March 2013 - Toward Freedom

The True Cost of Industrialized Food

Tory Field and Beverly Bell March 28, 2013 Tory Field and Beverly Bell

"We are the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe. And reclaiming the democratic control over our food and water and our ecological survival is the necessary project for our freedom."-- Vandana Shiva, physicist and activist

Global Left Converges in Tunisia to Promote New Vision for Earth’s Future

Jordan Flaherty March 28, 2013 Jordan Flaherty

Tens of thousands of people marched through downtown Tunis on Tuesday in a spirited march celebrating the beginning the 13th World Social Forum – the first to be held in an Arab country.

Living with No Future: Iraq, 10 Years Later

Dahr Jamail March 28, 2013 Dahr Jamail

Source: Tom Dispatch

Back then, everybody was writing about Iraq, but it’s surprising how few Americans, including reporters, paid much attention to the suffering of Iraqis. Today, Iraq is in the news again. The words, the memorials, the retrospectives are pouring out, and again the suffering of Iraqis isn’t what’s on anyone’s mind. This was why I returned to that country before the recent 10th anniversary of the Bush administration’s invasion and why I feel compelled to write a few grim words about Iraqis today. read more

Vandan Shiva: Monsanto and the Seeds of Suicide

Vandana Shiva March 28, 2013 Vandana Shiva

Source: The Asian Age

“Monsanto is an agricultural company. We apply innovation and technology to help farmers around the world produce more while conserving more.”

“Producing more, Conserving more, Improving farmers lives.”

These are the promises Monsanto India’s website makes, alongside pictures of smiling, prosperous farmers from the state of Maharashtra. This is a desperate attempt by Monsanto and its PR machinery to delink the epidemic of farmers’ suicides in India from the company’s growing control over cotton seed supply — 95 per cent of India’s cotton seed is now controlled by Monsanto. read more

Articles by Greg Guma

Greg Guma March 26, 2013 Greg Guma

Greg Guma is an author, editor and the former CEO of Pacifica Radio. He lives in Vermont and writes about politics and culture on his blog, Maverick Media.

Below are the collected articles Guma has written for Toward Freedom.

Peaceful Revolutions and the Power of Disobedience

Defenders of Freedom: Why Anarchism Is Misunderstood

Addicted to War: The Seductive Myths of Militarism

It CAN Happen Here: Meet Friendly Fascism

We’re All Socialists Sometimes

The Trump Effect: Falling for Successful Psychopaths read more

Of Hope and Pain: Rachel Corrie’s Rafah Legacy

Ramzy Baroud March 25, 2013 Ramzy Baroud

Immediately after her painful death, crushed beneath an Israeli army bulldozer, Rafah embraced Rachel Corrie's legacy as another ‘martyr’ for Palestine. It was a befitting tribute to Rachel, who was born to a progressive family in the town of Olympia, itself a hub for anti-war and social justice activism.