I have tried to assemble my work here for convenience and reference. Contact me with questions or thoughts.
Political Commentary
I work as a political commentator and analyst. Most of my work relates to social movements and foreign policy issues in Latin America and the Middle East, though I also write occasionally on Canada, South Asia, and the United States.
"Global Warming Suspicions and Confusions" zmag.org May 11, 2007
"To Mitch Potter: On Disgusting Racism" zmag.org Feb 13, 2007
"Race, Culture, and Leftists" zmag.org May 21, 2006
"Stop the Deadly Rumours" zmag.org Feb 21, 2006
"Refugees and Citizens" zmag.org Sept 5, 2005
"People of Color Talk" zmag.org June 29, 2005
"Unnecessary Concessions" zmag.org Nov 18, 2004
"The Atrocity Experiment" zmag.org Nov 8, 2004
"The Morning After" zmag.org Nov 3,2004
"Getting Beyond Hypocrisy on Humanitarian Intervention" zmag.org September 29, 2004
"National Sovereignty" zmag.org September 5, 2004
"Third World Models for the Bush Regime" zmag.org January 24, 2004
"Letter to a Zionist" zmag.org November 20, 2003
"Bolivia Backgrounder" zmag.org October 17, 2003
"To a Social Democratic Youth" zmag.org August 18, 2003
"The March on CNN" zmag.org March 9, 2003
"Another Modest Proposal on Iraq" zmag.org February 21, 2003
"Instead of War" zmag.org February 16, 2003
"Resolution 1441" zmag.org November 12, 2002
"10/7" zmag.org October 7, 2002
"South Asia Stiffed" zmag.org September 26, 2002
"Nation States?" zmag.org June 14, 2002
"Letter to South Asians" outlookindia.com June 3, 2002
"What are the Rules?" zmag.org January 20, 2002
"Consumption, Complicity, and SUVs" zmag.org December 29, 2001
"No Negotiations?" outlookindia.com October 31, 2001
"Common Pro-War Arguments" outlookindia.com October 8, 2001
"Loincloths, Ski Masks, and Social Movements" zmag.org August 27, 2001
"A few moves ahead" zmag.org May 25, 2001
"Strict Discipline Key to Debt Recovery" op-ed, University of Toronto Student Newspaper (The Varsity) January 26, 1998
Canada Commentary
I am engaged in political issues in Canada, where I live. Here is some of my writing on the topic.
"Shawn Brant" zmag.org Sept 19, 2007"
"The Harper-Uribe Handshake" zmag.org July 22, 2007"
"Abandoning Hypocrisy" zmag.org Sept 26, 2006
"The Caledonia Residents Rallies" zmag.org May 23, 2006
"Six Nations Does Not Stand Alone" zmag.org May 23, 2006
"Wrong Direction, Canada" zmag.org Jan 24, 2006
"Canada in Afghanistan (with Kolhatkar)" briarpatch December, 2005
"War Profiteering and Us" zmag.org Jan 23, 2005
"Bush in Canada" zmag.org Nov 18, 2004
"Canadian Foreign Policy" dominionpaper.ca July 21, 2004
"Kanehsatake" zmag.org May 19, 2004
"After the Common Sense Revolution" zmag.org October 16, 2003
"The Ontario Quandary" rabble.ca June 17, 2003
"Canada, the US, and Health Care" zmag.org June 3, 2003
"Canadian Media and the Iraq War" zmag.org April 14, 2003
"Canadian Premiers and the Iraq War" zmag.org March 31, 2003
"The Pope Squat" zmag.org August 7, 2002
Israel/Palestine Commentary
Israel/Palestine is a very difficult issue for any journalist to tackle. There is a great deal written about it from a wide variety of perspectives. A great deal of what is written is racist, some of what is written is anti-semitic, and a great deal even of the writing that does not fall into either one of those traps misrepresents the conflict, its roots, and possibilities and prospects for a solution. As in the rest of my work, I try to provide facts, to let voices from the place speak for themselves.
