Yesterday the former dictator of Guatemala, Efrain Montt, was convicted of 80 years in prison for Genocide. The sentence is, in a sense symbolic considering that Mr. Montt is now 86 years old and very unlikely to survive any significant time in prison. But the sentence is interesting at least because it is one of the very few examples in which a nation is actually trying to come to grips with its fascist past. The sad fact is that Guatemala has seen a string of dictators and brutal militarists (the current president was an military officer under the Montt regime). Central America (Read more…)
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by Obert Madondo | Huffington Post Blog: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/obert-madondo/chief-theresa-spences-her_b_2408049.html Hunger-striking Attawapiskat First Nation Chief Theresa Spence is the reincarnation of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. She is becoming the greatest moral and political leader of our time. In fact, Chief Theresa Spence’s courage and sacrifice already eclipses that of South Africa’s globally-celebrated anti-apartheid icon, Nelson Mandela. READ MORE 
 Aboriginal Chief Hunger Strike, Attawapiskat Chief Hunger Strike, Canada, Canada Colonialism, Canada Politics, Chief Hunger Strike, Chief Theresa Spence Hunger Strike, Featured, First Nations Chief Hunger Strike, Huffington Post, Idle No More Theresa Spence, Indigenous Rights, Mahatma Gandhi, nelson mandela, Nelson Mandela Racism, Nelson Mandela Terror, Opinion and Analysis, opinion., South Africa, stephen harper, Theresa Spence, Theresa Spence Hunger Strike, Theresa Spence Martin Luther King Jr., Theresa Spence Neldon Mandela, Zimbabwe At its 53rd National Conference, South Africa’s ruling ANC affirmed support for the Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel. It is now part of official ANC policy. Mbuyiseni Ndlozi of BDS South Africa welcomed the ANC move: “This reaffirmation by the ANC’s National Conference, its highest decision making body, is by far the most authoritative endorsement of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel campaign. The ANC has now taken its international conference resolutions, and officially made it the policy of the ANC. We look forward to working with the ANC and . . . → Read More: drive-by planet: South Africa’s ANC makes support for BDS part of official policy: ‘Roadmap to Apartheid’ released Clips from “Roadmap” that draw Israel/ S. African parallels A feature-length documentary Roadmap to Apartheid is the first time close parallels between the apartheid of the old South African regime and Israeli-style apartheid have been explored in a documentary film in significant depth. The parallels between the two systems have been all too evident to those on the receiving end of Israel’s colonial-style apartheid and to the activists on the front lines. Roadmap brings the message to a larger audience including those who may be learning about the parallels for the first time. The film is a joint project . . . → Read More: Drive-by Planet: ‘Roadmap to Apartheid’: Israeli and South African parallels Even with apartheid gone racial sensitivities still run deep in South Africa. There is nothing like a provocative photo to trigger a reaction. A political poster put out by the student wing of the Democratic Alliance – the main opposition party – is guaranteed to push a lot of buttons. It shows a studly white dude who looks as though he’s fresh out of the shower in a loving embrace with a stripped down black woman. The accompanying tagline reads: “In OUR future, you wouldn’t look twice.” So what’s the big deal? A snapshot in time – sweet and . . . → Read More: Drive-by Planet: South Africa: interracial poster generates heat marc-morano.jpg If the jury was still out on President Barack Obama's climate policy accolades (a huge "if"), consider the verdict now in, and from a surprising character at that: Marc Morano. Morano jubilantly referred to the President as "George W. Obama" in an interview with Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman at COP17, stating: They [the Obama administration] have kept the exact same principles and negotiating stance as President George Bush did for eight years. Obama has carried on Bush’s legacy. So as skeptics, we tip our hat to President Obama in helping to crush and continuing to defeat . . . → Read More: DeSmogBlog: Climate Denier Marc Morano Praises "George W. Obama" at COP17 Here’s another post from Ani, part of the Canadian Youth Delegation in Durban, South Africa where the 10 days of U.N. climate negotiations have less than 48 hours to go, and no agreement is in sight. Here is her account of the recent action by some of the other members of the Youth Delegation; and [...] A government so open, that it lost its marbles. If we had journalists who uniformly understood that letting politicians get away with flaming lies would lead us into a mess, we’d not be in a mess. We’d also not have to satirize ourselves so much. What if we could frack for natural gas without polluting the drinking water tables? I don’t think it’s as easy as this article suggests. Your only concern cannot be the material used to cause the fracturing, it has to be the fracturing itself. There are plenty of materials in our ground at different strata that we don’t want mingling with our drinking water tables. Johannesburg, South Africa is facing a catastrophe where mines that are flooding, may make the city uninhabitable. “Up until now, there’s only been crisis management,” said Mariette Liefferink, a South African environmental researcher who has become . . . → Read More: Saskboy’s Abandoned Stuff: Hope As A Gas Normally, I’m wary of slippery slope arguments but when an African government acts to limit freedom of speech, I suspect such an argument may be valid. Unfortunately, South Africa has done just that. A law, ostensibly to protect state secrets, has been approved by the South African National Assembly. The law makes it a crime to leak, possess or publish information judged as classified by the The importance of the world’s forests and the role that environmental activism surrounding forests have helped to shape a public perception that being an environmentalist means that you’re a “tree hugger.” While my “first word” as a child was in … Continue reading → Offshore in Alaska.jpg With all eyes on the ongoing battle over whether or not the Obama Administration and the State Department will approve the disastrous Keystone XL pipeline, it was easy to l… . . . → Read More: DeSmogBlog: In Throes of Keystone XL Controversy, Obama Admin OKs Alaska Offshore Drilling Screen shot 2011-07-28 at 11.39.42 AM.png The anti-frack movement just got a bit cooler thanks to Treasure the Karoo Action Group (TKAG). Today, the citizen-led environmental organization release… . . . → Read More: DeSmogBlog – Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science: Frack Attack Music Video Warns of Gas Drilling Dangers in South Africa Screen shot 2011-07-21 at 5.43.24 PM.png The gas industry has finally received the slap on the hand it deserves for parroting the outdated refrain: “there are no instances of documented wat… . . . → Read More: DeSmogBlog – Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science: Shell Forced to Retract "Misleading" Fracking Adverts in South Africa The United Nations Human Rights Council passed on Friday an historic resolution that seeks equal rights for all regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. The 47-member Council voted 23 in favor and 19 against, with 3 abstentions. The resolut… . . . → Read More: gay persons of color: UN Human Rights Council passes equal rights bill Skoonheid (Beauty), the first Afrikaans film to be screened at the Cannes International Film Festival, won the 2011 Queer Palm award, which recognizes one film for its contributions to lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender issues. The movie portrays t… . . . → Read More: gay persons of color: Skoonheid (Beauty) wins Queer Palm at 64th Cannes Film Festival I’m constantly impressed with the caliber of community cooperation in Vancouver. The Positive Women’s Network is holding a film screening fundraiser on May 26th at 7pm at Vancity Theatre. VIFF and Reel Causes are cooperating to produce the event. Every element of this event is a testament to what makes communities strong. What does the [...] . . . → Read More: Politics, Re-Spun: The Positive Women’s Network Enriches Community Fabric USA v Algeria, 2010 World Cup by jasonwhat A recent Sports Illustrated article, World Cup’s Empty Legacy, reports on the state of South Africa’s sports infrastructure several months after this summer’s final. While the 2010 World Cup was as much a success as any other in bringing together people from all corners of the globe, the piece helps to highlight a comedy of errors and lack of foresight which may in the end taint the image of FIFA and the other political bodies that organized the competition. Further study into the issue turns up questions as to (Read more…) |
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