Chomsky And Others Put Forward ‘Ideas For Going Forward’ In This Crisis-Ridden World

Countercurrents | 07 April, 2016

The world is facing a Titanic moment. Either humanity comes together as one and save the Mother Ship Earth or we go down without a trace! The major crises we face are ecological crisis manifested in global warming/climate change, soil degradation, water crisis, over all environmental damage, war perpetrated by predatory capitalism which could eventually lead to a nuclear winter, resource crisis, health, education and economic crisis etc. Race/caste and gender/sexuality justice are other major issues that need urgent attention. A group of intellectuals including Noam Chomsky, academics and activists have come forward with a document called “Some Possible Ideas For Going Forward”. The document states at the outset,

We hope this document can help inspire more conversations within groups and movements that, over time, come to a synthesis. We do this in the spirit of self organization – and as a rejection of preformed inflexible programs and agendas imposed on activists from above. We believe only program that is fully understood and owned by grassroots participants can win lasting change.

World Health Day: Saving Lives with Socialism in Latin America

Telesur | 07 April, 2016

Health care systems in Latin America have been praised for their sustainable, equitable and universal approach to public health. April 7 marks World Health Day, launched by the World Health Organization to draw attention to public health and the ways countries around the world care for their citizens. In the United States, health is a matter of profit, but we will examine three countries — Cuba, Ecuador and Bolivia — that believe its a human right and that the development of a strong health care system needs to account for unequal wealth distributions and other social inequalities.

Panama Papers Protests Break Out in Panama and Mexico

Telesur | 06 April, 2016

Members of civil society raised their voices against the massive corruption scandal that has implicated business and political elites across the globe.  Social movements in Panama and Mexico raised their voices against the massive Panama Papers corruption scandal, which details the offshore concealing of wealth by politicians and public figures across the globe through the Panamanian firm Mossack Fonseca.

Beyond Panama: What the World Really Needs is the #DelawarePapers

Common Dreams | 06 April, 2016

Delaware is the most popular tax haven in the U.S., not even requiring an I.D. to register a shell company. (Photo: Ken Lund/flickr/cc)

Panama saw populist protests on Wednesday in response to Panama Papers revelations that the nation’s lax tax laws are providing a haven for the world’s wealthiest to stash their cash. But in the United States, where observers note that corporate greed is surely not lacking, the leak has yet to produce such a grassroots display of outrage.

Naomi Klein Explains Why Clinton’s “Corporate Worldview” Cannot Be Ignored

Common Dreams | 07 April, 2016

Clinton was asked by another climate activist at a Pittsburgh rally on Thursday night if she would reject money from fracking lobbyists—to which Clinton laughed and said, “Read the articles.” (Photo: Gage Skidmore/flickr/cc)

Whatever Bernie Sanders thinks of Hillary Clinton’s presidential qualifications, the former secretary of state is “uniquely unsuited” to the task of stopping climate change, author and activist Naomi Klein writes in a new op-ed for The Nation .

Ending Poverty, Hunger Possible With Just a Fraction of Global Military Spending

Common Dreams | 06 April, 2016

Campaigners outside of the UN building in New York on the eve of the Sustainable Development Goals Summit in 2015. (Photo:Marisol Grandon/Department for International Development via flickr/cc)

Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger—two of the the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agreed by the United Nations in 2015—may seem far out of reach. But, according to a new study, it could done with about ten percent of the world’s military spending.

New Report Details Big Oil’s $500 Million Annual Climate Obstructionism

Common Dreams | 07 April, 2016

“Extrapolated over the entire fossil fuel and other industrial sectors beyond, it is not hard to consider that this obstructive climate policy lobbying spending may be in the order of $500m annually,” says the non-profit group attempting to track the path of Big Oil’s lobbying funds. (Photo: Jeff S. PhotoArt/flickr/cc)

The dark channels through which corporations influence legislation are notoriously hard to trace, but a new detailed report estimates that the world’s largest fossil fuel companies are spending upwards of $500 million per year to obstruct climate laws.