Re: Socialist Scholars Conference - reply to Justin
I sympathize with you Justin. I returned to live in the US from abroad and I think that might have something to do with your pessimism (especially if you frequent certain circles for work etc) Still, there are plenty of improvements even in the US over the last 40 years here is an excerpt from Chomsky: And at the third, and most important, level, it's a matter of our own choices. None of this is graven in stone. There are many examples rather similar to this, where things have been changed by public action. We may remember that this month, March, 2002, happens to be the 40th anniversary of the first public announcement of the U.S. attack against South Vietnam. In March, 1962, the Kennedy administration announced that the U.S. Air Force would be flying missions against the South Vietnamese. Use of chemical warfare was instituted to destroy food crops. Hundreds of thousands, ultimately millions of people were driven into concentration camps, urban slums. Napalm was authorized. All of this proceeded with no protest. That's why there's no commemoration, today, of the 40th anniversary. Nobody even remembers. There was no protest, virtually none, here in Berkeley or in anyplace, for a long time. It took years before substantial public opposition developed. It did finally develop, as somebody, Barbara, somebody pointed out, and it made a big differences. One of the differences it made is that it contributed, along with the civil rights movement and other activism of the time, to making this a much more civilized country, in many ways. I'm not talking about the leadership, I'm not talking about the intellectual classes, but the general population has changed. No American president could dream of anything remotely like that today. And the same is true in many other areas. And it didn't happen by magic or gifts from angels or anything like that. It came from committed, dedicated public activism on the part of millions and millions of people. And it did make a much better country. There's plenty wrong, but, as compared with 40 years ago, the improvement is enormous. __ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - More reliable, more storage, less spam http://mail.yahoo.com
Re: Socialist Scholars Conference - reply to Justin
I follow your point though in addition to Solidarity, CCDS and other similar groups there are more individuals than one might at times think who are sympathetic to much of what I imagine most socialists to desire. There will be ebbs and flows and a few hundred years of capitalism isnt eternity, whether we live to see something radically different or not (which would be nice). In any event, I sympathise with you and do think a nice trip to Italy and some Italian social centers might raise your spirits in the meantime... Cheers Dave --- andie nachgeborenen I am saying that the prospects for what people here are calling revolutionary socialism, the replacement of capitalism by something better, are very dim because there are no organized forces pushing for that because capital is very strong... __ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - More reliable, more storage, less spam http://mail.yahoo.com
Re: Antisemism and the Us Left/(Was Zionists American Blacks)
Naturally there is quite a difference between reparations and a law of return which by its very nature imposes costs on the Palestinian people which bears no responsability, not even vicariously through past generations in that place. Reparations are at least somewhat tied to the agents and beneficiaries of the injustice, are they not? David --- Max B. Sawicky [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Ditto. A law of return has the same logic as the reparations movement. Naturally, in that ideal sense a law of return for Palestinians follows as well. __ Do you Yahoo!? Free Pop-Up Blocker - Get it now http://companion.yahoo.com/
Re: Amnesty International
I would be grateful for assistance: Recently there was somewhere or other an article analyzing the stances that Amnesty has taken, showing its' marked preference for pro USA positions. Cheers, Hari Kumar You might try this: www.globalpolicy.org/ngos/credib/2003/1306interview.htm Is Amnesty International Biased? Dennis Bernstein Dr. Francis Boyle Discuss the Politics of Human Rights CovertAction June 13, 2002 Editor's Note It has often been said that Amnesty International's agenda tends to fit nicely with the political needs of the United States and Great Britain. Around the world, supporters of the Nicaraguan people's struggle for self-determination were outraged by the timing of a 1986 Amnesty report critical of the Sandinista government, which helped Reagan push another Contra Aid appropriation through a reluctant congress, at exactly the moment when the anti-Contra movement was beginning to get serious political traction. With regard to South Africa's apartheid regime, AI was critical of the human rights record of the South African government. However, as you will see below, AI never condemned apartheid per se. By the time Amnesty endorsed the Hill Knowlton nursery tale concerning Kuwaiti infants pulled from incubators by Iraqi soldiers, many otherwise sympathetic observers of Amnesty's work became increasingly alarmed. [This was the manufactured (false) incident used to start the first Gulf