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2011
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1 September 2011, by Melissa Wils-Owens
Alternatives’ Days Report and Alternatives’ 2011 Declaration
Last month, Alternatives held its seventeenth annual Alternatives’ Days held in Camp Papillon de St-Alphonse de Rodriguez in the Laurentiens. The weekend was attended by over 300 people, in (…) -
1 September 2011, by Isabelle Reford,
Melissa Wils-Owens
Alternatives International Project Briefing – September 2011
Each of the nine member organizations of the Alternatives International federation is constantly at work on a variety of projects to improve social, economic and environmental justice in their (…) -
1 September 2011, by Liza Ponomarenko
Taking away the abstraction from beheadings in Saudi Arabia
The condemned, regardless of gender, is given a tranquilizer and taken into what is usually a public square after a daily midday prayer. The prisoner cannot see anything, only imagine the (…) -
1 September 2011, by Kevin Kaczmara
The Uncertainty of China’s Political and Economic Future
At first glance, the Chinese developmental model appears to be moving forward, with China recently surpassing Japan for the title of the world’s second largest economy. Chinese business certainly (…) -
1 September 2011, by Nitasha Moothoo-Padayachie
Displacement and inequality in the name of ‘development’ – the case of Brazil
“Between now and the 2014 World Cup, 1.5 million families will be removed from their homes across the whole of Brazil” (Zirin, 2011)1. The 2014 World Cup represents a joyous occasion celebrated (…) -
1 September 2011, by Jillian Kestler-D’Amours
Canada Clamps Down on Criticism of Israel
Nearly two years after the first hearings were held in Ottawa, the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Anti-Semitism (CPCCA) released a detailed report on July 7 that found that (…) -
1 September 2011, by Michael Bramadat-Willcock
Past, Present and Future: An Overview of South Sudan
The Republic of South Sudan has endured a difficult coming of age. Its future remains uncertain as this young nation in Africa takes its first steps towards adulthood. Optimism towards its new (…) -
1 September 2011, by Pervez Hoodbhoy
What next: A Sunni bomb?
The Islamic Republic of Iran stands at the threshold to the bomb. In 2010 it had more than enough low-enriched uranium (some 2,152 kilograms) to make its first bomb’s worth of weapons-grade (…) -
1 September 2011, by Patrick Bond
Climate Justice and Canada
The Climate Justice Movement gives me more hope than anything I’ve seen since the end of Apartheid and struggle for free access to AIDS medicines. Even when things looked bad for these struggles (…) -
1 September 2011, by Geneviève Lavoie-Mathieu
REDD: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Forest governance, land ownership and management are critical issues for millions of indigenous peoples and forest dweller all around the world whose subsistence and cultural identity is rooted in (…) -
1 September 2011, by Katie McQuaid
Refugees as human rights defenders: Can they protect or do they need protecting?
A panel discussion at the recently held International Association for the Study of Forced Migration conference tackled the often precarious position of refugee human rights defenders. Katie (…) -
31 August 2011, by Marion Bauer
The Hosni Mubarak Trial
After the uprising earlier this year in Egypt, former President Hosni Mubarak was forced to step down. He now faces justice in the Egyptian court with charges of corruption and ordering the (…) -
29 August 2011, by Arundhati Roy
I’d rather not be Anna
If what we’re watching on TV is indeed a revolution, then it has to be one of the more embarrassing and unintelligible ones of recent times. For now, whatever questions you may have about the Jan (…) -
29 August 2011, by Aijaz Ahmad
The Political War
The economic warfare waged by the advanced nations is also the other face of of the globalized militarism that reserves to itself the right to unilateral military invasion and intervention. (…) -
26 August 2011, by Saeed Naqvi
Million Arab Lives, Small Price For Freedom
Just in case you did not know, Muammar Qaddafi and Bashar Assad are victims of a media war, relentless, no holds barred. I am making this observation with a degree of authority because I (…) -
26 August 2011, by Adil E. Shamoo
The Upcoming Palestinian Uprising
If conditions do not change quickly by the time of the U.S.-promised veto of Palestinian statehood at the UN General Assembly on September 20, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict could explode into a (…) -
2 August 2011, by Isabelle Reford
New Countries on the Block
The year 2011 saw the creation of the world’s newest nation, South Sudan. The country has been officially recognized by the UN as its 193rd member following its independence from the Sudan in (…) -
