Linked with Reflections on Twenty-First Century Socialism.
James Petras is a retired Bartle Professor (Emeritus) of Sociology at Binghamton University, SUNY, New York, U.S., and adjunct professor at Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada who has published prolifically on Latin American and Middle Eastern political issues … (full text).
… He’s also a prolific author of hundreds of articles and dozens of books, including his newest due out in late August: « Zionism, Militarism, and the Decline of US Power » to be discussed on a future program. Petras writes extensively on the Middle East, the power of the Israeli Lobby, and the possibility of war on Iran to be discussed during the hour … (full text).
He argues: … “The use of paramilitary death squads promoted/financed and protected by the Uribe regime to murder and ‘disappear’ popular leaders serves several strategic political goals” … (full text, Aug. 22, 2008).
The James Petras webwsite. (his essays are available there also in spanish).
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James Petras – USA
James Petras speech at ‘Axis for Peace 2005’ conference, 11.51 min, Nov 18, 2005.
… ‘Ammunition’ for imperialists? Petras charges that “the effect of Castro’s anti-FARC articles has been to provide ammunition for the imperial mass media to discredit the FARC.” He attempts to answer the Cuban leader by presenting a glorified picture of the guerrilla group. “Marulanda’s prolonged guerrilla war strategy relied on mass grassroots organizing based on close peasant ties with guerrillas, based on community, family and class solidarity, building slowly and methodically a national political-military people’s army,” Petras writes, whereas “Castro’s guerrillas were recruited from the mass of urban mass organizations, methodically organized prior to and during the formation of the guerrilla foco in 1956-1958.” “Marulanda built, over a period of 40 years, a bigger guerrilla army with a wider mass base than any Castro-inspired guerrilla force from the 1960s to 2000,” he says … (full text, August 25, 2008).
Inflation and the Spectre of World Revolution, Aug. 06, 2008.
Colombia, Laboratory of Witches: Democracy and State Terrorism, Aug 12, 2008.
… Presidential candidates competed with each other in swearing their total and unconditional servility to Israel, swearing their utmost to back any and all past, present and future Israeli military attacks. Hillary Clinton promised to implement the equivalent of twelve holocausts against Iran’s 70 million citizens in her rant to ‘obliterate Iran’ if it endangered Israel. Obama backed the ultra-orthodox Jewish demand to give Israel sole control over Jerusalem, and joined John McCain and Clinton in promising to bomb Iran if it continued its uranium enrichment program (which they equated with a nuclear weapon – despite the objections of the IAEA and the US intelligence community) … (full text).
Racism and Genocide: Lies of Our Times, Aug 06, 2008.
China Bashing and the Loss of US Competitiveness, Oct 22, 2005.
Stephen Lendman’s review of his book: The Power of Israel in the United States, Oct 29, 2006.
He write also: By the early 1980s the more perceptive sectors of the neoliberal ruling classes realized that their policies were polarizing the society and provoking large-scale social discontent. Neoliberal politicians began to finance and promote a parallel strategy « from below, » the promotion of « grassroots » organization with an « anti-statist » ideology to intervene among potentially conflictory classes, to create a « social cushion » … // … Conclusion: The managers of NGOs have become skilled in designing projects. They transmit the new rhetoric of « identity » and « globalism » into the popular movements. Their activities and texts promote international cooperation, self-help, micro-enterprises, and forge ideological bonds with the neoliberals while forcing people into economic dependency on external donors. After a decade of NGO activity these professionals have « depoliticized » and de-radicalized whole areas of social life: women, neighborhoods, and youth organizations. In Peru and Chile, where the NGO’s have become firmly established, the radical social movements have declined … (full text, December 1997).
Find him and his publications on ; on ; on wikipedia; on Google Video-search; on Google Book-search; on Google Scholar-search; on Google Group-search; on Google Blog-search.
Many respected and distinguished university professors have expressed significant criticism of the 9/11 Commission Report. A number even allege government complicity in the terrorist acts of 9/11. Below are the highly revealing public statements on this vital topic of over 100 university professors with links for verification and further investigation … (scroll down to) James Petras: Bartle Professor Emeritus … Essay 4/6/03: « … Al Queda as an effective international terrorist organization never existed – nor has it even come into existence under conditions of maximum Western terrorist assault on a Muslim population. The idea of an ‘international terrorist conspiracy’ was completely fabricated by Washington and embellished by the empty bellicose rhetoric of Bin Laden, a leader without a following, a leader created by the mass media, a leader incapable of directing a single operative terrorist attack. If there is no evidence of the operative existence of Al Queda, and if Bin Laden has no effective following, it is clear there never was any terrorist conspiracy. The idea was fabricated by Washington to justify previous plans designed by Wolfowitz and Perle (1992, 1998) to conquer the Middle East. The fact that the ‘worldwide terrorist conspiracy’ is a clear fabrication, raises fundamental questions about the event which triggered the US drive for military conquest – 9/11 … (full text, not dated).
links:
The Project For A New American Humanitarianism, Olympian Ambitions from Darfur to Tibet and Beijing, by Michael Barker, Aug. 25, 2008;
Vignettes of the Public Service, The Coconut Industry, 16 Aug 2008;
A video with Amy Goodman, 41.11 min, June 06, 2008;
What are Iran’s Option? July 30, 2008;
War with Iran – On, Off or Undecided? 17 August 2008;
James Petras y sus ocho lecturas torcidas de Fidel, 6 Aug 2008;
The Continuity of FARC-EP Resistance in Colombia, Aug. 01, 2008.