Essentially, geography was atheoretical. It was descriptive. You became an expert on a particular region of the world or a particular place. You became an expert on Southeast Asia, and you didn’t speculate too much on what connected Southeast Asia with anything else. I worked on the hop industry in Kent in the nineteenth century, [...]

This site has been about as critical of Barack Obama’s presidential candidacy as any one might find outside the Right and the sectarian Left. I am unapologetic about that criticism; and folks can rest assured that such criticism will extend past the election and the inauguration of — I hope, frankly — Barack Obama. I [...]

As farmers struggle to mitigate the increasing cost of transporting produce from farm to store and schools face smaller budgets and increasing concerns over the nutritional content of school lunches, some schools opt to bring the farm to the lunch table. The concern over the nutritional value of school lunches isn’t unwarranted: 15% of children [...]

The women of color running for President & Vice President By Amee Chew October 2008 The Green Party Presidential ticket of Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente brings something special and unprecedented to U.S. politics. Not only are they the first all women-of-color ticket for President and Vice President. These women take racial justice seriously, and [...]

American helicopter-borne troops launched an assault on Sunday on a building in a Syrian border village with Iraq, killing eight civilians, official Syrian media reported. The government has summoned the official US and Iraqi representatives to protest, state television and the official SANA news agency said. “Four American helicopters violated Syrian airspace around 16:45 local [...]

…what was once the most advanced Middle Eastern society – economically, socially, and technologically – has become an economic basket case, rivaling the most desperate countries in the world. Only the (as yet unfulfilled) promise of oil riches, which probably cannot be effectively accessed or used until US forces withdraw from the country, provides a [...]

October 20, 2008 By Kim Alphandary [Thanks, Kim] These were my thoughts about the recent “Winter Soldier” project, which is modeled after a tool developed during the rise of the Vietnam protests of the 60s/ 70s. When will this stuff die? My heart feels heavy when I step on the Wayback-machine, the latest being the [...]

[forwarded from Amee Chew... hat tip] by Cynthia McKinney (Posted by Anita Stewart) September 25, 2008 Last week, I posted ten points (that were by no means exhaustive) for Congressional action immediately in the wake of the financial crisis now gripping our country. At that time, the Democratic leadership of Congress was prepared to adjourn [...]

Just a notion, y’all. I find myself wondering about the people who comment here, regularly or irregularly. For those who have no compelling reason to remain anonymous, I would love to have a brief bio with some kind of picture. In dating, this would be asking to take the relationship to the next level. (: [...]

Outside the Obama-McCain debate, at least fifteen people were arrested at a protest organized by Iraq Veterans Against the War. IVAW member Nick Morgan was left bloodied and nearly unconscious after being trampled by a police officer on horseback. As John McCain and Barack Obama prepared to face off in their third and final debate [...]