Home > English > Alternatives International Journal
Alternatives International Journal
Articles
-
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 (...) -
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 (...) -
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 (...) -
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 (...) -
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) (...) -
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 (...) -
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 (...) -
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 (...) -
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 (...) -
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 (...) -
2 October 2010, by Michael Ryan Wiseman
The F Word
Now that I have your attention, a quick rant on fascism and its growing popularity in the realm of name-calling and political point-scoring. We seem to be throwing the term around a lot these (...) -
1 October 2010, by Refaat SABBAH
The World Education Forum
Whenever Palestinians have the chance to meet people from outside, and they realize there are still people in the world who fight for justice and fight for the rights of the other, it gives them (...) -
1 October 2010, by Sana Saaed
Restricted Free Agency
I never thought that my body could serve as potentially the next front of the ever-erroneous but still somehow existent ‘clash of civilizations.’ Yet with the way things seem to be going these (...) -
1 October 2010, by Ezra Winton
ART THREAT !!!
A NYC poster campaign that invites people to voice their opinions on Park51 aka Ground Zero Mosque aka Cordoba Center in writing; Hamdulillah, a stunning new music video from hip hop artist The (...) -
1 October 2010, by Steve Sharra
Reflections on the International Day of Peace
As I was beginning a seven-month period in 2004 studying prospects for peace education in Malawian classrooms, a friend of mine seemed very surprised at the topic of my study. Why peace (...) -
1 October 2010, by Salima Punjani
Teach a Man to Fish
At first I was skeptical about why we had a 3-week training program, I was nervous about the reintroduction of development buzzwords into my life, I was dreading being a part of conversations (...) -
1 October 2010, by David Heap and Dylan Penner
On Course
The Canadian Boat to Gaza has been the target of slurs and misinformation— some facts (as opposed to rhetoric) about our campaign may interest open-minded readers. The Palestinians of Gaza (...) -
1 October 2010, by Michael Bramadat-Willcock
The Second Line
"We went through the same routine at the El Salvador border, and since there were a few other buses travelling the same route I met a tourist from Iceland who was on a volunteer mission. He ran (...) -
1 October 2010, by Ronald Cameron
Now the People
In the midst of the crisis, everything seemed possible for the workers of the world: from the bonfire of established orthodoxies a new consensus was forming... Two years later, we observe the (...) -
2 September 2010, by Michael Ryan Wiseman
Realitopia
"... It speaks to the very heart of the dilemma amongst us utopians— how do you move a pile of excrement without getting any on you? At the very least, you are bound to smell of it..." (...) -
2 September 2010, by Cy Gonick
Ecosocialism as Holistic Earth Care
Legendary lefty Cy Gonick speaks to ecosocialism founder Joel Kovel about creating global resistance movements; ecosocialist activism that moves beyond pressing for direct caps on polluters; and (...) -
2 September 2010, by Mireille Fanon-Mendès France
The Sunrise of the Damned
Franz Fanon only got to see the first fires that were the false dawn of African independence. Sickness took him before the hope forged through liberation struggles dissolved into the neocolonial (...) -
2 September 2010, by Tapan Bose
Kashmir Burning
From the ramparts of the Red Fort, celebrating the 64th anniversary of India’s Independence, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, offered to hold dialogue with the agitating youth of Kashmir if (...) -
2 September 2010, by Michael Bramadat-Willcock
In the Shadow of Sandino
“The election looms in the coming days; it is an amazing scene of lies and manipulations. If Ortega wins there may be a civil war here. It is quite tense,” my father warned me before my last (...) -
2 September 2010, by Phyllis Bennis
Mosque Hysteria
At its core, the controversy surrounding the proposed Islamic community center in downtown Manhattan is not about religion. It’s about war. For some years now the fear factor that followed (...) -
2 September 2010, by Marine Begault
Alternatives Days
Sitting on one of the packed yellow school buses on the way to the Journées Des Alternatives, my expectations were dim. After all, I was spending my first weekend in Canada at a no-frills summer (...) -
2 September 2010, by Ezra Winton
ART THREAT !!!
