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Biden’s Reckless Syria Bombing Is Not the Diplomacy He Promised

Medea Benjamin February 27, 2021 Medea Benjamin

Some Members of Congress are speaking out against the strikes. “We cannot stand up for Congressional authorization before military strikes only when there is a Republican President,” Congressman Ro Khanna tweeted, “The Administration should have sought Congressional authorization here. We need to work to extricate from the Middle East, not escalate.” Peace groups around the country are echoing that call. Rep. Barbara Lee and Senators Bernie Sanders, Tim Kaine and Chris Murphy also released statements either questioning or condemning the strikes.

Why Indian farmers are so angry about the Modi government’s agricultural reforms

Bhavani Shankar February 21, 2021 Bhavani Shankar

India’s farmers have been protesting since the autumn, with a growing intensity that culminated in a violent breaching of barriers in the Red Fort in Delhi during India’s Republic Day celebrations on January 26. Although reforms introduced by the Modi government in September are ostensibly about empowering farmers, there is deep concern that they will largely boost private agribusiness to the detriment of the livelihoods of small farmers. The bills propose new market channels that are largely unregulated, potentially leaving farmers at the mercy of powerful private sector players.

Covid 19 and The Desperate Lives of India’s Sugarcane Workers

Sanket Jain February 21, 2021 Sanket Jain

Devabai Valvi used to sharpen her sickle every month. That changed when the pandemic swept through India. For the first time, she had to abandon her sickle and watch with dismay as agricultural workers like herself were forced to to be idle. On March 23rd, 2020, when India reported 618 COVID cases, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi hastily declared a lockdown – curbing the movement of 1.3 billion people. Sixty eight days later, when the lockdown was lifted, India had already registered 189,273 COVID cases, and today, nine months later, it has surpassed 10 million cases and reported over 155,000 deaths. India now has the highest number of COVID cases after the United States.

Myanmar Coup Leader Also Claims Bogus Election Fraud

Emily Blumenthal February 19, 2021 Emily Blumenthal

Democracy observers say there are glaring similarities between the attempted coup in the US and the successful coup in Myanmar.

Chile’s feminists push to decriminalize abortion

Carole Concha Bell February 19, 2021 Carole Concha Bell

Abortion campaigners in Chile have been heartened by the recent legalization of abortion in neighboring Argentina and are currently presenting a bill for the decriminalization of abortion. But with a pro-life government and Senate inherited from the Pinochet regime (1973-90) any amendments to the existing law will be hard won.

The Making of an American Coup

Charlotte Dennett February 11, 2021 Charlotte Dennett

Who would have guessed that the world would be given a blow-by-blow televised account, complete with videotaped documentation and federally-released emails, of an American president desperately trying to stay in power after being soundly defeated in an election? Mark Karlin, the founder of BuzzFlash, has identified key players in the Republican party who helped seed the terrain that made the right wing attack on the Capitol possible.

How likely is a regime change in Russia?

Nikola Mikovic February 9, 2021 Nikola Mikovic

Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to face some serious challenges in 2021. The West has already started pressuring the Kremlin to release Alexey Navalny – the anti-corruption opposition figure who was arrested on January 17th upon his return from Germany, where he spent five months recovering from being poisoned by an alleged Russian nerve agent, Novichok. The West is aslso using the Navalny imprisonment to try -- once again -- to stop construction of the Nordstream II pipeline which is to carry Russian gas under the Baltic Sea to Germany. The US wants to limit European reliance on Russian gas and increase Europe's reliance on American gas.

‘The US is falling apart’: How Russian media is portraying the US Capitol siege

Lena Surzhko Harned February 8, 2021 Lena Surzhko Harned

Russisan coverage of the Capitol insurrection has juxtaposed the disorder in the United States to the proclaimed "order and stability" in Russia -- although recent mass protests in Russia over the imprisonment of Russian dissident Alexney Navalni (see accompanying article) have now put the Russians on the defensive.

Why Poet Amanda Gorman Stole the Inaugural Show

Amanda Gorman January 22, 2021 Amanda Gorman

We are striving to forge a union with purpose To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and conditions of man And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us but what stands before us

Libyan Women Are Charting a Path Toward Involvement in Politics and the Peace Process

Marianne Dhenin January 20, 2021 Marianne Dhenin

For outspoken Libyan women and human rights defenders, harassment, intimidation, and violence have become routine. Despite the dangers, they continue to foster a network of politically-minded community organizers and civil society organizations committed to charting a path toward greater women’s participation in public life, politics, and their nation’s ongoing peace process.

Will the Senate Confirm Coup Plotter Nuland?

