June 2009 - Toward Freedom

Showdown in Honduras: The Rise and Uncertain Future of the Coup

Benjamin Dangl June 29, 2009 Benjamin Dangl

Photo: Miguel Yuste, El Pais

Worldwide condemnation has followed the coup that unseated President Manuel Zelaya of Honduras on Sunday, June 28. Nation-wide mobilizations and a general strike demanding that Zelaya be returned to power are growing in spite of increased military repression. One protester outside the government palace in Honduras told reporters that if Roberto Micheletti, the leader installed by the coup, wants to enter the palace, "he had better do so by air" because if he goes by land "we will stop him."

Beyond Politics: People for Sale in Hungry World

Ramzy Baroud June 29, 2009 Ramzy Baroud

Carpet weavers in India

One might be tempted to dismiss the recent findings of the US State Department on human trafficking as largely political. But do not be too hasty. Criticism of the State Department's report on trafficked persons, issued on June 16, should be rife. The language describing US allies' efforts to combat the problem seems undeserved, especially when one examines the nearly 320- page report and observes the minuscule efforts of these governments.

Fordlandia: An Interview with Greg Grandin

Greg Grandin June 25, 2009 Greg Grandin

In this interview history professor and author Greg Grandin talks about what led him to write his recent book, Fordlandia, The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City, the auto industry, US foreign policy, and the modern day parallels to this failed American utopian adventure in the Amazon.

Genetic Eucalyptus Trees Threaten Southern U.S.

Anne Peterman and Orin Langelle June 25, 2009 Anne Peterman and Orin Langelle

Photo: Orin Langelle

The U.S. government is set to approve a request from ArborGen, the genetically engineered (GE) tree research and development giant, for permission to plant 260,000 GE cold tolerant eucalyptus trees in 29 "field trials" across seven southern U.S. states. Approval of such a large-scale planting of these dangerous flowering GE forest trees in the U.S. is completely unprecedented.

Touring Empire’s Ruins: From Detroit to the Amazon

Greg Grandin June 23, 2009 Greg Grandin

Ford Car Stuck in Amazon Mud

The empire ends with a pull out. Not, as many supposed a few years ago, from Iraq. There, as well as in

Afghanistan

, we are mulishly staying the course, come what may, trapped in the biggest of all the "too-big-to-fail" boondoggles. But from Detroit. Of course, the real evacuation of the Motor City began decades ago, when Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler started to move more and more of their operations out of the downtown area to harder to unionize rural areas and suburbs, and, finally, overseas.

All-American Squatters Fight Homelessness

Jake Thomas June 23, 2009 Jake Thomas

Family Takes Back Foreclosed Home

Max Rameau stood at a lectern in one of Portland State University's student centers on an April afternoon. "Being against oppression and exploitation in your mind is not enough," he told a group of 70 activists. Rameau had been invited to Portland, Ore., to talk about Take Back the Land, his audacious-and illegal-campaign to fight homelessness caused by the economic crisis.