Activism

Spain Moves to Help Western Sahara Hunger Striker

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 08:33:32 -0500

LANZAROTE, Spain -- Authorities in Spain's Canary Islands moved to help save the life of Western Sahara activist Aminatou Haidar, who is on a three-week-old hunger strike to demand Morocco allow her to return home.

A medical examiner accompanied by a judge and police officers visited Haidar late Sunday at the airport on the Canary island of Lanzarote where she is staging her hunger strike.

The judge said afterwards he would make a ruling later in the night, but gave no further details.

7 Ways the Battle of Seattle Changed the World

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 08:43:08 -0500

by Fran Korten

Did the 1999 protests against the World Trade organization in Seattle make a difference? After all, the WTO still exists and continues its push for the corporate-driven free trade agenda that was on the table 10 years ago. Now, especially in light of Wall Street's evident political and financial clout, it's easy to forget just what the world looked like in 1999. As I attended talks and workshops commemorating the Battle of Seattle, I was reminded of how much has changed.

250 Rally at West Point for End of Afghan War

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 08:40:44 -0500

by Khurram Saeed

WEST POINT — More than 250 people held a candlelight vigil outside the U.S. Military Academy on Tuesday night to protest President Barack Obama's decision to escalate the 8-year-old war in Afghanistan.

The protest was held shortly before Obama announced that the United States would send 30,000 more troops to the South Asian nation to defeat the Taliban and al-Qaida terrorist network.

Activists Target 'World of Coca-Cola'

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:03:04 -0500

by Matthew Cardinale

ATLANTA, Georgia - Activists from the U.S. and Colombia are targeting the World of Coca-Cola museum, located near its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, accusing the company of "union busting", paying its workers "poverty wages", and engaging in environmentally destructive practices.

Activists to Peg Climate Actions to Science

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:40:05 -0500

by Adam Groves

LONDON - In a week when world leaders concluded that it would be "unrealistic" to aim for a legally binding agreement at the upcoming UN Climate Conference, there are signs that activist groups are working to create their own systematic plans

Labor Fight Ends in Win for Students

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:34:43 -0500

by Steven Greenhouse

The anti-sweatshop movement at dozens of American universities, from Georgetown to U.C.L.A., has had plenty of idealism and energy, but not many victories.

Until now.

The often raucous student movement announced on Tuesday that it had achieved its biggest victory by far. Its pressure tactics persuaded one of the nation's leading sportswear companies, Russell Athletic, to agree to rehire 1,200 workers in Honduras who lost their jobs when Russell closed their factory soon after the workers had unionized.

Bogus Bidder Loses Shot at Global-Warming Defense

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:57:03 -0500

by Robert Gehrke

A federal judge said Monday that Tim DeChristopher won't be allowed to argue that global warming posed an imminent threat that justified placing bogus bids to derail a Bureau of Land Management oil and gas lease auction last year.

"The court finds that DeChristopher's necessity defense fails because there were reasonable, legal alternatives open to DeChristopher other than his alleged criminal acts," U.S. District Judge Dee Benson wrote in his nine-page ruling.

Copenhagen: Seattle Grows Up

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:03:27 -0500

by Naomi Klein

The other day I received a pre-publication copy of The Battle of the Story of the Battle of Seattle, by David Solnit and Rebecca Solnit. It's set to come out ten years after a historic coalition of activists shut down the World Trade Organization summit in Seattle, the spark that ignited a global anticorporate movement.

The Medicare-for-All Moment

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:31:04 -0500

by Robert Weissman

There is only one solution to the twin problems of escalating health care costs and the epidemic of the uninsured: a Medicare-for-All, single payer system.

Unfortunately, the healthcare debate on Capitol Hill has evolved without serious consideration of the Medicare-for-All single payer health proposal. There are many reasons for this, but one is that many who actually support Medicare-for-All have claimed that the proposal is "not feasible."

Doctors Risking Arrest for Healthcare for All, Challenge System That Makes Them Complicit

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:54:03 -0400

by Kevin Gosztola

At least three doctors will be risking arrest in civil disobedience actions during Mobilization for Healthcare for All's third wave of actions this week, which are being held to demand an end to insurance abuse and to demand real health care reform for all.