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   Updated for February 19 - 21, 2005  
(Presidents' Day Weekend Edition)
Edited by Richard Moreno.

The Global Resistance Network is a non-partisan entity that advocates world peace with social justice. We were formed in the face of the current neoconservative-rightwing offensive, culminating with W. Bush’s reelection. Our objective is to unite theory and analysis with social praxis. In synthesis, these are the two pillars from which we will grow from the weak to the strong, from the few to the many, and from the politically defensive to the offensive. Our only point of departure is that this unity be directed against the threat of the growing executive powers, against the predatory wars and occupations, and against corporate "globalization."  We seek unity in our resistance!

   SOCIAL ANALYSIS SECTION  
***

Church Folks for a Better America

By Katrina vanden Heuvel

 

Torture is not a divisive issue for religious people. No religious person, and no person of conscience, can possibly justify it morally. An example of this is an emerging new network of religious progressives which recently published an "Open Letter to Alberto Gonzales." [Read Full]

 

Long Live Mr. Smith - And Long Live the Filibuster!

By Bill Press

 

On almost everybody’s list of all-time great American movies is Frank Capra’s "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." You know the story. [Read Full]

 

One Man Has Stopped Killing

By Mickey Z.

 

"What is wrong with a country where war is glorified and fighting for peace is cowardly?" [Read Full]

 

Shooting the Messenger

By Jeremy Scahill

 

One of the most powerful executives in the cable news business, CNN's Eason Jordan, was brought down after he spoke out of school during a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in January. In a rare moment of candor, Jordan reportedly said that the US military had targeted a dozen journalists who had been killed in Iraq. [Read Full]

 

Talk with Cuban Vice President (Part II)

Interview by Saul Landau

 

"U.S. needs to learn to live in a diverse world" [Read Full]

 

Problems in Texas Election

By Greg Moses

 

It's not the first time I've occupied a room filled with state documents in Texas, but it is the first time that I've been treated to full-time surveillance while I thumb through everything, and actually I'm kind of happy about this. [Read Full]

    

A Specter in Nepal

By Gary Leupp

 

While the U.S. is absorbed in building an empire in the "Greater Middle East," which will strengthen its position vis-a-vis other imperialist powers throughout the "New American Century," a revived specter of communism emerges throughout South Asia. And there's not much the U.S. can do about it. [Read Full]

 

Faux Journalism

By Katrina vanden Heuvel

 

As the Gannongate scandal grows more disturbing by the day, it is worth remembering that this is but the latest round in the Bush White House's assault on the freedom of the press. [Read Full]

 

Gorilla Radio Active North of the Border

Interview by Mickey Z.

 

For full disclosure, I will admit that an essential factor in my own subversive self-education was WBAI radio here in NYC. [Read Full]

 

Ward Churchill: Right to Speak Out; Right About 9/11

By Robert Jensen

 

I state that bluntly, even though I disagree with some aspects of the University of Colorado professor's now-infamous essay, because so many (including some on the left) have defended his First Amendment rights while either remaining silent about, or condemning, the article's analysis. [Read Full]

 

Stories from Fallujah

By Dahr Jamail

 

These are the stories that will continue to emerge from the rubble of Fallujah for years. No, for generations. [Read Full]

 

Post Iraq Election Questions

By Gary Leupp

 

What was the original U.S. stance towards the idea of free elections in Iraq? [Read Full]

         

Getting the Purple Finger

By Naomi Klein

The election results are in: Iraqis voted overwhelmingly to throw out the US-installed government of Iyad Allawi, who refused to ask the United States to leave. A decisive majority voted for the United Iraqi Alliance; the second plank in the UIA platform calls for "a timetable for the withdrawal of the multinational forces from Iraq." [Read Full]

You Have the Right to Remain Silent But the Duty to Speak

By Mickey Z.

Submitted for your consideration: "He was prosecuted because of his words. He didn't harm anybody; he didn't commit an assault; he didn't steal; he didn't engage in any conduct, which directly harmed someone else. So, therefore, he was punished, first and foremost, because of the words he used." [Read Full]

Convicted Attorney Lynne Stewart Speaks Out!

Interview by Amy Goodman

You can't tell the lawyers how to do their job. You've got to let them operate. And I will fight on. I'm not giving up. I know I committed no crime. I know what I did was right. [Read Full]

Gannon or Guckert: No Wonder Nobody Noticed This Guy!

