African Refugees Not Welcome: Xenophobia and Intolerance as Policy
For decades now, the tiny island of Lampedusa, Italy, a little over 100 kilometers from Tunisia and nearly twice that distance from the Italian coast, has been a primary destination for mostly African migrants attempting to reach Europe. With little baggage other than their hopes, these migrants usually brave strong winds, dangerous currents, and hazardous […]
Ukraine: The New Cold War Heats Up
Some Western Europeans say, jokingly, that at least winter is almost over, and if “Putin shuts off the gas,” they will not have to be cold for long. But as the Ukrainian crisis amplifies, European laughter will be short lived. If the European Union had not been a doormat for Washington’s neocons to wipe their […]
Ukraine’s Games of Sovereignty: Russia vs US Exceptionalism
Sovereignty is defined by the power to dictate exceptions, or as the German jurist Carl Schmitt suggested, the power of the exception. Without this, one could never be an overlord of oneself, in a political or any other meaningful way. What is unfolding in Ukraine at this writing is a battle of sovereign will. Most […]
Land Grab at Ile a Vache: Haiti’s Peasants Fight Back
Before Haiti’s Prime Minister declared all of Haiti’s offshore islands to be Zones of Tourism Development and Public Utility, he did not consult with the residents of the islands whose lands would be appropriated. Instead Mr. Laurent Lamothe went to a favorite online magazine in December 2012, to promote his plans. “[W]e have decided to […]
Freedom of the Press: Government Does Not Know Best
David Miranda, who was detained for nine hours in Heathrow Airport on August 18, 2013 on suspicion that he might have violated anti-terrorism laws, apparently had no grounds for complaint. The United Kingdom’s High Court found that the actions taken against the partner of Glenn Greenwald, a key participant in the surveillance disclosures of Edward […]
