April 2010 - Toward Freedom

Honduras: The Return of the Death Squads

Jeremy Kryt April 29, 2010 Jeremy Kryt

TEGUCIGALPA, HONDURAS-Late in the afternoon on February 3, Vanessa Zepeda, a 28-year-old registered nurse, left a union hall after a meeting and began walking to the supermarket to buy school supplies for her children and formula for her baby girl.

She never made it.

According to witnesses, as she was leaving the union hall parking lot in this sprawling capital city, Zepeda was forced into an unmarked white sedan by two masked men dressed in fatigues.

A few hours after she was kidnapped, her corpse, still dressed in blue hospital scrubs, was tossed from a moving car in the Loarque neighborhood on the southern side of the city-a well-known stronghold of the resistance movement. read more

Rio de Janeiro’s Katrina: Rains, Tragedy and Segregation

Michael Fox, Photos by Sílvia Leindecker April 29, 2010 Michael Fox, Photos by Sílvia Leindecker

Favela in Rio

It could have been New Orleans as it was pummeled by hurricane Katrina-the torrential rains, the rising waters, the families separated, bodies lost and still missing-but it was not. This was Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2010, and the culprit was not a breach in the levee, but dozens of mudslides that leveled whole neighborhoods, burying homes and families alive.

The Politics of Garbage in Outer Space

Al Huebner April 28, 2010 Al Huebner

Fifty years into what has become known as the Space Age, the condition of space operations has changed dramatically. Today more than 50 nations own satellites and commercial operators own even more. There are now nearly 1,000 active satellites orbiting the planet, carrying out critical roles in telecommunications, navigation, banking, science, and other civilian and military operations.

Vermont: May 1st Health Care is a Human Right Rally

VT Workers' Center April 27, 2010 VT Workers' Center

May 1st Healthcare Is A Human Right Rally

11am March on the Statehouse meet at Montpelier City Hall, 39 Main Street
12noon, Massive Rally w/Senator Bernie Sanders

Let’s prove that Vermonters want real change. Bring everyone you can.

Need a ride? Can give a ride? Click here to learn about transportation being organized around the state.
Want to help organize? Do you know other people who want to come? Join the Ten Club!
Call 802-861-4892 or email info @ workerscenter.org

Visit http://www.workerscenter.org/ for more information read more

A Decade On, No Seats for Women at the Peace Table

Marguerite A. Suozzi April 27, 2010 Marguerite A. Suozzi

Anwarul Chowdhury

It was a historic moment for the United Nations when, 10 years ago, the Security Council unanimously recognised "the intrinsic role of women in global peace and security" through Resolution 1325, said Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury of Bangladesh at a recent panel at the U.N. on the continuing obstacles to its implementation.

What If the Tea Party Were Black?

Tim Wise April 27, 2010 Tim Wise

Source: Alternet

Let’s play a game, shall we? The name of the game is called “Imagine.” The way it’s played is simple: we’ll envision recent happenings in the news, but then change them up a bit. Instead of envisioning white people as the main actors in the scenes we’ll conjure – the ones who are driving the action – we’ll envision black folks or other people of color instead. The object of the game is to imagine the public reaction to the events or incidents, if the main actors were of color, rather than white. Whoever gains the most insight into the workings of race in America, at the end of the game, wins. read more