September 2007

by Drew Hendricks

Violence, as a tactic, works.

I know that this axiom makes most people uncomfortable, especially those of us against war. But it is obvious to any reader of history that violence has made the world we live in today. It has shaped our nation states, our ethnicities, our graveyards, our economy and our languages. Even when we challenge each others’ actions on our listservs, our arguments quickly dichotomize.

February 2007

by Drew Hendricks

Many people in our community oppose the war in Iraq. And while I often agree with my community on issues of war and peace, in this instance I disagree. I do not oppose the war in Iraq.

I don't think that the United States should have any troops stationed anywhere outside the United States. I'm against the Empire. But what those troops are doing in Iraq is not a war -- it's an occupation. It's the colonial administration of another nation, and the suppression of the people of that nation. It's a war crime, and I oppose it. But the war isn't being fought by the US military. The . . .

January 2007

by Aleta DeBee and Dave Zink

The time to change our society is now, says David C. Korten in his newest book, The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community.

World domination and exploitation for narrow, short-sighted purposes is failing, because it has the seeds of its own destruction built into it. This "empire" system, developed by the economic elite and amoral corporations, needs to be replaced by another system, which Korten calls "Earth Community." We need to choose to do more supporting and helping other nations, as well as making the economy within our own country more equitable. . . .

June 2006

by Marco Rosaire Rossi

Despite the lofty rhetoric, the United States did not fight the Cold War against the tyranny of Communism. The former Soviet Union was a side issue for the United States. The primary targets and victims of the Cold War, both domestically and abroad, were democratic forces that could demonstrate that more inclusive social systems -- particularly economic and political - are possible. It was often the case, as in Central and South America, that United States sought to drive left-leaning political systems into the arms of the Soviets as a pretext for military invasion. For . . .

May 2006

by Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman

Hawaii, Cuba, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Honduras, Iran, Guatemala, South Vietnam, Chile, Grenada, Panama, Afghanistan, Iraq

What do these 14 governments have in common?

You got it. The United States overthrew them. And in almost in every case, the overthrow can be traced to corporate interests.

April 2006

by Jeremy Scahill

Slobodan Milosevic is characterized in the obituaries as the "Butcher of the Balkans." If that is the story you want to read about, please go to almost any other media outlet and read it again and again. Some are now suggesting that death is Milosevic's final revenge, that he "ended up cheating history" by dying before judgment was passed. But the world has already passed judgment on Milosevic and what is being cheated by his death is history itself.

December 2005

by Tyler Rougeau

Note: I have written previously in these pages about the human rights situation in Haiti since the ousting of democratically elected President Jean Bertrand Aristide; see the September, 2005 issue of Works In Progress. In sum, the situation is grave and little acknowledgement of US involvement in the violence, both militaristic and economic, is making the headlines. Despite the mainstream silence, one can read limited coverage of the political climate in Haiti in such alternative press sources as NarcoNews, Democracy Now! and, to a lesser extent, CounterPunch. These sources are . . .