Story Archives - Page 568 of 662

A Timely Study Highlights Violence Against Thai Women

Elayne Clift January 4, 2006 Elayne Clift

The first World Health Organization (WHO) study on domestic violence couldn't have come at a better time for women's advocates in Thailand. As they scrutinized a pending domestic violence law - against the backdrop of the United Nations' International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on Nov. 25 - WHO's report, "Women's Health and Domestic Violence against Women Study," underscored the extent of the problem in this southeast Asian country, one of 11 included in the research.

The Vietnam War: Getting Behind the Spitting Image

Benjamin Dangl, Transcribed by April Howard January 3, 2006 Benjamin Dangl, Transcribed by April Howard

Jerry Lembcke is the author of "The Spitting Image: Myth, Memory, and the Legacy of Vietnam". In 1969, he was assigned to the 41st Artillery Group in Vietnam as a Chaplain's Assistant, and joined the Vietnam Veterans Against the War when he returned in 1970. As an associate professor of sociology at Holy Cross College during the Persian Gulf War, Lembcke began to research the origins of stories about Vietnam Veterans being spit on by female antiwar protesters. Not only did the stories conflict with Lembcke's experiences as a veteran and member of the anti-war movement in the 1970's, he could not find a single documented case of a veteran being spit on.

Justice Buried in Gujarat, India

Siddharth Srivastava January 2, 2006 Siddharth Srivastava

The recent recovery of several skeletons from a mass grave in Gujarat, most probably Muslim victims of the state sponsored pogrom in 2002, is a ghastly reminder that the culprits of one of the worst communal riots have not been brought to justice.

Ecuador: Toxic Theater by Texaco

Hanna Dahlstrom, UBV December 29, 2005 Hanna Dahlstrom, UBV

Oil Spill in Ecuador

According to offical statistics from the Ministry of Energy in Ecuador, there is an average of one oil leak every five days in the country. Such statistics only hint at the actual daily damage on the ground, not to mention subsoil, due to rampant oil exploitation. Cell phones in this area include a computer game with the aim to build oil pipelines to prevent oil spill. This game is symbolic of the normalization of oil exploitation in this region, which is the goal of Chevron's propaganda defense in the case filed against them by 30,000 Ecuadorians who claim that the company's oil operations led to massive environmental destruction and widespread health problems.

MTA Strike: Players and Movers

Rafael Merino Cortés December 28, 2005 Rafael Merino Cortés

To say that New Yorkers are a resilient bunch is an understatement. And thankfully, as well, New Yorkers are a pretty bright crowd, and not easily intimidated or led astray by everything they see on TV or read in the papers. They are mostly a liberal group, but have conservative perspectives as well. And most important of all, they know their history -- especially the history of the working people who built this country, and their struggle against the gangsters who wanted control of the action -- the players in politics and the movers of money.

Syriana: Hollywood’s Oil Flick

Rob Williams December 27, 2005 Rob Williams

Director Stephen Gaghan's gripping new film "Syriana" explores the roots of 21st century civilization's biggest dilemma: Peak Oil. Inexpensive fossil fuels - oil and natural gas - have floated both the corporate-controlled global economy and U.S. imperial planetary hegemony for the past several decades. Now, the party is over, as "elephant" fields like Kuwait's Burgan are peaking, oil companies are maintaining sagging portfolios by buying up other companies' reserves (real and fictitious). The world is beginning to grasp the significance of living without immediate and inexpensive access to one of the 20th century's most vital resources.