Hosted by Justin Podur
A proposed view of history
Much of Latin America won independence from Spain in the 19th century. All countries that were independent faced the same problem: the former imperial powers continued to control decisive military, financial, and propaganda might. How could the newly decolonized (or, in the case of indigenous nations, never decolonized) countries prevent a recolonization?
The struggle of Colombians is a struggle against fear and a struggle against invisibility. These are two of the worst weapons used against Colombians. Fear, because it causes the silence elites need to fulfill their agendas. Invisibility, because of its isolating effect: people cannot fight alongside, or build solidarity with, those they cannot see. In this article we bring you two movements who are exemplary in their struggles against fear and invisibility: The Popular Women’s Organization (Organizacion Femenina Popular), and the Black People’s Process (Procesas Comunidades Negras).
http://www.zcommunications.org/the-coup-in-venezuela-an-interview-with-temir-porras-by-justin-podur
Continue reading “The Coup in Venezuela: An Interview with Temir Porras”
http://www.zcommunications.org/re-colonization-is-still-on-schedule-by-justin-podur
For the months leading up to the April 12 coup in Venezuela, there were reports and rumours coming that a coup was imminent. In December 2001, the San Francisco Examiner ran a story by Conn Hallinan who had detected the ‘scent of another coup in Venezuela’ (http://www.zmag.org/content/Colombia/hallinanchavez.cfm). This was cause for alarm. John Pilger, and others, made the analogy to Chile.
Most of the victims of the perpetual war in Colombia are unarmed poor civilians. For every military casualty there are six civilian deaths. In the words of one peasant leader, the Colombian war ‘is not a civil war. It’s a war against civilians’. Paul Valery put it another way when he said “war is a massacre between people who don’t know each other, for the benefit of people who do know -but do not massacre- each other.”
ZNet Commentary
Cut Through The Lies In Palestine April 02, 2002
By Justin Podur
It’s possible that there are more distortions and lies printed about Israel and Palestine than there are about any other conflict. The first example: For something like thirty years, most Arabs, including Palestinians, have accepted these principles, stated by Chomsky as his own basic assumptions in ‘Fateful Triangle’:
Steve Shalom. The New York Times ran a story on February 25 by Juan Forero titled “Colombian Rebels Sabotage Peace Hopes.” Perhaps you can address some of the questions raised by the article.
http://www.zcommunications.org/differing-agendas-in-south-asia-by-justin-podur
The arguments against reparations for Africa are in the details: How can you possibly measure, and repay, for millions and millions of shattered lives over centuries? When a figure is settled on, and paid, is it all over? Can there be adequate compensation for centuries of slavery, colonization, and destruction? Can one group of people be held accountable for what their ancestors did? Where does exploitation in the present fit in?
There are stories that get into the news, and stories that don’t. Sometimes when stories do make the news, they’re provided without context. The recent near-breakdown of the peace process in Colombia is one example of a context-free story, reported in the major media. Worker’s and indigenous struggles that are happening right now, in places like Cali and Cauca, are examples of stories that don’t even make the news. Here we will provide some context first, and then three stories that you won’t hear in the news about Colombia today.
Context: The IMF, the FTAA, and the Crisis