By David Moberg, In These Times. Overcoming the classic town-gown social divide, students at various ivy-league universities have formed labor-action movements to win major victories for hotel workers in their fight against appalling working conditions at university-financed hotels.
Continue reading →By Davey D, Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner Blog | twitter: @alyssa011968 | Commentary by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. At a town hall meeting in Oakland about the shooting of 18-year old Alan Blueford, attendees turned their backs on what they perceived to be lies from the police chief. A bullhorn called “Justice!” and got the response “For Alan Blueford.” Chris Moreland, the man who spoke into the bullhorn, is in jail on trumped up charges.
Continue reading →By Roberson Alphonse, Le Nouvelliste | Commentary and translation by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. According to Dieuseul Anglade, director of Haiti’s Office of Mines and Energy in Haiti, during the negotiations for mineral exploitation, the Haitian State will keep a close watch to ensure that Haitian citizens benefit from the country’s wealth. Meanwhile, the mayors have been dismissed, and land prices have skyrocketed. (English | French)
Continue reading →By David Moberg, In These Times | Haiti Chery. At a Friday, May 18, 2012 rally in Chicago to kick off no-NATO protests, nurses wore Robin Hood attire to demand a financial transaction tax, also called the Robin Hood tax.
Continue reading →By Staff, with reporting by Milagros Salazar (Lima), Emilio Godoy (Mexico City) and Alice Marcondes (São Paulo), Tierramerica. Environmental innovation projects to obtain clean gold, fuel, and water demonstrate the capacity of Latin American researchers to develop virtuous circles.
Continue reading →By Marcela Valente, Tierramerica | Rebelion. A number of Latin American countries have achieved economic growth by an extractivist model of production that increases the gross domestic product (GDP) at the cost of the intensive use of gradually exhausted natural resources. (English | Spanish | Portuguese)
Continue reading →By Antoine Roger Lokongo, Pambazuka News. Francophone Africans from 14 countries deposit 65 percent of their hard currencies yearly into the French Treasury, without French nationality or access to the public goods and services available to French taxpayers. Close to 1,500 billion CFA (Communauté Financière d’Afrique common currency) francs generated from the surplus of West African states’ foreign reserves are placed on the foreign stock markets and out of the reach of the Africans who own the money. In addition the French force money payments, like an Ivory Coast compensation for the recent war.
Continue reading →By Nocles Debreus, Le Matin | Translation by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. Haiti’s agricultural sector creates 50 percent of the country’s employment overall and 80 percent in rural areas. Agronomist Phito Blémur believes that policies toward development and poverty reduction must take into account the vital role this sector played immediately after Independence when it accounted for 95 percent of the GDP, instead of the current 26 percent. (English | French)
Continue reading →By Mario Osava, IPS. Unrest was predicted to break out at Jirau because of worker solidarity, the low wages and an employer, the foreign utility GDF Suez, that provides terrible working conditions and little personal time. (English | Spanish)
Continue reading →By Fabíola Ortiz, IPS. Brazilian mining giant Vale was named the Worst Company in the World by the Public Eye Awards in January 2012. A multinational report accuses the company of 15 worker deaths between 2010 and 2012, and massive emissions of greenhouse gases and particulate matter into the atmosphere. (English | Spanish)
Continue reading →By Staff, Protestbarrick. As the opening date approaches for the Dominican Republic’s Pueblo Viejo mine, controversy around this mega-mine has continued to grow. According to the president of Maimón’s municipal committee, the funds Barrick has transferred to the municipality are less than the costs of the damage it has caused. Community members complain that the workers in the mine are overwhelmingly foreigners. Recently Barrick was accused of blocking the performance of the protest song “De Pascua Lama” (video included) at a Dominican Festival.
Continue reading →By Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. Plans are under way for Canadian and US corporations to mine Haiti’s northeast area near Caracol, which has been discovered to contain a wealth of silver and gold, in addition to copper. As in the Dominican Republic’s Pueblo Viejo project, construction of the mines will involve dynamiting of mountains, and the ore will be extracted by an opencast (or open-pit) mining process that contaminates large volumes of water with cyanide. UPDATES: Attempts to issue mining permits to the US’ VCS Mining LLC and Canada’s SOMINE SA, without any environmental impact assessment (EIA) were thwarted by Haiti’s Senate in January 2013. Plans to dredge a deep-sea port in the pristine Bay of Fort Liberte were scrapped in April 2014.
Continue reading →By Marianela Jarroud, IPS, Tierramerica | Haiti Chery. Plans to build the Castilla Thermoelectric Project, near an area of rich marine biodiversity has sparked fierce opposition from the Chilean farming town of Totoral, which has scored its first victory in court. Behind the Castilla project is the energy company MPX, a subsidiary of the EPX Group owned by Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista.
Continue reading →By Tortilla con sal, You Tube. Nicaraguan women talk in this inspiring video about leaving behind a past as domestic servants and factory workers. Now women feel encouraged to study to improve themselves, still raise children alone but with hope for the future, and exercise political power in their communities.(English | Spanish)
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