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Nepalese Media at War With the State
Bishnu Nisthuri
When they reported to work on February 1, 2005 employees of hundreds of media outlets across Nepal were confronted by a scene that was beyond the reckoning of any rational mind - their offices were under siege by uniformed gunmen. When they entered their newsrooms, there was another surprise waiting to shock them. Perched on their editors' chairs were officers of the Royal Nepal Army, while their bosses had gone hiding. It took them mere seconds to work out what happened - the army had taken over. King Gyanendra had staged a coup. Media freedom, the greatest accomplishment of the democratic system restored in 1990, had disappeared.
Uncovering Muslim Identity
On July 11, 2004, Rajinder Singh Khalsa, an Indian Sikh man, was accosted by a group of men as he stood in front of his brother's restaurant wearing a turban. "Give me that dirty curtain," one of the men said. "It's not a curtain," Khalsa said. "It's a turban." "Go back to your country," another man shot back. Khalsa said: "But we are American, where should we go?" The man suggested Iran. Khalsa said: "We are not Iranian. We are not Muslim. We are Sikhs from India." He said: "Then go back to India." The men began to attack his brother. "Don't do this, he's innocent," Khalsa said. The men then turned to him. They beat him on the nose, eyes, head, everywhere, not stopping until he was unconscious on the pavement. Before they left, they took off his turban and threw it away.
An Agreement to Live: From Zanón to FaSinPat
Zanon Workers
Teach Me if You Can: An Interview with David Graeber
David Graeber is a professor of anthropology at Yale University. After becoming an activist for the anarchist cause, Graeber received disdain from a few colleagues and was soon informed that his teaching contract would not be renewed. On Nov. 2, I had lunch with Graeber at Yale.
Steven Durel: Professor, it's probable that Yale's leadership decided not to renew your contract because you are an acclaimed anarchist scholar and because you have been active with supposedly "subversive" groups on campus. How do you feel? Aren't you upset?
Eyes on US Troops in Paraguay as Bolivian Election Nears
The recent shift to the left among Latin American governments has been a cause for concern in the Bush administration. The White House has tried in vain to put this shift in check. Presidential elections in Bolivia on December 18th are likely to further challenge U.S. hegemony. Evo Morales, an indigenous, socialist congressman, is expected to win the election. How far will the U.S. go to prevent a leftist victory in Bolivia? Some Bolivians fear the worst. In the past year, U.S. military operations in neighboring Paraguay have complicated the already tumultuous political climate in the region. White House officials claim the operations are based on humanitarian aid efforts. However, political analysts in Bolivia and Paraguay say the activity is aimed at securing the region's gas and water reserves and intervening in Bolivia if Morales wins.G.W. Bush and Evo Morales
Chavez offers Caribbean cheap oil
PUERTO LA CRUZ, Venezuela – Fresh from his confrontation with Pres. George Bush at the Summit of the Americas, Venezuelan Pres. Hugo Chavez is using his most powerful asset – oil – to challenge U.S. dominance in the Caribbean. His latest move, according to the BBC, is a regional oil initiative to provide fuel at cheaper prices to 15