Invading Libya is about the oil, Syria — eliminating the only Russian naval base in the Mediterranean and weakening Hizbollah.
Shifting Targets: From Iran to Libya and Syria (Part 1)
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Human Rights
Apple: Crown Jewel of Technology or Human-Rights Abuser and Tax Cheat?
The path an ore for Apple’s batteries takes to the marketplace is roughly analogous to that of “Blood Diamonds.”
Washington Okays Attack on Unarmed U.S. Ship
The Obama administration appears to have given a green light to an Israeli attack on an unarmed flotilla carrying peace and human rights activists — including a vessel with 50 Americans on board — bound for the besieged Gaza Strip. At a press conference on June 24, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticized the flotilla organized by the Free Gaza Campaign by saying it would “provoke actions by entering into Israeli waters and creating a situation in which the Israelis have the right to defend themselves.”
Iran: Poetry Can’t Be Arrested
One Saturday afternoon while walking down Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, I gave into the urge to stop people at random and ask them what came to their minds when I mentioned Iran. Here are some of their responses: Islamic government, human rights violations, a nuclear threat, sponsors of terrorism, Holocaust deniers, women in veils, anti-Semites, Khomeini’s fatwa on Salman Rushdie, enemies of Israel and the West, and the 1979 hostage crisis. Only one person had anything positive to say, and it had something to do with a great kebab dish he had had at a Persian restaurant on Westwood Boulevard.
Art v. State
In the vast exhibition hall of London’s Tate Modern, the installation looks from a distance like a huge patch of gravel. Perhaps it is the first stage of a construction site or the last stage of a demolition. Only when you come closer and crouch down can you identify the little objects. A discerning eye might determine that they are reproductions. The rest of us rely on an accompanying video about Ai Weiwei’s project, which explains that the Chinese artist had commissioned a village of artists to produce the porcelain objects and paint them to resemble the real thing. What from far away looks like a gravel parking lot is actually one hundred million artfully produced sunflower seeds.
The Last Son of China
..……………..hello hello hello…Weiwei…where have you been?…I see you in dreams…bleeding…in the darkness of the sun…79 spots in the flame…each a nightmare one cannot wake up from…Weiwei…the last son…you told me as we said goodbye…your last night on the Lower East side…未未…the last child of your Mother and Father…born in the labor camp…exiled from Beijing to the far desert…
Exodus to North Korea Revisited
The emotions felt by those leaving Japan were varied and often complex. Many expressed joy and hope at the prospect of a new life in North Korea – even though the vast majority came originally from the southern half of the Korean Peninsula, and were going to a place they had never seen before. Some took a more somber view – traveling without high expectations, but at least in the belief that a future in North Korea would be more secure than their life in Japan, where they had been deprived of citizenship and had no assured residence rights, very limited access to welfare and (in most cases) few educational or employment opportunities.
The Silver Lining in China’s Crackdown
It has been more than two months since Chinese artist Ai Weiwei disappeared. The son of famous poet Ai Qing, Ai Weiwei is well known for his architecture, curating, photography, film, and social criticism. After his collaboration with the architects Herzog and de Meuron on Beijing’s Olympic stadium, his fame spread. Outspoken and liberal, Ai has long been an advocate for democracy. He stated that he had no interest in the 2008 Olympics and would not attend the opening ceremony: “an Olympics held without freedom and against the will of the people will be nonsense because no totalitarian regime can play at being democracy. It is a pretend harmony and happiness.”
Peru: What’s Next for Humala?
Left-wing candidate Ollanta Humala emerged the victor in the most highly polarized and contested presidential elections in Peru’s recent history, in which polls showed the candidates in a statistical dead heat going into the June 5 vote. Humala won with 51.5 percent of the vote, while his opponent, Keiko Fujimori — daughter of former president Alberto Fujimori, now serving a 25-year sentence for human rights violations committed during his 10-year authoritarian regime — received 48.5 percent.
The Only Cargo on the Next Gaza Flotilla Is Our Letters
The author will shortly be setting sail on the Freedom Flotilla II — Stay Human and hopes to arrive in Gaza bearing letters from the American people.