The Free Press is bringing back a Reviews section after some absence. We hope to review plenty of events around town. Check back frequently and if what\'s going on is any good.
Arts & Culture
David lives with his family in Portland, Oregon and tours regularly on four continents, playing for audiences large and small at cafes, pubs, universities, churches, union halls and protest rallies. He has shared the stage with a veritable of who's who of the left in two dozen countries, and has had his music featured on Democracy Now!, BBC, Al-Jazeera and other networks. His essays are published regularly on CounterPunch elsewhere, and the 200+ songs he makes available for free on the web have been downloaded more than a million times. Most importantly, he's really good. He will make you laugh, he will make you cry, he will make the revolution irresistible.
Click on "Read the Article" to hear the Occupy Wall Street song.
Because this is where they buy the politicians
Because this is where power has its seat
Because ninety-nine percent of us are suffering
At the mercy of the madmen on this street
Because all of us are victims of class warfare
Being waged on us by the one percent
Because these greedy banksters rob the country
Click on "Read the Article" to hear the Occupy Wall Street song.
Because this is where they buy the politicians
Because this is where power has its seat
Because ninety-nine percent of us are suffering
At the mercy of the madmen on this street
Because all of us are victims of class warfare
Being waged on us by the one percent
Because these greedy banksters rob the country
Cooking in Other Women’s Kitchens: Domestic Workers In the South, 1865 - 1960
By Rebecca Sharpless
University of North Carolina Press
182 pages, Notes, Index
Though I have not read The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, I have seen the movie. It has unleashed furious criticism, especially in the black blogosphere. The most common criticism is that The Help sanitizes an important and painful part of African American history: the role of black female domestics in white homes. Not to worry, though: the real story has been told, and more than admirably, in Cooking in Other Women’s Kitchens.
Sharpless explores three issues in relation to black female domestics: the manner in which they moved from slavery to paid employment as domestics; how the women survived the brutal discrimination, racism and poor working conditions common to their roles, and the myths and stereotypes surrounding African American female cooks.
By Rebecca Sharpless
University of North Carolina Press
182 pages, Notes, Index
Though I have not read The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, I have seen the movie. It has unleashed furious criticism, especially in the black blogosphere. The most common criticism is that The Help sanitizes an important and painful part of African American history: the role of black female domestics in white homes. Not to worry, though: the real story has been told, and more than admirably, in Cooking in Other Women’s Kitchens.
Sharpless explores three issues in relation to black female domestics: the manner in which they moved from slavery to paid employment as domestics; how the women survived the brutal discrimination, racism and poor working conditions common to their roles, and the myths and stereotypes surrounding African American female cooks.
Juan Williams’ 2011 book, Muzzled: The Assault on Honest Debate, contains information relevant to the lack of public-access television in Columbus. Williams wrote the book in response to his firing from National Public Radio in 2010.
NPR gave Williams the ax because he publicly admitted to feeling nervous when seeing people dressed in Muslim garb while he’s boarding airplanes. NPR’s ire was not allayed by the fact that in the same interview, Williams said we need to override such fearful emotions with a rational recognition that the vast majority of Muslims are peaceful and not connected to terrorism.
Concerning the media’s extensive coverage of his firing, Williams states: “I am struck by how little of it tells the full story of what actually happened. Basic facts were distorted, important context was not provided, and personal attacks were treated as truth. The lack of honest reporting about the firing and the events that led up to it was not just unfair – most of it was flat-out lies.”
NPR gave Williams the ax because he publicly admitted to feeling nervous when seeing people dressed in Muslim garb while he’s boarding airplanes. NPR’s ire was not allayed by the fact that in the same interview, Williams said we need to override such fearful emotions with a rational recognition that the vast majority of Muslims are peaceful and not connected to terrorism.
Concerning the media’s extensive coverage of his firing, Williams states: “I am struck by how little of it tells the full story of what actually happened. Basic facts were distorted, important context was not provided, and personal attacks were treated as truth. The lack of honest reporting about the firing and the events that led up to it was not just unfair – most of it was flat-out lies.”
The Longest War: The Enduring Conflict Between America and Al-Qaeda
by Peter L. Bergen
Free Press, New York, 2011
by Peter L. Bergen
Free Press, New York, 2011
Writing history is a matter of placing points in time as bookends or markers for significant events that have occurred around the world. Generally this is done by the winners of the particular struggles that create the events of history in order to highlight their own prowess and beneficence as compared to the other parties backwardness and ignorance.
Peter Bergen, representing the U.S. as putative winner of the war on terror, bookends the "war on terror" with the dates spanning Sept 11, 2001 to the extra-judicial assassination of Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2011. The latter date is not written in stone yet, as Bergen's last statement is "In 2011, the Longest War, finally, began to wind down." I will return to that final statement later, partly because of the convenient name change from the "war on terror" and partly because of the "winding down" aspect.
With the coming vote in Ohio on Issue 2, to repeal the union-busting Senate Bill 5, everyone should take time out to watch one of the more impressive labor films ever made. In these post-modern cynical times, the term “solidarity” seems outdated and quaint. Forget the Prozac or Zoloft – if you want an antidote to working class depression, watch “Locked Out 2010.”
Locked Out documents the Biblical clash, yes I’m talking David versus Goliath, between the soulless Rio Tinto multi-national mining company and the miners they employ in Boron, California. Rio Tinto goes through the standard union-busting handbook: bargaining in bad faith, demanding massive concessions, all designed to teach the workers a lesson and lock them out of the massive borate mine in the Mojave desert.
When workers continued to work without a contract, the company initiated a lock out on January 21, 2010 and brought in scab non-union replacement workers. The best part of the film is the battle in the first hours of the lock out.
