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2013
Articles
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1 May 2013, by Houda Chergui
Concern Over China’s Environment
China has been anything but immune to environmental criticisms in the past: from Melamine-tainted milk powder, to exploding watermelons, to pesticide-riddled vegetables and antibiotic-induced (…) -
1 May 2013, by Suzanna Khoshabi
Thatcher and Femenism
Earlier this month the United Kingdom laid its longest-serving Prime Minister of the 20th century to R.I.P. However, the nation is divided over whether this stands for Rest In Peace, or Rest In (…) -
1 May 2013, by Anne Guay
An Aggregate Picture of Post-Invasion Iraq
Since the beginning of the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, a total of 189,000 people have died as a direct cause of the war. The numbers include American and allied troops, opposition forces, (…) -
1 May 2013, by Bradley Castelli
Canada and the Human Right to Water and Sanitation
In considering the growing threats of climate change, and the exploitation and mismanagement of natural resources’ impact on the phenomenon, water as a natural resource is often overlooked. While (…) -
1 May 2013, by Meera Karunananthan
Water Justice for Tunisia: Regime Change is Not Enough
From March 26-30, an estimated 50,000 people flocked to Tunisia to participate in the first World Social Forum to take place in the Arab world. The theme was dignity — a term that had become a (…) -
1 May 2013, by Amira Haas
Inverse Hasbara: How ’5 Broken Cameras’ Changed Palestinians’ Attitude Toward Nonviolence
One Palestinian prisoner writes that the bravery in the Oscar-nominated documentary, denounced by the Israeli government as slander, affected even militant inmates, suggesting they could benefit (…) -
1 May 2013, by Michael Sabelli
North Korea’s Nuclear Craze
I’m just going to come out and say it: North Korea is bad. It’s true. They’re really bad. Like trouble making children. But they’re not the bully in the playground. They’re much more like (…) -
1 May 2013, by Julien Boumard Coallier and Roger Rashi
“Leave the oil in the soil, the coal in the hole and the tar sands in the land!”
This verse is taken from Nnimmo Bassey’s poem, I Will Not Dance To Your Beat (1), which he read at the opening ceremony of the World People’s Conference on Climate Change, held in Cochabamba, (…) -
1 May 2013, by Joanny Bélair
Escraches: Time for Outrage and Resistance
The Western ideal of democracy has been put in jeopardy since the beginning of the economic crisis in 2008, especially in the European Union. The World has learned, that when the capitalist system (…) -
1 April 2013, by Houda Chergui
ICC indicts Kenyatta
Kenya elected its new president, former Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta on March 9, and many wonder what the long-term consequences of the elections will be, as there has never been an election in (…) -
1 April 2013, by Anne Guay
Civilian Activism in Syria
Civil war rages on in Syria. As the death toll reaches an estimated 70,000 Syrian civilians, over 1.1 million are refugees in neighboring Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt and 2.5 million (…) -
1 April 2013, by Houda Chergui,
Kamal Lahbib
From Porto Alegre to Tunis
More than 50 regional forums and seminars have taken place since 2002. Algerian generals are still hostile toward the idea of a North African movement, and Libya is still dealing with the (…) -
1 April 2013, by Geneviève Lavoie-Mathieu
Burkina Faso: Gold, a Double-Edged Sword?
Talatout Boukari, community leader of Essakane in Burkina Faso, in partnership with the international organization FIAN, was in the Netherlands to raise awareness on the negative impact of (…) -
1 April 2013, by Michael Reford
Does Chavismo Have a Future?
The left in Latin America had struggled for a rebirth. The days of CIA- backed coups and assassination of leftists have calmed somewhat. The longstanding fight against imperialism has seen a (…) -
1 April 2013, by Kaveh Boveiri
Bordered and Borderless University Life: A Review of the Recent Happenings in Universitatea Babes-Bolyai, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
If you happen to be interested in ancient art, you may have come across the Thinker of Hamangia and The Seated Woman. These figures, dating back to the Hamangia culture of around 5200 BC in the (…) -
1 April 2013, by Esther Vivas
From the World Social Forum to the Arab Revolts
Tunisia, cradle of the revolts in the Arab world, hosts from today [26 March] and until Saturday the World Social Forum (WSF), the most important international meeting of social movements and (…) -
1 April 2013, by Oluwafunmilayo Oyatogun
Bailiff Champion: Nnimmo Bassey
The conversations in Nigeria are ever so often shaped around what’s wrong with our country and everything the leaders are not doing. What we fail to celebrate are the efforts, big and small, of (…) -
1 April 2013, by Feroz Mehdi
Event: Fighting Big Oil!!