"Exchange on Academic Boycott" zmag.org Dec 10, 2007
"The Academic Boycott Debate" zmag.org Nov 28, 2007
"N. and the Memory Wall" zmag.org Aug 12, 2006
"Summer Rains" zmag.org June 29, 2006
"Accidental Protection" zmag.org Aug 1, 2005
"On the Anniversary of Rachel Corrie's Murder" zmag.org March 15, 2004
"Another Turn of the Spiral" zmag.org January 15, 2004
"Road Map Theatrics" zmag.org August 12, 2003
"Murdering Solidarity" zmag.org May 10, 2003
"Israel/Palestine Ironies" zmag.org January 24, 2003
"Anti-semitism and Anti-colonialism" zmag.org January 5, 2003
"Can Americans understand suicide bombers?" zmag.org December 13, 2002
"Cut through the lies" zmag.org April 4, 2002
Colombia Commentary
Colombia is a classic example of "Invisible Struggles". While many readers know about Colombia's civil war and its problems with narcotraffickers, paramilitaries, and insurgency and counterinsurgency, few know about the country's remarkable and powerful social movements. I have tried to present their voices in my writing and translation on the topic.
"The May 15 Mobilizations in Colombia" zmag.org May 17, 2006
"Colombian Government Counteroffensive" zmag.org May 20, 2005
"People Power in Colombia?" zmag.org April 23, 2005
"Colombia in 2004" zmag.org Jan 1, 2005
"The Disappeared Mayor" counterpunch.org August 30, 2004
"Pardoning the Paramilitaries in Colombia" zmag.org December 23, 2003
"Colombia's Referendum" zmag.org October 27, 2003
"When Terrorists Talk of Human Rights" counterpunch.org September 20, 2003
"Uribe's Onslaught" counterpunch.org July 2, 2003
"How would drug legalization in the United States affect Colombia?" colombiajournal.org March 17, 2003
"The Other Kind of Violence" zmag.org March 2, 2003
"The Uribe Administration's negotiation with itself" zmag.org November 27, 2002
"Welcome to the Nightmare" zmag.org August 14, 2002
"The Uribe Model" zmag.org May 30, 2002
"Social Movements in the Americas" zmag.org May 29, 2002
"Colombian Women Fight Fear" rabble.ca May 7, 2002
"The War Foretold" zmag.org April 5, 2002
"Snapshot of Colombia" zmag.org January 29, 2002
"We Mean Dead or Dead" zmag.org October 30, 2001
"Invisible Struggles in Colombia" zmag.org April 27, 2001
Venezuela Commentary
When the Venezuelan coup occurred in April 2002, I -- like many others -- became aware that we had failed to pay attention to a very worthy process that deserved both attention and solidarity. I have tried to fill that void since, and today there are many journalists who are very interested in Venezuela.
"Venezuela's Constitutional Reform Fails (For Now)" zmag.org Dec 4, 2007
"Colombia and Venezuela: Clash of Two Models" venezuelanalysis.com August 6, 2004
"Colombia's Border Brigade and the Venezuelan Referendum" venezuelanalysis.com June 20, 2004
"Terrorist Plot Foiled!" venezuelanalysis.com May 12, 2004
"The Chavez Government's Economic Policies" venezuelanalysis.com January 22, 2004
"Two Venezuelan Mayors" zmag.org August 3, 2003
"What is the Colombian Army doing attacking Venezuela?" zmag.org April 3, 2003
"Venezuela's 'National Strike'" zmag.org December 10, 2002
"The Venezuelan Coup" zmag.org April 16, 2002
Chiapas Commentary
I began writing and translating on the conflict in Chiapas and the Zapatista movement around 2000. I have followed it since then, and although the Zapatistas are most eloquent representatives of their own movement and have plenty of followers who translate into English (the indefatigable irlandesa being the most obvious example) they frequently raise points that are well worth repeating.
"Ten Years on in Chiapas" zmag.org January 2, 2004
"From Aguascalientes to Caracoles" zmag.org September 13, 2003
"The Government's Mask Comes Off in Chiapas" zmag.org September 6, 2002
"Vicente Fox and Globalization" zmag.org October 9, 2001
"Mexico's 'Modern Right'" zmag.org June 11, 2001
"Onward to Mexico City" zmag.org February 28, 2001
"Vicente Fox and the Zapatistas" zmag.org December 12, 2000
Field Reporting
I have spent some time since 2000 in Latin America and the Middle East doing reporting on social movements and political conflicts (usually both).
