Zapatista women and thousands of women from around the world listen to the opening address kicking off the first International Political, Artistic, Sporting, and Cultural Gathering of Women who Struggle in the Zapatista Caracol in the Tzots Choj region, Chiapas, Mexico, March 8, 2018. Photo by Heather Gies

“Don’t Surrender, Don’t Sell Out:” The Zapatistas’ First International Gathering of Women Who Struggle

Heather Gies March 19, 2018 Heather Gies

Women insurgents wearing the Zapatista’s iconic black balaclavas greeted thousands of women from over four dozen countries at the entrance to the Zapatista Caracol in the highlands of Chiapas under a vibrant banner reading “Welcome women of the world.” Kicking off the first International Political, Artistic, Sporting, and Cultural Gathering of Women Who Struggle surrounded by murals celebrating women’s resistance, Zapatista compañeras invited women from around the globe to commit to organizing to rise up and fight capitalism and patriarchy.

Photo by Cpl. Jacob A. Farbo

Merchants of Death Are the Ultimate Winners in World’s Escalating Military Conflicts

Thalif Deen March 19, 2018 Thalif Deen

In most military conflicts worldwide, the ultimate winners are not one of the warring parties– but the world’s prolific arms traders, described by peace activists as “merchants of death.” According to a new study, the world’s five top arms suppliers are the US, Russia, France, China, and Germany. Together, these five biggest exporters have accounted for about 74 per cent of all arms exports during 2013–17.

The far-right Five Star Movement political leader Luigi Di Maio (R) and party founder Beppe Grillo (L) attend a rally ahead of the March 4 Parliamentary Elections in Italy

Europe’s Far-Right Wave: Xenophobic Parties Win Italian Parliamentary Election

Rene Wadlow March 12, 2018 Rene Wadlow

Steve Bannon is currently in Europe to advise far-right movements. He first went to Italy, where xenophobes recently won the parliamentary elections, and then visited the National Front in France. In fact, the European far-right does not need Bannon's advice. They are able to push racist and xenophobic slogans all by themselves, as was evident in the recent elections for Parliament in Italy.

Sahawari women call for independence at protest on Feb. 26. (WNV/Matt Meyer)

Western Sahara Calls for Independence in Historic Symbolic Referendum

Matt Meyer March 12, 2018 Matt Meyer
Sahawari women call for independence at protest on Feb. 26. (WNV/Matt Meyer)
Sahawari women call for independence at protest on Feb. 26. (WNV/Matt Meyer)

Source: Waging Nonviolence

Early mornings in the desert are usually dry, dusty and warm — in the summer, sometimes excruciatingly hot. There was a bit of a wind on the morning of Feb. 26, one that carried a certain sense of foreboding: a nasty sirocco, or sandstorm, was apparently on its way. Still, there was also an anxious anticipation, as an historic resistance action was about to take place.

On the eve of the 42nd declaration of a still-unrecognized Sahwari Arab Democratic Republic, and after 136 years of Spanish colonialism and Moroccan occupation, people from all walks and areas of Western Saharan life were about to assert themselves as a united people by voting in a symbolic but highly representative referendum for full independence as a nation. The people of Western Sahara were not waiting for colonialists, neo-colonists, or an unresponsive global community to grant them what they are in the business of building for themselves. read more

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Black Lives Matter: A Challenge to Power

Amy Hall March 12, 2018 Amy Hall

Source: New Internationalist

Black Lives Matter and a new generation of activism has the potential to reawaken the global fight for black liberation.

‘I’m eight years old, I’m unarmed and I have nothing that will hurt you.’ Ariel has rehearsed this line. She looks into the camera as she says it, holding her hands up, her feet dangling from her chair. Her father, who sits beside her, explains that, at home, they practise how to deal with the police.

During the short video, other black American parents describe how they teach their children ways to react to the police, which include how to try to stay alive when confronted with the people paid to protect them. read more