Fighting Big Oil!! Date: Saturday, June 15, 2013 - 14:00 - 16:00 Defender of climate justice in Africa and in Europe, central figure in the fight against multinational oil corporations, (…) -
1 March 2013, by Houda Chergui
Civil Disobedience, in Theory
"Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time,” said Winston Churchill. This powerful statement of course stems from the (…) -
1 March 2013, by Houda Chergui
Interview on Civil Disobedience
Phillippe Duhamel is a strong proponent of civil disobedience. He was one of the instigators of Operation SalAMI that in May, 1998, was successful in its efforts to prevent the Multilateral (…) -
1 March 2013, by Brittany McGillivray
Break the Law, Save the Earth
Civil disobedience: is it a radical form of organization, or a meaningful way to resist unjust laws? Should laws be changed ‘democratically,’ and is civil disobedience a part of our democratic (…) -
1 March 2013, by Anne Guay
Sierra Club, Calling the Shots
Sierra Club has declared civil disobedience in protest of the Keystone XL pipeline. A protest outside of the Whitehouse February 13 saw Michael Brune, Sierra Club’s Executive Director, get (…) -
1 March 2013, by Bradley Castelli
Canada Needs Civil Disobedience
On February 17, 2013 an estimated 35,000 protestors assembled in front of the American White House to urge President Obama not to approve the proposed Keystone XL pipeline extension to the Gulf (…) -
1 March 2013, by Marianne Hill
Making Their Presence Known: The Visually Charged Civil Disobedience of Ukrainian Activist Organization, FEMEN
Throughout February 2013, FEMEN activists have staged protests in over ten countries spanning two continents, making their presence known to a multitude of news outlets as a result of their savvy (…) -
1 March 2013, by Tamkinat Mirza
Open North: New Civic Engagement Tool Opens Up City Hall to Residents
Open North, a Montreal-based nonprofit that works to promote government transparency and citizen engagement at government level, is working to provide Canadian citizens with online tools to (…) -
1 March 2013, by Michael Sabelli
Perpetual Acquiescence: A Reading of Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience”
When reading spirited texts written over 150 years ago about the goodness of individuals and the impeding role of government in their lives, the effect of romanticizing these words has an (…) -
1 March 2013, by Michael Reford
For Sale: The Canadian Identity
A young, adolescent country, Canada often struggles with what it is. The rich, exciting, history of other Western nations is absent because of the few historically defining moments. As such, the (…) -
1 March 2013, by Brinda Karat
Deciding Who Gets to Eat
By allowing futures trade in food and diversion of farm land for commercial purposes, the government (of India) is fuelling the price rise International agencies are warning of high food prices (…) -
1 March 2013, by
Sergio Yahni
Palestinians: Israel’s Arrogance Will Provoke Intifada
Israel has clearly demonstrated that its objective is not to resolve the Middle East conflict, but to keep the flames of the conflict at a manageable level. Israel has further demonstrated with (…) -
1 March 2013, by Rob Prince
Tunisia Boils Over
Once again, Tunisians’ anger has overcome their fear. Spurred by a political assassination, tens of thousands have taken to the streets to protest the state into which their country has fallen. (…) -
1 March 2013, by Sergio Yahni
Israeli Measures Following UN Recognition of Palestine
The objective of Israel is not to resolve the Middle East conflict but to keep the flames of the conflict at a manageable level. Israel has already declared and proven with acts that it is not (…) -
1 February 2013, by Houda Chergui
A New Vision for Agriculture?
