How the United States Kept Arms Flowing into South Sudan
South Sudan faces several arms embargoes. How has the government continued to get weapons?
At last, divestment is hitting the fossil fuel industry where it hurts
Source: The Guardian
I remember well the first institution to announce it was divesting from fossil fuel. It was 2012 and I was on the second week of a gruelling tour across the US trying to spark a movement. Our roadshow had been playing to packed houses down the west coast, and we’d crossed the continent to Portland, Maine. As a raucous crowd jammed the biggest theatre in town, a physicist named Stephen Mulkey took the mic. He was at the time president of the tiny Unity College in the state’s rural interior, and he announced that over the weekend its trustees had voted to sell their shares in coal, oil and gas companies. “The time is long overdue for all investors to take a hard look at the consequences of supporting an industry that persists in destructive practices,” he said.
Taking French Lessons: The Power of the ‘Yellow Vests’
Source: Truthdig
The people of France are currently engaged in a major political battle with their government. But those of us on the outside watching the “Yellow Vests” bring their nation to a standstill are also learning a valuable lesson: how to make politicians bend to your will through relentless activism. Within just a few weeks of widespread and continuous protests, French President Emmanuel Macron has given in to several demands, postponing a planned fuel tax hike and offering both tax cuts and a minimum-wage increase.
Mass Nationwide Protests Bring Togo to the Brink of Ending 50 Years of Dictatorship
Hundreds of thousands took to the streets of cities across the West African country of Togo as part of a recently revived wave of nationwide protests demanding political reforms. “We hope to encourage more peaceful public protests and civic disobedience and be able to maintain the pressure until the regime falls,” said Togolese Civil League executive director Farida Nabourema.
Revolutionary Solidarity in Africa: The Story of Cuba’s First International Military Doctors
A historical look at Cuba's participation in liberation struggles throughout Africa in the 1960s, and the revolutionary solidarity, perspectives, and challenges of Cuban doctors in the region.
To the Children Seeking Asylum in the U.S.: This Is My Wish for You
"That the U.S. recognize its moral responsibility toward the children of Central America for all the killing, for all the violence from the economic and political manipulations it has nurtured in your countries for well over a century." - Claudia Castro Luna, Washington State Poet Laureate