-page ad under the headline ‘Does the Universe Have a Purpose?’ p class=”MsoNormal.
Russell: Al Gore should be arrested13 Oct 2007Today, the Nobel Committee awarded the Peace Prize to Al Gore (and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – The IPCC). We’re very happy for him at RAN.
Scahill: Iraqis Sue Blackwater for Baghdad Killings13 Oct 2007Blackwater USA is facing a lawsuit over the September 16 killings in Baghdad’s Nisour Square. The largest mercenary company working for the US State Department in Iraq, Blackwater may soon need more lawyers on its payroll than it has armed operatives in Baghdad.
Landau: David and Goliath in Iraq13 Oct 2007“In the Valley of Elah” has Hollywood relying on cell phone images from Iraq that Mike Deerfield sent to his father via email. Despite the amateur sound and picture quality, we discern armed soldiers riding in a vehicle, the sounds of cursing, a man screaming in pain and others laughing.
Golan: Formalizing Apartheid Masked as a Peace Initiative12 Oct 2007Next month the US plans to host a regional meeting to discuss peace in the Middle East, or at least peace between Israel and the Palestinians. The maneuvering, deal making and negotiating about what will be on the table has been going on for some time.
Street: What Would Obama Have Done? Voted for the War and Lied About It – Just Like Hillary12 Oct 2007It pains me to concur with corporate-neoliberal war Democrats like Bill and Hillary Clinton about anything, but Barack Obama really should tone down his campaign rhetoric about “opposing the Iraq War from the start.” On October 2, 2007, the Obama campaign made an obnoxious point of celebrating the “fifth anniversary” of the Chicago speech then State Senator Barack Obama gave in the fall of 2002.
Baroud: Burma Is Not Iraq12 Oct 2007The 2003 invasion of Iraq has enabled two important realizations. First, that imperial powers act only to preserve their interests, and second, that humanitarian intervention—i.
Ali: Why the U.S. is a self-serving empire12 Oct 2007Tariq Ali has had a long and varied career as a political activist, editor of New Left magazine, documentary filmmaker, fiction writer, journalist and Mick Jagger’s muse for the Rolling Stones’ song “Street Fighting Man” back in 1968. And while he might not “shout and scream,” “kill the king” or “rail at all the servants,” he did sit down with the Tribune to discuss the finer points of his work.
Kagarlitsky: A Hostage of the Elite12 Oct 2007I received the news that President Vladimir Putin would be heading United Russia’s federal ticket while on a visit to Harvard University. My U.
Bello: The Environmental Movement in the Global South:12 Oct 2007The developing world’s stance towards the question of the environment has often been equated with the pugnacious comments of former Malaysian Prime Minister Mohamad Mahathir, such as his famous lines at the Rio Conference on the Environment and Development in June 1992:When the rich chopped down their own forests, built their poison-belching factories and scoured the world for cheap resources, the poor said nothing. Indeed they paid for the development of the rich.
Golub: The sun sets early on the American Century12 Oct 2007The disastrous outcome of the invasion and occupation of Iraq has caused a crisis in the power elite of the United States deeper than that resulting from defeat in Vietnam 30 years ago. Ironically, it is the very coalition of ultra-nationalists and neo-conservatives that coalesced in the 1970s, seeking to reverse the Vietnam syndrome, restore US power and revive “the will to victory”, that has caused the present crisis.
Cromwell: Colonising Iraq’s Economic Prize11 Oct 2007An Equitable Sharing of Resources?We are led to believe that Western societies are free and open. In many respects this is true: freedom of speech and the right to protest still exist, albeit within ever-tighter constraints.
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