Medea Benjamin January 19, 2021 Medea Benjamin

Most Americans have no idea that President-elect Biden’s pick for Deputy Secretary of State for Political Affairs is stuck in the quicksand of 1950s U.S.-Russia Cold War politics and dreams of continued NATO expansion, an arms race on steroids and further encirclement of Russia. Nor do they know that from 2003-2005, during the hostile U.S. military occupation of Iraq, Nuland was a foreign policy advisor to Dick Cheney, the Darth Vader of the Bush administration.You can bet, however, that the people of Ukraine have heard of neocon Nuland. Many have even heard the leaked four-minute audio of her saying “Fuck the EU” during a 2014 phone call with the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt.

Covid-19 under Apartheid: How Israel Manipulates Suffering of Palestinians

Ramzi Baroud January 17, 2021 Ramzi Baroud

Israel’s decision to exclude Palestinians from its COVID-19 vaccination campaign may have surprised many. Even by Israel’s poor humanitarian standards, denying Palestinians access to life-saving medication seems extremely callous. Amnesty International, among many organizations, condemned the Israeli government’s decision to bar Palestinians from receiving the vaccine. The rights group described the Israeli action as evidence of the “institutionalized discrimination that defines the Israeli government’s policy towards Palestinians.”

Like a Rocket in the Garden: The Unending War in Afghanistan

Kathy Kelly January 16, 2021 Kathy Kelly

The United States has landed in Afghanistan like a rocket in a garden. It refuses to rust, it poisons the Earth, and even U.S. voters can’t budge it. Normal life can’t continue with us there. Meanwhile, an inevitably arriving Taliban-led government—one already in control of most of the country—is growing more fanatic and deadly.

The Cops at the Capitol

Jonathan Ben Manachem January 14, 2021 Jonathan Ben Manachem

Law enforcement officers from around the country attended and supported last week’s rally in support of President Trump that sparked a riot. Arrests are now being carried out.

US Capitol mob highlights 5 reasons not to underestimate far-right extremists

Alexander Hinton January 13, 2021 Alexander Hinton

In the wake of the mob incursion that took over the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, it’s clear that many people are concerned about violence from far-right extremists. But they may not understand the real threat. The law enforcement community is among those who have failed to understand the true nature and danger of far-right extremists.

The Georgia Fraud Story You Haven’t Heard: Sec of State Raffensperger Speaks with a Forked Tongue

Charlotte Dennett January 2, 2021 Charlotte Dennett

In recent weeks, the news filling American living rooms is that Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, bravely stood up to President Trump’s claim of voter fraud in the November 2020 elections and continues to do so now that Georgians are heading to the polls on Tuesday to decide a crucial runoff election that will decide whether Democrats regain control of the Senate. Once again, investigative journalist Greg Palast, who has reported for the BBC, Rolling Stone and the Guardian, often on voter suppression, exposes what’s really been going on in Georgia since the Republicans stole the election from gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams in 2018.

Russia’s Geopolitical Ambitions in Africa

Nikola Mikovic December 31, 2020 Nikola Mikovic

On November 16, 2020, Vladimir Putin authorized his Ministry of Defense to sign an agreement with Sudan to create a permanent Russian military base in Sudan on the Red Sea, guaranteeing Russia’s first substantial military foothold in Africa since the fall of the Soviet Union. In a continent which is fast becoming the new focus of East-West rivalry for control of its abundant natural resources--chief among them oil—observers are assessing Russia’s motives. What lies behind Moscow's decision to open a naval base in Sudan? And how has Russia’s chief adversaries in the great game for oil – the United States and its allies – responded?

Deb Haaland’s Nomination for Interior Sec. Is “Important Step” for Native Americans

Amy Goodman December 27, 2020 Amy Goodman

When President-Elect Joe Biden announced on December 17th that he had nominated a Native American congresswoman from New Mexico to head up the Department of Interior, indigenous communities across the nation reacted with astonishment and tears of joy. The Washington Post responded cautiously: “American Indians have high hopes that Deb Haaland, Biden’s pick for interior secretary, can reset the troubled relationship between the federal government and Indigenous peoples.” But then the paper added a caveat, “Can she deliver?” .

How Covid-19 is wiping out India’s traditional craft-making…and millions of jobs

Sanket Jain December 21, 2020 Sanket Jain

Narayan Desai, a traditional toymaker in India, has 1000 sheets of colorful paper – each a meter long—to make 12,000 pinwheels. It takes him roughly 200 hours of work over 24 days in order to convert the paper into that many pinwheels. In normal times, the 62-year-old toymaker would then travel to over 100 villages – covering 1000 miles to sell each pinwheel for Rs 10 (14 cents). This was Narayan’s routine for over four decades. However, in this year of the coronavirus pandemic, he managed to cover only 20 miles in eleven months. February 24 was the last he could sell pinwheels and other toys he handcrafts – earning only the equivalent of $27.00 in two days. Narayan didn’t know he would have to survive on this paltry sum for the next eight months.

