2012

Articles

• 30 March 2012, by Tamkinat Mirza

  Preview: The People’s Summit for Social and Environmental Justice

  The People’s Summit for Social and Environmental Justice will be held on June 15-23 in Rio de Janeiro this year, running parallel to Rio+20, the United Nations Conference on Environment and (…)
• 30 March 2012, by Michael D’Alimonte

  Green school initiatives: Saving money, resources and student health

  Green Schools, education institutions that promote interaction with nature as a learning tool while fostering an environmentally friendly campus predicated on healthy living, are now receiving (…)
• 30 March 2012, by Clayton Thomas-Muller , Kevin Smith

  Social Licence: Cultural Complicity in the Age of Extraction

  At first glance, there might not seem to be an obvious common ground between indigenous activists in Canada, performance artists in the UK, and climate activists in both countries. However, the (…)
• 30 March 2012, by Lucie Bourgeois

  The face of transcendence in Palestine

  We spent Wednesday morning discussing and aligning around our own theory of change, our underlying beliefs and hypotheses as to the way in which it can be encouraged and facilitated for (…)
• 30 March 2012, by Forum of Civil Society Organisations

  Declaration of the Forum of Civil Society Organisations

  Bamako, on March 22, 2012. Following the events that occurred in the night of March 21, 2012 in Bamako and in the regions, the Forum of Civil Society Organisations of Mali has held a meeting at (…)
• 30 March 2012, by Pervez Hoodbhoy

  US defeat won’t be Afghan victory

  Ever since US Sergeant Robert Bales surrendered after calmly massacring Afghan women and children, he has been depicted as a man under unusual personal circumstances. A high-ranking US official (…)
• 30 March 2012, by Pervez Hoodbhoy

  What Pakistan Should Do In Afghanistan

  Many Pakistanis living and working in Kabul say they feel a palpable hostility towards them once their nationality becomes known. Some occasionally pretend to be Indians, which brings more (…)
• 28 March 2012, by Editorial, The Hindu

  Why only Africans?

  March 28, 2012 The first conviction at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the tenth year of its functioning is a good time to take stock of how well an institution that was designed to (…)
• 20 March 2012, by Robert Fisk

  Madness is not the reason for this massacre

  I’m getting a bit tired of the "deranged" soldier story. It was predictable, of course. The 38-year-old staff sergeant who massacred 16 Afghan civilians, including nine children, near Kandahar (…)
• 2 March 2012, by Marion Bauer

  International Involvement in Syria

  The Syrian revolution is now an urban war. Following similar demonstrations in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, Syrians took to the streets last year to demand democratic rights and a regime change. (…)
• 29 February 2012, by Stephen Eldon Kerr

  Islam and the Liberated Egyptian Woman: An interview with Shahinaz Ahmed

  The Western media tends to view women in Islamic societies through a lazy and paternalistic eye. Bound by the Burqa and silenced by patriarchy, the women of the Middle East are objects of pity in (…)
• 29 February 2012, by Stephen Eldon Kerr

  Project Briefs

  Stop Online Spying Alternatives is in support of stopspying.ca. The Canadian government and Minister Vic Toews are currently trying to ram through an anti-Internet set of electronic surveillance (…)
• 29 February 2012, by Tamkinat Mirza

  The Shafia Trial: A Question of Assimilation

  The Shafia family honor killings in Kingston, Ontario are yet another instance of cultural conservativeness taken to the extreme, with tragic outcomes. The killings also showcase a less (…)
• 29 February 2012, by Tamkinat Mirza

  Debunking "Condoned" Honor Killings in Islam

  Faced with a rising number of reported cases of honor killings in Western countries, there is an increasing need to clearly understand the nature, motivation and rationale behind these crimes. (…)
• 29 February 2012, by Stephen Eldon Kerr

  Remembering Canada’s Missing and Murdered Women

  Across the world, Valentine’s Day is celebrated with love; in Canada, it is also a day when people march to remember hundreds of missing and murdered Aboriginal women. Following the first march (…)
• 29 February 2012, by Geneviève Lavoie-Mathieu

  Economic Crisis in Spain: A History of Mismanagement and Inequalities

  Despite having one of the largest economies in Europe Spain’s economy has stalled and national unemployment is on the rise. Over 5 million people in the country are currently out of work, a level (…)
• 29 February 2012, by Michael Reford

  Chilean Student Protests Challenge Status Quo in Education System

  The Chilean education system is in need of a massive overhaul, and Chilean students have taken it upon themselves to act. In a growing movement that has attracted support from hundreds of (…)
• 29 February 2012, by Stephen Zunes

  Syrian Repression, the Chinese-Russian Veto, and U.S. Hypocrisy

  As the Syrian regime continues to slaughter unarmed civilians, the major powers at the United Nations continue to put their narrow geopolitical agenda ahead of international humanitarian law. Just (…)
• 29 February 2012

  Why Does Russia Really Oppose International Intervention in Syria?

