Many of the pronouncements and plans advanced during the Action Strategies Working Group on day one were important, perhaps even essential, but did not strike me as particular original. The need for better networking and better education around climate change, … Continue reading “Analysis of Day 1”
James Hansen: This is a time pregnant with danger. This danger exists because of a large gap between what the science has made clear and what the public realizes.It has become clear from the science that we are in a … Continue reading “The Science of Climate Change Panel”
Pachamama o muerte! (Mother Earth or Death) Evo’s rallying cry at the beginning and end of his speech confirmed everything that I’d hoped to find in Bolivia. Here is a leader who really understands the stakes of the epic struggle … Continue reading “Analysis of Day 2”
Greetings from the Postmaster General of Bolivia. The Bolivian postal service is issuing two stamps that illustrate the impact of global warming in our country: an image of a glacier from the Bolivian Andes that only 10 years ago … Continue reading “Panel on the Rights of Mother Earth”
Jonathan Neele: I speak for an alliance of 6 labor unions in the UK (www.campaigngcc.org/greenjobs). We have a campaign for 1 million green jobs in the UK. But I want to join with all of you in this campaign, because … Continue reading “Unions and Green Jobs Panel”
I have the feeling that a lot is going on behind the scenes. Day three featured a mix of panels with expert testimony and reports by Working Groups. I’ll talk first about the latter. I attended presentations for the working … Continue reading “Analysis of Day 3”
Oscar Olivera (OO) is a trade unionist and leader of the famous water wars which unfolded in Cochabamba in 2000 following the privatization of the city’s water supply. The water wars, which involved shutting down Cochabamba for six months, were … Continue reading “The Cochabamba Water Wars: An Interview with Oscar Olivera”
Last July, in the midst of a brutal heat wave, we visited the World Exposition in Shanghai. This was the first world’s fair ever hosted by the People’s Republic of China, and its government reportedly spent over $50 billion on the event, nearly twice the amount it spent on the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Given the sheer spectacle and diplomatic value of the games, and how little attention the 2010 Expo garnered in the U.S., this sum is staggering.
I should add that there is, of course, lots and lots of media coverage here. Not enough international though. But Democracy Now!, beating mainstream coverage by a mile as usual, is covering the events. Check out their coverage here. It’s … Continue reading “Not Enough Coverage”
Before everything else, the Cochabamba conference was remarkable for bringing together a large group of radical activists from all around the world. The social connections and sense of possibility that resulted from the exchanges that unfolded in this setting … Continue reading “Cochabamba and Beyond”
On Sunday June 26, 2011, my wife and I, along with our daughter and son-in-law, were on the M15 bus traveling downtown to Chinatown for dinner. We had just left the celebration of a lifetime at the annual LGBT Pride … Continue reading “The Trouble with Tiaras: Facing Marriage Equality Head-on”
Has peace broken out in Germany? German soldiers did not join the military conflict that started earlier this year in Libya. In March, Germany did not support resolution 1973 in the Security Council, which authorized military action against the Libyan … Continue reading “War and Peace in Germany”
The IMF/EU imposed Greek austerity program has and will generate human rights violations in the areas of health, nutrition, education of children and youth, life expectancy, welfare of the elderly and disabled, right to shelter, right to public transport and related social safety nets. Many countries forced to follow IMF discipline experience 5-10 year decreases in adult life expectancy after the imposition of equivalent measures.
The news today carried tidings of another huge setback for working people in the US. The legislature in New Jersey, one of the most heavily Democratic and pro-union states in the country, has passed a bill rolling back benefits such … Continue reading “Age of Austerity”
On arriving in Madison some years ago, I went to the huge farmers’ market that winds round the Capitol. Startled by the slow-moving procession of orderly, white shoppers all pacing in the same direction, I dubbed the market throngs “The … Continue reading “Which Way Wisconsin? The Meaning of the Madison Movement”
