August 2015 - Page 5 of 5 - Toward Freedom

Bernie Sanders should stop ducking foreign policy

Norman Solomon August 6, 2015 Norman Solomon

The progressive favorite has views on foreign affairs but has avoided articulating them to voters

Senator Bernie Sanders has sparked a strong grassroots response in his run for the Democratic presidential nomination on social and economic issues. At the same time, he has given short shrift to foreign policy, military spending and war. That approach should change.

I’m among millions of supporters who are enthusiastic about the clarity of his positions in taking on Wall Street, corporate power and economic inequality. But we also need Sanders to be clear about what he would do as commander in chief of the world’s leading military power. read more

Looking Left, Leaning Right: Excerpt from Our Enemies in Blue: Police and Power in America

Kristian Williams August 4, 2015 Kristian Williams

At every level of government, campaigns against dissent have tended to focus disproportionately on the activities of the left. The surveillance, harassment, infiltration, arrests, sabotage, slander, disruption, and petty bullshit endured by the left is only rarely matched by a similar level of police action against the right.

Who’s to Blame for the Crisis in Greece?

Immanuel Wallerstein August 4, 2015 Immanuel Wallerstein

What is being debated is whether it is a plus or minus to remain in the Eurozone. And obviously this is a matter of short-term tactics. The Eurozone as presently constructed is a pressure to further neoliberal policies. But withdrawing from it involves serious short-term negative impact on the lives of Greeks.

Eduardo Galeano: God’s Masterpiece or the Devil’s Bad Joke?

Eduardo Galeano August 4, 2015 Eduardo Galeano

Now we can’t tell if we are God’s masterpiece or the devil’s bad joke. We puny humans: exterminators of everything, hunters of our own, creators of the atom bomb, the hydrogen bomb, and the neutron bomb, which is the healthiest of all bombs since it vaporizes people and leaves objects intact...

The Origins of the International Day of Friendship

Rene Wadlow August 1, 2015 Rene Wadlow

In 2011 the United Nations General Assembly established July 30 as the International Day of Friendship. The day was to be a continuation of the themes of dialogue and mutual understanding proposed in the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of the World (2001-2010).

Black Love Matters: The inaugural gathering of the movement for black lives

Mark Winston Griffith August 1, 2015 Mark Winston Griffith

Source: The Nation

A dispatch from the inaugural gathering of a proudly diffuse, rapidly growing, hyper-local movement for black lives.

His nickname was Mike-Mike and his favorite color was blue.

The morning workshop portion on the first day of the gathering was over, and the afternoon plenary was the first time that many of the attendees had come together in the same room. Some were weary from driving halfway across the country to get to Cleveland. Some were distracted by the scarcity of conference housing. The workshop offerings, totaling almost 100, left others unclear about how to navigate this overwhelming weekend. read more