Equality/Justice

Judge Orders Release From Guantánamo of Unwilling Yemeni Recruit

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 08:58:13 -0500

by Andy Worthington

On Monday, as I explained in a previous article, Judge Thomas Hogan refused the habeas corpus petition of Musa’ab al-Madhwani, a Yemeni who had been tortured in the CIA’s “Dark Prison” near Kabul, and who was described by the judge as a “model prisoner” who was not dangerous.

Copenhagen and Us

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:18:04 -0500

by Rinku Sen

Negotiations have resumed in Copenhagen after a walkout by the African delegation on Monday.

Copenhagen Climate Summit: The Empire’s New Clothes

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 08:24:45 -0500

by Amy Goodman

Denmark is the home of renowned children’s author Hans Christian Andersen. Copenhagen is dotted with historical spots where Andersen lived and wrote. “The Little Mermaid” was one of his most famous tales, published in 1837, along with “The Emperor’s New Clothes.”

As the United Nations’ climate summit, called “COP 15,” enters its final week, with more than 100 world leaders arriving amid growing protests, the notion that a binding agreement will come from this conference looks more and more like a fairy tale.

Houston, We Still Have a Problem

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 09:16:47 -0500

by Derrick Z. Jackson

The election of lesbian Annise Parker as mayor of Houston, similar to the election last year of African-American Barack Obama as president, was another mature moment of Americans judging individual people of color and homosexuals by the content of their politics. Not yet answered is whether America is ready to let such figures use their office to remediate the economic and education disparities and the civil rights gaps that still bedevil people of color and gay and lesbian people in general.

The Movement of Movements: From Resistance to Climate Justice

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 10:56:30 -0500

by Anna White

Last week marked the ten-year anniversary of the “Battle of Seattle”, when tens of thousands of protesters successfully shut down the World Trade Organisation’s ministerial meetings on its opening day. Taking negotiators and the media by surprise, the mass mobilisation of diverse groups, from environmentalists to trade unionists, effectively stalled trade talks that many critics suggest would have consolidated global corporate power at the expense of the world’s poor and marginalised.

Why We Left Our Farms to Come to Copenhagen

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 09:31:13 -0500

by La Via Campesina

Copenhagen, 7th December 2009

How to Break the Climate Stalemate Between the Global South and the North

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 08:27:23 -0500

by Gopal Dayaneni and Mateo Nube

To stop the climate crisis, we're going to have to build a fairer world.

Any solution to climate change will require all nations to act together to reduce global emissions. But the fact is, countries around the world are not entering a "post-carbon future" on a level playing field. Poor countries have had the smallest role in creating the climate crisis, and they have fewest resources available to change and adapt.

Family Planning for the Planet a.k.a. Population Control–Disingenuous Patriarchy That Does Not Empower Women

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 10:21:12 -0500

by Lucinda Marshall

The U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA)’s recent report, “Climate Change Connections: Gender and Population’s” linkage between access to family planning and reproductive healthcare and climate change has led to some troubling analysis regarding population control. According to the overview of the report,

The world’s population is forecast to grow from today’s 6.7 billion to between 8.0 and 10.5 billion by 2050.
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Shell Must Clean up Its Act in Nigeria

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 09:57:58 -0500

by Chima Williams

A court in The Hague is considering whether Shell can be held liable for alleged pollution in Nigeria, and a ruling is expected on 30 December.

No Justice for Bhopal, 25 Years On

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 09:30:59 -0500

by Anindita Sengupta

It's 25 years since the world's worst industrial disaster struck Bhopal, a town in central India. On 3 December 1984, a toxic leak in Union Carbide Corporation's factory unleashed 40 tonnes of lethal gas into the sleeping town. It killed 3,500 people instantly and an estimated 20,000 have died from complications since.