Progressive Media Promoted a False Story of ‘Conflict Beef’ From Nicaragua

John Perry December 16, 2020 John Perry

Before publication of this article, attempts were made to persuade Reveal News and PBS Newshour to correct their stories or provide a right of reply. They refused, hence this article was first published by the website FAIR, which aims to correct false news coverage, on December 4. Reveal News editors, the journalist Nate Halverson and the Oakland Institute's director were all sent links to article and again asked to correct the original false story

All American Nativism: A Must Read on the Macabre History of America’s Long War on Immigrants

Jared Olson December 11, 2020 Jared Olson

The victory of Joe Biden occasions relief only insofar as we’ve prevented the immediate consolidation of twenty-first century fascism. But under Biden, a man who, along with President Obama, oversaw mass deportations of a scale surpassed only by Trump, the battle for ending border violence, and the system of global apartheid it upholds, will be a long one. Trump may have been one of the ugliest examples of All-American Nativism. But in a world buckling under the weight of climate change, inequality and militarism, fighting back against it means recognizing the problem goes far beyond just him.

A Cry for Help: Burlington’s Sister City in Nicaragua is a Major Disaster Zone

Charlotte Dennett December 8, 2020 Charlotte Dennett

Members of the Burlington (VT)-Puerto Cabezas Sister City Program (established in 1984 by then-Mayor Bernie Sanders and the Burlington City Council) are putting out an urgent call for help. Dan Higgins, a professional photographer who has documented the lives and livelihoods of the people of “Port” over two decades, is heading up the campaign., “A lot of communities lost their roofs," he told Toward Freedom. "Houses are wrecked. It's a major disaster." Roughly 2,000 homes were destroyed..

A victory for Indigenous environmental activism in Ecuador

Tristan Partridge December 5, 2020 Tristan Partridge

Following years of organizing and campaigning, the Regional Director of the national Ministry for the Environment & Water confirmed the Inidgenous community’s request: land that they own collectively is now formally recognized as a national Protected Hydrological Area (APH). This not only offers new levels of legal recourse, it also creates a model for other communities to follow — in the much-needed protection of unique ecosystems.

A Strategy Comes Home to Roost: Fake Fraud in Venezuela and the USA

Peter Lackowski December 4, 2020 Peter Lackowski

Cries of election fraud by Donald Trump and his followers are familiar to Venezuelans; their right-wing opposition has been doing the same thing for years. I had a chance to observe this destabilizing strategy unfold on my first visit to Venezuela in 2005, an election year.

Biden’s Climate Responsibilities Towards the Developing World

Rishika Pardikar December 3, 2020 Rishika Pardikar

In May, 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Amphan, a category 5 (highest level) Super Cyclonic Storm, hit eastern India and Bangladesh, leaving death and destruction in its wake. During this same period, India also had to face locust attacks and ensuing crop damage, much like other countries in Africa and the Middle East. Then came the monsoons and ensuing flooding that displaced millions in South Asia. In fact, a third of Bangladesh was under water this monsoon. But while the global pandemic was unexpected, such climate-related disasters are not uncommon in the Global South.

Despite turmoil, Belarus remains in Russia’s geopolitical orbit

Nikola Mikovic November 24, 2020 Nikola Mikovic

The Western-backed Belarusian opposition has failed to topple President Alexander Lukashenko, who is still firmly supported by Russia. Three months after the Eastern European country held controversial presidential elections, anti-Lukashenko opposition groups still hold protests all over the country, although once massive demonstrations, involving some 100,000 protesters taking to the streets, are now dying down to several thousand.

Remembering Robert Fisk: Relentless Truth Seeker in the Middle East

Charlotte Dennett November 24, 2020 Charlotte Dennett

Robert Fisk’s death on October 30th came as a profound shock to journalists around the world, especially those who knew him. And, in a deeply personal way, it was devastating to me as well, though I never met him. I will try to explain what his truth-seeking meant to me, as a former reporter in Beirut and as someone who has shared his anguish over the horrific death and destruction that has engulfed the Middle East.

As Israel Destroys EU Projects in Palestine, European Foreign Policy Remains Impotent

Ramzi Baroud November 20, 2020 Ramzi Baroud

Belgium is furious. On November 6, the Belgian government condemned Israel’s destruction of Belgian-funded homes in the Occupied Palestinian West Bank. Understandably, Brussels wants the Israeli government to pay compensation for the unwarranted destruction. The Israeli response was swift: a resounding ‘no’.

Trump Moves to Involve U.S. Businesses and Academics in the Occupation of Palestine

Edward Hunt November 20, 2020 Edward Hunt

In a little-noticed move before the U.S. presidential election, the Trump administration bestowed another major gift upon Israel’s right-wing government, lifting restrictions on U.S. funding of joint U.S.-Israeli research projects in illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine.