He Fit Right In

By Dave Lindorff

 

The real question the public should be asking in the l'Affaire "Jeff Gannon" is why it was so easy for a Republican shill posing under a false name (he's really James Guckert) as a journalist to last so long hiding out among the members of the legit White House press corps., and why it took bloggers to expose him. [Read Full]

 

Interview with Ricardo Alarcon

By Saul Landau

 

Columnist Saul Landau recently returned from a visit he made to Havana, Cuba. During his stay, he had the opportunity to interview Cuba’s vice president and president of its National Assembly Ricardo Alarcon de Quesada. [Read Full]

 

Republican Dictionary Part IV

By Katrina vanden Heuvel 

 

In Bush's State of the Union address, he mentioned personal accounts seven times but private accounts zero times, which is interesting because only a few months ago he was using both terms interchangeably. But fear not, this was no mistake. [Read Full]

 

Dumb-Ass General and the CIA

By Bill Press

 

On Friday night, February 4, I appeared on "Hannity & Colmes" to debate the fate of Marine General James Mattis. When I returned home, I had an email from a friend in Los Angeles, under subject heading "That Dumb-Ass General." [Read Full]

 

Taking Jesus from the Hijackers

By Greg Moses

 

Results from last Sunday's election at the Cathedral of Hope in Dallas (and its branch in Oklahoma City) have yet to be officially announced, but it's safe to predict that Rev. Dr. Jo Hudson will win the congregation's endorsement as senior pastor to the largest gay, lesbian, and transgender congregation in the world. [Read Full]

 

Academic Freedom Is almost a Thing of the Past 

By Dave Lindorff

Amid all the controversy over the observations of University of Colorado professor and leftist Indian political activist Ward Churchill concerning the military justifiability of the 9-11 attacks on the World Trade Center, it's easy to overlook the fact that freedom of academic expression on American university campuses is already virtually dead. [Read Full]

What Ward Churchill Didn't Say

By Mickey Z.

My sources tell me that U.S. intelligence has just uncovered a chilling
pre-9/11 edict from Osama bin Laden on the topic of striking the infidels where it hurts.
 
[Read Full]

Bush's Budget and "Wounded Travelers"

By Katrina vanden Heuvel

The federal budget is not just an accounting tool--it's a statement about our nation's values and priorities. This week, Bush released a budget that Representative Jan Schakowsky calls a "weapon of mass destruction." [Read Full]

Warning: More Hate Speech from Ward Churchill
By Mickey Z.

Alert O'Reilly...send word to both the limo liberals and the Soldier of
Fortune crowd...Pataki, Zahn, and Hannity take note...we have another repugnant quote from W. Churchill.
 
[Read Full]

PNAC's Happy Warriors

By Jason Vest

 

PNAC's latest communiqué was dispatched to Capitol Hill on January 28. It implores Congressional leaders to add at least 25,000 troops to the Army and Marine Corps each year for the next several years, as "it should be evident that our engagement in the greater Middle East is truly...a 'generational commitment.'" [Read Full]

 

Chomsky and Conscription

Even Homer Nods

By Jacob Levich

 

Noam Chomsky is so rarely wrong about anything that it feels impertinent to correct him. But his recent remarks on the draft, printed in CounterPunch (Feb. 2), are in need of scrutiny, especially since they might give false comfort to people who rightly worry that a revival of conscription is in the cards. [Read Full]

 

Bush Declares War on Social Security

By Bill Press

On Social Security, Bush is repeating the same modus operandi he used with Iraq: scare us into taking an unwise and unnecessary action. First, he manufactures a phony crisis. Then he proposes a phony solution. Result, if we’re dumb enough to fall for it: chaos. [Read Full]

A Threatened UN in George's Court

By Saul Landau and Farrah Hassen

 

UN supporters have good reason to engage in vigorous hand wringing. George W. Bush’s aggressive and unilateral policies have made precarious the future of the world, and the world’s only integral body of governance and dialogue. [Read Full]

  

Lessons from our Founding Fathers

By Mickey Z.

 

Leslie H. Gelb is president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations. As a former editor and columnist for The New York Times, however, he transforms into the Amazing Gelbo and gets to spout his ill-informed paeans to denial on that paper's op-ed page. [Read Full]

 

Fox's Fatwah on "Un-American" Professors

By M. Shahid Alam

I published an essay, "America and Islam: Seeking Parallels," in Counterpunch on December 29, 2004. A day later, I began to receive nasty and threatening emails, all at once. [Read Full]

Deeds, Not Words

By Katrina vanden Heuvel

In his State of the Union address tomorrow night, we can expect Bush to riff on a familiar theme: the onward march of "freedom." When it comes to this President though, watch the deeds, ignore the rhetoric. [Read Full]

Bring the Troops Homes Now!

