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When the US officially handed over the Panama Canal to the Republic of Panama last December, the historic transfer was praised as the beginning a new bilateral relationship between the two countries. But in at least one important area – the environment – nothing has changed. The US no longer controls the canal, but its imperial legacy is evident in Panama in the unexploded shells, grenades, and other munitions left by the military after decades of training and arms testing. More than 110,000 pieces of undetected ordinance may be laying on the ground, or buried under the jungle canapŽ covering 7000 hectares of land, according to figures released by the US. read more

With the unfolding of capitalism to its ultimate consequences in its imperialist stage, this phase of globalization that is sinking the majority of the world’s population into misery, many peoples with an important agrarian economy opt for the cultivation of coca, opium poppies and marijuana as the only way to survive.

The profits realized by these peasants are minimal. Rather, those who really enrich themselves are the middlemen who turn these crops into mind altering substances and those who transport and commercialize them in the developed countries, especially the United States. The authorities designated to combat this process are easy prey for corruption, since their ethical principles succumb to any bribe larger than $50. read more

Today, when there is an assault launched against the interests and aspirations of Black people, there is a high probability that the power structure will use a Black person, a black face to be the point person for the attack. I have termed this phenomenon the new Black on Black crime, Black buffers who block progress. This certainly appears to be the case with the Environmental Justice Movement, which is facing a growing assault spearheaded by the "Black" Chamber of Commerce and the "Black" Mayor of Detroit, Michigan, Dennis Archer. read more

America’s imprisoned population grew at a faster rate during the 1990s than during any decade in recorded history, according to new data released by the Justice Policy Institute. The US entered the 1990s with 1,145,300 inmates in its jails and prisons, and on December 31, 1999, there will be an estimated 1,983,084 adults behind bars. The Institute estimates that America’s incarcerated population will top 2 million on approximately February 15, 2000.

The prison growth during the 1990s dwarfed the growth of any previous decade; it exceeded the prison growth of the 1980s by 61 percent, and is nearly 30 times the average prison population growth of any decade prior to the 1970s. read more

Dr. Lenora Fulani, former presidential candidate of the now defunct New Alliance Party (NAP), and "critic" of the two party monopoly on politics in the US, recently stunned many observers by endorsing Pat Buchanan’s campaign to become the Reform Party’s candidate for President in the 2000 election. In rationalizing her decision to endorse one of the most rabid, racist, sexist, homophobic, right wing political figures on the political scene today, Fulani suggested that Buchanan’s candidacy would be good for "independent" politics and the political fortunes of Black people. read more

The controversy surrounding President Clinton’s clemency for FALN (Armed Forces of National Liberation) prisoners has created a smoke screen around the issue of US Navy presence on Vieques, Puerto Rico. In September, Rev.

Jesse Jackson questioned Clinton’s sudden decision to release the prisoners during an ecumenical prayer service in New York. Conveniently, the offer came on the same day Jackson and the Archbishop of San Juan, Roberto Gonzalez Nieves, were to leave for Vieques. But Clinton’s diversionary tactic may only temporarily stall a growing movement to remove the Navy from this small island off the coast of San Juan. read more