A Conversation with Return to El Salvador director Jamie Moffett; Video installation infiltrates 6000 NYC taxis; Artist Profile: Nicholas Hlobo A Conversation with Return to El Salvador (...) -
2 September 2010, by Yasser Shoukry
The Essence of Islam
Islam, like other religions, is a religion that began as a message to ensure better material and spiritual conditions for human beings. Movements of political Islam however, refer to the (...) -
2 September 2010, by Claire Hurtig,
Freda Guttman
Towards a free Palestine!
Join us at the historic Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Conference in Montreal this October! From 22 to 24 October 2010, Montreal-based Palestine-solidarity organizations will host (...) -
2 August 2010, by Michael Ryan Wiseman
A Strategic Victory
Hats off to the hat that’s finally on that dastardly oil pipe. We can all rest assured that the Gulf of Mexico will be as good as new in no time. Indeed, word is coming out that clean up efforts (...) -
2 August 2010, by Michael Bramadat-Willcock
Free Gaza Movement and Mavi Marmara
Canadian activists talk about their experiences onboard the Mavi Marmara and announce North American ships to depart for Gaza. Addressing a mixed crowd including Palestinian and (...) -
2 August 2010, by Stefan Christoff
G20 a month later
A month ago, thousands of chanting voices echoed between downtown towers in the core of Canada’s largest city, with people reclaiming the streets, facing down thousands of armed police — a (...) -
2 August 2010, by Joel Balsam
Moving Forward
“The idea is definitely to bring people together.” Socially conscious rapper Lou Piensa chats with the AIJ. Lou Piensa is co-founder of the multi-cultural, multi-lingual, eclectic hip-hop (...) -
2 August 2010, by Daniel Moss
So That All May Drink
After years of grassroots pressure, the UN General Assembly will debate a resolution on the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation. Maude Barlow, former senior advisor on water (...) -
2 August 2010, by Ezra Winton
ART THREAT !!!
It’s summertime and therefore I’ve been in programming mode. After watching dozens and dozens of docs (and a few fiction), I thought I’d pass along some great summer flicks to cool off with, (...) -
2 August 2010, by Alternatives Information Center
Paying for the Privilege
The Israeli Knesset voted on July 13th to strip of MK Haneen Zoubi of key parliamentary privileges as punishment for her involvement in the Freedom Flotilla aid convoy, in which Israeli naval (...) -
2 August 2010, by Jodie Beck
Feminists of the World, Unite!
I recently had the honour of joining Montreal’s Women of Diverse Origins as a volunteer for the upcoming Montreal International Women’s Conference (MIWC). Hosts and organizers of the conference, (...) -
1 July 2010, by Michael Ryan Wiseman
Where’s the beef?
Happy birthday, Canada! And what better way to celebrate than throwing a $1 billion dollar birthday party. Curious, though, that most of it was spent on keeping people away from the festivities (...) -
1 July 2010, by Richard Poplak
A Tale of Two Cities
The FIFA World Cup Finals and the G20 summit may at first glance seem entirely disparate, but both events have had a profound effect on the narratives of their respective cities. Those (...) -
1 July 2010, by Bahati Ntama Jacques and Beth Tuckey
Congo’s Quest for Liberation Continues
Today, at the 50th anniversary of Congo’s independence, the country continues to be a source of wealth for the world, yet the Congolese people live in poverty. Like many African nations, the (...) -
1 July 2010, by Daya Varma
ANGER AT BHOPAL JUDGEMENT
On December 3, 1984, Bhopal became the site of the world’s worst industrial Disaster. The question is: should India entertain hazardous industries at all? If the answer is yes, then what should (...) -
1 July 2010, by Ezra Winton
ART THREAT !!!
