You have to wonder, in the opening days of the quadrennial month of football frenzy in which teams from 32 countries come together with a shared passion and play their hearts out before hundreds of thousands of fans and hundreds of millions of television viewers, why can't life be more like this joyous and respectful World Cup competition? A regrettably naïve notion indeed, but to quote Rodney King, "Can we all get along? ... I mean, we're all stuck here for a while. Let's try to work it out." Outside the football stadiums and away from the television spotlights numerous groups are expressing this very sentiment, whether the Muslims under siege in France or the Untouchables of India; the Mexican victims of the US recession and the Palestinians held hostage in Gaza. Voicing their unique perspectives on these cultural clashes are Christine Spadaccini, Peter Byrne, Bo Keeley, and Femi Akomolafe, respectively. Meanwhile, Michael Barker sardonically honors former military-industrial-complex member turned "peace activist" Berel Rodal, and he also shares a pointed interview he conducted with investigative journalist and former publisher and editor of Mother Jones Mark Dowie, who supports the contention that we cannot count on so-called liberal philanthropy to change the world.
Political action takes many forms -- satire being one, and Paul Buhle considers a master at the art: American author, editor, and former underground cartoonist Jay Kinney, who wrote a straight-laced history of Freemasonry, which Buhle reviews. William Hathaway shares an excerpt of his recently published novel on a new group of militant peace activists who defy the Patriot Act and work underground in secret cells to undermine the US military empire. And leave it to Charles Marowitz to produce a Kafkaesque tale of his run-in with the British police, reminding us that maintaining a healthy disrespect for the law is the best way to ensure that justice will prevail. In the few remaining moments of this edition, Michael Doliner considers the notion of time, Guido Monte contemplates both beauty and horror mixed together in the human vision of the world, and we close with your letters (or Peter Byrne's letter, as it were) on Harold Bloom as the Grand Panjandrum of literary criticism.
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Christine Spadaccini: Man Of Letters, Woman Of The Latter
A creative consideration of personal choice, the oppression of women, France's threat to ban the niqab, and the country's archaic legal dress code for women that still bans trousers. More...
Peter Byrne: India's Untouchables Find Their Tongue
Peter Byrne considers India's Untouchables and the growing body of literature that gives them a voice. More...
Bo Keeley: Mexico Scrap
An experienced gringo scrapper's look at the dirty and dangerous job of scavenging for salvage in the dumps of Mexico. More...
Michael Barker: In Honour Of Berel Rodal
A lighthearted look at the peace activism of the vice chair of the International Center for Nonviolent Conflict. More...
Michael Barker: An Abrupt Interview With Mark Dowie
An e-mail exchange with a busy man. More...
Femi Akomolafe: Israel: A Bastard Behaving True To Form
A harsh critic of the Israeli assault on the Freedom Flotilla in international waters off Gaza. More...
Various authors: Instructive Quotations: Behind the Israeli Propaganda
A dossier of pointed quotes regarding Israel's occupation of Palestine, zionism, anti-semitism, the Middle East conflict, etc. (Originally published in January 2005.) More...
Paul Buhle: The Original Conspiracy
A review of Jay Kinney's The Masonic Myth: Unlocking the Truth about the Symbols, the Secret Rites, and the History of Masonry. More...
William T. Hathaway: The Surge
Book excerpt of a story related to a new group of militant peace activists. More...
Charles Marowitz: Legal Measures
The author shares his first-hand lesson in healthy disrespect for the law, inspired by the play Sherlock's Last Case, London's Selfridges department store, and an innocent viewing of a makeup remover demonstration. More...
Michael Doliner: Time
Michael Doliner last argued that scientific distance is a collection of repeatable operations -- in this article he considers time. More...
Guido Monte: Fatigue
Guido Monte talks about his difficulty to conciliate the contemplation of beauty and horror, mixed together in the human vision of the world. More...
Peter Byrne on Harold Bloom as the Grand Panjandrum of literary criticism. More...
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