Uncategorized Archives - Page 125 of 279

Greening the Pews

by Cassandra Carmichael, John Feffer | Nov 13, 2007

Even people of faith enjoy a good competition now and again. So when Texas Impact, a state-based ecumenical faith organization in Texas that works on environmental concerns, declared that it could sell more compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) than the Illinois-based Faith in Place, a faith organization dedicated to caring for the Earth, the makings of an interesting interstate contest began. By shopping online, congregants can purchase CFLs for their homes and houses of worship. Faith in Place has already declared that it will purchase 500 CFLs and donate them to food pantries across the state, and thus making a true connection between social and ecological justice.

Visiting Hani’s House

by John Feffer, Ellen O'Grady | Nov 9, 2007

Activist artist Ellen O’Grady visits Hebron, the only Palestinian city outside East Jerusalem where Israeli settlers occupy the city center.

Making Democracy Safe for the World

by Yu Bin, John Feffer | Nov 8, 2007

Long before the most recent round of cherry-picking intelligence was the cherry picking of political science theories, particularly the “democracy-peace” genre. The theory goes that democracies are the most peace-loving because they haven’t fought among themselves since 1700, and therefore so more democracies must lead to more peace. Around the time of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, this invention of American political scientists assumed the brave new label of the “reverse domino theory.” A democratic Iraq was supposed to set off a chain reaction transforming an entire region.

Dancing in the Earthquake

by John Feffer, Arthur Waskow | Nov 7, 2007

Every religious community in the world is now living through a profound crisis, an eruption of God, a world-wide earthquake brought on by modernity in every life-dimension: political, economic, sexual, ecological, military, cultural, biological. In traditional communities, new religious outlooks are being born. Believers are coming to new understandings of what the world came from and is moving toward, what aspects of the world are holy and what are either ordinary or demonic, what symbols and metaphors and practices are sacred.

The Taiwan that Roared

by John Feffer | Nov 6, 2007

For all the vibrancy of Taiwanese politics and the high performance of Taiwan’s economy, the island is something of an embarrassment to the international community. Taiwan looks like a state. It acts like a state. But only two dozen other countries recognize Taiwan as a state

Big Red Checkbook

by John Feffer | Nov 5, 2007

“The glory of Our Empire shines on this universe with brilliance,” a ruler once declared in a letter to courtiers in London. “Not one single person or country is excluded from Our kindness and benevolence.” He had good reason to be pleased. His country sat astride the global economy. His army was large, his domains vast. He believed his country to be the center of the world, and a good chunk of the world agreed.

Running Against the West

by Robert Coalson, John Feffer | Nov 2, 2007

Voting is just a month away, but a landslide is already rumbling through Russia. The pro-Kremlin Unified Russia party, whose list of candidates for the December 2 legislative elections is headed by President Vladimir Putin himself, seems well on the way to securing a huge majority in the 450-seat Duma. In fact, the latest polls this week show no other party, not even the stalwart Communist Party, surmounting the 7% barrier needed to earn seats in the new legislature. If that happens, then a few mandates will be automatically accorded the second-place party — no matter how few votes it gets — under a provision of the election law that prevents one party from monopolizing the legislative branch.
Since Putin tied his name to the party’s fate on October 1, Unified Russia officials have cast the elections as a national plebiscite on Putin personally and his policies in general. Putin’s decision to run on Unified Russia’s ticket has thrown Russia’s political scene — never very delicately balanced — completely out of whack.

America’s Rogue Ally

by Yu Bin, John Feffer | Oct 31, 2007

For years, dealing with Pyongyang has been the most difficult diplomatic endeavor for Beijing. This was the case even before the outbreak of the Korea War when Kim Il Sung, father of the current North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, worked out a war plan with Soviet leader Stalin and then sold it to Mao. The day after the North attacked the South, President Truman ordered the 7th Fleet back to the Taiwan Strait and hence the Mainland lost Taiwan. During the three-year conflict, China bore the brunt of the fighting and suffered hundreds of thousands of casualties. The post-war North Korean official propaganda, however, scarcely acknowledged China’s role. Last October, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) tested its nuclear device despite China’s warning and efforts to resolve the nuclear issue peacefully. Now, after years of China’s hard work to host many rounds of six-party talks, a North-South summit early this month in Pyongyang went as far as to suggest that China may not be a party “directly concerned” with a “permanent peace regime” on the peninsula.

A Modest Proposal

by John Feffer | Oct 29, 2007

When the Bush administration tried earlier to push through a comprehensive immigration reform bill, anti-immigrant groups unleashed a grassroots protest over the proposed amnesty measures and helped to defeat the bill. Last week, the Senate refused to consider a bill that would have allowed the children of undocumented workers to apply for citizenship if they met certain criteria.

Engaging Syria: We’d Be Crazy Not To

by Erik Leaver, Shana Marshall | Oct 29, 2007

Some world leaders are not exactly negotiating material. The recently deceased leader of Turkmenistan renamed the months and days of the week after himself and his family and tried to build a palace constructed entirely of ice. No one really tried to negotiate with him–he placed a ban on lip-syncing.