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Extreme poverty in America: Read the UN special monitor’s report

Philp Alston January 29, 2018 Philp Alston

Source: The Guardian 

Philp Alston, the UN’s special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, has spent 10 days touring America. This is the introduction to his report

Ihave spent the past two weeks visiting the United States, at the invitation of the federal government, to look at whether the persistence of extreme poverty in America undermines the enjoyment of human rights by its citizens. In my travels through California, Alabama, Georgia, Puerto Rico, West Virginia, and Washington DC I have spoken with dozens of experts and civil society groups, met with senior state and federal government officials and talked with many people who are homeless or living in deep poverty. I am grateful to the Trump administration for facilitating my visit and for its continuing cooperation with the UN Human Rights Council’s accountability mechanisms that apply to all states. read more

The Trials of Africa and Dr. Martin Luther King’s Vision for Global Solidarity

Ramzy Baroud January 29, 2018 Ramzy Baroud

Dr. King's "Beyond Vietnam" speech pushed past the boundaries of what is acceptable in American politics, to where his anti-war and global solidarity values were unapologetically linked to the fight against racism and poverty at home. On that day, the American civil rights struggle courageously broke free from the confines of American exceptionalism, to join a worldwide movement of struggles against racism, colonialism and war.

Dubbed a "grandmother of the resistance" after the 2009 coup d'état, Yolanda Chavarría sings the national anthem at a December 21st protest against election fraud outside the US Embassy in Tegucigalpa. She will turn 90 years old this year. Photo by Sandra Cuffe

“There Are No Human Rights Here:” Honduran Anti-Fraud Protesters Clamor for Justice as State Killings Continue

Sandra Cuffe January 24, 2018 Sandra Cuffe

Hondurans are demanding justice for the protesters and bystanders killed in the ongoing crackdown on opposition protests by the US-backed government of Honduras. Two months after general elections were marred by widespread reports of fraud, and one month after the US government stood by the contested results, repression and militarization continue unabated. Protests are ongoing against a government many Hondurans see as illegitimate and authoritarian.

A shantytown in São Paulo, Brazil, borders the much more affluent Morumbi district. Tuca Vieira / Oxfam

The Billionaire Boom: 82% of Global Wealth Produced Last Year Went to Richest 1%

Benjamin Dangl January 22, 2018 Benjamin Dangl

A new report from Oxfam reveals how the global economy empowers the richest 1% while hundreds of millions of people struggle to survive. “The billionaire boom is not a sign of a thriving economy but a symptom of a failing economic system,” said Winnie Byanyima, the Executive Director of Oxfam. “The people who make our clothes, assemble our phones and grow our food are being exploited to ensure a steady supply of cheap goods, and swell the profits of corporations and billionaire investors.”