Alternatives to Empire » Alternatives to Empire

Howard Zinn (1922?2010): A Tribute to the Legendary Historian with Noam Chomsky, Alice Walker, Naomi Wolf

andrew — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:35:45 +0000

We pay tribute to the late historian, writer and activist Howard Zinn who died suddenly on Wednesday of a heart attack at the age of 87. Howard Zinn?s classic work A People?s History of the United States changed the way we look at history in America. …

The Story of Religion: Joe Volk

andrew — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 03:41:24 +0000

The stories we are told by our leaders and the stories we tell each other help to build our worldview. We have to take back control of these narratives to empower each other and construct a more peaceful world.

Naomi Klein on Climate Debt: Why Rich Countries Should Pay Reparations To Poor Countries For The Climate Crisis.

andrew — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 03:54:32 +0000

With the Copenhagen climate summit two weeks away, best-selling journalist Naomi Klein examines the grass-roots movement behind the climate debate proposal that argues all the costs associated with adapting to a more hostile ecology?everything from building stronger sea walls to switching to cleaner, more expensive technologies?are the responsibility of the countries that created the crisis. Klein also discusses the 10th anniversary of the Seattle WTO protests and the 10th anniversary of her first book, ?No Logo.?

For More Read: http://www.democracynow.org/2009/11/23/naomi_klein_on_climate_debt_why

Breaking the Australian silence – Sydney Peace Prize awarded to John Pilger

andrew — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:34:07 +0000

In a speech at the Sydney Opera House to mark his award of Australia’s human rights prize, the Sydney Peace Prize, John Pilger describes the “unique features” of a political silence in Australia: how it affects the national life of his homeland and the way Australians see the world and are manipulated by great power “which speaks through an invisible government of propaganda that subdues and limits our political imagination and ensures we are always at war — against our own first people and those seeking refuge, or in someone else’s country”.

His speech – Breaking the Australian Silence – has been published in full at Sydney Indymedia, Information Clearing House and Project Safecom

Neoliberalism as Hegemonic Ideology in the Philippines: Rise, Apogee, and Crisis

andrew — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:25:15 +0000

By Walden Bello*(This paper was delivered at the plenary session of the 2009 National Conference of the Philippine Sociological Society held at the PSSC Building, on Oct. 16, 2009.)

A WORLD IN CRISIS : THE RELEVANCE OF SPIRITUAL-MORAL PRINCIPLES

andrew — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:08:33 +0000

Lecture delivered by Prof Dr. Chandra Muzaffar at the Centre for the Study of World Religions(CSWR), Harvard University on 1st October 2009. The Lecture is the first in the series entitled ” Ecologies of Human Flourishing.”

Please follow think link to listen to the audio of Dr. Chandra Muzaffar’s talk delivered at harvard:

http://www.hds.harvard.edu/cswr/resources/lectures/muzaffar3.html

Three Good Reasons To Liquidate Our Empire

andrew — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 07:33:23 +0000

By Chalmers Johnson

However ambitious United States President Barack Obama’s domestic plans, one unacknowledged issue has the potential to destroy any reform efforts he might launch. Think of it as the 800-pound gorilla in the American living room: our longstanding reliance on imperialism and militarism in our relations with other countries and the vast, potentially ruinous global empire of bases that goes with it. The failure to begin to deal with our bloated military establishment and the profligate use of it in missions for which it is hopelessly inappropriate will, sooner rather than later, condemn the United States to a devastating trio of consequences: imperial overstretch, perpetual war and insolvency, leading to a likely collapse similar to that of the former Soviet Union.

Chalmers Johnson is the author of Blowback (2000), The Sorrows of Empire (2004) and Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic (2006), and editor of Okinawa: Cold War Island (1999).

To Read More:

Obama?s empire – Catherine Lutz

andrew — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 07:29:57 +0000

In December 2008, shortly before being sworn in as the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama pledged his belief that, “to ensure prosperity here at home and peace abroad”, it was vital to maintain “the strongest military on the planet”. Unveiling his national security team, including George Bush’s defence secretary, Robert Gates, he said: “We also agree the strength of our military has to be combined with the wisdom and force of diplomacy, and that we are going to be committed to rebuilding and restrengthening alliances around the world to advance American interests and American security.”

Catherine Lutz is a professor at the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University.

Alternatives to Empire – Part 4: Constructing Alternatives to Empire

larrym — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 03:09:57 +0000

Alternatives to Empire: Constructing Alternatives to Empire from digital birdy video on Vimeo.

Constructing Alternatives to Empire is Part Four of a four part series of interviews conducted by Larry Marshall with Professor Joseph Camilleri and Reverend David Pargeter, two of the founders of The Alternatives to Empire Project.

Alternatives to Empire – Part 3: Illusions of Empire

andrew — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 02:42:00 +0000

Alternatives to Empire: Illusions of Empire from digital birdy video on Vimeo.

Illusions of Empire is Part Three in a four part series of interviews conducted by Larry Marshall with Professor Joseph Camilleri and Reverend David Pargeter, two of the founders of The Alternatives to Empire Project.