Latest Release: Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Rutgers Students Demand Education Not War: An Interview with Tent State Organizers
Mark Yu with TS Organizers
On April 18th, hundreds of students pitched tents at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ to protest tuition hikes and education cutbacks. Not only did they take over one of the busiest areas on campus, they began a week-long festival of workshops, political discussions, and cultural performances in their Tent City. Raising the slogan "Education Not War," they linked their fight directly to the growing military budget...
Recently, I had a chance to speak with Lena Posner and Yael Bromberg, two lead organizers in the Tent State University campaign at Rutgers. They discussed the issues at stake, the development of campus and community alliances, and the spread of the Tent State model to state universities in other parts of the country.
- (Read full) <http://www.lefthook.org/Interviews/YuTentreps041905.html>
Of the Black Man's Burden and White Pathology: Response to Joe Bageant
Rodney Foxworth
The great James Baldwin once confessed he had no reasonable expectations of white people; sadly it seems, at just a few short months shy of twenty-one, I too find myself victimized by such pessimism, my idealistic formative years marred by the dual devils of nihilism and frustration. I dream of days untainted by inconspicuous hatred and directed rage, a rage that seldom comes to a slow boil. How I've managed to maintain my resolve without becoming prey to militancy and black separatism, I don't know. Perhaps this is an example of endurance, and not the machismo we black males are so alternately lauded and demonized for.
- (Read full) <http://www.lefthook.org/Politics/Foxworth041905.html>
Put Down Your White Man's Burden, Support Iraqi Resistance
Liz Sperber
/Unconditionally/-that's the way I support the Iraqi Resistance these days. While I do not offer political support to all groups involved in the anti-imperial struggle in Iraq, I work to support its collective purpose: forcing the troops out now. Forcing, because the United States won't leave any other way.
On a good day, the US corporate media would have its audience believe that a kinder, gentler imperialism is the only way forward for Iraq. This is, of course, not the case. Nor does it seem plausible, after two long years of occupation, that any kind of imperialism will be tolerated by the Iraqi people, for reasons I will enumerate below. Simultaneously, predictions that a formal draft will likely supplement the current poverty draft in the United States have been made by the likes of Seymour Hersh and North Carolina National Guard Specialist Patrick Resta. While the recent claim that a draft should be expected within 75 days is, at best, a misunderstanding of the Selective Service Administration (a vestige of the Cold War, the SSA was created to intimidate the Soviets with the possibility of short-notice US conscription), a future draft is not by any means out of the question...
- (Read full) <http://www.lefthook.org/Politics/Sperber041905.html>
Papal Shortcomings
Igor Volsky
The passing of the pope John Paul II has led to an outpouring of world emotion. Iconic-like devotion portrayed the pope as a flawless global leader and has cost him his humanity. While the pope's accomplishments are noteworthy, his shortcomings provide critical insight.
Great emphasis has also been placed on the future of the Catholic Church and the role of a to-be-name pope within it. But before we can speculate about the future, we must first evaluate and learn from the past. An honest remembrance yields mixed results. To reflect on the pope's failures is not to disrespect his legacy. Rather such reflection comes with the recognition that his passing provides a unique opportunity for the church to learn from its past shortcomings.
- (Read full) <http://www.lefthook.org/History/Volsky041905.html>
