Described by a Canadian expert on the issue as the canonical work on this little known part of African history and geography; Hodges, a UK scholar and journalist, provides readers with a coherent and comprehensive record of the Western Sahara. For those coming late to the issue of Africa´s last colony, this issue, there is a wealth of complex history going back to the Neolithic to learn in order to understand the present day ongoing struggles for independence.
Hodges provides the essential background to understand the struggle for independence Read more [...] Author Archives: Theresa Wolfwood. Director, The Barnard-Boecker Centre Foundation
Hodges, Tony. WESTERN SAHARA: The Roots of a Desert War. Lawrence Hill & Co. USA.
Described by a Canadian expert on the issue as the canonical work on this little known part of African history and geography; Hodges, a UK scholar and journalist, provides readers with a coherent and comprehensive record of the Western Sahara. For those coming late to the issue of Africa´s last colony, this issue, there is a wealth of complex history going back to the Neolithic to learn in order to understand the present day ongoing struggles for independence.
Hodges provides the essential background to understand the struggle for independence Read more [...] Comments Off on Hodges, Tony. WESTERN SAHARA: The Roots of a Desert War. Lawrence Hill & Co. USA.
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Hines, Colin. Localization: A Global Manifesto. Earthscan Publications, London, UK, 2000.
This British writer-activist has excellent ideas on how to create a necessary alternative to industrial, monoculture globalization. How to create cultural diversity and preserve biodiversity while localizing economies with human priorities.
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Hildebrandt, Zeporah. MARINA SILVA: Defending Rainforest Communities in Brazil. 2001. The Feminist Press, New York, USA.
“To see families that lived in the forest in dignity; in the favelas, in terrible poverty— that was a great motivation to become involved in political work, in social movements.”
One of my memorable moments at The World Social Forum in Porto Alegro, Brazil was seeing and hearing a small frail woman take the stage and capture the hearts of the audience when she spoke. Marina Silva was then the Senator from the Amazon in Brazil´s national government and was passionate about protecting the people and the ecology of her home.
Silva was Read more [...] Comments Off on Hildebrandt, Zeporah. MARINA SILVA: Defending Rainforest Communities in Brazil. 2001. The Feminist Press, New York, USA.
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Heath, Joseph and Andrew Potter. The Rebel Sell: Why the culture can’t be jammed. 2004. HarperCollins, Toronto, ON.
I have long had my doubts about the idea of "culture jamming" as promoted by some magazines and recent acclaimed books. It often seems like shallow theatre to me. Thinking it may be an age related ideological problem of my own, I was pleased to see this book by two obviously young writers.
Their thesis is that a preoccupation with "jamming" the consumer culture - what Warnock calls market capitalism in his very different book, Saskatchewan - is really a form of consumerism. I think of that whenever I see a "Che" T-shirt. We commodify everything Read more [...]
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Hawthorne, Susan. Wild Politics. Spinifex Press. North Melbourne, Australia.
In her opening statement Hawthorne lays out our problem and our solution: Disconnection is critical for a system based on profit. By contrast, biodiversity relies on connection and relationship. If DISPOSABLE PEOPLE is depressing, WILD POLITICS provides an inspiring antidote to its message by giving a feminist critique of our present world, an explanation of the structures that enable exploitation and an amazing range of actions by women, peasants, farmers, workers everywhere who defy the globalization paradigm and connect to our common humanity Read more [...]
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Hawthorne, Susan. THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT. 2005. Spinifex Press. Melbourne, Australia.
From the physical sciences comes the theory that all life is interconnected, that even the gentle movement of a butterfly’s wing can connect to vast and distant changes and consequences. The pages of this book are like those frail wings; marks on delicate paper that connect and relate.
In Wild Politics Hawthorne explored the growth of wisdom and strength in a world of biodiversity and cultural diversity; a world where everything is connected and politics are best nurtured in their own home environment. She showed how disconnection is vital Read more [...]
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Handal, Nathalie, editor. THE POETRY OF ARAB WOMEN: A contemporary anthology. 2001. Interlink Books USA.
