Today is Columbus Day... which RAISES the question... Is it the holiday marking the anniversary of the October 12, 1492 arrival of Christopher Columbus to the Americas? Is it the benign holiday that Italian-Americans celebrate in honor of their heritage? Or do we let truth get in the way... Is it a day commemorating the begin of a cruel and horrific genocide, the effects of which are still felt to this day? We have come to learn that one man's holiday is another man's day of dread... ...More »

It is often argued that we don’t know what’s occurring on the ground in Iraq and therefore can’t really comment on incidents such as that which recently transpired involving Blackwater Security. In truth, this excuse is used uniformly in many cases with regards to commentary about the war in Iraq, and there is a very dark reasoning behind it that has been inbred in many of us all our lives – xenophobia. When I first mentioned the incident, the term ‘terrorists’ was employed in the ...More »

I took a walk through Dublin's stunning St. Stephen's Green last night… the park has the sort of beauty that moves you to fill your lungs with fragrant rain soaked air while striking a Jesus Christ pose. Earlier in the day I gone to the HMV on Grafton Street where I purchased the new Waterboys, Damien Dempsey and live Bruce Springsteen CDs. (good God are CDs expensive in Europe!) I returned to my hotel and quickly ripped them onto my iPod and headed back across ...More »

If there is one thing that we in North America have little modern understanding of it is the daily affects of warfare on a society. It’s true that we have participated in wars abroad, but it has not been since the 19th Century that North Americans have been directly effected by the true destructive and traumatizing realities of prolonged conflicts. The last major incidents on this continent were polar opposites. One involved the planned and executed destruction or internment of Native Peoples, the other was ...More »

To say that I find it beyond ironic that in 1951 Iran had a democratically elected government would be an understatement given the rhetoric continually pouring out of the White House (and elsewhere). In 1953, then Iranian Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh was deposed by a joint operation conducted by US and British intelligence called Operation Ajax. Mossadegh, who had the audacity to attempt to nationalize Iranian oil, thus ending the stranglehold previously enjoyed by British companies, was falsely accused of having Communist leanings which, given ...More »

It’s about time some attention was given this matter. From the BBC… “A former senior Rwandan diplomat has told a tribunal that France played an active role in Rwanda's 1994 genocide. Former Rwandan ambassador to Paris Jacques Bihozagara said French involvement stemmed from concerns about its diminishing influence in Africa. France has denied playing any role in the 100-day frenzy of killing in which 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus died. After the hearings, the Rwandan panel will rule on whether to file a suit at the International Court of ...More »