Politics

An album by international artists to benefit the
Global March to Jerusalem – North America.

The recent Arab uprisings throughout the Middle East and North Africa have inspired popular
movements worldwide to take to the streets to peacefully protest against contemporary injustices. Many artists in these movements are also using music as a way to non-violently resist.

I took this photograph on August 16, 2008. That day my camera caught a multitude of images of the war’s aftermath: wrecked houses, some burnt cars, the city streets strewn with glass shards and cracked tree branches. I can still remember the stench of food thrown out of shops and rotting away under the hot August sun.

Al-Akhbar blog published a report Friday, March 16, 2012 informing that Afghanistan’s president had suggested that more than one US soldier was involved in the massacring of the 16 Afghan civilians killed in two villages last week. Update to Terror, Trauma, and the Endless Afghan War, by Amy Goodman, featured on Pressenza.

We may never know what drove a U.S. Army staff sergeant to head out into the Afghan night and allegedly murder at least 16 civilians in their homes, among them nine children and three women. The massacre near Belambai, in Kandahar, Afghanistan, has shocked the world and intensified the calls for an end to the longest war in U.S. history.

Imagine this scenario: A developing nation decides to selectively share its precious natural resource, selling only to “friendly” countries and not “hostile” ones. Now imagine this is oil we’re talking about and the nation in question is the Islamic Republic of Iran… [the original article was published February 17, on Al Akhbar]

Last week, money was raised to send three US Veterans for Peace to Jeju Island, they were not allowed to land; meanwhile, the South Korean authorities detained and began the process of deporting two international nonviolent peace activists, Angie Zelter UK Benjamin Monnet France. Reports from Veterans for Peace US and Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space.

In these present times we are seeing growing protests, in various countries, against the dominating violent structures in all their shades. This is especially seen among the new generations – this time supported by their parents – that show their irreverence at dictators, autocracies and the neoliberal system, through creative and non-violent activities.

A court case in the UK will suggest that civilians engaged in aiding to guide unmanned aircraft to kill people in foreign countries may be committing serious violations of international law making them liable to prosecution. The high level of civilian deaths perceived as “collateral damage” further puts into question this novel form of political assassinations.

YouTube launched Kony 2012 video made Kingsley Sheteh Newuh do a rethink. In the end, not in the way anyone might assume – as an African moved by what he saw. Yes, he did react like the millions of others who were so moved by the story that they immediately shared it to their friends and followers. He shared it on twitter and within a few moments it was retweeted.

For many years, the image of Chile as a perfect example of the success of the neo-liberal model
has been exported to the world. In terms of social justice, this model has been a complete failure.
Today, when hundreds of thousands of Chileans are protesting on the streets, the world can
finally see the truth behind this image.