Locked Out documents the Biblical clash, yes I’m talking David versus Goliath, between the soulless Rio Tinto multi-national mining company and the miners they employ in Boron, California. Rio Tinto goes through the standard union-busting handbook: bargaining in bad faith, demanding massive concessions, all designed to teach the workers a lesson and lock them out of the massive borate mine in the Mojave desert.
When workers continued to work without a contract, the company initiated a lock out on January 21, 2010 and brought in scab non-union replacement workers. The best part of the film is the battle in the first hours of the lock out.
This review is from: Prison Writings: My Life Is My Sun Dance (Paperback)
"Prison Writings", by Leonard Peltier, is quite an eye-opener. This political prisoner maintains his innocence and demonstrates it through his heart and compassion. At times, each chapter appears to be a stream of consciousness dependent on his mood (he wrote it in prison where he still remains), but he always evaluated his mood and came back full circle and has come to terms that he may never leave but that his hope in humanity might help lift him and thousands of others wrongfully imprisoned.
His words have compelled me to do further research and there are many related books, articles and even a documentary film by Robert Redford titled "Incident at Oglala: The Leonard Peltier Story". I encourage everyone to read it and watch the film available through rental or purchase.
"Prison Writings", by Leonard Peltier, is quite an eye-opener. This political prisoner maintains his innocence and demonstrates it through his heart and compassion. At times, each chapter appears to be a stream of consciousness dependent on his mood (he wrote it in prison where he still remains), but he always evaluated his mood and came back full circle and has come to terms that he may never leave but that his hope in humanity might help lift him and thousands of others wrongfully imprisoned.
His words have compelled me to do further research and there are many related books, articles and even a documentary film by Robert Redford titled "Incident at Oglala: The Leonard Peltier Story". I encourage everyone to read it and watch the film available through rental or purchase.
Israel has always indicated that there is no partner for peace in its relationships with the Palestinian people. Refusing to be Enemies refutes that idea solidly through its investigation into the non-violent resistance movement taking place in Palestine and in Israel. It also clarifies the nature of the Palestinian resistance and the nature of what non-violence truly stands for. As cited from Mohammed Khatib, "what the state of Israel fears most of all is the hope that people can live together based on justice and equality for all."
Amidst a life-and-death struggle to finally shut the nuclear energy industry, the power of green music flows again this Sunday.
It's also pouring over the Internet, as the historic all-day MUSE2 gathering is staged at the Shoreline Amphitheatre south of San Francisco, re-uniting Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Crosby-Stills-Nash, the Doobie Brothers, John Hall, Sweet Honey in the Rock and many more who'll sing to benefit victims of the Fukushima disaster and promote a green-powered Earth.
The concert runs from 3pm through the evening Pacific Time and comes as the nuclear power industry desperately seeks federal funding to build new reactors while fighting a tsunami of citizen opposition demanding the shut-down of aging radioactive power stations.
Music has been a unifying, empowering force for social movements for decades. The labor union movement used it during strikes and solidarity marches. It was at the heart of the most powerful campaigns for civil rights. A whole generation's demand for peace in Vietnam got electrified with rock and roll.
It's also pouring over the Internet, as the historic all-day MUSE2 gathering is staged at the Shoreline Amphitheatre south of San Francisco, re-uniting Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Crosby-Stills-Nash, the Doobie Brothers, John Hall, Sweet Honey in the Rock and many more who'll sing to benefit victims of the Fukushima disaster and promote a green-powered Earth.
The concert runs from 3pm through the evening Pacific Time and comes as the nuclear power industry desperately seeks federal funding to build new reactors while fighting a tsunami of citizen opposition demanding the shut-down of aging radioactive power stations.
Music has been a unifying, empowering force for social movements for decades. The labor union movement used it during strikes and solidarity marches. It was at the heart of the most powerful campaigns for civil rights. A whole generation's demand for peace in Vietnam got electrified with rock and roll.
What can I say about such a well written book that has not already been said: well crafted, thought provoking, illuminating, enlightening, informative….most importantly Fast Times in Palestine highlights the essential humanity of Palestinians and their struggle with the constant oppression of Israeli society that surrounds all facets of their lives. In the face of overwhelming power, the message that underlies this story is the very idea of Palestinian existence.
Condom Nation: The U. S. Government’s Sex Education Campaign From World War I to the Internet
By Alexandra M. Lord
Johns Hopkins University Press 2010
224 pages
Illustrations, Annotated Endnotes & Index
The 1950's pulp-fiction style cover is what caught my eye. It shows a voluptuous, provocatively dressed woman–she has an ample bosom shown to great advantage by a low cut top, a Barbie doll waist and slim hips–lounging on a tabletop between two servicemen. She has that come hither look that has both of the men all but smacking their lips. (Think Michelle Pfeiffer in The Fabulous Baker Boys.) The subtitle of the book is in white letters placed in a red box, which instantly reminded me of the Surgeon General’s warning on cigarette packages.
By Alexandra M. Lord
Johns Hopkins University Press 2010
224 pages
Illustrations, Annotated Endnotes & Index
The 1950's pulp-fiction style cover is what caught my eye. It shows a voluptuous, provocatively dressed woman–she has an ample bosom shown to great advantage by a low cut top, a Barbie doll waist and slim hips–lounging on a tabletop between two servicemen. She has that come hither look that has both of the men all but smacking their lips. (Think Michelle Pfeiffer in The Fabulous Baker Boys.) The subtitle of the book is in white letters placed in a red box, which instantly reminded me of the Surgeon General’s warning on cigarette packages.