2 August 2011, by Isabelle Reford,
Melissa Wils-Owens
Alternatives International Project Briefing – August 2011
Each of the nine member organizations of the Alternatives International federation is constantly at work on a variety of projects to improve social, economic and environmental justice in their (…) -
2 August 2011, by Melissa Wils-Owens
Last Call for Alternatives’ Days Registration
Since 1994, Alternatives Montreal has focused Canadian interest in social and political activism through an annual event called Alternatives’ Days. Both an opportunity for Canadian camaraderie (…) -
2 August 2011, by Emilie Couture
Quebecor’s Crusade against Public Financing
“Do as I say, not as I do”: it is basically the message that the different entities of Quebecor Media have been sending us recently about the use of provincial and federal funding. The recent (…) -
2 August 2011, by Nitasha Moothoo-Padayachie
67 Minutes: A successful example of social cohesion
"It is ordinary people...that make the world a special place," - Nelson Mandela, 2008 July 18th not only marks the birthday of the great Nelson Mandela, but also marks a recently (…) -
2 August 2011, by Kelsey Williams
Interventions in Africa: Help or Hindrance?
Sub-Saharan Africa withstands an almost constant onset of civil wars, ethnic conflicts, and failed states. When these tragedies occur, there is an attitude within the international community that (…) -
2 August 2011, by Erin Hudson
The Arab Spring: to live with the dignities of human rights or die trying
“They are saying death or dignity. Yes, it has come down to this…Do not make a mistake; this is not a religious revolution. This is not an ideological revolution. This is a human rights (…) -
2 August 2011, by Marion Bauer
Madagascar’s Land Distribution – what is left for the Malagasy?
In Madagascar, a diverse set of needs as well as the factions representing them battle to find a way to fulfill their interests, often leading to turmoil. Madagascar’s policies of land (…) -
2 August 2011, by Jason Leung
High and Dry
In the past few months, a vicious drought has plagued East Africa. Regarded as the worst drought in sixty years, the region is witnessing a natural disaster that has destroyed livelihoods, brought (…) -
2 August 2011, by Kevin Kaczmara
March of the Penguins
Ranked number forty-five on the United Nations Human Development Index, Chile finds itself ahead of all of its Latin American counterparts, and understandably so. The two decades since the end of (…) -
2 August 2011, by Anna Lekas Miller
Sisterhood of the Sluts
On January 24th, 2011, Constable Michael Sanguinetti, spoke at a crime prevention conference at a Toronto law school. He dared to say, “…women should avoid dressing like sluts to avoid being (…) -
2 August 2011, by Geneviève Lavoie-Mathieu
Food Crisis in the Horn of Africa : Beyond food aid and cash transfers
Recent headlines are dominated by what has been described as ’the worse drought the Horn of Africa has suffered in sixty years’. This comes as no surprise. Amid the droughts that gravely impacted (…) -
2 August 2011, by Patrick Bond
Climate Meetings are Conferences of Polluters
Judging by what transpired at the global climate negotiations in the former West German capital, Bonn, it appears certain that in just over five months’ time, the South African port city of Durban (…) -
1 July 2011, by Melissa Wils-Owens
Keeping Hope Afloat: Freedom Flotilla II
Last month, an international fleet of ships embarked for Gaza as the sequel to the 2010 Freedom Flotilla which triggered the relaxation of Israel’s blockade on the Gaza Strip. This territory is on (…) -
1 July 2011, by Isabelle Reford,
Melissa Wils-Owens
Alternatives International Project Briefing - July 2011
Each of the nine member organizations of the Alternatives International federation is constantly at work on a variety of projects to improve social, economic and environmental justice in their (…) -
1 July 2011, by Wendy Papakostandini
Reproductive Rights Are Human Rights
On the surface, reproductive rights do not seem particularly pressing. More often than not, they are swept under the rug, and rarely are they equated with human rights. I argue however that the (…) -
1 July 2011, by Nitasha Moothoo-Padayachie
Gendercide in India: the patriarchy of birth
Gendercide, as coined by Mary Ann Warren in her1985 book, is viewed as a product of poverty or ignorance. This article will help demonstrate that the issue of gendercide is not class or education (…) -
1 July 2011, by Anna Lekas Miller
Moroccan Monarchy in the Arab Spring
Like many Arab revolutionaries before him, including Mohammad Bouazizi of Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia, Oussama Khlefi is young, highly educated, and unable to find work. He has a dual degree in (…) -
