Many thanks to Robert Stiver for his generous financial contribution.
It's been a weekend of remembrances, somber ceremonies, and reliving the horrific events of September 11, 2001. Yet there was much more to 9/11 than the highjackings and attacks of that day. Jan Baughman's cartoon remembers the unforgotten victims and the opportunistic wars that followed -- issues not mentioned by the mainstream media on this tenth anniversary. Michael DeLang doesn't swallow the daily dose of distortion The News tells us, from the arbitrary designations of terrorism, the immigrants allegedly stealing Americans' jobs, to the economic agony that disproportionately targets the working class. One should shun the recommendations of the Harvard economists and listen to Gilles d'Aymery, who presents Part II of his series on the clueless or malevolent leaders, examining the post-WWII American economic policies that by definition cannot address the challenges at hand.
It's difficult to fathom that the quite-comfortable elite don't realize they'll have no one left to prey upon if the working-class decline continues unabated. In fact, the British elite attempt to portray it as "an antisocial rump on twenty-first century neoliberal society," as Peter Byrne puts it in his review of Owen Jones's book on the Chavs. And little help for the working class is to be found in the form of unions; on the contrary, US labor has had a regressive impact on workers worldwide, as union activist Kim Scipes has demonstrated. Michael Barker interviews Scipes on his recent book on the matter.
A testimony to working-class decline is Detroit -- one of the early canaries in the US economic coal mine and a city that continues to self destruct, as Isidor Saslav laments while recalling his musical education at the Cass Technical High School, which like much of the city has been reduced to a pile of bricks. If you believe that think tanks will conjure up solutions to our economic and environmental messes, think again. Raju Peddada considers the dire conditions of our planet and the lack of impact the ubiquitous public policy research institutions have had. Meanwhile, reporting from Africa, Femi Akomolafe is attempting to understand the logic of Nigeria's recognition of the NATO-backed rebels in Libya. Finally, for a breath of fresh air and a taste of culture we turn to the French Corner with offerings from Marie Rennard, Christian Cottard, Francesca Saieva, and Simone Alié-Daram; the multilingual poetry of Guido Monte; and your letters on Palestinian statehood, comics art, and more.
# # # # #
Jan Baughman: Ten Years Of Forgetting
Editorial cartoon: While we will never forget the victims of the September 11 attacks, there are many victims that have long been forgotten. More...
Michael DeLang: I Saw It On The News
The daily dose of distortion The News tells us, from the arbitrary designations terrorism, economic agony, to immigration, and more. More...
Gilles d'Aymery: Clueless Or Malevolent "Leaders"?: Part II - The Economic Crisis
Part II of this analysis of the global financial crisis examines the post-WWII American economic policies that by definition cannot address the contemporary economic challenges. More...
Peter Byrne: Sarcasm And The Class War
A review of Owen Jones's book Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class. More...
Michael Barker: AFL-CIO: Solidarity Or Sabotage?
An interview with Kim Scipes, the author of AFL-CIO's Secret War against Developing Country Workers: Solidarity or Sabotage? More...
Isidor Saslav: Requiem For An Iconic School
Detroit, the city where the author grew up in the 1940s and '50s, continues the process of destroying itself. More...
Raju Peddada: Are We Drowning In Think Tanks?
Some thoughts on in ineffectiveness of think tanks and the pollution that is destroying our environment, from outer space to the bottom of the ocean and everywhere in between. More...
Femi Akomolafe: Nigeria: End Of African-Centered Foreign Policy
The author attempts to understand Nigeria's recognition of the NATO-backed rebels in Libya. More...
Marie Rennard: Aux origines de Providence
Un vieil immeuble à l'abandon se dote, après deux siècles d'existence, d'un syndic bénévole. More...
Christian Cottard: Leurs deux prénoms
Une nouvelle sur une vie de vieux, celle d'Alphonse et Lucie. More...
Francesca Saieva: Calvino et le sentier d'un enfant anti-héros
Dans le sentier des nids d'araignée Calvino mêle les rêves d'un enfant et les vérités cruelles qu'il doit affronter dès son plus jeune âge. More...
Simone Alié-Daram: Chronos
Poème sur les moments éphémères des temps passés. More...
Guido Monte: Walcott n.2
Guido Monte remembers again his interior fil rouge of connection with the universal and "marginal" verses of Derek Walcott. More...
Point and counterpoint on Lynda Burstein Brayer's article on Palestinian Statehood; Yiddishkeit and Isaac Bashevis Singer, the benefits of comics art; and more. More...
# # # # #
Let us know if you wish to receive an e-mail regarding each new edition (twice a month) with the Note from the Editors, and please become a subscriber. See our Donate page.
« Previous | Current Issue | Next »