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Somalia: Piracy Redux

Francis Njubi Nesbitt February 22, 2010 Francis Njubi Nesbitt

Source: Foreign Policy in Focus

Over a year after the scourge of piracy escalated in the Gulf of Aden, the world is still mired in misguided and misdirected militarist policies. Meanwhile, millions of Somalis are caught in desperate circumstances. One-third of the country is on the run. Thousands choose to make the horrendous trek to Kenya where they face relatively safe, yet empty lives in refugee camps. At the African Union summit last month, diplomats lamented that even though Somalia was a major security threat, it didn’t get anywhere near the attention that Afghanistan received. read more

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Venezuela’s Revolution Faces Crucial Battles

Federico Fuentes, Caracas February 22, 2010 Federico Fuentes, Caracas

Source: Green Left Weekly

Decisive battles between the forces of revolution and counter-revolution loom on the horizon in Venezuela.

The campaign for the September 26 National Assembly elections will be a crucial battle between the supporters of socialist President Hugo Chavez and the US-backed right-wing opposition.

But these battles, part of the class struggle between the poor majority and the capitalist elite, will be fought more in the streets than at the ballot box.

So far this year, there has been an escalation of fascist demonstrations by violent opposition student groups; the continued selective assassination of union and peasant leaders by right-wing paramilitaries; and an intensified private media campaign presenting a picture of a debilitated government in crisis – and on its way out. read more

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Coca Leaves, Chicha and Beer Globalization in Latin America

Benjamin Dangl February 22, 2010 Benjamin Dangl

On a pleasant autumn day in 1890 the Cuauhtémoc brewery was founded in Monterrey, Mexico. This brewery, which also specialized in ice production, went on to become Mexican Economic Development Inc. (FEMSA), brewing such beers as Dos Equis, Tecate and Sol. Recently the Dutch brewing giant Heineken bought FEMSA, bringing over half of the world's beer production into the hands of just four mega-corporations. One Mexican columnist wrote of the merger in La Jornada, "Just a bit more globalization and we will all be lost."

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Following the Mineral Trail: Congo Resource Wars and Rwanda

John Lasker February 18, 2010 John Lasker

Rwandan Soliders in Congo
The Rwandan government and its military have largely been suspected by a UN Panel of Experts, human rights organizations and independent journalists, of financially supporting a number of violent militias that have destabilized the eastern Congo region to illegally traffic millions-of-dollars worth of minerals such as coltan, gold, and cassiterite. These minerals are then brought from neighboring Congo into Rwanda for eventual sale on the international market.

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Video: The Death and Life of American Journalism

Democracy Now! February 17, 2010 Democracy Now!

Source: Democracy Now!

Robert McChesney and John Nichols on The Death and Life of American Journalism: The Media Revolution that Will Begin the World Again

University of Illinois Professor Robert McChesney and The Nation correspondent John Nichols, two leading advocates of the media reform movement, join us to talk about their new book, The Death and Life of American Journalism: The Media Revolution that Will Begin the World Again. McChesney and Nichols argue that journalism should be seen as a public good and that the government should help save American journalism by granting more subsidies to newspapers and media outlets. read more