Activism

Human rights activists from Vermont, New York and Israel interrupted a performance of the Israel Ballet at the Flynn Theater in Burlington, VT on Friday, February 19th, calling attention to the dance company's complicity in Israeli war crimes. Using two banners that read "No Tutu is Big Enough to Cover Up War Crimes" and "Sponsored by Apartheid Israel", the activists, who had purchased tickets to the show, positioned themselves in front of the stage during the opening scenes of the performance.

When officials in Marin County, California announced they would form their own public power agency in order to offer residents a cleaner energy mix than the state's mega-utility, Pacific Gas & Electric Corporation (PG&E), local community activists were glad.

There are many different ways that the corporate media continues to misrepresent the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela. Many critics of this biased media coverage have directly challenged the demonization of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, but very few critics, if any, have exposed the media's virtual erasure of the vibrant and growing participatory democracy in Venezuela.

Each year, many remember Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s work on behalf of civil rights. Yet the most fundamental piece of his philosophical legacy, his rejection of the utility and morality of violence between individuals and nations, remains at best ignorantly obscured or at worst actively suppressed. In his 1967 book, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?, Rev. King wrote that "it is as possible and as urgent to put an end to war and violence between nations as it is to put an end to poverty and racial injustice."

This Country Must Change: Essays on the Necessity of Revolution in the USA makes two important contributions to US activist literature. It raises awareness around the neglected issue of political prisoners and state repression, and it encourages an honest dialogue and critical thinking about the effectiveness of activist strategies and tactics. Readers may not agree with everything written here, but they will certainly have their beliefs challenged.