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Alternatives International Journal
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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 (...) -
21 July 2009, by Judy REBICK
Protests and the Global City
One-Way Traffic. Over the last months in Toronto and Montreal, we have experienced the global city as never before. The Tamil community, about 250,000 strong by some accounts, has been (...) -
21 July 2009, by Pınar Hoşafçı
Let My People Go
SOS Esclaves (SOS Slaves), a Mauritanian NGO run by the son of slaves, received this year’s Anti Slavery International Award. “I, for my part, together with a number of my friends realized (...) -
4 June 2009, by Michael Ryan Wiseman
If You Think In Terms Of A Year, Plant A Seed
Ohh, seed money. I only caught the first part. I have never understood why people make such a production about birthdays. On the face of it they are utterly meaningless, mere symbols; (...) -
4 June 2009, by Herbert Jauch
Kind of a BIG Deal
Namibia, a vast country inhabited by two million people, is one of the smaller economies in Southern Africa. It adopted a market-based economic system after achieving independence from (...) -
4 June 2009, by Myriam Cloutier
The Little Engine That Couldn’t
Quick, send in the clowns. Don’t bother, they’re here. Railway Privatization in Senegal and Mali More than five years after the management of the railway connecting Dakar, the capital (...) -
4 June 2009, by Sally Richmond
Balancing The Scales
Rather than getting squeezed by conventional trade, thousands of artisans and farmers around the world will have enough money to provide their families with food, shelter, education, and (...) -
4 June 2009, by Ceyda Turan
Not Another Brick in the Wall
Class in session: Sakena Yacoobi drops some knowledge— and inspiration—on the IHSP. Sakena Yacoobi founded the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL), in 1995 to “help address the problem (...) -
4 June 2009, by Bruce Campbell
The ’O9 Canadian Government Herring
Rust-Proofing Optional It is now abundantly clear that Canada and the world is facing its worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. However, a sense of premature Hoover-type (...) -
4 June 2009, by Ali Chabuk
You Can Never Go Home Again
The Crimean Tatars are a Turkic people who inhabited the Crimean peninsula— now a part of Ukraine— for over seven centuries. They established their own Khanate in the 1440s and remained an (...) -
4 June 2009, by Michael Ryan Wiseman
:Peruvian Graffiti
AIJ’s MR Wiseman recently read the handwriting on the wall. It belonged to artist-at-large :Peru. For a free trip, go to www.peru143.com and explore all of his creations. Your most (...) -
7 December 2007, by Émilie Couture-Brière
Controversy surrounding the emission trading system
All countries signing the Kyoto Protocol have agreed, emissions of polluting gases in the atmosphere must be reduced. To facilitate this process and, thereby, achieve emission reduction targets, (...)