Democracy Now!
While the people of Tunisia and Egypt have successfully removed the US-backed dictators that ruled their respective countries, the path to real democracy is still long and precarious. One serious threat emerged last week as the G8 pledged billions of dollars in aid to the two countries to promote “economic stability.” As Liz Alderman rightly
In the aftermath of World War II, German intellectuals were pilloried for lack of backbone in standing up to the nazis. Intellectuals everywhere tried to demonstrate better behavior to show the world that academics can also be courageous. They frequent...
One might think that three wars—Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya—would be enough. Apparently, for the United States military apparatus, it’s not. Last month we noted that Congress is trying to amend the War on Terror authorization so as to include conflicts that have no direct relationship to attacks on US soil. Now, there’s word from the Pentagon
Atiaf Alwazir, who runs the blog Woman from Yemen (that we mentioned last week), has a new post explaining the relationship between what she calls the “peaceful revolution and violent clashes.” It’s a great primer for those trying to understand what exactly is going on in Yemen. The takeaway message is: “The peaceful movement and
Robert Fisk, The Independent, May 28, 2011I went to see Munib Masri in his Beirut hospital bed yesterday morning. He is part of the Arab revolution, although he doesn't see it that way. He looked in pain – he was in pain – with a drip in his rig...
Tendai Marima, The Mail & Guardian, May 26, 2011Zimbabwe needs a zenga zenga revolution, to remix Gaddafi's words: A revolution of conscience in every city, every street, every house, every village and every hut. Zenga zenga; every nook and cranny must...
Irene Caselli, Narco News, May 27, 2011When Bolivia's President Evo Morales last December suffered his first major setback since coming into power in 2006, provoking the largest popular revolts in the past 10 years, one of the president's former friend...
About 20,000 people assembled in the Greek capital’s central Syntagma Square on Sunday, responding to calls on social networking sites for gatherings across Europe to demand “real democracy”. Tens of thousands of mostly liberal protesters again filled Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Friday to call on the military council to end the practice of sending civilians
Newsweek, May 29, 2011A pivotal shift in the Burmese majority's view of the Army came in 1988, when a popular nonviolent uprising was quelled with gunfire. Myo Myint's drastic transformation from dutiful soldier to passionate opponent of the Army under...
When is it time to speak out against killing?What did a German minister say?First they came for the communists,and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.Then they came for the trade unionists,and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade un...
Jonathan Watts, The Guardian, May 30, 2011A communist official tipped as a future leader of China is moving to defuse a wave of protests in Inner Mongolia by choking information, tightening campus controls and promising to reform the mining industry...
Last week's Supreme Court ruling against California's prison system as "cruel and inhuman punishment" was not a surprise -- except in the sense that it was said publicly. Many of us who have experienced our criminal injustice system first hand know wel...
It’s not necessarily obvious how to go about protesting war on Memorial Day. When there are a bunch of elderly men gathering in the town square wearing their old uniforms and kids having fun of various sorts, it isn’t always easy to make a constructive stand against the militarism that is the cause of their
Some years ago in Michigan a few nuns cut a hole in a fence that surrounded Williams International, the corporation making the Cruise missile engines. The Cruise, at that time, carried either nuclear or conventional warheads. They were so destabilizing...
Tomorrow, ICNC will be hosting what looks to be a very interesting webinar, led by Enlace director Peter Cervantes-Gautschi, on an extremely important subject that too often goes overlooked in the field of nonviolence: how ordinary people can successfully resist corporate power. According to the announcement: When we reflect on nonviolent struggles we usually think
Metta is growing. We are offering our first-ever weekend retreat for educators at Dillon Beach (west of Petaluma) on August 12-14, 2011. Over the course of the retreat you will have the opportunity to learn about nonviolence, explore challenging topics for educators from a nonviolence perspective (such as creating a nonviolent atmosphere in your classroom),
