• Asia: Land Grabs Threaten Food Security

    See, also, Food Crisis and the Global Land Grab at , a new Web site set up by Grain. PHNOM PENH, 10 June 2009 (IRIN) — Sam Pov, a rice farmer in Cambodia’s western Battambang Province, is very worried that his land will be taken over by a foreign investor. “I’ve heard the rumours about […]

  • Iran: Artists Campaign for Mousavi

    Green Stars (including Manijeh Hekmat, Masoud Kimiaei, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Dariush Mehrjui, Fatemeh Motamed-Aria, Kiumars Pourahmad) Mousavi Campaign Film, Directed by Dariush Mehrjui Mohsen Namjoo, “Hamrah Sho Aziz” Mohsen Makhmalbaf in Support of Mir-Hossein Mousavi Zahra Rahnavard (Wife of Mousavi), a Woman of Art and Ideas See, also, Shiva Balaghi, “An Artist as President of the […]

  • Peru’s Amazon Indigenous Peoples Need You to TAKE ACTION Now!

    60 Die in Peru Rainforest Protest Send a Message to the President of Peru June 5, 2009 URGENT ACTION ALERT Peru’s Amazon Indigenous Peoples need you to TAKE ACTION now! Tell the Peruvian Government: Immediately suspend violent repression of indigenous protests and the State of Emergency Repeal the Free Trade Laws that allow oil, logging, […]

  • July Delegation to Venezuela: Human Rights, Food Sovereignty, and Social Change

    A food sovereignty delegation from the Alberto Lovera Bolivarian Circle of New York visits La Vela de Coro, Falcón, Venezuela.  Video by Diego Gerena-Quiñones. The Alberto Lovera Bolivarian Circle of New York invites you to join us in July for a 10-day trip to Venezuela examining advances in food sovereignty and other initiatives for social […]

  • Solidarity with the Indigenous Peoples of the Peruvian Amazon!

    Washington DC, 8 June 2009 Washington DC, 8 June 2009 Washington DC, 8 June 2009 Washington DC, 8 June 2009 Washington, DC, 5 June 2009 Washington, DC, 5 June 2009 Lima, 5 June 2009 Lima, 27 May 2009 Los Angeles, 26 May 2009 Los Angeles, 26 May 2009 United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, […]

  • Joe Higgins, “the Best Fighter Money Can’t Buy,” Elected as MEP

    Joe Higgins of the Socialist Party, receiving 82,366 votes (of which 50,510 were first preference votes), was elected to the Dublin Constituency for the European Parliament. Listen to Higgins’ speech to the media after his victory. “This is a roar of opposition by ordinary people in Dublin to the savage policies of the Fianna Fáil-Green […]

  • After the Debate: Supporters of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Mir-Hossein Mousavi

    Ahmadinejad Supporters in Vali Asr Square, 15 Khordad 1388 (5 June 2009) Mousavi Supporters in Vali Asr Square, 15 Khordad 1388 (5 June 2009) Vali Asr Square, 14 Khordad 1388 (4 June 2009) Tajrish Square, 14 Khordad 1388 (4 June 2009) Ariashahr Square, 14 Khordad 1388 (4 June 2009) Vanak Square, 13 Khordad 1388 (3 […]

  • Chomsky on Obama Speech

    June 4, 2009 Chomsky, whose recent books include Interventions and The Essential Chomsky, sent the following to the Institute for Public Accuracy this morning: “A CNN headline, reporting Obama’s plans for his June 4 Cairo address, reads ‘Obama looks to reach the soul of the Muslim world.’   Perhaps that captures his intent, but more […]

  • An Open Letter from the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies to President Barack Obama on the Occasion of His Cairo Speech to the “Blacks” of the Twenty-first Century

    June 2, 2009 Mr. President, The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) hopes that your speech to the Arab and Muslim worlds will contain practical steps to uphold your administration’s stated intention to seriously deal with the problems that have inflamed resentment and fostered a sense of humiliation among peoples, individuals, and ethnic and […]

  • Debate: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Mir-Hossein Mousavi