"Consolidating a Coup" Frontline India November 5-18, 2005
"Two Faced in Haiti" zmag.org October 1, 2005
"The Elections Game is On" zmag.org September 26, 2005
"The Polls of Bel Air" zmag.org September 23, 2005
"From the Embassy to the Prison" zmag.org September 21, 2005
"The Venezuelan Referendum Ends" zmag.org August 16, 2004
"The Calm Before the ?" zmag.org August 15, 2004
"Florentino,the Devil, and the Opposition" zmag.org August 14, 2004
"In Caracas" zmag.org August 13, 2004
"The Nasa of Northern Cauca" en-camino.org May 2004
"Beyond Disillusionment in Argentina" Frontline India March 1-14, 2004
"West Bank/Gaza Photo Essay" zmag.org August 3, 2002
"Gaza" zmag.org July 1, 2002
"The West Bank/Gaza Prisons" zmag.org June 26, 2002
"They Can Walk With Their Heads Up: Justin Podur and Cynthia Peters interview Joao Pedro Stedile" Dollars and Sense January 2002
"A Way Out for Colombia" Z Magazine October 2001
"Elections in Chiapas"zmag.org August 23, 2000
"Political Prisoners on Hunger Strike in Comitan" zmag.org July 18, 2000
Interviews
A major part of my work involves interviewing representatives of movements and insightful analysts whose work would otherwise not reach english-language reading audiences - usually because those interviewed are too busy to write or don't write in English.
"Pakistan in the Region" zmag.org May 18, 2007"
"The Para-Scandal and the Bush Visit" zmag.org March 10, 2007
"A State of all its Citizens" zmag.org Feb 27, 2007
"Views of the Other Colombia" zmag.org Nov 4, 2006
"Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights" zmag.org Sept 17, 2006
"Free Software as a Social Movement" zmag.org Dec 18, 2005
"The Great War for Civilization" rabble.ca December 5, 2005
"Palestinians in Israel's Prisons" zmag.org May 19, 2005
"Mechanisms of Denial" zmag.org Feb 20, 2005
"Venezuela's Revolutionary University" venezuelanalysis.com September 22, 2004
"Venezuelan Community Television" venezuelanalysis.com September 13, 2004
"Stateless and Deported" zmag.org June 6, 2004
"Drawing the Class Line" zmag.org May 3, 2004
"Palestinians struggle against deportation" rabble.ca July 16, 2003
"Process and Strike" zmag.org January 19, 2003
"Slow Class Warfare" zmag.org January 12, 2003
"Fighting the Deportations" rabble.ca December 18, 2002
"Solidarity with Palestinians" zmag.org October 28, 2002
"The Palestinian Olive Harvest" zmag.org October 16, 2002
"Handmade in Colombia" rabble.ca September 20, 2002
"Interviewed by Stephen Shalom on Colombia" zmag.org March 22, 2002
News Briefs
The NewStandard is an experiment in online news with a point of view. They adhere to strict journalistic standards, but report on stories and frame them with a radical and activist perspective. I have done a small amount of work for them and hope to continue to do more.
"Questions Arise Over Causes of Yellow Fever Outbreak in Colombia" newstandardnews.net January 30, 2004
"Unions Block Nigerian Oil Privatization Plan" newstandardnews.net December 30, 2003
"UN Expands Peacekeeping Mission in Liberia" newstandardnews.net December 26, 2003
"Colombian Paramilitaries Invade Venezuela" newstandardnews.net December 17, 2003
Book Reviews
You can only learn so much from articles. Sometimes you just have to read a book or two. When I read books that are particularly insightful, useful, or original, I try to call attention to them. I have also reviewed books in my areas of expertise.
"Through the lens of the Shock Doctrine" zmag.org Oct 21, 2007"
"The Things We Do For Oil" zmag.org January 8, 2007"
After Socialism?" zmag.org December 17, 2006
"A Dishonest Case for a Coup" zmag.org February 16, 2006
"A Kofi Annan's Haiti" zmag.org February 10, 2006
"A Aristide the Film" zmag.org December 13, 2005
"The Forgotten Conflicts in Sudan" zmag.org March 14, 2004
"The Congo Conflict" zmag.org March 5, 2004
"Palestinian Child Prisoners" zmag.org February 11, 2004
"A Multifaceted Fraud: Irshad Manji's 'Trouble With Islam'" zmag.org December 5, 2003
"Inside Colombia" Book Review, Z Magazine September 2003
"Dead Heat" Book Review, Z Magazine April 2003
"Israel/Palestine and Globalization" zmag.org March 23, 2003
"All You Can Eat/Fat Cats and Running Dogs" Double Book Review Z Magazine January 2003
"Rules for Radicals" zmag.org October 20, 2001
Instructionals
ZNet has created a series of online courses that are much more substantial than articles. These are intended to help people go into a subject more deeply and give them a framework for understanding issues. I have contributed two such "Instructionals".