Here are this month’s top stories from Art Threat... The G20 summer blockbuster by Ezra Winton That the hundreds (at last count 900+) of G20 protesters (and random civilians) held in pens (...) -
1 July 2010, by Dimitrios Roussopoulos
Greek Dialectics
‘We are all Greeks’ - Percy Bysshe Shelly, from the preface of his lyrical drama Hellas Having recently spent five wonderful weeks in several parts of Greece, I return to Montreal refreshed. (...) -
1 July 2010, by Claude Vaillancourt
The G20 faces a crisis with no end in sight
The previous meeting of the G20, last fall in Pittsburgh, ended on a positive note. The closing statement affirmed that G20 countries had done “everything necessary to ensure recovery” and that (...) -
1 July 2010, by Roger Rashi
From Cochabamba to Cancun
The recent Cochabamba Conference on Climate Change has issued a call to build “a global peoples movement for climate justice.” A novel feature of this call is that it is supported by (...) -
1 July 2010, by Omar Assaf
World Education Forum in Palestine
We are pleased to inform you that the registration for organizations and self-organized activities for the World Education Forum in Palestine (October 28 - 31) opened on June 25. This event is (...) -
2 June 2010, by Feroz MEHDI
Alternatives’ Days 2010
Alternatives welcomes you to the 16th edition of Alternatives’ Days to participate with hundreds of other activists in debates, discussions and activities grouped this year under the title: (...) -
2 June 2010, by Alternatives Information Center
Flotilla Raid
On the morning of 31 May 2010, the Israeli navy perpetrated a crime against humanity when it attacked the Freedom Flotilla, bound for Gaza, sailing in international waters. On the boats were 750 (...) -
2 June 2010, by Joel Balsam
NGO MONITOR-ing
An investigation into NGO Monitor’s participation in the de-funding of Canadian human rights organizations Kairos and Alternatives. At the end of August 2009, an Israeli-based (...) -
2 June 2010, by Ezra Winton
ART THREAT!!
Here are this month’s top stories from Art Threat... Elvis Costello cancels shows in Israel “It is a matter of instinct and conscience,” writes internationally celebrated (...) -
2 June 2010, by GRAIN
Raspberries for Monsanto Eggplants
Monsanto’s plans to push genetically modified (GM) food crops in Asia ran into a wall on February 9, 2010 when India’s Environment Minister put a moratorium on the introduction of a variety of (...) -
2 June 2010, by Chris Kromm
Another disaster waiting?
Shell running "sister rig" in Gulf nearly identical to ill-fated Deepwater Horizon. Despite an army of reporters and officials investigating the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster, one item (...) -
2 June 2010, by Juan Cole
Karzai Defeats Obama 2-1
Afghanistan is already beginning to defeat Barack Obama. He came into office last year clearly hoping to find a way to move Hamid Karzai, the mercurial and ineffectual president of Afghanistan (...) -
2 June 2010, by Hassan Diab Support Committee
Bad Times for the Good Doctor
Dr. Hassan Diab is a sociology professor and a law-abiding Canadian citizen of Lebanese descent who lives in Ottawa. Until shortly before October, 2007, Hassan enjoyed an engaged and productive (...) -
2 June 2010, by Frédéric Dubois
Shooting Film, Not Guns
The main take-home lesson in the film is that “instead of carrying guns, children can learn to carry cameras,” says Mohammed Chaloob. On a windy afternoon, two weeks ago, the GDP web (...) -
1 April 2010, by Michael Ryan Wiseman
’Tis not too late
Greetings Dear Reader, Welcome back to the Alternatives International Journal, as it rubs its eyes gingerly, throws its arms in the air and arches its back to get some kinks and an (...) -
1 April 2010, by Ezra Winton
An Art-Changing World: Stories from Art Threat
Myself and the other editors at Art Threat, a media outlet devoted solely to political art and cultural policy, are very excited to be collaborating with Alternatives. Each month I will, with (...) -
1 April 2010, by Fraser Reilly-King and Abdallah Khazaal
The Robin Hood Tax
T-A-X. Such a simple three letter word, and yet it elicits responses from people out of all proportion to its size. Perhaps it isn’t surprising. Taxes are scary. But let’s not forget, as much (...) -
1 April 2010, by Vanessa Gordon
The Reality of Canadian Official Development Assistance
On 8 September 2000, following a three day Millennium Summit of world leaders at the headquarters of the United Nations, the General Assembly adopted the Millennium Declaration. The Declaration (...) -
1 April 2010, by IRIN
GLOBAL: Recession boosts donor transparency
The global financial crisis has catalysed increasing transparency and accountability regarding public finances, say aid experts, which has helped open up disclosures on aid-giving. Karin (...) -
1 April 2010, by GRAIN
