Monthly Archives: November 2014

Call It Deep Pocket Corizon

If someone were to say Deepwater Horizon to you, you’d more than likely think of the massive oil spill that started on April 20, 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico. You remember the eleven people who died when the Deepwater Horizon exploded. You remember the camera capturing the oil gushing out of the wellhead for 86 days until it was finally capped. You remember BP and Halliburton trying their best (and succeeding to a large degree) to avoid taking responsibility for their actions, and damaging both the ecosystem and the lives of people around the Gulf for years to come. Such is the power of those two words.

Lately, there’s been a horrific story that’s been covered in bits and pieces by the (mostly local) media, but isn’t getting the coverage or outrage it deserves. It’s a story that concerns a company that exists on government contracts; a company that consistently underperforms in a way that is truly fatal to the people it’s supposed to be serving. Yet, we hear nothing about it. Why is that? Continue reading →

Physical space and ‘Occupy’ tactics: a new trend in civil resistance?

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By MATT MULBERRY

Does the term ‘occupation’ delegitimize movements by casting participants as short-term guests, instead of representatives communicating grievances held by a wider society within a public forum that is theirs?

Hong Kong’s umbrella revolution on September 30, 2014.

Hong Kong’s umbrella revolution on September 30, 2014. Pasu Au Yeung/ Flickr.

Some rights reserved.The most recent protests in Hong Kong are indicative of a trend among people’s movements that use civil resistance – the increased emphasis placed on the taking and holding of physical space, which is to say, the tactic of occupation. Usually focused on a central square, as in the case of Egypt and Ukraine, or concentrated on a particular site emblematic of injustice, as in Occupy Wall Street, occupations as a tactic have been a media coverage-igniting feature of many of the most important protest campaigns occurring over the past few years. This stands out as a relatively new phenomenon when considered within the longer history of civil resistance movements, when the tactic or place of occupation seldom came to define the entire movement.

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Out of Africa – Across the Globe

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Nairobi, Kenya on November 17, 2014. Photo via Twitter

Kenya, Africa: Last week a woman was stripped naked at a bus stop by men claiming she was not dressed modestly enough (she was wearing a mini-skirt). This follows two previous incidents of the same – stripping a woman in public for her choice of attire. The incident last week was captured by video camera and was later taken down, but not before it caused outrage and brought the attention of journalists. Continue reading →

A Recap Before The Storm

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A little over three months ago was the first time we wrote about what would become the biggest story in America over the following days; Ferguson, Missouri and the shooting of Michael Brown by Darren Wilson, a Ferguson police officer. With the grand jury verdict due any day, this last week had more than its share of troubling news about what might happen in the aftermath.

First, the grand jury. In the Wilson case, it’s been more like an in camera trial, and not a grand jury. The person who’s the focus of the charges rarely if ever gets to testify in front of the grand jury; the grand jury’s job is to see if there’s enough evidence to bring the case to trial, and not to decide innocence or guilt. Continue reading →

ISIS-Turkey Links

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COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK

INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Research Paper: ISIS-Turkey Links

By David L. Phillips

IntroductionIs Turkey collaborating with the Islamic State (ISIS)? Allegations range from military cooperation and weapons transfers to logistical support, financial assistance, and the provision of medical services. It is also alleged that Turkey turned a blind eye to ISIS attacks against Kobani.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu strongly deny complicity with ISIS. Erdogan visited the Council on Foreign Relations on September 22, 2014. He criticized “smear campaigns [and] attempts to distort perception about us.” Erdogan decried, “A systematic attack on Turkey’s international reputation, “complaining that “Turkey has been subject to very unjust and ill-intentioned news items from media organizations.” Erdogan posited: “My request from our friends in the United States is to make your assessment about Turkey by basing your information on objective sources.” Continue reading →

US/India WTO Agreement: How Corporate Greed Trumps Needs of World’s Poor and Hungry

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Published on Friday, November 14, 2014 by Common Dreams
by Andrea Germanos, staff writer

The United States cheered on Thursday an agreement it reached with India as progress for the World Trade Organization (WTO). Critics, however, say deal is likely a win for corporations and economic loss for developing countries.

A fact sheet from the U.S. Trade Representative explains that there are two parts to the deal that broke what had been an impasse over agreements from Ministerial meeting last year in Bali. The first is that the two countries stated they would move forward on the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA)—the WTO’s first multilateral trade agreement of the body’s two-decade existence. The second is an agreement on India’s food security program, which allows for domestic “food stockpiling.”

Photo by Ansuman (Own work) [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0] via Wikimedia Commons

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Feeding IS My Religion

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"The Hand" By Alex Proimos from Sydney, Australia [CC-BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

“The Hand” By Alex Proimos from Sydney, Australia [CC-BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

A growing trend in America regarding the homeless issue is to pass laws in metropolitan areas that essentially make it illegal to be homeless or to help the homeless by feeding them.

These laws are intended to make the homeless problem disappear, not solve the reasons for its existence. In the rush to make our world seem perfect and our communities idealistic, our law makers have disregarded the essence of that which makes us all connected. Continue reading →

Egypt Rejects the Humane

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The world’s conflicts seem overwhelming, and the suffering and oppression of millions of people continue across the globe. If it were not for non-governmental organizations, many people would die from hunger, thirst, natural elements and caught in conflicts they would be unable to escape. These organizations are comprised of volunteers and people who have dedicated their lives to saving others. To many, there is no more a noble mission in life.

There are currently 100 NGO’s working within Egypt, according to WANGO (World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations). What happens if a nation’s government decides these types of organizations need to be controlled? A recent report out of Egypt shows how these organizations can not operate without risk and the sufferers are the people they are there to assist. Continue reading →

What’s In A Name?

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On November 1, we posted a story that included mention of a man from Kobani on a hunger strike in Washington, DC.

When Moustafa Muhamed left Colorado to travel to Washington, DC, he did not realize the same man would never return. A native son of Kobani, he has also served as a Parliamentarian in Syria’s government in the past before moving to the United States. Starting with a mission to draw attention to the plight of his native city and the turmoil embroiling it, he began a hunger strike on October 20 in DuPont Circle and started a petition asking President Obama for 3 specific things.

During the 23 days of his hunger strike, he was joined by supporters, both Kurds and Americans, that believed in his cause and offered their solidarity in a variety of ways. Continue reading →

Armistice Day 2014

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By Gretschman for Occupy World Writes

By London Illustrated London News and Sketch [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

November 11th 2014 marks the 96th anniversary of the temporary cease fire (armistice) that led to the eventual end of the “War to End All Wars” as what we now call World War 1 was known at the time. The armistice actually only ended the fighting on the western front. Fighting continued in the former Russian and Ottoman empires even after the armistice occurred on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. As of this writing, areas of the former Russian and Ottoman empires are in the midst of wars once again.

Only the allied forces of World War 1 celebrate Armistice Day. Some countries such as the United States have changed the definition to encompass commemorating all members of its armed services in all of the wars it has been engaged in.

It matters not what the day is called. All countries have a responsibility to honor those people who have fought in the name of that county. Whether those armed forces be volunteer or conscript, the sacrifice, and sometimes the ultimate sacrifice are worth commemorating and reflecting upon. Continue reading →