Institutional Racism zmag.org 2002
Statistics and Logic for the People zmag.org 2000
Print Magazine Articles
My work has primarily been online, though I am happy to get into print whenever I can, of course. I publish on the same topics and issues in magazines that I write about online, and much of what gets printed also eventually ends up online as well.
"Canada in Afghanistan (with Kolhatkar)" briarpatch December, 2005
"Consolidating a Coup" Frontline India November 5-18, 2005
"The Venezuelan Referendum" Z Magazine October 2004
"The Rise and Fall of Counterspin" Z Magazine July/August 2004
"Justice for Palestine: Justin Podur and Stephen Shalom interview Noam Chomsky" Z Magazine May 2004
"The Battle for Colombia" Frontline India April 10-23, 2004
"Venezuela in Two Winds" New Politics Summer 2003
"Participatory Economics: An Interview with Michael Albert" New Politics Summer 2003
"Elections in Pakistan: Justin Podur interviews Zia Mian" Z Magazine February 2003
"What Happened in Jenin?" Z Magazine September 2002
"Occupation and Resistance: The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict" Frontline India August 17-30 2002
"Hatred vs. Humanity in Gujarat" New Politics Summer 2002
"The Coup in Venezuela" Z Magazine May 2002
"Differing Agendas on Kashmir" Z Magazine March 1, 2002
"Non-Reformist Reparations for Africa" Z Magazine February 2002
"A Long March in Mexico" (with Vijay Prashad) Frontline India March 31-April 13, 2001
Translations
I started journalistic work as a translator and started writing only later. In a sense, I view all writing as translation: trying to present voices that would otherwise go unheard. The lion's share of my translation work in recent years has been for the exemplary Colombian economist Hector Mondragon, who lives underground in Colombia, on paramilitary hit lists.
Democracy and Plan Colombia - Hector Mondragon zmag.org January 14, 2007
Apartheidland to AUC-Land - Hector Mondragon zmag.org September 16, 2006
Freedom for Mother Earth! - Hector Mondragon zmag.org January 9, 2006
Records at the Exchange - Hector Mondragon zmag.org July 27, 2005
Contrasts - Hector Mondragon zmag.org April 19, 2005
Tobirio Attacked - Hector Mondragon zmag.org April 19, 2005
A Quick Visit - Hector Mondragon zmag.org November 25, 2004
Colombia Prophesies - Hector Mondragon zmag.org June 8, 2004
The March of the Orcs - Hector Mondragon zmag.org March 30, 2004
Colombia's Para/Military - Francisco Garavito zmag.org May 3, 2004
Colombia Today - Hector Mondragon zmag.org March 5 2004
Yellow Fever - Hector Mondragon zmag.org January 29 2004
Uribe in Wonderland - Hector Mondragon zmag.org July 30 2003
Colombia and Venezuela Hector Mondragon zmag.org
Industrialists, Godfathers, Hangmen - Hector Mondragon zmag.org June 7, 2003
A Miraculous Catch - German Castro Caycedo zmag.org May 8, 2003
South American Israel - Hector Mondragon zmag.org April 23, 2003
Bubble and Fleet - Hector Mondragon zmag.org March 10, 2003
Lungosand Senoritos - Hector Mondragon zmag.org Jan 2, 2003
Struggle Against Uribe - Hector Mondragon zmag.org Sept 22, 2002
Economics of Counterterror - Hector Mondragon zmag.org Sept 2002
Colombia and Venezuela - Hector Mondragon zmag.org April 2002
Colombian Elections - Hector Mondragon zmag.org March 2002
The Theatre of Good and Evil -Eduardo Galeano zmag.org September 21, 2001
Towards a 'Humanitarian Intervention'? - Hector Mondragon zmag.org July 2001
Letter to President Vicente Fox - Subcomandante Marcoszmag.org December 2, 2000
Plan Colombia: Gasoline on the Fire- Hector Mondragon zmag.org 2000