1 July 2011, by Jason Leung
Hope for an HIV/AIDS Vaccine
Around the world, HIV/AIDS is a pandemic that is identified as having a devastating effect on all aspects of life, from entire populations to individuals. June 2011 marks the thirtieth anniversary (…) -
1 July 2011, by Salma Moolji
The Brazilian Surge for Hydroelectricity at Belo Monte: A Beautiful Mountain of Trouble
Thirty years ago, a Brazilian indigenous group, the Kayapo, burst onto the world stage in full colour, with feather headdresses, painted faces, disked upper lips and the singer Sting by their (…) -
30 June 2011, by Kevin Kaczmara
Decentralizing the Effects of the Earthquake in Japan
While natural disasters are intrinsically unavoidable, the aftermath of such catastrophes is, to an extent, predetermined by a country’s stage of development. As far as the unofficial hierarchy (…) -
30 June 2011, by Geneviève Lavoie-Mathieu
Like Fish Out of Water: India’s Landless Farmers
The Kondh area of central-southwest Orissa and neighbouring states is one of the most abundant areas in high quality bauxite. This has fueled a new wave of mining and metal factory based (…) -
30 June 2011, by Liza Ponomarenko
A Lesson to Be Learned from India’s Failing Microfinance
Microcredit, microfinance, and microlending are synonymously used to describe the trend policy makers attribute to significant reductions in poverty. Essentially, microfinance programs use (…) -
30 June 2011, by Siddharth Varadarajan
India’s Stake in Africa’s Future
A spectre is haunting Europe and America, home to the colonialists and cold warriors of yesterday, the spectre of an Africa—which they ruled and exploited for a century-and-a-half—now coming under (…) -
30 June 2011, by Patrick Bond
Gaza: A View From the Ground A South African Perspective
Here in Palestine, disgust expressed by civil society reformers about Barack Obama’s May 19 policy speech on the Middle East and North Africa confirms that political reconciliation between (…) -
30 June 2011, by Alternative Information Center
Activists in Israel Reject German Party’s Position
The German left-wing party Die Linke issued a shocking statement on 7 June 2011, stating that “We will not participate in initiatives on the Middle East conflict which call for a one-state (…) -
1 June 2011, by Salma Moolji
Panama’s Open-Pit Crisis: The Indigenous Struggle Against Mining
Dawn cracks with the swift motion of clouds cresting over the peaks of Panama’s rolling cordillera. It is six am; the roosters are already crowing and the children, already crying in the (…) -
1 June 2011, by Nitasha Moothoo-Padayachie
Gender Mainstreaming in the South African Public Service
In 1995, the mainstreaming of gender was identified as a key process for instituting change to the new South African democracy. South Africa ratified the Beijing Platform for Action, an agenda (…) -
1 June 2011, by Liza Ponomarenko
Environmental Health in China: Poised in Ambiguity
A rapidly industrializing nation, the Peoples Republic of China is simultaneously lagging and leading in the field of environmental health, which specifically addresses the physical, chemical, and (…) -
1 June 2011, by Geneviève Lavoie-Mathieu
The Controversy of Land Acquisition in the Developing World
Global food prices soared dramatically between 2006 and 2008 and again in 2010, which signals a new era of uncertainty and rivalry in the field of global arable land. Lack of arable land and (…) -
1 June 2011, by Davide Mastracci
Drugs & Justice
In the last couple of weeks the outcry aimed at the war on drugs in Mexico has been massive, with tens of thousands descending upon the streets of Mexico City in protest. The desire amongst the (…) -
1 June 2011, by Erin Hudson
Anti-homosexuality and Africa
Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill came to life in 2009. Since then, campaigns for the passage of the bill and against homosexuality have occurred throughout Uganda as have protests against the (…) -
1 June 2011, by Wendy Papakostandini
Death of Democracy in India, Birth of Censorship
“What are we, Saudi Arabia?” asks Pushkar Raj, the general secretary of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties in India. He adds, “We don’t expect this from India. This is something very serious.” (…) -
1 June 2011, by Michelle Craig and Steve Richter
The Fate of Montreal’s Community Gardens
The survival of the community garden known as Faubourg Saint-Laurent is at risk and the city of Montreal has a choice to make: preserve the garden or turn the land over to high-rise residential (…) -
1 June 2011, by John Riddell
How to Evaluate Progress in Bolivia
Six years after Bolivians elected their first Indigenous-led government, their ongoing struggle for national and social liberation remains a subject of debate and disagreement among socialists (…) -
