About the Blog
This Blog is eclectic, political and personal. The content of the posts reflect my political and philosophical orientation – developed over a lifetime of radical/revolutionary struggle against dehumanized capitalism and in search of peace and social justice.
The posts are for the most part taken from sources outside the mainstream media. From time to time I post my own opinions. I have also posted several of my own past writings, published and unpublished, on a wide variety of topics.
The Blog is organized as follows: below my painting (“Mujer Liberada”) the posts are organized under “Categories.” Under “Current Posts” you will find first my current original pieces (“Roger’s Original Essays”); this is followed by different areas in which I have posted articles from a wide variety of sources beginning in August of 2008. After that are different categories of my own “Archived Writing.”
If you came to the Blog via a search for an article on a particular subject, I welcome your comment and I invite you to browse in other areas.
I hope you find what I have posted or written to be interesting, informative, and – above all – transformative.
roger hollander 
Hello, I’m a volunteer here at TheRealNews.com and I’m trying to make some contacts to spread the word about our independent, non-corporate, viewer funded news source. I thought this story might interest you and be good for your site. Have a look and post our link if you can. Thanks, Joel
Obama conquers the new south
North Carolina has been a red state since 1976; Obama is turning it blue
The spark for the civil rights movement happened 48 years ago in Greensboro, North Carolina. The state has voted red since 1976 – and it was red until mid-September. Pepe Escobar, reporting from Greensboro and financial center Charlotte, tells how Senator Barack Obama’s campaign has energized voters from a broad spectrum, including blacks, female voters and independents, suburban and exurban, to the point that the state is now turning blue.
On the street in North Carolina this week Pepe Escobar spoke to one man who said, “Everybody’s excited about Obama,” a statement that really exemplifies the mood in N.C.
The Republican Party “Southern Strategy” is not working anymore. This is the new New South, 16 years after Bill Clinton. Obama – a liberal black senator from Chicago – is on the road to carry other southern states, from Virginia to Florida.
Escobar comments, “This is a second silent American revolution,” a sentiment echoed by a local early voter, “Everybody’s hurting, we want change.”
For complete coverage of this story please visit on our website:
http://therealnews.com/t/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=2639&updaterx=2008-10-28+09%3A05%3A57
I am adding you to my blogroll
Hi,
Your social-political critique is quite interesting, keep it up.
Bravo Roger! I’ve read some of your blogs and am not surprised to find that you are still fighting the good fight. Keep up the good work. If you’re in Toronto let’s meet up!
Hi there,
I recently read a great article on your blog and thought you would be interested in checking out my documentary entitled ‘Myths for Profit: Canada’s Role in Industries of War and Peace’. The 10 minute demo reel can be seen here. It is a 100% independently produced critical documentary about Canada’s military, foreign, and development policies at home and abroad.
http://www.wideopenexposure.com/M4P.php
It would be great if you were up for linking it on your site and letting your readers know about it.
Keep up the great blogging.
Thanks
Amy Miller
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Reading your opinions truly identifies these words in your heart; bitter, lonely, miserable, bicker, and pompous. I think excluding the word fool would be highly disrespectful of me.
When reason and logic fail, name calling is always a convenient option.
Hey there,
I’m a reporter with the Globe and Mail. We’re launching a G20 blog/news hub next week and I was hoping to talk to you about your experiences during the last major summit here in Toronto in the 80s. Can you spare me a few minutes by phone?
Look forward to hearing from you,
Siri
The spark for the civil rights movement happened 48 years ago in Greensboro, North Carolina. The state has voted red since 1976 – and it was red until mid-September. Pepe Escobar, reporting from Greensboro and financial center Charlotte, tells how Senator Barack Obama’s campaign has energized voters from a broad spectrum, including blacks, female voters and independents, suburban and exurban, to the point that the state is now turning blue.
+1
The man in the background is the Average American, Demanding a “fixed economy” despite doing absolutely nothing to aid in the process. The Zombies are the Economy, and while Obama is doing his hardest to try and get it under control, it is unfeasibly difficult; especially while there is nothing but criticism surrounding him.
Carl Spann here. Graduate Reseda High ’57. Keep kickin’ it Rog to help people understand the truth.
Roger-
You were at Berkley at the same time as Joan Baez and that famous orator of the day Mario Savo- I was just wondering if you knew much about Mario Savo and if you had ever written any words for the guy that gave that most prolific and necessary speech to the student body that day?
