Tariq Ali has picked the three winners:
- Top Quark, $1000: Glenn Greenwald: Greg Craig and Obama's worsening civil liberties record
- Strange Quark, $300: Black Agenda Report: The Great Black Hajj of 2009
- Charm Quark, $200: News From the Zona: Republican Virtue and Equality
Here is what he had to say about them:
Glenn Greenwald's well-argued and well-written critique of Obama's record on civil liberties with trials for some and not for others is my choice for the best piece. Interesting to note that the honeymoon with Obama has not lasted as long as the liberal love-affair with the Clintons. More was expected of Obama which is why disenchantment levels are much higher as this piece demonstrates.
Glenn Ford's 'The great Black Hajj of 2009' continues the tradition of black dissent at a time when black politics are in decline. The opportunist wing of Afro-American groups appears to have won out temporarily and the rainbow alliance consigned to the dustbin, while advancement through the Democrats is the rage. Ford's anger is understated but a good sign that there are many out there who might stay at home on election day in 2012 rather than countenance an administration on its knees before Wall Street with the motto: 'What is Good for Goldman Sachs is good for America'–caving in to the lobby system on health reforms and fighting a 'just war' in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
News from the Zona is a useful description of the differences between cold war liberalism and its successor. The lip-service (and not just that) to equality in the former was related to the needs of the system at the time. When communism collapse this was no longer considered necessary and neo-liberalism became the new mantra…till the Wall Street Crash of 2008.
Congratulations to the winners (please contact me by email, I will send the prize money later today–and remember, you must claim the money within one month from today). And feel free to leave your acceptance speech as a comment here! And thanks to everyone who participated. Thanks also, of course, to Tariq Ali for doing the final judging.
The three prize logos at the top of this post were designed, respectively, by Carlos, Matthew Daniels, and Jennifer Prevatt. Our thanks to each of them. I hope the winners will display them with pride on their own blogs!
Details about how the 3QD prizes work, here.