This extensive collection contains works from more than 80 Arab women poets around the world. The editor writes that poetry is historically revered in Arab culture and is the genre of choice of women writers – many known writers date back 1500 years. For this reviewer it is exciting to discover so many contemporary poets in one volume. Arab woman and their creativity have been sidelined in today´s politicized world and this book is a great contribution to our knowledge of Arab poetry in translation.
The introduction is lengthy and extensive, Read more [...]
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Hamilton, Clive. Growth Fetish. 2004. Pluto Press UK and USA.
There is much to like about this book – from the quirky title to the cover quote by Noam Chomsky, “Right on target and badly needed”, to the opening quote, “All great truths begin as blasphemies”, by George Bernard Shaw and to the final closing line by the author, “Nothing is inevitable and no power is invincible”. So after a session of reading very ho-hum works that I couldn’t recommend anyone buy, I was happy to dig into this economics made-easy and action made possible new book from Australia.
When I was in Brazil for the Read more [...]
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Halper, Jeff. An Israeli in Palestine: Resisting Dispossession, Redeeming Israel. 2008. Pluto Press, UK.
“As I did when I was involved in the civil rights and anti—war movements in the USA in the 1960s, I today stand with the oppressed, the Palestinians…a struggle for freedom, justice and human rights that is truly global.”
When Jeff Halper spoke recently on a cross—Canada tour, he concentrated on Israeli government policies and their devastating effect on Palestine. He told us about the resistance campaigns of the organization he directs [Israeli Committee against House Demolitions (ICAHD), a group of Israeli & international volunteers Read more [...] Comments Off on Halper, Jeff. An Israeli in Palestine: Resisting Dispossession, Redeeming Israel. 2008. Pluto Press, UK.
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Hallet, Mary and Marilyn Davis. FIRING THE HEATHER: The Life and Times of Nellie McClung. 1994. Fifth House, Canada.
“The phrase [fire the heather] is a Scottish agricultural term that means getting rid of the old crop, so that new growth may begin.” Catherine Kerrigan, Edinburgh University
Someone recently said that ´feminism´ had become invisible and even the word was seldom used. So I thought it was time to re–new my knowledge about the women on whose shoulders modern women stand.
One of them most famous women in Canada was Nellie McClung, 1875–1951. The authors of this biography – and there are others, my public library lists eight, including Read more [...] Comments Off on Hallet, Mary and Marilyn Davis. FIRING THE HEATHER: The Life and Times of Nellie McClung. 1994. Fifth House, Canada.
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Hackett, Robert A. and Yuezhi Zhao, editors. DEMOCRATIZING GLOBAL MEDIA: One World, Many Struggles. Rowan & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. UK & USA.
“We Must Be Our Own Media”
Rosalie Bertell, 1995
This is a compilation of many papers by a diverse (mainly male) group of academics and writers from around the globe. As such, one expects different view points from a group that worked on a research project that spanned years and continents. Still, I found it was a mixed message – the title very moderate and safe with a Zapatista subtitle don’t seem to go together.
The editors however make some points clear in the introduction; many of the contributors believe that global media, those Read more [...]
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Griffin, Betty and Susan Lockhart. Their Own History: Women’s Contribution to the Labour Movement of BC. 2002. Published by United Fishermen and Allied Workers’Union & CAW Seniors. New Westminster, BC.
I found this big, photo-packed book at the Cumberland Miners' Memorial with a little hand written sign saying, that if the buyer wished, one of the authors would sign it! Such modesty from Betty Griffin whose writing career started late in life when she had to finish a book her husband did not complete before he died.
I noticed in this engrossing history, activist women seem to live long, productive lives. I checked the directory of women included and was pleased to find friends long gone and even a spunky relative who died recently at ninety-five, Read more [...] Comments Off on Griffin, Betty and Susan Lockhart. Their Own History: Women’s Contribution to the Labour Movement of BC. 2002. Published by United Fishermen and Allied Workers’Union & CAW Seniors. New Westminster, BC.
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