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Piracy and Washington: The Somalia Crossroads

In October 2008, Human Rights Watch rated Somalia the most ignored tragedy in the world. Almost 1.5 million Somalis are internally displaced, and an additional half million are refugees. Two decades of instability, including a U.S.-backed intervention by Ethiopian troops in December 2006, have failed to put Somalia on the map. If the American public has thought about Somalia at all this decade, it was as the setting of the popular 2001 movie Blackhawk Down, based on the October 1993 battle in Mogadishu between U.S. troops and Somali militia, rather than as a real place where Washington's policies were fueling conflict and prolonging suffering.

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Fighting for Cyber and Software Freedom

Richard Stallman
With his pleasant smile, his thick beard and curly shoulder-length hair that he twirls while he talks, Richard Stallman looks more fit to be following the Grateful Dead, than attending Latin America's largest technology and information event. But Stallman is not just attending, he is the guest of honor: The Jerry Garcia of Free Software.

Manuel Zelaya

Video Report: Honduran Coup Resistance Growing

An interview with Sandra Cuffe, independent journalist reporting from the streets of Tegucigalpa, Honduras on the day the military opened fire on protesters. Tension peaked as unprecedented thousands marched to the airport to welcome the return of ousted President Manuel Zelaya, a return that was thwarted by the military. Military resorts to killing, numbers in streets double - even opponents of Zelaya join in.

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High Stakes for Honduras

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.

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A New Life for the IMF: Capitalizing on Crisis

Security at IMF Headquarters
April's G-20 meeting - involving the heads of state of 20 of the world's most economically powerful countries - failed to yield an agreement on increased European stimulus spending or on new global financial regulatory rules. But it did feature one overriding tangible agreement: A commitment to expand massively the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in order to channel funds to developing countries rocked by the financial crisis.

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

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."