1 June 2011, by Raïsa Mirza
Agricultural Livelihoods in Rwanda
Land is the resource upon which many Rwandans rely for their livelihood. The stakeholders in modern day agriculture are numerous. Farmers, co-operatives, NGOs, corporations and governments all (…) -
1 June 2011, by Nassar Ibrahim
Palestinian Reconciliation: Conditions Required for Success
The signing of the Palestinian reconciliation agreement is just the beginning of the internal reconciliation process on the national, political, strategic and tactical levels. Nassar Ibrahim (…) -
1 June 2011, by Isabelle Reford
Structural Adjustment at the IMF. Literally.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an organization of 187 member countries. The purpose of the fund is to promote the macroeconomic stability of the world economy by lending resources to (…) -
1 June 2011, by Isabelle Reford,
Melissa Wils-Owens
Alternatives International Project Briefing – June 2011
Each of the nine member organizations of the Alternatives International federation is constantly at work on a variety of projects to improve social, economic and environmental justice in their (…) -
1 June 2011, by Kevin Kaczmara
The Search for a Socialist Smartphone
It may take several more years before the average citizen of Cuba, a self-proclaimed socialist country, faces consumer decisions as critical as choosing between a BlackBerry and an iPhone. If Cuba (…) -
11 May 2011, by Mostafa Henaway
Students, labour, academics: Growing Pan-Canadian solidarity with Palestine
A series of developments and initiatives across Canada and Quebec underline the growing concern on and around Canadian campuses for issues relating to Palestine and in particular, around (…) -
10 May 2011, by Noam Chomsky
My Reaction to Osama bin Laden’s Death
We might ask ourselves how we would be reacting if Iraqi commandos landed at George W. Bush’s compound, assassinated him, and dumped his body in the Atlantic. It’s increasingly clear that the (…) -
29 April 2011, by Nick Buxton
The Law of Mother Earth: Behind Bolivia’s historic bill
Indigenous and campesino (small-scale farmer) movements in the Andean nation of Bolivia are on the verge of pushing through one of the most radical environmental bills in global history. The (…) -
26 April 2011, by Elizabeth Peredo Beltran
Some Reflections On The Way From Cochabamba To Durban
There is a rebellious movement growing across the planet protesting the unfair impacts of climate change and environmental crisis. A global intuition was being formed on the real causes of climate (…) -
26 April 2011, by John Riddell
Montreal Meeting Shows Growing Support for Climate Justice
Conference organizer: “This is the first chance in twenty years for such a political discussion embracing forces from both Quebec and [English] Canada” Bolivia marked Earth Day (April 22) this (…) -
19 April 2011, by Christian Nadeau
We are not alone: Resistance before and after the elections
Since the publication of my book Rogue in Power, I have called the attention of my readers to two main points. First, I wanted to underline the significance of a mass vote against the (…) -
14 April 2011, by Nipa Banerjee
LETTER FROM KABUL
I board a plane from Frankfurt, bound for Dubai on the way to one of my innumerable trips to Afghanistan. I muse about my journey over the years in the land of the Kabuliwallahs, the fruits and (…) -
5 April 2011, by Stefan Christoff
Elections 2011 and criminalization of dissent
As election ads fill the airwaves and campaign buses travel Canada’s thawing highways over the next month, the national media-driven debate has shifted toward the possibility of the Conservatives (…) -
15 March 2011, by Michael Ryan Wiseman
Then fall, Caesar
“Beware the ides of March.” And with these words the soothsayers stop soothing. This is not good news— not for a Caesar, a dictator, a self-styled demigod. Hope, ever last into the casket, (…) -
15 March 2011, by Horace CAMPBELL
Saluting the revolutionary women of Egypt
Honouring the struggles of women all over the world against patriarchy and oppression in the week of the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, Horace Campbell focuses on the instrumental (…) -
15 March 2011, by Juan Cole
King’s Nixonian Hearings against American Muslims
Rep. Peter T. King (R-NY)’s hearings on the alleged ‘radicalization’ of American Muslims are an affront to the brave Middle Eastern Muslims who have, during the past two months, thrown off (…) -
15 March 2011, by Marcus Tan de Bibiana
An Awakened Journey
Manoeuvring through the colourful and busy neighbourhood blocks of Tamale is like stumbling through a marketplace without knowing what exactly you came for; there is something electrifying about (…) -
15 March 2011, by Michael Lithgow
ART THREAT !!!