Hi, Stu, thanks for your remarks. I graduated from Berkeley in 1962, two years prior to the FSM, so I didn’t know Savio personally. However, I did participate actively in the events leading up to the FSM. Along with Mike Tigar and Ken Cloke (you should Google them), both by coincidence also classmates of mine at Reseda High in the SF Valley, we made up the Left of the student council (ASUC) in the 1961-62 school year. Ken and I editorialized in the Daily Cal against the infamous Kerr Directives, an Orwellian initiative that restricted free speech on campus in the name of free speech. Kerr went bonkers and got the Council to censure us, saying, in effect, if you don’t like it we can go back to the days of genuine 1950s McCarthyism. I subsequently negotiated with the Dean of Students a compromise that established the Hyde Park Free Speech area on campus, no restrictions whatsoever. The catch was that it was located in an out of the way part of the campus. It’s being later moved to Sproul Hall was a major piece of strategy that was key in the FSM.
Boy, them were the days! I cut my political teeth at Berkeley, my very first political rally on the steps of Sproul Hall, Bertrand Russell’s Ban the Bomb movement. I became radical then, and I become more radical every day of my life. Among others I thank my loving parents for the sense of justice they instilled in me by the very example of their lives.
Please excuse my late reply- So much here in America seems to interrupt one’s rhythm- So many unnecessary distractions coming from all directions-
I really liked your reply- It is as though you and your group at the time paved the way for Mario Savio- What you folks did there took one hell of A lot of hard bark! I can remember in Anchorage Ak., in the mid sixties, just having long hair could get you beaten half to death or worse. Alaska has always lagged A few years behind the lower 48 in everything from real estate to social change.
I did google Tigar and Cloke. Tigar right up there with Clarence Darrow, now that is impressive- Ken Cloke’s conflict resolution and mediation skills and list of books is equally impressive- I really believe that the radicals of early day by far make the most prolific intellectuals. Like Chomski and Zinn, it is their humanity and passion that pushes them to the top as opposed to deliberate sought out material success-
That Kerr sure seemed like A first class jerk-Reminded me of the University President that screwed with Howard Zinn- I wonder if Kerr lived long enough to see the three of you out succeed him-Hope so!
Your mention of your first political rally and Bertrand Russell’s Ban the Bomb movement brought to mind an excellent Documentary I recently saw called “Beating the Bomb”- Much of it was about the British ban the bomb efforts of the 50’s and many of the leaders were women. I never realized that the initials of the movement formed the “Peace” symbol-
I always considered myself A radical- Back in 63′-64′ when I had first heard of the Vietnam War, at 13 years of age I can remember thinking of how stupid it all was, asking young people to join up and fly half way around the world to kill some primitive little innocent jungle dweller because he was “Communist” or whatever- I told myself then and there that I would not ever kill another human being for A bunch of Fascist Capitalist monkeys in power here in this country- And the “Kill A Commie for Christ” ethos was way too much for me to swallow- I got busted in 1968 for possession of 3 or 4 matchbooks of pot leaf, seeds and stems and was facing up to 50 years for not paying the tax- And that is what got my charges dropped, the double jeopardy/self incrimination of paying the tax turned out to be unconstitutional-That kept me out of the war long enough to enroll in college and it was A blessing in disguise as the very first lotto had my birthdate as being the 5th drawn from the hat-
While going for A security clearance A few years later to work at the Anchorage airport Duty Free Shoppe, one of the two Treasury Agents that had popped me, A guy named Earnst, was the one I had to get clearance from- It turns out that he was once LBJ’s body guard with the Secret Service-Man, did he have some stories for me about Johnson and turns out he was A fairly decent guy-
Anyway, I have taken up enough of your time- Thanks for your great reply and you take care Roger- An honor and pleasure to make your acquaintance-
Peace-
Stuart
Correction: Your review of my essay, Why the Government Assassinated Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.
Ben Bella was not assassinated, he was overthrown.
Roger
I hope you get this message as I’m trying to contact you, but do not have your phone number. It’s Susie, Leila’s daughter. Mom died yesterday and I wanted to connect with you. Please write me back and thanks!
So sorry to hear about Leila. My info: rogerholla@aol.com, 647 687 1736.