Israel’s colonization policies are entering an alarming new phase, comparable in historic magnitude to the original plans to colonize Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem following the war of 1967.
Source: Inter Press Service
The voting out of conservative governments in France and Greece this weekend heralds the end of harsh European austerity programs and ushers in an era of new economic, investment, and social policies aimed at restoring growth and employment across the continent.
In Paris, supporters of Francois Hollande cheer the results of the presidential election. Celebrations continued into the night in the Place de la Bastille, the iconic plaza of the French Revolution. Mr. Hollande told them: ‘Austerity can no longer be inevitable.’ (Photo: AP) In France, the Socialist presidential candidate François Hollande, a champion of government-led economic growth and employment strategies, accomplished a comfortable victory over the incumbent president Nicolas Sarkozy – the man often seen as the poster child of the austerity programs in practice all over Europe.
Shilpa Jain has served as a full-time “learning activist” with Shikshantar, an India-based people’s movement which aims to regenerate “living and learning communities” grounded in diverse cultures and languages, as opposed to a stultifying colonial-legacy education.
Source: Foreign Policy in Focus
Apple, the most profitable company in existence and one of the most popular brands ever created, has gotten used to being the glowing center of attention. The release of the next iPhone or the new iPad invariably stirs an orgy of conspicuous consumption. Recently, however, a series of exposés have shifted some attention to the darker side of Apple, shining a light on the working conditions at the Foxconn factories in China where its products are made.
Going up against Apple is no joke. Given the company’s power and reputation, it’s not surprising that, for every small step forward in raising public consciousness on the issue of Apple’s global labor practices, there have also been disappointments and setbacks. Nowhere has this been starker than in the case of Mike Daisey’s controversial piece of political theater, The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs.
At the front line of climate change, the people of Bangladesh are using every ounce of their creativity to adapt.
Source: The Guardian Unlimited
Occupy’s May Day rebirth, forging a new alliance of activists and union members, was a historic moment of anti-capitalist struggle
The US press seems to have decided that the Occupy movement is no longer a story. Pretty much no matter what we do. In New York, on May Day, something between 50,000 and 100,000 people marched through the streets – we don’t know the exact numbers because most papers didn’t report the event at all, and therefore, didn’t bother to make estimates. In California, there were blockades and walkouts. In Seattle, one band of protestors relived the famous Black Bloc actions of November 1999, smashing many of the same corporate windows – and even that didn’t make national news!
Copyright Toward Freedom 2019