By Phyllis Bennis

 

The millions of Iraqis who came out for the elections were voting their hopes for an end to violence and occupation, and a better life; their hopes are not likely to be met. [Read Full]

 

"U.S. Encourgaged by Vietnam Vote: Officials Cite 83% Turnout Despite Vietcong Terror"

By David Lindorff

 

One thing that journalists and politicians have in common (besides an unhealthy desire to be noticed, that is) is a lack of any sense of history. [Read Full]

 

Doing More Than Just Delaying the Next War

By Mike Ferner

 

In his provocative bestseller, War Is A Force That Gives Us Meaning, Christopher Hedges explores how individuals, groups in society, and whole national psyches are emotionally invested in war. [Read Full]

 

Elections in Occupied Iraq "Flawed Beyond Redemption"

Interview by Amy Goodman

 

An election held under foreign military occupation is always, by definition, utterly flawed. But one which is held in the kind of conditions in which this one is being held is flawed beyond redemption. [Read Full]

**

No One Believes the Insurgency Will End

Amid Tragedy, Defiance

By Robert Fisk

 

Even as the explosions thundered over Baghdad, the people came in their hundreds and then in their thousands. Entire families, crippled old men supported by their sons, children beside them, babies in the arms of their mothers, sisters and aunts and cousins. [Read Full]

 

Iraq's Non-Election

By Robert Jensen and Pat Youngblood

 

Predictably, the U.S. news media are full of discussion and debate about this weekend's election in Iraq. Unfortunately, virtually all the commentary misses a simple point: There will be no "election" on Jan. 30 in Iraq, if that term is meant to suggest an even remotely democratic process. [Read Full]

 

Bush's Torture Campaign in Afghanistan

By Dave Lindorff

 

Back on Friday, June 12, 2002, the Defense Department had a big problem: Its new policy on torture of captives in the "war on terror" was about to be exposed. [Read Full]

 

Conservative Commentators Moonlight As Prostitutes

By Bill Press

 

If you ever wondered why there were so many conservative commentators eager to defend the policies of the Bush administration, now you know: They were bought! [Read Full]

 

"Secret" U.S. Military Code Names for the Mideast and Here at Home

Interview by Amy Goodman

 

"Code Names: Deciphering U.S. Military Plans, Programs, and Operations in the 9/11 World." It identifies 3,000 once-secret code names and details the plans and missions they stand for. [Read Full]

 

The Power of Nightmares

By Katrina vanden Heuvel

 

Last week, the BBC re-broadcast a provocative documentary series which challenges the idea that Al Qaeda is the center of a uniquely powerful, unified and well-organized international terrorist conspiracy. [Read Full]

 

Elections Won't Solve Civil War in Iraq

By Saul Landau

 

Since November 2004 Washington has insisted that Iraqis will vote on January 30, 2005. Bush waxes eloquent about how elections arranged from abroad will result in "a free Iraq." Is this an exit strategy, or the illusion of one? [Read Full]

 

 

Daily articles by Robert Jensen, Saul Landau, Gary Leupp, Bill Press, Katrina vanden Heuvel, Amy Goodman, Mickey Z., James Petras, and many more!

   SOCIAL PRAXIS SECTION  

 

"Week of Campus Resistance" on the Second Anniversary of the Invasion of Iraq!

 

We are in the first stages of planning campus actions during the week of March 14 - 20.  If orgs or individuals have any ideas or plans in getting involved, please send them to us here.  (Stay tuned; we will have a statement coming out soon.)

 

Global Day of Action and Walkouts to Oppose W's Inauguration on Jan 20th!

Click here to read our ground report and analysis.

 

Initiated by the Global Resistance Network and endorsed by Food Not Bombs, Not In Our Name, and many more.

Aid Operations to Aceh Tsunami Victims

Nonviolence International

 

January 2005 - This member group of United for Peace and Justice has been doing peace-building work for years in Aceh, the remote and war-torn Indonesian province that has been most devastated by the tsunami. When the earthquake and massive waves hit, the group's Peace Education Program office in Banda Aceh was completely destroyed; one staff member, Curriculum and Training Coordinator Sayed Subhan Almabrur, is missing and feared dead. By donating to the Nonviolence International-USA Aceh Earthquake-Tsunami Relief Fund, you can directly support both immediate grassroots relief and important long-term peace-building work in Aceh. Click here to find out more info.

 

Help Send Humanitarian Aid to Iraq

 

Please help us at Code Pink get medical aid to the people of Fallujah! We will send it immediately to a team of doctors who are anxiously awaiting our response.  Click here to read more on this.

 

Food Not Bombs Is Calling for March 18th Walkout

 

Walkout Inauguration Day and the Anniversary of the invasion of Iraq.  Click here to read more on this.

