Month: January 2016

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“Conservation” Is Used to Justify the Displacement of Indigenous People

Alejandra Orozco‐Quintero, Catie Burlando and Lance W. Robinson January 2, 2016 Alejandra Orozco‐Quintero, Catie Burlando and Lance W. Robinson

Source: IC Magazine 

“A theory, however elegant and economical must be rejected or revised if it is untrue. Likewise laws and institutions no matter how efficient and well-arranged must be reformed or abolished if they are unjust.” – John Rawls, A Theory of Justice.

Echoing the pleas of illegally displaced tribal peoples in a number of countries, a leading human rights NGO has called the loss of home, livelihoods, culture and customary rights in the name of conservation, “one of the most urgent and horrific humanitarian crises of our time”[1]. Such concerns are often absent from the narratives of the international conservation establishment. When they are addressed, it tends to be at the fringes, the magnitude of the crisis not appreciated. read more

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Inside the Secret U.S. Drone War on the Islamic State

Nick Turse January 2, 2016 Nick Turse

Source: TomDispatch

On October 7th, at an “undisclosed location” somewhere in “Southwest Asia,” men wearing different types of camouflage and dun-colored boots gathered before a black backdrop adorned with Arabic script.  They were attending a ceremony that mixed solemnity with celebration, the commemoration of a year of combat that left scores of their enemies slain.  One of their leaders spoke of comraderie and honor, of forging a family and continuing a legacy.      read more

Ten Good Things About the Not-So-Great Year 2015

Medea Benjamin January 2, 2016 Medea Benjamin

It would certainly be easy to do a piece about 10 horrible events from 2015, from the ongoing war in Syria and the refugee crisis, to the bombings in Beirut, Paris and San Bernardino, to the rise of Donald Trump and Islamophobia. But that wouldn’t be a very inspiring way to bid farewell to this year and usher in a new one. So let’s look at 10 reasons to feel better about 2015.

The Paris Climate Agreement: Hope or Hype?

Brian Tokar January 2, 2016 Brian Tokar

It has become a predictable pattern at the annual UN climate conferences for participants to describe the outcome in widely divergent ways. This was first apparent after the high-profile Copenhagen conference in 2009, when a four-page non-agreement was praised by diplomats, but denounced by well-known critics as a “sham,” a “farce,” and a mere face-saver.