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Does Fiji Water Legitimize a Dictatorship?

Anna Lenzer August 24, 2009 Anna Lenzer

The internet cafe in the Fijian capital, Suva, was usually open all night long. Dimly lit, with rows of sleek, modern terminals, the place was packed at all hours with teenage boys playing boisterous rounds of video games. But one day soon after I arrived, the staff told me they now had to shut down by 5 p.m. Police orders, they shrugged: The country’s military junta had declared martial law a few days before, and things were a bit tense.

I sat down and sent out a few emails-filling friends in on my visit to the Fiji Water bottling plant, forwarding a story about foreign journalists being kicked off the island. Then my connection died. "It will just be a few minutes," one of the clerks said. read more

The Globalization of Garbage: Following the Trail of Toxic Trash

Michael Fox August 13, 2009 Michael Fox

Garbage Heap in Philippines

"English Trash Going Home" read the front page of Brazil's Porto Alegre journal, Correio do Povo on Monday, August 3rd. The image showed the hefty MSC Oriane tanker piled with dozens of containers. The photo's caption explained that 920 "tons of domestic and toxic trash, imported illegally and which were in Rio Grande, were embarked and will make the return trip home to England." On her way North, the tanker stopped by the Santos port in Sao Paulo and picked up another 41 containers. For Brazil, it was the welcomed resolution to what had become a small-scaled international scandal. But globally, it is not even a scratch on the surface.

Gaza’s Kite Runners

Ramzy Baroud August 11, 2009 Ramzy Baroud

When seen from a distance, kites in Gaza may look quite ordinary. But while Gazan children, in many respects, are just children, their kites are hardly ordinary. Often adorned by the red, black, green and white of the Palestinian flag, Gazan children's kites are expressions of defiance, hope and the longing for freedom. This is hardly a cliché. People living under oppressive rules take every opportunity to express defiance, even through such symbolic ways.

Sahara: Film Screenings in The Devil’s Garden

Stefan Simanowitz August 4, 2009 Stefan Simanowitz

Photo: David Bollero

Nineteen-year-old Ibrahim Hussein Leibeit shifts his weight in obvious discomfort. The stump of his leg, blown off below the knee by a landmine on 10 April, just three weeks ago, is yet to heal. 'The pain is horrible,' he tells me. 'But today it is possible for me to think about other things.' Leibeit is a refugee. He was born and raised in the isolated camps in south western Algeria, where an estimated 165,000 Saharawi people who fled their native Western Sahara have lived for over three decades.

High Stakes for Honduras

Benjamin Dangl July 7, 2009 Benjamin Dangl

The US should give clearer signals of its support for the restoration of President Zelaya, the victim of a right-wing coup. Among other reasons, Zelaya deserves our support because he was ultimately overthrown in response to his plans to organize a popular assembly to rewrite the country's constitution.

Showdown in Honduras: The Rise and Uncertain Future of the Coup

Benjamin Dangl June 29, 2009 Benjamin Dangl

Photo: Miguel Yuste, El Pais

Worldwide condemnation has followed the coup that unseated President Manuel Zelaya of Honduras on Sunday, June 28. Nation-wide mobilizations and a general strike demanding that Zelaya be returned to power are growing in spite of increased military repression. One protester outside the government palace in Honduras told reporters that if Roberto Micheletti, the leader installed by the coup, wants to enter the palace, "he had better do so by air" because if he goes by land "we will stop him."