July 2012

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A Win for the Spanish Indignados: Spain Opens Criminal Probe of Ex-IMF Chief in Case Linked to Global Financial Crisis

Picture: cabiados.net Amy Goodman - In Madrid, Spain, protesters are celebrating a major victory after that country’s high court opened a criminal investigation into the former head of Spain’s biggest mortgage lender. Rodrigo Rato, the former head of the IMF, has been ordered to appear in court to face criminal fraud accusations related to the downfall of Bankia, a banking giant that has sought tens of billions of dollars in bailout money. The news marks a rare case where a former executive is facing a criminal...

Ending Violence Against Women: Eve Ensler Launches South African Leg of Global Campaign

Picture: SACSIS Video One in three women is raped or beaten on our planet. On a planet of 7 billion people, that’s one billion women who experience this savage violence. To respond to this crisis, Eve Ensler has launched a global campaign – The One Billion Rising Campaign – which seeks to mobilize one billion people to come together on 14 February 2013 to take a stand against these terrible acts against women. Ensler launched the South African leg of the campaign in Melville, Johannesburg,...

Egypt and Paraguay: Welcome to 'Democraship'

Pepe Escobar - Let's start with a bomb. Over 10 days ago a new brand of coup d'etat took place in Paraguay against elected president Fernando Lugo. It was virtually unnoticed by global corporate media. Anything unexpected? Not really. A March 2009 cable from the US Embassy in Asuncion, revealed by WikiLeaks, had already detailed how oligarchs in Paraguay were busy devising a "democratic coup" in congress to depose Lugo. At the time, the US embassy noted political conditions were not ideal...

True Cost of Chevron in Nigeria

Picture: www.globalexchange.org Video In San Ramon California where the headquarters of Chevron is located, there was recently protest action both inside and outside an annual share holders meeting. Emem Okon of the Kebetkache Women's Development and Resource Centre in the Niger Delta was given just two minutes to address shareholders at this meeting. Okon was a supporter of the powerful women's protest against Chevron for its environmental and human rights abuses in Nigeria, which garnered lots of international media...

The Pentagon's Grip on Hollywood

Picture: www.aceshowbiz.com Video The military entertainment complex is an old phenomenon that binds Hollywood with the US military. Known as militainment, it serves both parties well. Filmmakers get access to high tech weaponry - helicopters, jet planes and air craft carriers while the Pentagon gets free and positive publicity. The latest offering to come from this relationship is Act of Valour and it takes the collaboration one step further. The producers get more than just equipment -- they have cast active-duty...

BRICS and IBSA: Friend and Foe Alike

Picture: Roberto Stuckert Filho/Wikimedia Commons Saliem Fakir - The recent spat between South Africa and Brazil over poultry raises the spectre of how self-interest can bedevil unity in newly formed geo-political forums, such as BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and IBSA (India, Brazil and South Africa). South Africa accused Brazil of dumping chickens onto our market and thus causing harm to our poultry industry. Brazil initiated a World Trade Organization action after South Africa imposed import tariffs on Brazilian chicken....