Land grabbing in Latin America
Right now communities in Latin America, as around the world, are suffering a new kind of invasion of their territories. These invaders are not the descendants of the European conquistadores, (...) -
1 April 2010, by Sue Sturgis
Southern Rice
As in so many countries throughout the world, an important staple of the Haitian diet is rice, first brought by slaves from West Africa and cultivated on the Caribbean island nation for hundreds (...) -
1 April 2010, by David Widgington
Election Ballots Printed by Sudan’s Currency Printer Controversial
Sudan’s first elections in 24 years are set to begin in less than 22 days. And not without major controversy. The logistical challenges faced by Sudan’s National Election Commission (NEC) (...) -
1 April 2010, by Jaggi Singh
Counterpoint: In support of Israeli Apartheid week
This week, for the sixth year in a row, Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) events are taking place on campuses and communities across Canada and worldwide. It’s also during this week that Conservative (...) -
9 November 2009, by Jeremy Wildeman
Life in a Refugee Camp
Life is never easy growing up in a refugee camp. It is a life of poverty, limited access to education, lack of access to sporting or recreational facilities and few opportunities. Hopelessness (...) -
9 November 2009, by James K. Galbraith
The Economic Crisis and Obama’s Response- Part 2 of 2
The Obama administration’s bank bailout may work to save the major banking institutions. But there are two problems. One is that there is no reason why we should have, over the next several (...) -
9 November 2009, by Achin Vanaik
Israel and India, Zionism and Hindutva
It was after the Cold War that the Indian establishment’s attitude to Palestine could not escape the impact of the overall lurch rightwards of the centre of gravity of the Indian polity. At home (...) -
9 November 2009, by Pepe Escobar
The US Arc of Instability
The New Great Game is not only focused on the face-off between the United States and its strategic competitors Russia and China, with Pipeline-istan as a defining element. The Full Spectrum (...) -
9 November 2009, by Vinod Raina
The Bhopal Disaster
On the 3rd of December 1984, 40 tonnes of toxic gases escaped from the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India. The result was catastrophic. 3,000 people— men, women, and children— were (...) -
9 November 2009, by Michael Ryan Wiseman
Hunting for Gatherers
For want of a nail the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe the horse was lost. For want of a horse the rider was lost. For want of a rider the battle was lost. For want of a battle the kingdom was (...) -
9 November 2009, by Ramzy Baroud
Goldstone
“We may be witnessing the beginning of the end of the era of impunity,” Nadia Hijab, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Institute for Palestine Studies, was quoted by IPS in response to the (...) -
1 September 2009, by Émilie Couture-Brière
A renewed commitment for the Non-Aligned Movement
The article entitled "The Non-Aligned Movement: Renewed Relevance in a Time of Crisis" published by the agency Share the world’s resources discusses the July 15, 2009 Summit held in Sharm (...) -
21 July 2009, by Michael Ryan Wiseman
Another Day Will Come
The AIJ’s MR Wiseman recently summoned the ghosts of bards-past to wax poetic with Remi Kanazi, editor of Poets For Palestine (Al Jisser, 2008), a collection of old- and new-school poetry and (...) -
21 July 2009, by James K. Galbraith
The Economic Crisis and Obama’s Response
It is a relief to have a new Administration, to be at the start of a new government rather than at the end of one, and to have a President with the talent of President Obama and with the public (...) -
21 July 2009, by Marie-Adele Cassola
On the Roma Again
During an official visit to the Czech Republic in May, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper warned that the rising number of refugee claimants coming to Canada from that country presented a (...) -
21 July 2009, by Michael Ryan Wiseman
Impressionist Journalism
I impersonated a journalist at two events of citizen-driven activism and the following is my impression of the proceedings as the mucous of apathy and cirrostrati of lassitude that quotidianly (...) -
21 July 2009, by Nachammai Raman
A History of Violence
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were a fearsome force that controlled a third of Sri Lanka at their peak. They ran a de facto state with their own air force, navy, and infantry. In (...) -
21 July 2009, by Muriuki Mureithi
The Rise of the (fallen) Machines
Moore’s Law, meet Murphy’s. E-waste is an unknown phenomenon hardly making the headlines, but with the increasing volumes of e-waste generated and the poor means of disposal, it is a disaster (...)