The left has long accused America of imperialism, of commanding an empire, like the ancient Romans or the modern British. The mainstream of American political thought denied these accusations: Yes, we had bases all around the world, but they were there to protect Germany from the USSR, or Japan from China, or the Free World generally from Communism. We wanted nothing for ourselves except "stability" around us. We were not an empire, and looked forward to the day when we could bring all our troops home.

It’s that time again. It’s April, and therefore Sexual Assault Awareness Month. One of the highlights of Sexual Assault Awareness Month is Take Back the Night, an annual candlelight vigil/march/speak-out hybrid where we all stand together against sexual violence. Except every year I find myself just standing. Maybe if we stand firmer this year, we’ll end sexual violence. Take Back the Night is in a week and a half, and it’s taken on a certain ritualistic quality. We do it every year, but those of us who have been through it a few times start to wonder why, as every year, nothing seems to change.

What is the occupation? Four days in, and I feel like I’m asking the question for the first time. Before I arrived here I thought that “occupation” was synonymous with overt violence and death. While these things are certainly part of an occupation, they are far from being all of it. In some ways, measuring an occupation using death and injury statistics – or even home demolitions – is misleading.

A local cell of the anti-immigrant group, The Minutemen, will patrol the Canadian border near Pittsburgh, NH this weekend looking for illegal immigrants… coming into New Hampshire from Canada…

Argentina’s Dirty War (Guerra Sucia) and the Disappeared (los Desaparecidos)

We sat yesterday in a crowded hallway, a strip of tiled floor no wider than ten feet, that ran between the storefronts of a small market place. With the metal curtain that is drawn to the ground when the shops are closed, open only halfway to reduce the light shining in, we sat gathered in two groups around two opposing televisions. Each television would be dwarfed by a living room set from most suburbanite houses in the U.S., and the one we were watching still featured separate buttons, vertically aligned and numbered three to thirteen, to change the channel. But these two televisions and their respective groups of Argentineans cared not about the antiquity of the electronics but about the impending football match, River Plate versus Boca Juniors.

...I mention this game not because of its inherent significance but because of its significance to another event this past weekend, the national holiday for the desaparecidos.

The NH Legislature defeated several bills in the legislature that would limit a women's right to choose. Below is a summary of the bills and votes from Planned Parenthood.

Today, March 18th 2006 marks the third year since the Iraq war began. 400 NH citizens gathered in Concord today to demonstrate against the war. Overall, I was impressed by the number and diversity of the attendees. It seems like an anti-war position is becoming more mainstream. Not a minute went by without people honking their horns in support or giving the peace sign and thumbs up.

With all the recent violence in Iraq the media is asking the question “Is civil war likely in Iraq?” That is one of the most stupid things I have heard in a long time. Civil war has already broken out. Bush and the gang want us to believe that our presence is keeping everyday Iraqis safe. That the Iraqi army is well trained and in charged. Well I do not believe it is.