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Justice and Genocide in Sudan

Rene Wadlow July 29, 2008 Rene Wadlow

Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir
On July 14, 2008, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) presented to a three-judge panel a request for an arrest warrant against Sudan's president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir. He is to be charged with genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes related to the war in Darfur. Moreno-Ocampo presented solid evidence of a policy of genocide against the Fur, Massaliet and Zayhawa peoples. This is the first time that a charge of genocide has been made against a Head of State in power.

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Barack Obama: The New Jimmy Carter

Greg Guma July 28, 2008 Greg Guma

Jimmy Carter, 2008
Since Barack Obama emerged as the Democrat's choice for president, the national mood has frequently been compared to the late 1960s, another time when an unpopular war polarized the nation. A recent ad for Republican candidate John McCain makes this explicit, starting off with clips of 60s protesters and "flower" children before warning that hope can be a slippery slope. But the dynamics in 2008 may have more in common with 1976, when a GOP discredited by Watergate, Richard Nixon's resignation (under the threat of impeachment) and his pardon by Gerald Ford was defeated by a newcomer to national politics, Jimmy Carter.

Pro-Morales Rally in La Paz, Bolivia in May, 2008

Total Recall in Bolivia: Divided Nation Faces Historic Vote

Benjamin Dangl July 23, 2008 Benjamin Dangl

Pro-Evo Morales Rally
In early July in Sicaya, Cochabamba, Bolivian President Evo Morales announced that if he wins the August 10 recall vote on his presidency, "I'll have two and half years left." But if he loses the vote, "I'll have to go back to the Chapare" to farm coca again. Though the recall vote is likely to favor Morales, it's unclear if it will resolve many of the divided nation's conflicts.

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Vermont Progressives Play the Independent Card

Greg Guma July 23, 2008 Greg Guma

Anthony Pollina
The announcement by Anthony Pollina, a Vermont Progressive Party leader running for governor, that he will appear on the ballot this fall as an Independent raises intriguing questions about the reasons for his switch and the future of the movement he leads in the Green Mountain State. At a news conference, Pollina said that running as an independent "is by far the best way" to build a coalition. He didn't mention winning, but that clearly also figured into the decision.

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G8: The Anti-Climate Summit

Walden Bello July 22, 2008 Walden Bello

While drafting the so-called Bali Roadmap during the UN Conference on climate change last December, delegates faced a painful choice. They could specifically mention the necessity of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 25-40% by 2020 and face the possibility of a U.S. walkout from the negotiations. Or they could drop all mention of targets to keep Washington in the negotiations - and risk of the United States fatally obstructing the process of coming up with a tough regime of mandatory emissions cuts that would have to be in place by the UN's climate meeting in Copenhagen in December 2009.