Month: June 2010
Tragic BP Gulf Spill Casts Light on Chevron Disaster in Ecuador
While BP is Largest Spill in U.S., Chevron’s Ecuador Disaster is Largest in World. Chevron Admits Dumping at Least 16 Billion Gallons of Toxic Waste into Rainforest. As the nation remains riveted on the tragic […]
Human Rights Groups Say Brazil’s Policy of Saturation Policing Criminalises Poverty
(IPS) – The policy of a saturation police presence in the favelas or shantytowns that are home to around 20 percent of the population of this Brazilian city is merely a means of criminalising poverty, […]
A Second Independence for Argentina
“We were capable, We are capable.” The slogan has repeated itself on government radio and television adverts throughout Argentina, which is celebrating 200 years since the May 25th revolution that eventually led to the country’s independence on July 9, 1816. The natural question such a slogan begs, “of what exactly?” One assumes its independence from Spain. Yet two centuries later, though nobody’s colony, many are still asking: How independent is Argentina really?
Growing Protests As UN Attacks Haitian Refugee Camp
Last week, the United Nations peacekeeping mission fired tear gas and rubber bullets into a crowded refugee camp, leaving at least six hospitalized and others suffering respiratory problems. Citizen organizations plan demonstrations for today, the sixth anniversary of the U.N. armed presence in Haiti. The march is part of growing protests against the military forces which have amassed in Haiti since the January 12 earthquake and the lack of attention to displaced people’s needs.
Letter to Obama: Push Peru’s President on Trade, Forestry and Indigenous Rights
President Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear President Obama: As a diverse range of groups addressing issues of human rights, environment, labor, and trade policy, we believe your […]
Peru: Native Peoples’ Right to Consultation on Land Use Enshrined in Law
(IPS) – Indigenous peoples in Peru finally have a law that obliges the state to consult them about any project or provision that affects their territory or communities. But it will be difficult to implement, […]
Foosball with the Devil: Haiti, Honduras, and Democracy in the Neoliberal Era
From the perspective of Honduran and Honduranist scholars, the most common reference to Haiti is as a point of hemispheric comparison. Whether measuring GDP per capita, state legitimacy and citizens’ political tolerance, or corruption, the phrase “Honduras ranks last…after Haiti” seems to be de rigueur. This is no coincidence: the policies and structures that have effected extreme poverty and highly concentrated wealth in both places are very much connected.