May 3, 2003

Returning artifacts to Iraq

One of the unfortunate tools and consequences of war is the destruction of the history and cultural heritage of tribes, ethnic groups, and even nations.

Cinco de Mayo is an important national holiday for the Mexican people.It is a celebration of the victory of freedom and national sovereignty. Often, commemorations focus on the military victory by a Mexican people’s army over a larger force of well-trained French troops in the battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. But a look at the whole story finds important parallels for our own time, for Mexico and others.

Two pieces of Texas legislation, House Bill 1845 (authored by Rep. Todd Smith) and Senate Bill 944 (authored by Sen. Steve Ogden), propose that immigrants carry new driver’s licenses that would identify them as non-citizens. These bills are severely problematic in a number of ways.

Members of the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) were selling T-shirts at the Bailey General Store on this barrier island along Florida’s Gulf coast a few days before Earth Day, April 22.

The next 559 days – from Earth Day 2003 to Election Day 2004 – could be the most important year and a half in American environmental history. The next 559 days may spell the difference between whether Earth Day in the future is an event to celebrate or a day of disappointment.

Like the early 20th century under Vladimir Lenin, the 1990s under Boris Yeltsin was a time of revolutionary change for Russia, the difference being that while Lenin strove to introduce socialism, Yeltsin attempted to reintroduce capitalism.

Nina Simone was known for a few things – her powerful voice, the music she wrote and her dedication to racial equality. Born in North Carolina in 1933, Simone began her musical training early, starting piano lessons before she was old enough for school.

Most people won’t have a chance to go to New York City’s Tribeca Film Festival (www.tribecafilmfestival.org) May 3-11 but here are three entries to watch for if you’re lucky enough to live in a town that offers more than just the usual blockbusters.

El Cinco de Mayo es un día de fiesta nacional muy importante para los mejicanos. Celebran la victoria de la libertad y la soberanía nacional. A menudo, las conmemoraciones se enfocan en la victoria de un ejército popular mejicano contra una fuerza francesa bien entrenada y más grande en la batalla de Puebla, 5 de mayo del año 1862. Pero cuando vemos la historia completa podemos sacar muchas lecciones para nuestra época, para los mejicanos y el mundo entero.

Tras décadas de persecución y asesinato de sus militantes, bajo la dictadura de Saddam Hussein, el Partido Comunista de Irak vuelve a la vida pública, abre su sede en Bagdad y critica enérgicamente la acción de las tropas estadounidenses tras la ocupación del país.