Hundreds of Thousands Take ‘Stop the War’ Message to Congress
On Saturday 27, 2007, hundreds of thousands of peace protestors responded to President Bush's call for a surge in troops with a peace surge that flooded the streets of
Month: January 2007
World Social Forum 2007: Critical Reflections, Unknown Directions
The World Social Forum (WSF) for the first time took place in Africa in Nairobi, Kenya, marking new directions and challenges for the seven year old process.
A People’s History of Iran: Part I
Democratic Party politicians now control the U.S. Congress. Yet the
L’Abbé Pierre: Voice of the Voiceless
L'Abbé Pierre, champion of the homeless and world citizen, died on January 22nd, 2007 in Paris at 94 years old. He was born in 1912, named Henri Groues, brought up in Lyon in a bourgeois family and educated in Catholic schools. His father was active in helping the poor directly and in Catholic social efforts. As a 15-year old student on his way to Rome for Easter with his school, they stopped at Assisi, where Henri had a mystical experience alone on the mountain side and was ever afterwards influenced by the image of Francis of Assisi helping the poor.
The Dark Side of Bolivia’s Half Moon
Evo Morales climbed into his presidential jeep, ducking a barrage of sticks, debris and insults thrown from members of right wing civic groups in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Cameramen and livid activists chased him until police filled the streets with tear gas. Bolivia's first indigenous president, a former coca grower and self-described anti-imperialist, was not welcome in Santa Cruz. This took place in September, 2006 when Morales arrived uninvited to a celebration of the city's founding. Upon leaving, he ran into a sector of Bolivian society that poses one of the biggest challenges to his administration: the leading opposition party, Poder Democrático Social (PODEMOS), the Comité Cívico Pro-Santa Cruz, and the Unión Juvenil Crucenista. Unión Juvenil with clubs
Correa Brings Hope to Ecuadorians
When Ecuadorians went to the polls on Nov. 26 they collectively said no to neoliberalism as they voted overwhelmingly for maverick candidate Rafael Correa over billionaire banana tycoon Alvaro Noboa. The choice between Noboa and Correa was a choice between the past and the future, a future that undoubtedly makes Washington very uneasy as yet another country in Latin America elected a left-of-center candidate.