War -- JW] More than a decade of grassroots organization within Amnesty's membership base finally succeeded just two years ago in moving the organization to take a position critical of the genocidal sanctions against the people of Iraq, sanctions which have killed approximately a million and a half Iraqis, one third of them children. According to Dr. Boyle, this delay was political, and it clearly served the interests of the U.S. and Britain, the two governments on the Security Council preventing the lifting of the sanctions. A recent search of the internet shows that AI Venezuela very quickly took up the U.S. line by charging President Chavez with crimes against humanity for the bloodshed during the recent failed coup attempt against his administration. Amnesty's performance on the April 2002 massacre at Jenin is another blot on its frequently laudable record. As our readers are aware, the United Nations attempted to investigate the Jenin massacre, but was prevented from doing so by Sharon and Bush. The announcement on May 3, 2002 by Human Rights Watch of no massacre at Jenin effectively killed the story, although there was a lot of argument about what constitutes a massacre. No such arguments were heard when a suicide bomber turned a Passover dinner into a tragedy. This magazine will cover the topic of Human Rights Watch in a future issue. For this issue, we were fortunate to be forwarded the transcript of a June 13th [2002] interview with Dr. Francis A. Boyle, professor of International Law and former board member of Amnesty International. What follows is a shortened version of the transcript... __ Do you Yahoo!? Free Pop-Up Blocker - Get it now http://companion.yahoo.com/
Re: critique of intellectual property rights
Hi, Here are a few: http://www.monthlyreview.org/0103perelman.htm http://emoglen.law.columbia.edu/publications/anarchism.html Please let me know what else you find Thanks Dave --- e. ahmet tonak [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Any suggestion of ARTICLES (and downloadable!!) on intellectual property rights? Thanks. E. Ahmet __ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com
Re: Re: Re: re: how things change
Dont you think the ACLU should be hiring people whose work is a bit more consistant with most of their values, (see exec. director Romero's an astonishing quote below)? There are plenty of good civil libertarians who are not right wing zealots who could make a better case than those two without supporting reaction financially and otherwise. You dont need to have them on payroll to have a tactical alliance either. When the Federalist Society starts paying NLG members too I'll consider the argument more seriously... We are delighted to have Congressman Barr join us in advocating for individual privacy, Mr. Romero said. It indicates that the A.C.L.U. has no permanent friends and no permanent allies, just permanent values. --- Doug Henwood [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: You think they're associating themselves with the ACLU for the money? C'mon, it's probably not that much. Like I said before, Barr's a loon, but he's a seriou civil libertarian and probably is anxious about threats to civil liberties. Armey's a bit more of a surprise. But an alliance with right libertarians againstsnooping and repression isn't a bad thing is it? Doug __ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com
Re: query
Le monde diplomatique's english version (though monthly) is excellent. The Independant of the UK is another obvious choice (a bit like the Guardian). Morningstar is a socialist daily with little internet presence from the Uk and is abit doctrinaire. Red Pepper is a good left monthly publication in the UK There are better daily choices in the other European languages but I assume you want articles for Americans not capable of reading those articles? There is also the world press review a monthly with translated articles from the world press which can be useful. Let me know what you find! Dave --- Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Can someone name some good English-language newspapers produced outside the US? (General newspapers, not business ones: for example, the Guardian Unlimited is pretty good, in terms of having a non-US perspective.) I download news story from www.Avantgo.com and I am looking for new sources. __ Do You Yahoo!? Get email alerts NEW webcam video instant messaging with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com
Re: RE: Re: Re: Re: Re: hires
I am a graduate student and I chose law over a PhD in economics (after having been accepted in some of the heterodox econ PhD programs that have been mentioned). I already had a masters in econ from Italy and wanted to continue (and still do to some degree). I encountered general indifference from more than one economist at the various departments when I tried to speak with them about just these same problems. It was along the lines of, if you want to do this fine if not, don't waste our time. Few qualified left candidates will make such a significant investment in time and money without more support, institutional and otherwise. Several URPE members were dismissive of my questions and concerns as well. When one has other options, this makes a big difference. David Dorkin __ Do You Yahoo!? Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/