 

Counter Terror: Build Justice Month

 

Voices in the Wilderness and the Global Resistance Network amongst others are calling for a Month of Action from March 19th to April 19th.  Click here to read statement and find more info.

 

UFPJ Launches White Ribbon Campaign

 

Wear and distribute white ribbons to honor all who have died in Iraq.  Click here to read statement and find more info.

_____________

   STUDENT-YOUTH SECTION  

 

National Endowment for. . .Democracy?

By Francisco Unger

The aftermath of the Cold War ushered in a new age of politics; off-the-radar politics built on foundations of deception and stealth. As the global war between capitalism and alternate structures grew fiercer, the stakes grew as well. Such a profound matter could not tolerate the old days of civilized politics. [Read Full]

The Politics of War

By David Chege

Those of us who stand opposed to the perennial reemergence of "war as diplomacy by other means" must afford ourselves the advantage of stepping back to examine the context in which this current conflict exists. [Read Full]

The Anti-Vietnam War Student Movement and Now

By Richard Moreno

There are parallels being drawn, most recently by Sen. Ted Kennedy (Mass-D), amongst others, who compare today's Iraq "quagmire" to Vietnam during the 60s and 70s.  But is this truly an accurate assessment? [Read Full]

Blind Patriotism on Display at Super Bowl

By Francisco Unger

 

Not several years ago, America was a relatively tranquil nation; thoughts of war seemed distant, and rarely did the public consider themselves severely threatened. Then, like a whirlwind, the events of September 11th sprang forth, and this nation was thrown into a state of widespread subservient fear. [Read Full]

 

Seattle Students Ordered to Apologize

By Noah Centenero and Jorge Torres

 

Two weeks ago, more than 300 students staged a walkout organized by Seattle Central Community College (SCCC) Students Against War (SAW). After marching through the halls, students surrounded two Army recruiters and chased them off campus amid chants of "Don’t come back!"  [Read Full]

 

Understanding the Attacks on Pro-Palestinian Professors at Columbia

By Jonah Birch

 

As the new year begins, the attacks by the right-wing media and mainstream politicians against professors at Columbia University who are critical of Israel and the United States have continued unabated.  [Read Full]

 

Why Anti-Capitalism

A Different Viewpoint

By Joaquin Cienguegos

 

As we build a movement for radical change the question is always posed, what should be the "dividing line" or what should people unite under. [Read Full]

 

The Antiwar Student Movement

Implications of the J20 Walkout

By Richard Moreno

 

The January 20th walkouts were a milestone in the student-youth movement.  It was a veritable step in the reconsolidation of the genuine and vivacious antiwar-campus struggle that was set into motion on March 5, 2003. [Read Full]

 

High School Student Suspended for Leading J20 Walkout

By James Michael Jimenez

 

At 11 am on Thursday, January 20th, the Day of World-Wide Walkouts initiated by the Global Resistance Network, students at Charter Oak High School in Covina, California, took up this call and walked out of their classrooms to protest George W. Bush's inauguration for a second term. [Read Full]

 

Students Protest Bush Policies at Mt. SAC

By Conning Chu

 

Friday, January 21, 2005 - Several protests were held on San Gabriel Valley campuses Thursday as students voiced opposition to the war in Iraq and George W. Bush's second term as president. [Read Full]

 

Principles of Revolutionary Organization in the Information Age

By David Chege 

More and more often, the word "revolution" is being used to describe the extant of the change we wish to effect in world affairs.  Revolution demands mass organization; never before has such a powerful tool as digital communications existed in a time of social upheaval.  We must use it in a way that maximizes its potential--and ours. [Read Full]

 

Anti-War Campus Activism

A View from an Insider

By Richard Moreno 

When I recently took part in conversations with student anti-war activists from campuses across the nation, I heard them say over and over again, to my dis-illusionment, how the anti-war movement had fizzled out after the initial invasion of Iraq--and even more so during the presidential election.  I thought to myself. . .this cannot possibly be true! [Read Full]

 

Youthful Conservatism

Superficial Diversity at Phillips Exeter

By Francisco Unger 

At the age of 15, I am privileged to attend Phillips Exeter Academy, one of the nation's oldest and most historic high schools. When I first arrived on campus earlier this year, I looked forward to a community that would be more diverse and representative than the affluent private school that I attended in Boston, MA. [Read Full]

 

Recruiting Kids as War Fodder

Sign Here Kid

By Mike Ferner 

He trolled for teenagers in North Carolina high schools, barked orders at recruits in boot camp, and pulled charred civilian corpses out of cars in Iraq. Now Jimmy Massey is making good on his promise to tell the whole world what he learned as a Marine. [Read Full]

