October 2014 - Toward Freedom

Development and Its Discontents: Assessing the Limits and Future of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals

Dan Read October 31, 2014 Dan Read

The achievements said to have been accomplished since the turn of the century under the mandate of the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals include cutting global poverty in half and greatly expanding access to education and clean drinking water. But with the 2015 deadline for their fulfillment rushing ever closer, the UN is considering a new agenda for global growth and development.

Reflecting on the International Day to Protect Journalists

Rene Wadlow October 31, 2014 Rene Wadlow

November 2nd, the International Day to Protect Journalists, can be a day of taking stock of our efforts and reflecting on the dangers and opportunities that are open to us.

David Graeber – Occupy Democracy is not considered newsworthy. It should be

David Graeber October 30, 2014 David Graeber

Source: The Guardian Unlimited

Sleeping outside for an iPhone is OK, but do it in furtherance of democratic expression and you’re in trouble

You can tell a lot about the moral quality of a society by what is, and is not, considered news.

From last Tuesday, Parliament Square was wrapped in wire mesh. In one of the more surreal scenes in recent British political history, officers with trained German shepherds stand sentinel each day, at calculated distances across the lawn, surrounded by a giant box of fences, three metres high – all to ensure that no citizen enters to illegally practice democracy. Yet few major news outlets feel this is much of a story. read more

Fighting for Survival in the Sinai: Egypt’s Convenient War

Ramzy Baroud October 29, 2014 Ramzy Baroud

Sinai is both heaven and hell. This triangular desert boasts an arid landscape of hopeless horizons often interrupted by leftover military hardware from previous wars. The land is comprised of breathtaking beaches, incredible history, and a fusion of fascinating cultures that reach back into the past as far as ancient times can possibly go.

VT Gas pipeline protesters occupy governor’s office

John Herrick October 29, 2014 John Herrick

Source: Vermont Digger

Hundreds of environmental protesters occupied the governor’s office on Monday, demanding that Gov. Peter Shumlin reverse his support for the natural gas pipeline through Addison County, and oppose any other fossil fuel infrastructure projects in Vermont. State regulators approved the project last December, and the company began construction this summer.

The protesters danced, sang and played instruments to protest Vermont Gas’ 41-mile pipeline from Colchester south to Middlebury. They brought sheep, dogs and children. Some slipped past security and climbed the stairs to the fifth floor of the Pavilion Building. read more

The Humanism of Ali Mazrui: His Journey to the Vision of Openness

Horace Campbell October 29, 2014 Horace Campbell

Mazrui’s humanism was based on the dignity of all human beings regardless of race, religion, region or gender. It was a humanism linked to the quest for reparative justice, peace, self-determination, the rights of women, secularism and prosperity for all.