Luc Fournol, Saint Louis of Armstrong   1955

What if We Gave it Away? by Karen Houle
Think about ‘contribution,’ outside of the box. The box is economy. The dominant economy–capitalism–is only one among many possible models of social organization. How we think about economy and how we structure our activities as economies shapes what we think a contribution is, what kinds of activities are contributions, and who a contributor is. ¶ 03 February 2004 · More →

Crichton: "Environmentalism is a religion, because I say so" by Dru Oja Jay
Michael Crichton says environmentalism is a religion and offers science as an alternative in word but not deed, with an ultimately destructive and reductive result. ¶ 08 January 2004 · More →

Justice Entails Ending White Privilege by Kendall Clark
According to the latest Survey of Consumer Finances, non-white Americans own 10 or 11 cents of wealth for every 100 cents of wealth owned by white Americans. And, even more troubling, the wealth gap between whites and non-whites expanded 21% from 1998 to 2001. The racial injustices of American history do not fully explain wealth disparities, but they are impossible to understand without reference to historical advantages and disadvantages. ¶ 14 April 2003 · More →

Thoughts on Liberation by Dru Oja Jay
When German troops marched into Estonia during World War II, they were greeted as liberators. Not because the Germans were bringing democracy or even ambiguously defined "freedom," but because life under the Russians had been the worst thing to happen to the country up until that point. ¶ 12 April 2003 · More →

Feeding the Inner Child by Zoe Mulford
I throw a fit. He'll take anybody else's dessert, but he won't take mine. Embarrassed by my tears, he lets me pick something from the stash; but it's not a swap, it's charity. I remember the item being huge, cream-filled, with a sticky red coating and coconut on the outside. I had no idea what it was, and I was crying too hard to enjoy it or even remember what it tasted like. ¶ 09 April 2003 · More →

Technology, Democracy and Liberation: an interview with Darin Barney by Dru Oja Jay
Darin Barney is a professor of Communications at the University of Ottawa and the author of Prometheus Wired: The Hope for Democracy in the Age of Network Technology. Barney is best known for taking on the notion that the internet is somehow inherently democratic, and arguing the exact opposite: in most cases, he says, new technology strengthens those priorities already in place. ¶ 18 March 2003 · More →

AIDS, Africa and Aid by Dru Oja Jay
40 million people worldwide live with AIDS, 30 million of whom live in Africa. Of these, 58% are women and 3 million are children under 15. 3.1 million people died of AIDS in 2001. More than 12 million children have been orphaned by the virus; that number is expected to climb to a staggering 30 million by 2010...If the current trend continues, 100 million people will be infected with the AIDS virus by 2015... ¶ 18 March 2003 · More →

Saturday by Paul Ford
On Saturday morning I bundled up in my jacket and scarf and met some friends in Brooklyn. We took the train over to Bryant Park, behind the public library, where we met another friend. At least a dozen people I knew were going. ¶ 19 February 2003 · More →

A Coalition of the Willing? by Dru Oja Jay
Only one of the countries named as supporting the US in a "coalition of the willing" actually has a majority of the population in support of the war.  ¶ 19 February 2003 · More →

War in Iraq: Selected Articles by Dru Oja Jay
A short list of links to essential readings about the US push to invade Iraq. ¶ 18 February 2003 · More →

Invading Iraq or Courting Calamity? by Dru Oja Jay
A second look at the humanitarian consequences of war in Iraq, and an argument for deterrence instead of preemption. ¶ 14 February 2003 · More →

Planning for the Strike by Paul Ford
New York City is steeling itself for a transit strike. The thought of this shutdown causes stress from the tip of the Bronx to the far edges of the Rockaways; in response, many local papers -- the New York Post in particular, but also the Daily News and the Times -- have called on the transit workers union to reconsider, pointing out repeatedly that the strike is illegal, insisting that union leadership compromise its demands, and asking for Governor Pataki to intervene. ¶ 13 December 2002 · More →

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