 

Genocide

A Poem by Knowledge

Axis of Justice

 

How the hell do you hide/a one and a half million people genocide?/The first major genocide of the 20th century/Genocide in Africa, Latin America and Asia/Sick and twisted minds deciding I'll have to erase ya/60 million dead in this century as a result [Read Full]

 

A New Poverty Draft

Military Contractors Target Latin America for New Recruits

Geoff Thale Interview

 

In some circles, there is talk of a return to the draft, though most analysts say that is unlikely in the near future. But it is not just the military that is facing difficulty in recruiting people to deploy to Iraq. Private contractors are also facing a serious personnel crisis, particularly given the danger of the situation and the fact that kidnappings and beheadings have become a regular part of the reality in occupied Iraq. Now, private US corporations have begun recruiting outside of the country. [Read Full]

 

"I Will Continue to Speak Out Until the Last Soldier Leaves Iraq"

Speakin' to the Troops!

Specialist-E4 Interviewed by Derek Seidman 

 

Patrick Resta, Specialist/E4, served as an Army medic in Iraq with the 30th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division. He was stationed in Iraq for eight months in 2004, returning home just about two months ago. He has recently begun speaking out against the war and occupation. [Read Full]

**

CAN Fights Zionist Smear Campaign at Columbia University

By Susie Schwartz

 

Since the (Campus Anti-war Network) CAN National Conference in November, the Columbia University Antiwar Coalition has been extremely active since the release of "Columbia Unbecoming," a film that targets professors in the Middle Eastern and Asian Languages and Cultures (MEALAC) program, saying they "intimidate" students. [Read Full]

 

We need more article submissions from students and youth.  If you are interested, you can send an article to the Editor along with a short bio at info@globalresistancenetwork.com.

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mlkdaywelcome.jpg
LAPD Welcomes Peace Activists on MLK Day

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   Foreign Affairs Section  

 

Iraq's Non-Election

By Robert Jensen and Pat Youngblood [Read Full]

 

A Mire of Death, Lies and Atrocities: The Ghosts of Vietnam 

By Robert Fisk [Read Full]

 

"We Are Not Responsible for 9/11": A Message from the Iraqi Resistance

By Gary Leupp [Read Full]

 

Cuban Déjà Vu All over Again, All over Again

By Saul Landau [Read Full]

 

No, You Don't Own It

By Naomi Klein [Read Full]

 

   Activism and Strategy Section  

 

The Anti-Vietnam War Student Movement and Now

By Richard Moreno [Read Full]

 

The U.S. Peace and Social Justice Movement Facing 2005
By Phyllis Bennis [Read Full]

 

Phase One Against Empire: A Period for Pedagogy

By Stan Goff [Read Full]

 

Post Election: What's Next for Protest and Dissent

By Mickey Z.  [Read Full]

 

   Military Draft Section  

 

Rumsfeld, His Critics and the Draft: Neocons Target Rumsfeld

By Gary Leupp [Read Full]

 

Recruiting Kids as War Fodder: Sign Here Kid

By Mike Ferner  [Read Full]

 

A New Poverty Draft: Military Contractors Target Latin America for New Recruits

Geoff Thale [Read Full]

 

   Review and Interview Section  

 

Homeless Veterans: Soldiers Go from Fighting in Iraq to Fighting a New War at Home

Interview by Amy Goodman [Read Full]

 

Noam Chomsky: Civilization versus Barbarism?

An Interview By M. Junaid Alam [Read Full]

 

Viewing America from the Outside: Review of "Transcend," by Richard Joseph

Review by Mickey Z. [Read Full]

 

   mEDIA AND cULTURE Section  

Blind Patriotism on Display at Super Bowl

By Francisco Unger [Read Full]

 

"Piss on Pity": Clint's "Million Dollar" Snuff Film
By Mickey Z.
[Read Full]

 

Genocide: A Poem by Knowledge

Axis of Justice [Read Full]

 

Tucker Carlson to MSNBC?: Struggling Cable Channel Attempts to Outfox Fox

Press Release: Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting [Read Full]

 

Sex and the Country

By Saul Landau [Read Full]
 
   CRITICAL THEORY Section  
 

Capitalism in America: A Youth's Perspective

By Francisco Unger [Read Full]

 

Everybody's Talkin' About Fascism

By Gary Leupp [Read Full]

 

Principles of Revolutionary Organization in the Information Age

By David Chege [Read Full]

 

Contact the Editor with Feedback @ info@globalresistancenetwork.com.