July 2012 - Toward Freedom

The Nature of the US Military Presence in Africa

Nick Turse July 31, 2012 Nick Turse

On July 12th, TomDispatch posted the latest piece in Nick Turse’s “changing face of empire” series: “Obama’s Scramble for Africa.” It laid out in some detail the way in which the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) has, in recent years, spread its influence across that continent, establishing bases and outposts, sending in special operations forces and drones, funding proxy forces on the continent, and so on. As last week ended, TomDispatch received a “letter to the editor” from Colonel Tom Davis, director of the U.S. Africa Command Office of Public Affairs, disputing in some detail a number of Turse’s points. (Colonel Davis also sent a copy of the letter to the Nation Institute, which supports this website.) read more

Connecting the Struggles: Regional Activists Greet New England Governors’ Conference with Protests

Benjamin Dangl July 30, 2012 Benjamin Dangl

Hundreds of activists from indigenous groups, environmental organizations, and labor and social movements from around New England and Quebec greeted the 36th Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers in Burlington, Vermont on Sunday with protests, demands and direct action.

Wall Street Be Damned: We Are the Economy We’ve Been Waiting For

Sandy LeonVest July 30, 2012 Sandy LeonVest

Bill Moyers observed recently that poor people haven’t “lost their voice.” Rather, he said, “They can’t afford a voice.”

Economic Crimes in Congo

James North July 30, 2012 James North

Source: The Nation

Fungurume—The 73 million human beings who live here in the Democratic Republic of the Congo continue to struggle through one of the greatest humanitarian disasters on the planet since the end of the Second World War. By one estimate, more than 5 million people have died since the Second Congo War broke out in 1998. Fighting has just started up again in eastern Congo; hundreds are already dead, and there may already be more than 200,000 refugees, adding to the 2 million Congolese already displaced by war. Doctors Without Borders has just warned that the renewed violence is blocking efforts to control an outbreak of cholera. read more

Right to Water: Learning from Past Struggles

Jackie Dugard, Katherine Drage and Madeleine Bélanger Dumontier July 26, 2012 Jackie Dugard, Katherine Drage and Madeleine Bélanger Dumontier

The privatization of water services over the past 30 years has generated a counter-wave of popular resistance that is still growing strong, with activists at times invoking rights or using litigation to reverse private deals and fight for public provision.

Paraguay’s Bitter Harvest: Multinational Corporations Reap Benefits from Coup Government

Benjamin Dangl July 26, 2012 Benjamin Dangl

A look at how the coup government is opening up Paraguay to multinational corporate exploitation, from the Canadian Rio Tinto Alcan mining company to Monsanto's seeds.