    A debate between Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Mir-Hossein Mousavi, candidates for the tenth presidential election of the Islamic Republic of Iran. UPDATE A debate between Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Mir-Hossein Mousavi, dubbed in English by Press TV Afshin Salimpour, “The Ghost of Elections Past” (Tehran Bureau, 3 June 2009). Shahrazad, “Did Ahmadinejad Win the Debate?” (5 June […]

  • UNESCAP: Food Prices Will Rise Again

    JOHANNESBURG, 26 May 2009 (IRIN) — Food prices will rise again by 2015, when economies are expected to have recovered from the global recession, pushing up demand once more, says a recent UN report. 2008 is seen as the year of food crises, prompted in part by high fuel prices, but these started declining as […]

  • International Day against Homophobia in Cuba

    Havana, 16 May (Prensa Latina) — The International Day against Homophobia was observed here today, with the participation of a diverse, largely youthful public. In the early hours of the morning, the day’s activities began at the headquarters of the Union of Writers and Artists (UNEAC) and the Pabellón Cuba, in the central district of […]

  • UE’s General Executive Board Weighs In on Washington Healthcare Proposals

    Meeting at the union’s national headquarters in Pittsburgh on May 14-15, the General Executive Board of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) discussed the national debate on healthcare and the reform proposals now being considered by Congress and the Obama administration.  The union’s national leadership board adopted the following statement on […]

  • Mohawks Protest against Arming Canadian Border Guards

    “Hundreds of Mohawks marched across the Seaway International Bridge into Canada from the U. S. on Saturday [9 May 2009] to protest a plan to arm border guards.” Akwesasne Mohawk Leaders Issue Joint Statement Against Arming Canada Customs Offices Onerahtokha / April 30, 2009 AKWESASNE — The Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, St. Regis Mohawk Tribal […]

  • Indonesia: Tough Times for Returning Labor Migrants

    JAKARTA, 14 May 2009 (IRIN) — For Risti Ariyani, the dream of working abroad and helping her family is over. Her contract with a computer components factory in Malaysia was abruptly cancelled because of the global financial crisis, leaving her no choice but to return home to Central Jaffa Province. “My family was counting on […]

  • Africa: Tractored Out by “Land Grabs”?

    JOHANNESBURG, 11 May 2009 (IRIN) — Rich countries and firms are leasing or buying massive tracts of land in developing nations for the production of food or biofuel.  An area equivalent to Germany’s farmed land is at stake, and tens of billions of dollars on offer.  On the plus side, agro-industrial production could develop underused […]

  • France: Prison Blockades End, But Tensions Remain

    On Monday, 4 May 2009, 4,000 prison guards went on strike in France, protesting prison overcrowding (63,351 prisoners held in facilities designed for only 52,000), which has led to rising suicides of prisoners (96 in 2007, 115 in 2008, and 42 so far this year), inadequate budgets (resulting in the low starting salary of 1,200 […]

  • Nepal: Women Protesters Clash with Police

    7 May 2009 — The All Nepal Women’s Association – Revolutionary (ANWA-R) protested against President Ram Baran Yadav’s unconstitutional reinstatement of the Chief of Army Staff, General Rookmangud Katawal, despite the cabinet’s decision to fire him.  The protesters said that the president’s move threatens the civilian rule and democracy. For the background, watch Ben Peterson, […]

  • Help Israeli Human Rights Activist Ezra Nawi

    “Nawi is not a typical rights activist.  A member of Ta’ayush Arab-Jewish Partnership he is a Jewish Israeli of Iraqi descent who speaks fluent Arabic.  He is a gay man in his fifties and a plumber by trade.  Perhaps because he himself comes from the margins, he empathises with others who have been marginalised — […]

  • AIPAC, Interrupted

    William Hughes Interviews Medea Benjamin, Malachy Kilbride, Louis Wolf, Brian Hennessy, Eric Anderson, Rev. Philip Wheaton, Athena Viscusi CodePink Protester Desiree Fairooz Stands Up for Gaza as Shimon Peres Speaks at Annual AIPAC Conference Both videos were brought online on 4 May 2009.