In the oppressive heat of Catatumbo in east Colombia, the rhythms of everyday life are underpinned by tension; the threat of violence, the struggle with extreme poverty and just the faintest glimmer of a peaceful future.
“Selling weapons isn’t just something you do for economic reasons,” says Andrew Smith, a spokesman for the UK group Campaign against Arms Trade (CAAT). “When you sell weapons, what you are doing is giving political support to the government you are dealing with."
Spain's Gag Law aims to criminalize and shut down Spain’s social movements by bankrupting them.
Source: The Nation
The crisis shows no signs of ending, and Egypt is no refuge. Europe must do more to take them in.
Cairo – It was the first week of 2015, and everyone in Alexandria was talking about the weather. It was one of the coldest weeks in recent memory; an icy slush coated the seafront road and huge waves broke over the barrier walls that dropped down to the rocky coastline. In the weak winter sun, teenage boys posed on the concrete, trying to capture selfies with a particularly ferocious bit of spray. But mostly, those who could stay indoors did.
Source: The Guardian Unlimited
Recently, in an effort to embarrass Republicans pandering to their scientifically challenged base, Senate Democrats proposed a series of votes on climate change. While most Americans and the overwhelming majority of scientists believe climate change is real and people are the primary cause of it, Republican voters are evenly divided on whether it exists at all, and reject the idea that we are responsible.
One amendment, by the Democratic senator Brian Schatz, stated simply that climate change is real and human activity significantly contributes to it. Republican senator John Hoeven offered a compromise: take the word “significantly” out. When asked why, he said: “It was about finding that balance that would bring bipartisan support to the bill.”
Source: The Progressive
European officials are finally acknowledging that democracy matters.
After their initial hostile reaction to the new Greek government’s pleas for a review of the country’s crushing debt, EU leaders finally seem willing to compromise—for now.
The hardball approach of Greece’s new finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, may have unnerved them.
“Do we really want Europe to break apart?” he asked. “Anybody who is tempted to think it possible to amputate Greece strategically from Europe should be careful. It is very dangerous. Who would be hit after us? Portugal? What would happen to Italy when it discovers that it is impossible to stay within the austerity straitjacket?”
Copyright Toward Freedom 2019