Story Archives - Page 526 of 661

Iraqi Women: Four years after the Invasion

Dr. Nadje Al-Ali March 19, 2007 Dr. Nadje Al-Ali

Every-day survival is a priority in a context where lack of security goes side by side with incredibly difficult living conditions. The Iraqi infrastructure which was already severely debilitated as a result of economic sanctions and a series of wars has deteriorated even further since 2003. Electricity shortages, lack of access to potable water, malfunctioning sanitation systems and a deteriorating health system are part of every-day lives in post-2003 Iraq.

The Truth About Global Warming

Al Huebner March 15, 2007 Al Huebner

The recently released summary of the fourth report of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) wasn't pleasant reading. Temperature will rise 3.2 to 7.8 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100; sea levels could rise 7 to 23 inches, and perhaps an additional 4 to 8 inches if melting of the Greenland ice sheet and Antarctica's Larsen ice shelf continue at current rates; it's likely that the strong hurricanes experienced since 1970 have been produced by global warming; and more drought and severe storms will occur. This global warming is "very likely" (meaning with 90 percent certainty) caused by human activity and will continue long into the future no matter what steps are taken.

Colombian Indigenous Group Strengthens Community Through Media

Mauricio Acosta March 14, 2007 Mauricio Acosta

"The police had them all surrounded with weapons. Then the people started taking out their boots and held them in their hands as if they were cameras. They made them believe that they were videotaping what was happening. This made the police stop the attack and hide the weapons."

Paraguayan Women Fight to Change Agriculture and Patriarchy

April Howard March 13, 2007 April Howard

The state of Alto Paraná, Paraguay, sits on the triple frontier with Argentina and Brazil, an area which some Paraguayans know as the soy frontier. In the past 30 years, what was once jungle and small farms has become a vast sea of industrial soy plantations. On February 12, I spoke with three women who are working with ASAGRAPA to fight these corporations and the spread of industrial monoculture in Paraguay.

China Provokes Debate in Africa

Walden Bello, Foreign Policy in Focus March 12, 2007 Walden Bello, Foreign Policy in Focus

It was unexpected. At the Seventh World Social Forum (WSF), held in Nairobi, Kenya, in late January, the most controversial topic was not HIV-AIDS, the U.S. occupation of Iraq, or neoliberalism. The topic that generated the most heat was China's relations with Africa.

Introduction to The Price of Fire: Resource Wars and Social Movements in Bolivia

Benjamin Dangl March 6, 2007 Benjamin Dangl

New social movements have emerged in Bolivia over the "price of fire"-access to basic elements of survival such as water, gas, land, coca, employment, and other resources. From the first moments of Spanish colonization to today's headlines, The Price of Fire offers a gripping account of clashes in Bolivia between corporate and people's power, contextualizing them regionally, culturally, and historically. Read the book's introduction here