When Banksy offered to pay $133,000 US to get artists Oleg Vorotnikov and Leonid Nikolayev out of a Russian jail, the local court said “nyet!”. But Russians charged with murder are routinely (…) -
15 March 2011, by Salima Punjani
Reversing Stereotypes
December saw the end of the incredibly successful first annual Addis Ababa Foto Festival (AFF), but the creative momentum sparked by the festival is omnipresent. AFF was organized by Ethiopian (…) -
15 March 2011, by Joel Balsam
Spinning Classes
Carefully placed on a round table in the lobby of the Sheraton Hotel in downtown New Orleans lay a number of special edition Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly (GA) Ha’aretz (…) -
15 March 2011, by Barbara Legault
ReBELLEs
In October 2008, under the theme of Toujours RebELLES — Waves of Resistance, 500 young feminists, aged fourteen to thirty-five, from all regions of Canada and Québec gathered in Montreal. What (…) -
14 March 2011, by Robert Fisk
Palestinians Understand Gaddafi Better Than We Do
To Beirut. Storms. Heavy rain. Seas sweeping over the little port by my home. A meeting with a close friend of a son of Gaddafi. "He wants a battle, habibi, he wants a battle. He wants to be the (…) -
14 March 2011, by Rob Rainer
Charities Should Not Be Politically Muzzled
The freedom of expression of Canada’s 80,000-plus charities is being unfairly restricted. According to the Income Tax Act (ITA) and a Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) policy, if a charity spends more (…) -
28 February 2011, by Michel LAMBERT
Alternatives Attacked!
It is with these two words that I began my day yesterday. Alternatives is once again the target of a report in the media, this time via the plume of an obscure professor at the HEC de Montréal. (…) -
23 February 2011, by Feroz MEHDI
World Social Forum: 10th Anniversary
Senegal welcomed the world this month, as 75,000 people representing local and international progressive movements and organizations came to Dakar from over 130 countries. Contrary to what (…) -
23 February 2011, by Connie Hackbarth
Israel Bars AIC, Independent Journalists from Jerusalem Press Conference with Chilean Miners
Israeli authorities barred entrance to representatives of the Alternative Information Center (AIC) and independent news sources from a press conference being held in West Jerusalem with the (…) -
16 February 2011, by World Assembly of Social Movements
Final Declaration of the Social Movements Assembly
As the Social Movements Assembly of the World Social Forum of Dakar, 2011, we are gathered here to affirm the fundamental contribution of Africa and its peoples in the construction of human (…) -
16 February 2011, by Patrick Bond
From Cairo to Dakar to Durban, Another World Actually Is Possible!
Last week’s World Social Forum (WSF) in Dakar, Senegal, ended up riotously happy thanks to the eviction of a universally-hated Egyptian Pharoah, after near-debilitating logistical disasters at the (…) -
16 February 2011, by Feroz MEHDI
Palestine at the World Social Forum 2011
In the plenary concluding session of the World Education Forum in Ramallah on October 31, 2010 it was decided to hold a thematic forum “World Forum in Solidarity with Palestine” sometimes in 2012. (…)