July 2018 - Page 4 of 6 - Toward Freedom

Behind the Blockades: Intersectional Organizing to Abolish ICE

Mike Ludwig July 16, 2018 Mike Ludwig

Each summer, the radical environmentalists behind the decades-old (and notoriously rowdy) Earth First! movement wrap up their annual campout with a protest action. Over the years, typical targets have included logging operations and, more recently, fossil fuel infrastructure. This year, things were different.

On Monday, July 9, dozens of Earth First! activists emerged from the Appalachian woods to join Native American, LGBTQ and Latinx activists in temporarily shutting down a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in downtown Columbus, Ohio. The action resulted in 12 arrests. read more

What’s the Biggest Threat to American Democracy?

Frances Moore Lappé July 16, 2018 Frances Moore Lappé

Democracy is a culture that lives or dies on whether it’s creating three conditions throughout our public lives that have proven to bring forth the best in our species and to keep the worst in check: One, the wide dispersion of power; two, transparency in public affairs; and, three, a culture of mutual accountability in contrast to the blame-the-other culture fomented today.

Young Leftist Candidates are Breathing New Radicalism into Stale Climate Politics

Kate Aronoff July 16, 2018 Kate Aronoff

Source: The Intercept

On the same day that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won an upset victory in her primary against Wall Street-friendly incumbent Joe Crowley — one of the most powerful Democrats in the House — a New Yorker nearly 50 years her senior fed rumors that he would seek the highest office in the land.

Aside from pouring $80 million to support a set of handpickedDemocratic congressional hopefuls, billionaire former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg once again seems to be angling to run for president. Business Insider columnist Daniella Greenbaum took the opportunity to assert: “Democrats need to choose: Are they the party of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or the party of Michael Bloomberg?” read more

Europe’s Iron Curtain: Why the Refugee Crisis is About to Get Worse

Ramzy Baroud July 10, 2018 Ramzy Baroud

Europe continues to view the refugee crisis in terms of security, populist pressures and national identity, as opposed to it being a global humanitarian crisis invited by wars, political strife and economic inequality, of which Europe is hardly innocent.

French President Emmanuel Macron’s ‘Extreme Centrism’ Is a Threat to Democracy

Juliette Legendre July 10, 2018 Juliette Legendre

Hiding behind appeals to "rationalism," the French leader seeks to "fix" the French economy by cozying up to a tiny, wealthy elite.

La Garganta Poderosa: Community-Managed Magazine is the Voice of Argentina’s Slums

Daniel Gutman July 9, 2018 Daniel Gutman

Between the dimly-lit, narrow alleyways of Villa 21, a working-class neighborhood in Buenos Aires, more than 50,000 people live in poverty. It was here that La Garganta Poderosa (which means powerful throat), the magazine that gives a voice to the “villeros” or slum-dwellers, was organized. “’Villeros’ don’t generally reach the media in Argentina. Others see us as people who don’t want to work, or as people who are dangerous. La Garganta Poderosa is the cry that comes from our soul,” says Marcos Basualdo, who works at the publication.