  As the Syrian death toll approaches 8,000, Russia stands firm in its supposed support of a strategy of non-interference and non-partisanship, maintaining that it is neither against nor in support (…)
• 29 February 2012, by Liza Ponomarenko

  Increasing Internet Censorship in Belarus

  On 6 January, Belarus’s Law 317-3 came into effect, restricting Belarusians’ Internet freedom with censorship similar to that of China. The new legislation implements Belarusian President (…)
• 29 February 2012, by ELIZABETH PAYNE

  Is Canada helping the world’s poor, or Canadian companies?

  Few Canadians have likely heard of the Canada Investment Fund for Africa. But, since 2005, it has been busy investing Canadian foreign aid dollars — $100 million of them, in fact — on companies (…)
• 29 February 2012, by AUDREY HUNTLEY

  ’Nobody cared, nobody did anything’: The normalization of violence against Indigenous women

  In the summer of 2004, while working as a producer for CBC News Sunday, I undertook a road trip to research Traces of Missing Women. My intent was to gather memories of Indigenous women who had (…)
• 15 February 2012, by Palestinian Preparatory Committee

  WSF Free Palestine

  Occupied Palestine is part of every free heartbeat in this world and her cause continues to inspire solidarity across the globe. The World Social Forum Free Palestine is an expression of the (…)
• 15 February 2012, by George Monbiot

  The Big Green Question

  Is environmentalism compatible with social justice? It is the stick with which the greens are beaten daily: if we spend money on protecting the environment, the poor will starve, or freeze to (…)
• 30 January 2012, by Tamkinat Mirza

  Project Briefs

  Initiative pour un autre monde (IPAM) – Paris, France IPAM is in support of, and is currently promoting, the Fifth European Meeting of Analysis of Political Societies in Paris on February 2 and (…)
• 30 January 2012, by Stephen Eldon Kerr

  The African National Conference and South African Democracy

  The African National Congress (ANC) began anniversary celebrations for the 100th time on January 8, 2012. A crowd of 50 000, as well as 46 foreign dignitaries, packed into the Bloemfontein Rugby (…)
• 30 January 2012, by Tamkinat Mirza

  Get ‘em Before They Get Nukes: Iran’s Scientists Targeted

  Iran’s alleged militaristic nuclear capabilities have placed the country at the centre of the world’s political stage. The nation’s nuclear scientists have been assassinated and the identities of (…)
• 30 January 2012, by Stephen Eldon Kerr

  The Decline of British Nationality

  Over the past twenty years, there has been a decline in the proportion of British citizens who consider their nationality primarily British. A report by Anthony Heath and Jane Roberts for the (…)
• 30 January 2012, by Kartiga Thiyagarajah

  Obama and the indefinite detention and torture act

  Each year, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of the United States is amended to accommodate the Department of Defense’s budget for that fiscal year. The NDAA for Fiscal Year 2012 (…)
• 30 January 2012, by Ben Zala

  From Davos to Dystopia

  Not long ago the World Economic Forum (WEF) found itself in the sights of the global economic justice movement. At the turn of the last century, before anyone was “occupying” public spaces in (…)
• 30 January 2012, by Liza Ponomarenko

  Internet Censorship and The Case of MegaUpload

  Nations that limit access to the Internet violate a human right which has become essential to life in the 21st century: the freedom of speech and communication through the Internet. A lack of (…)
• 30 January 2012, by Geneviève Lavoie-Mathieu

  Oil exploitation in Nigeria: Five Decades of Environmental and Social Injustice Remain Unaddressed.

  Following President Goodluck Jonathan’s abrupt decision to abolish a consumer fuel subsidy, Nigeria entered a new period of civil unrest. The unrest began as a citizens’ protest but quickly (…)
• 30 January 2012, by Maria Naimark

  The Pakistani State’s Islam: From Instrumental to Uncontrollable

  The last twenty years have seen a dramatic rise in the influence of extremist groups, particularly the Taliban, in Pakistan. Though the state has been linked in some way to Islam from the time of (…)
• 30 January 2012, by John Sinclair , Stephen Brown

  Transparency and Canadian Foreign Aid

  It has always been hard to get timely information on Canada’s foreign aid. Now, thanks to the new “Open Government” initiative, data are easier to access on the Canadian International Development (…)
• 30 January 2012, by ERIKA SHAKER

  The Harper house rules: An intervention

  Stephen: We recognize that no roommate is perfect, and from time to time we have all gotten on each other’s nerves. But you take the cake (and let’s be honest, sharing anything — including cake (…)
• 30 January 2012, by Gustave Massiah

  Reflections on the Current Social Forums Process

  This paper does not intend to provide an exhaustive analysis of the relationship between the processes of the WSF and the changing global situation, rather it will put forward some reflections on (…)
• 30 January 2012, by Chico Whitaker

