Month: July 2009
Behind the Headlines: Escobar’s Hippo and the Calibío Battalion
Since his death in 1993, the image of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar has been shrouded in mystique. Escobar, whose accrued cocaine wealth once earned him a nod from Forbes Magazine as one of the world’s richest men, has become, at least in U.S. pop culture, the personification of the kind of bravado only exhibited by the most criminally successful. […]
Anarchism, Marxism, and Zapatismo
Both Staughton Lynd (a Marxist from the US) and his co-author Andrej Grubacic (an anarchist from the Balkans) of the book Wobblies and Zapatistas: Conversations on Anarchism, Marxism and Radical History, are public supporters of the Zapatistas, who they argue have set a powerful example of revolutionary organizing that should influence anti-capitalists around the world. Much like the historical traditions of the Haymarket Martyrs and the ‘Wobblies’ (the Industrial Workers of the World) in the United States, Lynd and Grubacic argue that the Zapatistas have synthesized the best aspects of both the Marxist and anarchist traditions. […]
The U.S. is Compromising Democracy in Honduras
Zelaya and Obama
Can a solution to the crisis in Honduras — itself the result of a military coup — be "mediated," where on one side sit coup leaders and on the other a democratically elected but ousted President? Does any "middle ground" exist? Of course not. If President Zelaya unconditionally returns to finish his term in office, democracy will be restored; anything short of that will have democracy "compromised" into its opposite. […]
Honduras: Coup Opponents Announce New Stage of Protests
(IPS) – The sectors opposed to the regime that ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya on Jun. 28 announced a new stage of resistance, while Costa Rican President Oscar Arias is planning a second round of […]