What Happened to the Arms Trade Treaty?
Four years ago, the U.S. and the UK signed a landmark treaty to restrict the sale of arms to rights abusers. So why are they still profiting off the atrocities in Yemen?
Month: September 2017
Out of Africa: Understanding the Economic Roots of African Refugee Migration
Why are so many young Africans trying to leave the continent of their birth? Why are they risking their lives to flee Africa? Part of the answer lies in the failure of earlier economic policies of liberalization and privatization.
United opposition threatens half-century father-son rule in Togo
Source: Waging Nonviolence
Thousands of Togolese protesters dressed in red opposition colors have been flooding the streets of the capital city of Lomé over the past month, shouting slogans that have gone unheard for 50 years. Hashtags denouncing dictator Faure Gnassingbé continue to circulate across West African social media. Activists young and old, male and female, are still fighting online and offline. Everyone is waiting to see what will happen next, including the regime, which wants Togo to remain the only West African country to have never experienced a democratic transition.
How Labour laid the foundation for a more progressive UK
Source: The Nation
On November 20, 2016, the Grenfell Action Group, a tenants’ organization for a tower block of low-cost housing in one of London’s wealthiest areas, issued a statement regarding the company that managed the property, the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation, titled “KCTMO—Playing With Fire!” The tenants wrote: “[We] firmly believe that only a catastrophic event will expose the ineptitude and incompetence of our landlord, the KCTMO…. It is our conviction that a serious fire in a tower block or similar high density residential property is the most likely reason that those who wield power at the KCTMO will be found out and brought to justice!”
How Exxon Mobil May Soon Have Greater Sway Over Science Used in EPA Policies
Source: The Intercept
Exxon Mobil May soon have a greater hand in shaping the science used to develop major environmental regulations.
The published list of potential names for the Science Advisory Board and the EPA Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee includes many industry representatives and consultants. The panels are typically composed primarily of independent academics and researchers charged with reviewing agency science and advising the Environmental Protection Agency on major policy decisions.
Masters of War: Senate Defense Budget Set to Exceed One Third of Global Military Spending
The Senate passed a $700 billion defense policy bill on Monday, exceeding what even Trump requested and putting the US on track to have the largest military budget since the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.