  New Perspectives in the WSF Process

  The "future of the WSF"- less of its events and most of the process born from it - is a recurring theme in World Social Forums. From 2004 in all its editions there are at least a workshop to (…)
• 30 January 2012, by Stefan Christoff

  Art and Inspiration Meet on Montreal Streets

  In Montreal, art is a key element of the intensely complex collective identity that stretches across this beautiful island city. Today, as Montreal is being celebrated as a centre for cutting (…)
• 30 January 2012, by Pervez Hoodbhoy

  Iran’s Bomb and Pakistan

  The waters of the Persian Gulf heated up sharply after Iran’s announcement last week that it is creating additional uranium enrichment facilities under a mountain, safe from airstrikes. Iran (…)
• 30 January 2012, by Kamal Lahbib

  WSF Process: Challenges and Opportunities

  In July 2011, Chico Whitaker asked that ever-present question, “And what now, for the World Social Forum?” A few months earlier, Gus Massiah had laid out alterglobalization’s twelve Labours of (…)
• 30 January 2012, by Pervez Hoodbhoy

  The Bomb: Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan

  Once upon a time Iran was Pakistan’s close ally - probably its closest one. In 1947, Iran was the first to recognise the newly independent Pakistan. In the 1965 war with India, Pakistani fighter (…)
• 17 January 2012, by Frédéric Dubois

  Plan Nord Under the Microscope

  Public involvement in diamond venture ends once gems are found Quebec’s first diamond mine is today being hailed as a model operation by the Quebec government. But a deeper look into what this (…)
• 31 December 2011, by Tamkinat Mirza

  Project Briefings

  Initiative pour un autre monde (IPAM) – Paris, France IPAM is supporting the demonstration for the International Day Against AIDS to take place on Thursday, December 1st at 6:30 at la Bastille, (…)
• 31 December 2011, by Tamkinat Mirza

  Envisioning a Pandemonian North Korea

  The month of December comes yearly as a combination of recollection and rumination over the events of the year, and speculation regarding developments within the next. 2011’s political events (…)
• 31 December 2011, by Michael Reford

  Europe’s Game of Debt

  The year 2011 was one of vast, multifaceted change for Europe. While the unfolding debt crisis dominated news headlines, European citizens were affected by a wide range of issues. They adapted to (…)
• 31 December 2011

  Putin’s grip questioned in the face of public protest

  The Russian legislative elections of December 4, 2011 saw a significant decrease of public support for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party. Winning the election with a mere 49.3% (…)
• 31 December 2011, by Wesley Ellis

  The Role of Information and Communication Technologies in Shaping the Arab Spring

  2011 has proven to be a volatile year for the Arab world; The death of a single man in the desert sparked regime changes and protests that have authoritarian governments scrambling, and in some (…)
• 31 December 2011, by Tamkinat Mirza

  H5N1: Information Commons vs. Public Safety Concerns

  In the prevalent negotiation between scientific research, moral concerns and government, an all-new controversy has emerged with the findings of two recent studies, with regards to a specific (…)
• 31 December 2011, by The McLeod Group

  CANADA AND MULTILATERALISM: MISSING IN ACTION

  Multilateralism is a word little heard and less understood in today’s political and development discourse in Ottawa. The Conservative government, in practicing a policy of Canada first, uses (…)
• 31 December 2011, by Nancy E. Claridge, Terrance S. Carte

  EFFECT OF ANTI-TERRORISM LAWS ON HUMANITARIAN AID REMAIN A CONCER

  The cost of terrorism has been felt virtually all over the world. In recent years, however, measures adopted to counter terrorism have themselves posed serious challenges to human rights and the (…)
• 31 December 2011, by Marcus Leroy

  ’Value for money’ or ’Results Obsession Disorder’?

  For many decades development aid of western donors has been pretty well shielded from probing questions by the public opinion and politicians. Development aid was, and to some extend still is, (…)
• 31 December 2011, by GWENDOLYN SCHULMAN, ROBERTO NIETO

  Foreign Aid to Mining Firms

  MONTREAL—As excavators, heavy haulers and chemical treatment plants dig made-in-Canada mines around the world, Ottawa has taken new steps to ease growing criticism of Canada’s extractive sector. (…)
• 31 December 2011, by Tamkinat Mirza

  Profile: Adbusters

  On July 13, Vancouver-based activist group AdBusters tweeted a call to Occupy Wall Street, and allegedly sparked the movement that has occupied global attention and public spaces. After the (…)
• 31 December 2011, by FRANCES RUSSELL

  Harper laws for Harper government?

  Is Canada governed by the rule of law — or only by the laws acceptable to the party in power? The difference, obviously, is not mere semantics. It is the difference between democracy and (…)
• 31 December 2011, by MARIA KARI

  Niqab-wearing accuser vs. defendant rights: When Charter freedoms clash

  The tone of the Supreme Court of Canada on Thursday was tense as Justice Morris Fish asked lawyer David Butt to name one lawyer who’d willingly cross-examine a veiled witness. Butt replied "some (…)