Tom Hayden's Blog, page 32

Guantanamo’s Death Row

President Barack Obama's Guantanamo choice – to release the hunger strikers or let them die – reminds me of Margaret Thatcher’s similar choice in 1981 when “the Iron Lady,” as her admirers called her, allowed 10 Irishmen to slowly starve to death because she would not recognize their most basic human rights. Thatcher’s stubborn reputation was preserved. But the whole world was watching. One of the strikers, Bobby Sands, was elected to parliament as he lay dying. The agony caused massive sympathy for Irish Republicans and led directly to the political success of Sinn Fein and the Good Friday peace agreement.

Lessons From Iraq

Thank you, Reps. Maxine Waters and Barbara Lee, for your organized forum reflecting on the Iraq war experience. My comments are these.

Earth Night

After 43 years of Earth Days, it is past time to contemplate the possible coming of Earth Night.

Will Boston Bombs Reignite War on Terror?

Regardless of who caused the Boston Marathon massacre, the danger is that the US war on terrorism will be reignited just when it was beginning to fade after a decade.

Brown’s Big China Initiative

At the heart of California Governor Jerry Brown’s current mission to China is the possibility of a major turn away from climate devastation. Yes, it is also about obtaining foreign investment. Yes, it revives an insider controversy about whether California should have foreign trade offices at all. And yes, the 90-person delegation includes some who represent wealthy interests. But those stories are diversions from the central question of whether Brown can help the US and China forge a common agenda in energy conservation and renewables. Brown may be the key, because he travels unburdened by the growing security tensions, similar to the Cold War, between Washington and Beijing.

In Memory of Hugo Chavez

President Hugo Chavez was a man in a hurry to change his country, his region and the world. Perhaps he knew he would die at a youthful age, but I believe it was because he recognized that time was always standing still for the poor. He wanted the blind to see, the children to read, the homemakers to have refrigerators, and “les miserables” of his world to live proudly. He faltered while running.

A Critical Venezuelan Election

Venezuelans are expected to elect Nicholas Maduro, an ally and foreign minister of Hugo Chavez, in national elections this Sunday, preserving for now – “por ahora” – the Chavez legacy. Venezuela’s program of “21st century socialism” will continue, as will its project of integrating Latin America into a progressive power bloc, even an “OPEC of natural resources” in an increasingly multipolar world.

Disney, Gap Blamed in Bangladesh Sweatshop Fires

Activists took to the streets of Los Angeles on April 8 to protest Disney and the Gap’s negligence in fires that have killed scores of workers in Bangladesh.

As Pressure Grows, Drone Attacks Decline

Public protest, critical media coverage and Congressional hearings are contributing to what the New York Times calls a “sharp decline” in US drone attacks during recent weeks.

Why I Love Social Security

I have never been a life-long, card-carrying member of anything, with the exception of Social Security.