Progressives still awaiting the change they can believe in got a wake-up call this week when President Obama claimed the "end the Iraq war" out of the left side of his mouth while giving a shout out to George W. Bush from the right side, all the while mouthing the Bush administration's false claims that the war was waged "to disarm a state" that had no Weapons of Mass Destruction to begin with... Indeed, from the newly repackaged occupation and outsourced forces in Iraq to the futile yet unending fighting in Afghanistan, America's antiwar movement has been a raging success! Perhaps it could learn a thing or two from the Tea Partiers, whose movement is spreading like crabgrass. The fact is, as Gilles d'Aymery demonstrates by following the money, there's nothing grassroots about this movement that took seed long before Barack Obama was elected. Money also talks when it comes to the environment, and Michael Barker examines the (morbidly) fascinating efforts of the oil industry to both destroy the environment and to sustain the movement to protect it.
But enough about corpocracy on this Labor Day weekend. Turning our sights to diverse cultural matters, Peter Byrne translated a wonderful Fabio De Propris essay on the love and hate for the dust of Istanbul, and Bo Keeley sends a warning to Americans on Mexican-style real estate scams. Femi Akomolafe pens a dialogue on the Nigerian government's treatment of female footballers in comparison to their less successful male counterparts while Charles Marowitz remembers the extraordinary and irreplaceable Laurence Olivier and his first-hand experiences with the legendary man. Maxwell Clark presents five theses on the art of Andy Warhol, who theatricalized our society of bureaucratically-controlled consumption, and Peter Byrne analyzes J.F. Powers, an Irish-American Puritan whose story collection The Prince of Darkness covered the life of priests while fostering the church's long history of sexual secrecy and concealment.
In the French Corner, Ksavijer considers the French anti-immigrant movement and its current target, the Roma. Christian Cottard tells a tale of chance meeting with a woman who is somewhere between the calm and the storm. Marie Rennard explores the rich history of gloves, and Simone Alié-Daram offers poetic advice to a rebel. We close with the multilingual poetry of Guido Monte and your letters.
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Gilles d'Aymery: Welcome To The Bright Future
The roots of the Tea Party movement did not grow from grass -- Gilles d'Aymery examines the reactionary doctrinaires fueling this movement and the ignorant constituencies that buy into it. More...
Michael Barker: Greasing The Cogs Of Corporate Environmentalism
Historical overview of the pro and anti environmental activities of oil companies. More...
Fabio De Propris: Listen To The Dust Of Istanbul
The love and hate for the dust of Istanbul. More...
Bo Keeley: Everyone Wins, Mexican Style
A brief warning to Americans on Mexican-style real estate scams. More...
Femi Akomolafe: Na Degree We Go Chop? (Can We Eat Degree?)
A dialogue on the Nigerian government's treatment of female footballers in comparison to their less successful male counterparts. More...
Charles Marowitz: The Age Of Olivier
Charles Marowitz remembers the legendary Lawrence Olivier and his first-hand experiences with Britain's national treasure. More...
Maxwell Clark: Andy Warhol: The Art Of The Commodity (5 Theses)
Five theses on the art of Andy Warhol, who theatricalized our society of bureaucratically-controlled consumption. More...
Peter Byrne: When the Devil Lost His Manhood
On J.F. Powers, an Irish-American Puritan whose story collection The Prince of Darkness covered the life of priests while fostering the church's long history of sexual secrecy and concealment. More...
Ksavijer: Défiance d'entrée
Comment et pourquoi les Roms cristallisent les craintes les plus irrationnelles en période d'instabilité économique. More...
Christian Cottard: L'éprise de la bastide
Tempête ou Clémence ? Il y a des femmes qu'on ne peut baptiser catégoriquement. More...
Marie Rennard: Elé-Gant !
Inventés par vénus, portés par toutes les femmes du monde, les gants, si élégants. More...
Simone Alié-Daram: Conseil à un rebelle
Une autre recette poétique pour la joie de vivre, avec quelques conseils pour un rebelle... More...
Guido Monte: àdhara: part I
The beginning of an archetypal poem in two parts by Guido Monte. More...
A flurry of presidential opinions from France and Italy on Gilles d'Aymery's treatment of Nicolas Sarkozy and Fabio De Propris's take on Silvio Berlusconi. More...
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