With the Eurozone still plagued by its crisis and the US in the midst of its fiscal challenge, it was not surprising that the world’s economy was the primary item discussed on this year’s Davos (…) -
1 February 2013, by Brittany McGillivray
Rising Opposition to The Northern Gateway Pipeline in British Columbia
Enbridge’s proposed Northern Gateway pipeline is facing growing opposition as Canadians protest the project that seeks to pump roughly 525,000 barrels of petroleum from Alberta to British (…) -
1 February 2013, by Bradley Castelli
Idle No More: A Global Grassroots Movement
Last November, a group of Saskatchewan women comprised of Jessica Gordon, Sheelah McLean, Sylvia McAdams and Nina Wilsonfeld came together to discuss their concerns relative to the Harper (…) -
1 February 2013, by Emilie Katavic
To Arm or Not to Arm: A Commentary on Gun Control
After the tragic December 14 shooting in Connecticut at Sandy Hook Elementary school, many pro gun control supporters spoke out saying: "enough is enough". This had been the second deadliest (…) -
1 February 2013, by Harriet Sherwood
Israel Must Withdraw All Settlers Or Face ICC, Says UN Report
Israel must withdraw all settlers from the West Bank or potentially face a case at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for serious violations of international law, says a report by a United (…) -
1 February 2013, by Geneviève Beaudet ,
Pierre Beaudet
The High Stakes of Native Resistance
The blossoming of the Idle No More movement signals the return of native resistance to the political and social landscape of Canada and Quebec. With its origins in Saskatchewan in October 2012, (…) -
1 February 2013, by Michael Sabelli
Turkey’s Internal Issues Reflect Their Aggressive Posture with Syria: Capturing the Minds of Their People and the Respect of a Volatile Region
Turkey is one of the few complicated states in the word that is difficult to classify and force into a neat cultural and political grouping. Its land is the setting of Biblical stories, the (…) -
1 February 2013, by Michael Leon Guerrero
Peoples’ Social Forum
Background The process for a Peoples’ Social Forum was launched at a general assembly convened in Ottawa, Ontario on January 26 and 27, 2013. It was an inspired and dynamic gathering. (…) -
1 January 2013, by Feroz MEHDI
Reading Zinn in Times of Insanity
The Palestine Authority submitted a proposal to the United Nations General Assembly demanding a non-member observer status. There were 139 countries that voted in favour except Canada and a couple (…) -
1 January 2013, by Pablo Solon
Strike Four in Climate Change
World Social Forum 2013: A “Climate Space” to rethink analysis and strategies. In baseball, when you have 3 strikes, you are out. In the climate change negotiations we already have 4 strikes. (…) -
1 January 2013, by Joy Moore
World Social Forum Free Palestine
The first World Social Forum Free Palestine was held in Porto Alegre, Brazil from the 27th November – 1st December and brought together popular social movements from around the world to (…) -
1 January 2013, by Noam Chomsky
What The American Media Won’t Tell You About Israel
The savage punishment of Gaza traces back to decades ago. An old man in Gaza held a placard that read: "You take my water, burn my olive trees, destroy my house, take my job, steal my land, (…) -
1 January 2013, by Michael Moore
Celebrating The Prince Of Peace In The Land Of Guns
After watching the deranged, delusional National Rifle Association press conference on Friday, it was clear that the Mayan prophecy had come true. Except the only world that was ending was the (…) -
1 January 2013, by George Monbiot
“Bug Splats”
Some dead children are mourned; others are dehumanised. “Mere words cannot match the depths of your sorrow, nor can they heal your wounded hearts … These tragedies must end. And to end them, (…) -
1 January 2013, by Charlotte Silver
Israel Gets a Kick(back) Out of Conflict
Israel’s image as "an isolated, besieged country" is good for its weapons and homeland security exports. 2012 did not turn out to be Israel’s finest year, diplomatically: from being called out (…) -
1 January 2013, by Sankar Ray
When Ravi Shankar Was Comrade Robuda
When Pandit Ravi Shankar and his disciple, Beatles guitarist George Harrison, performed at the 1971 ‘Concert for Bangladesh’ at Madison Square Garden in New York, I asked the Communist theorist of (…)