So-called ‘Latino vote’ is 32 million Americans with diverse political opinions and national origins

Lisa Garcia Bedolla November 9, 2020 Lisa Garcia Bedolla

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: Will Russia lose Armenia?

Nikola Mikovic November 9, 2020 Nikola Mikovic

Trump’s Pennsylvania lawsuits invoke Bush v. Gore – but the Supreme Court probably won’t decide the 2020 election

Steven Mulroy November 8, 2020 Steven Mulroy

The Trump campaign has filed two lawsuits in federal court over ballot counting and voting deadlines in Pennsylvania, threatening to take the election to the Supreme Court. Both consciously echo the two main legal theories of Bush v. Gore, the infamous Supreme Court case that decided the contested 2000 presidential election.

AUSTIN, TX. Nov. 7, 2020. Simultaneous demonstrations in support of President-elect Joe Biden and current President Donald Trump face off in front of the Texas State Capitol in downtown Austin following the announcement of the presidential elections. Photos Gabriel C. Pérez/KUT

But this race is not likely to be decided by the Supreme Court.

There are several reasons, sitting at the intersection of law and politics, why the ghosts of Florida past won’t rise again in Pennsylvania. As a law professor who’s authored a book on election reform, I rate success in Trump’s efforts to wrench back Biden’s lead through litigation as a real long shot, though not out of the question. read more

The People Have Spoken!

Charlotte Dennett November 8, 2020 Charlotte Dennett

Major wins for democracy in the Americas have occurred in the past two months: in Bolivia and Chile in October, extending into the November 3 U.S. elections. Toward Freedom salutes the citizens of all three countries for their determination to defeat authoritarianism. We hope the following images will serve as inspiration to progressive forces around the world.

In Bolivia: a near-landslide victory occurred for the left-wing Movimiento al socialismo (MAS) and its presidential candidate, Luis Arce, in the country’s national elections in mid-October. read more

Overhauling U.S Foreign Policy: The Bitter Fights Ahead

Imani Countess October 29, 2020 Imani Countess

Overhauling U.S Foreign Policy: The Bitter Fights Ahead

This article was first published in Foreign Policy in Focus and is reproduced here under a Creative Commons license.

If Trump loses, we can’t just go back to the status quo. On foreign policy especially, movements need to be ready to push a new administration hard.

By William Minter, Imani Countess, October 16, 2020.

**What would Biden’s policy toward Israel and Palestine look like? What should it be? Here, VP Biden addresses an AIPAC meeting.** Photo .by Talk Media News Archived Galleries

The most consequential election year in most of our lifetimes has featured stark crises unspooling against a backdrop of vigorous activist mobilizations and simmering public outrage. President Trump may lose his reelection bid, but that will not be enough. We need fundamental change rather than a return to the status quo ante. read more

With Rigged Scanners, Trump Can Steal Florida—-and the Nation

Harvey Wasserman October 29, 2020 Harvey Wasserman

Many readers will remember how Republicans rigged the elections in Florida in 2000. A violent mob prevented volunteers from completing the recount in contested southern counties.

Final U.S. Election Warnings: Don’t Get Scrubbed from the Voter Rolls

Toward Freedom Editor October 28, 2020 Toward Freedom Editor

**Voters in the battleground state of Wisconsin brave rain and Covid-19 to cast their ballots in early voting** Photo credit: Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism

If, by now, Americans are suffering from “election fatigue” one week before the November 3 elections, now is not the time to relax.

Yes, there are indications of a massive voter turnout, and yes, the people of Bolivia have dramatically proven how voter determination can defeat a right wing regime. But President Donald Trump’s own determination to stay in power cannot be ignored, including his intended reliance on conservative justices in the U.S. Supreme Court –if necessary –to sway election results in his favor. It seems as though Republican operatives have considered every angle to steal the 2020 election (See below excerpts of my interviews with investigative journalist and inveterate election protector, Greg Palast, author of How Trump Stole 2020.) read more

A Historic Victory in Bolivia

Olivia Arigho-Stiles October 26, 2020 Olivia Arigho-Stiles

**Bolivians celebrate the presidential election victory which returned the MAS party to power** Photo by Santiago Sito

Fireworks exploded across the night sky in the Bolivian capital of La Paz on Sunday evening, October 18^th, as the projected results came through showing a near-landslide victory for the left-wing Movimiento al socialismo (MAS) and its presidential candidate, Luis Arce, in the country’s national elections.

After nearly a year of political repression and a government mired in corruption scandals, the message was clear. Democracy had returned to Bolivia, and it was in the hands of the MAS. The election results are a clear repudiation of the revanchist neoliberal project launched by Bolivia’s far-right elites, who sought to recoup power after 14 years of the MAS. read more

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