FUNDRAISING DRIVE: $550 to go, $550 to go! One last effort, please. We've contacted 28 past and potential new donors individually asking for their help. Many have responded, but not all. We have received almost $1,000 in the past two weeks. Our much appreciated thanks to Claudia Resch, John Halle, Mark Lause, Fabio De Propris, Ashley Berry, Manuel García, Jr., Jonah Raskin, Paul Buhle, Milo Clark, Karen Moller, Michael Yates, and Roger Baker for their generous donations. Help us keep this little light of sanity shining. We've almost reached our goal -- just need a last-ditch effort to raise another $550. Please do your part and Donate now! Thank you. In solidarity, Jan Baughman & Gilles d'Aymery.

 

Note from the Editors

In the backdrop -- or perhaps the forefront -- of the Occupy Wall Street movement's spread and resultant crackdown, it is noteworthy that the US Senate's so-called super committee, formed to implement bold solutions to the federal budget deficit, has essentially collapsed over the question of who should suffer on behalf of the better good. So far, the better good continues to befall on the elite. We offer multiple perspectives on this fact, from Manuel García, Jr.'s proposal for a student debt bailout modeled after those done for the banks; Jan Baughman's thoughts on the Iraq Veterans Against the War participation in OWS and our special show of support to the troops; to Jonah Raskin's striking images of the utopian spirit of the movement. Before OWS was born, youth riots ensued in London this August and Peter Byrne was there to formulate a slightly different perspective on their reality compared to that of the elite Prime Minister David Cameron.

Overpopulation zealots would have us believe that there are plenty of resources if we simply limit the number of deserving consumers. Michael Barker continues his deconstruction of this fallacy in his examination of the role of Hugh Moore in the population control debate. We turn from financial scandals to those in sports, from the systematic, covered-up sexual abuse by the former Penn State coach that led Harvey Whitney, Jr. to question the inner lives of universities and the economic disparities they perpetuate, to the disaster of Nigeria's highest paid national football coach, which showcases a metaphor of a nation that cannot seem to get anything right. Gilles d'Aymery weighs in on much of the above in his Martian blips, from the violence against the OWS protesters, to the sexual violence against children, the fabricated crisis of the Eurozone, and more. The final word on injustice comes from Aleksandar Jokic and Milan Brdar, who share an excerpt from their book Unjust Honoris Causa, devoted to the Michael Walzer Affair in which the proponent of the US-led NATO aggression against Yugoslavia was awarded an honorary doctorate from Belgrade University.

Turning to culture, Charles Marowitz reviews the ethereal symbiosis of Twyla Tharp's choreography and Frank Sinatra's crooning; Raju Peddada provides a glimpse into a didactic father-son exchange, and the questions kids ask; while Guido Monte imagined a sad little story in verse about the death of a dog as read in the news. We close with your letters on Raju Peddada's enthusiastic presentation of Buster Keaton; and views from France and Italy on Manuel García, Jr.'s linking together Raymond Aron, the decamped OWS, and the Libyan crisis.



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Patterns Which Connect

Manuel García, Jr.:  A National Students' Recovery Bank

The author offers a solution to bailout the students to give them a chance at a future, just as we bailed out the banks.   More...

 

Jan Baughman:  Occupiers Against Wall Street Meet Veterans Against The War

Iraq Veterans Against the War join Occupy Wall Street in an effort to fight injustice.   More...

 

Jonah Raskin:  Occupy America: Striking Images

A few images from the Occupy movement, whose demonstrators have changed themselves in radical ways.   More...

 

Peter Byrne:  Looters And Consumers

The author's first-hand perspective on the August London riots is slightly different from that of the elite David Cameron.   More...

 

Michael Barker:  The Original Population Bomb (Part II of II)

Second part of an examination of the role of Hugh Moore and the Hugh Moore Fund in the population control debate.   More...

 

Harvey E. Whitney, Jr.:  Sport And Scandal: The Failing American University

The Penn State scandal demonstrates how the university sought the same status of corporations in trying to shield its abuses from the public.   More...

 

 
Africa

Femi Akomolafe:  Nigeria: Siasia As A Metaphor

The scandal surrounding Nigeria's former national football coach was a metaphor for a nation that cannot get anything right.   More...

 

 
Tidbits Flying Across the Martian Desk

Gilles d'Aymery:  Blips #118

A few selected issues that landed on the Editor's desk, from the increasing violence against the peaceful Occupy protesters and the reasons behind it; the Penn sex scandal, the trauma for the victims, and suggestions for Madison Avenue; to the fabricated crisis in the Eurozone.   More...

 

 
Hungry Man, Reach For The Book

Aleksandar Jokic & Milan Brdar:  The Michael Walzer Affair

An excerpt from the book Unjust Honoris Causa, devoted to the Michael Walzer Affair in which the proponent of the US-led NATO aggression against Yugoslavia was awarded an honorary doctorate from Belgrade University.   More...

 

 
Arts & Culture

Charles Marowitz:  Come Fly Away

Twyla Tharp's choreography merges with the songs of Frank Sinatra for a magical performance, Come Fly Away.   More...

 

Raju Peddada:  Why Does The Front Engine Have Three lights?

A glimpse into an educational father-son exchange and the questions kids ask.   More...

 

 
Multilingual Poetry

Guido Monte:  Ariel

A little story in verses about the death of a dog as read in the news.   More...

 

 
Letters to the Editor

Letters

On Raju Peddada's enthusiastic presentation of Buster Keaton; and views from France and Italy on Manuel García, Jr.'s linking together of Raymond Aron, the decamped OWS, and the Libyan vaudeville.   More...

 

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THE COMPANION OF THINKING PEOPLE

SWANS - ISSN: 1554-4915
URL: http://www.swans.com/library/past_issues/2011/111121.html
Created: November 21, 2011