Now off the press: The Crossroads of History: Marxist-Humanist Writings on the Middle East by Raya Dunayevskaya

February 5, 2013

Now off the press:

Excerpts from the Foreword:

Nobody, least of all Marxists, foresaw the great historic divide which would be opened by the Arab Spring beginning in 2010. When Mohammed Bouazizi and Hussein Nagi Felhi killed themselves to protest the miserable conditions of life for Tunisian youth, they set off a year of revolutionary struggle that [=>]

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Uprisings in Egypt and Syria confront counter-revolution

February 3, 2013

Lead
by Gerry Emmett

“However partial the industrial revolt may be, it conceals within itself a universal soul: political revolt may be never so universal but it hides a narrow-minded spirit under the most colossal form.”

–Karl Marx, “On the King of Prussia and Social Reform”

The world’s rulers would like to declare an end to the earth-shaking, world-historic events of the Arab Spring, that completely unforeseen social revolt that [=>]

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November-December 2012 issue of News & Letters is now available on the web

November 24, 2012

Lead
Obama’s re-election doesn’t end clash of two worlds

The two worlds of the rulers and the ruled shone through the suffocating blanket of propaganda surrounding the election in which Barack Obama won a second term. A pronounced gender gap and long lines at the polls in African-American and Latino areas reflected the determination to defeat the [=>]

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Readers’ Views, September-October 2012, Part 1

October 15, 2012

CAPITALIST CRISIS AND REVOLT

I appreciated Franklin Dmitryev’s Lead article in the July-August N&L, on “Spain, Greece, Europe: Capitalist crisis and revolt,” for showing how the so-called “radical Left” is not really so radical. They think they can solve things through managing the economy and redistributing wealth, and channel energy into politics.

The boldfaced paragraph in the [=>]

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Palestinian solidarity

February 28, 2012

In Chicago on Dec. 31, well over 100 demonstrators came to show solidarity with Palestinians by releasing 300 black balloons in downtown Grant Park—one balloon for each child killed during Israel’s 22-day assault on the Gaza Strip three years ago.

On the International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian people, Nov. 29, we reflected on [=>]

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Palestinian women discuss statehood

November 29, 2011

Palestinian women discuss statehood

Ramallah, Palestine—The Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development (PWWSD) organized a political discussion on the UN approach to Palestin­ian statehood. Mrs. Amal Khreishe, the general direc­tor, facilitated the meeting, which hosted Mr. Bassan Essalhi, the secretary of the Palestinian Popular Party, and Mr. Hanna Eissa, an expert in international law.

]

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Readers’ Views, September-October 2011

October 7, 2011

From the September-October 2011 issue of News & Letters:

Readers’ Views

Contents:

  • REVOLUTION AND COUNTER-REVOLUTION: ARAB SPRING AS CROSSROADS IN HISTORY
  • KARL MARX AND WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
  • REMEMBERING CHRISTINA SANTIAGO
  • THELONIOUS MONK
  • CANADA AS ‘CONTESTATAIRE’ SOCIETY
  • MAN-MADE DISASTERS: NUCLEAR POWER AND WORLD WAR
  • LABOR STRUGGLES IN 2011
  • WHY WRITE FOR N&L?
  • VOICES FROM BEHIND THE BARS

REVOLUTION AND COUNTER-REVOLUTION: ARAB SPRING AS CROSSROADS IN HISTORY

The West supports any revolution where they [=>]

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World in View: Israel: ‘Egypt is here’

September 21, 2011

by Gerry Emmett

Israel has seen an unprecedented protest movement grow in the wake of the Arab Spring. Around 250,000 people marched through Tel Aviv, Israel, on Aug. 6 in the biggest protest rally the country has ever experienced. Another 50,000 participated in other cities and towns. It is being seen as a direct challenge to [=>]

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Revolts shake Libya, Syria

September 16, 2011

Editorial

While the world’s attention focused on the long-expected fall of Libyan dictator Muammar al-Qaddafi, the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad has conducted a Ramadan massacre that ranks as one of the greatest atrocities of the counter-revolutionary reaction to the Arab Spring. The Syrian masses will certainly take heart at Qaddafi’s defeat, however he might [=>]

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July -August 2011 Readers’ Views

September 2, 2011

From the July-August 2011 issue of News & Letters:

Readers’ Views

Contents:

  • AS REVOLUTION AND COUNTER-REVOLUTION TAKE WORLD STAGE
  • CHINESE ART PROJECT
  • HEALTHCARE IN 2011
  • NEW RIGHT=OLD LEFT?
  • FREEDOM RIDES, 50 YEARS AFTER
  • WOMEN’S LIBERATION SPEAKS IN MANY VOICES
  • BURMA AND NORTH KOREA
  • FIGHTING FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
  • VOICES FROM BEHIND THE BARS

AS REVOLUTION AND COUNTER-REVOLUTION TAKE WORLD STAGE

Congratulations on a fine May-June issue. Thanks especially for [=>]

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Palestinian youth open new front in Arab Spring

July 19, 2011

From the new July-August 2011 issue of News & Letters:

Lead
Palestinian youth open new front in Arab Spring
by Gerry Emmett

When thousands of unarmed Palestinians marched upon the Occupied Territories on May 15, they were met by gunfire from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). A dozen were killed and many more wounded. But the Arab [=>]

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World in View: Chicago in solidarity!

May 27, 2011

by Gerry Emmett

“Syria! Syria! Raise your voice! It’s our time! It’s our choice!” Hundreds marched in Chicago’s Loop on April 16 in support of the revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and across the Middle East. Participants included members of many different communities in Chicago, including Palestinians, Egyptians, Yemenis and Libyans, as well as members of [=>]

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World in View: Counter-revolution targets Palestine

May 25, 2011

From the May-June 2011 issue of NEWS & LETTERS:

World in View: Counter-revolution targets Palestine
by Gerry Emmett

Something is becoming more apparent in the Middle East. Whenever counter-revolution raises its head, it begins looking in the direction of Palestine.

The governments of both Jordan and Syria have made efforts to blame the Palestinians for the freedom demonstrations that have [=>]

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The Arab Spring

May 7, 2011

From the new issue of NEWS & LETTERS, May-June 2011

Part I of

Draft for Marxist-Humanist Perspectives, 2011-2012
Revolution and counter-revolution take world stage

This special issue carries our Draft Perspectives Thesis, part of our preparation for the national gathering of News and Letters Committees. We publish it because our age is in such total crisis, facing a choice between [=>]

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Revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya shake world order

March 18, 2011

Across the Maghreb and Middle East there have been demonstrations and uprisings, from Bahrain to Algeria to Morocco, Sudan to Yemen to Iran. The revolts have included some of the lowest and deepest layers of the oppressed people and have seen the ruling classes of the world tremble.

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Gaza youth shout out

March 6, 2011

Editor’s note: This Manifesto, posted by Gaza youth on Facebook, spoke for so many that it spread all over the world and was translated into dozens of languages. For the full statement go to: http://www.facebook.com/notes.php?id=118914244840679¬es_tab=app_2347471856.

“Fuck Hamas. Fuck Israel. Fuck Fatah. Fuck UN… Fuck USA!

“We, the youth in Gaza, are so fed up with Israel, Hamas, the [=>]

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Support the revolutions of Egypt and Tunisia!

February 4, 2011

Feb. 3, 2011

Support the revolutions of Egypt and Tunisia!

When Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak unleashed his plainclothes security agents and hired thugs against the freedom fighters in Tahrir Square Feb. 2, it was not only to support his shaken and discredited 30-year regime. He was serving the interests of all rulers, in the Middle East and [=>]

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