Scholars, advocates, and activists seeking to make the U.S. a more responsible global partner.
North America
Postcard from…Mini Numa

Postcard from…Mini Numa

by | Oct 25, 2010

Ten Mixteco men led me across a stream and through a cornfield on a toilet tour of Mini Numa. At each adobe hut housing a shiny white flush toilet, I snapped a photo of a contented owner.  In recent years, six children had died in this small village from diseases rooted in poverty and lack of sanitation. With the support of the human rights organization, Tlachinollan, the Mini Numa community had forced the hand of the government to support the right to health.

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Spitting in the Face of U.S. Troops

Spitting in the Face of U.S. Troops

by | Oct 20, 2010

Anti-war protesters targeting individual troops for abuse, much less gathering at their funerals like the homophobic Rev. Fred Phelps, is as much of a myth as protesters spitting on returning Vietnam veterans.

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U.S. Military Aid Far Outpaces Democracy Assistance

by | Oct 20, 2010

Desperate to secure supply routes to Afghanistan, the United States has been spending at least six times more on military aid for the mostly authoritarian states of Central Asia than on efforts to promote political liberalisation and human rights in the region, according to a new report released here by the Open Society Foundations (OSF).

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A World Made by War

by | Oct 20, 2010

After the drums of war had begun to beat, after the first headlines had screamed their World-War-II-style messages (“the Pearl Harbor of the 21st century”), I had another thought. And for a reasonably politically sophisticated guy, my second response was not only as off-base as the first, but also remarkably dumb. I thought that this horrific event taking place in my hometown might open Americans up to the pain of the world. No such luck, of course.

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60 Second Expert: Obama’s Failures

by | Oct 19, 2010

The progressive dilemma at this time of political crisis is not one of vision. We have identified the key fundamental values needed to construct an alternative to the abundantly discredited neoliberal world older. But on a tactical level we have failed to translate these values into a political program compelling to those most affected by the global financial crisis.

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American Base Town in Northern Japan

by | Oct 15, 2010

According to the 2006 report, 14 of the 38 most valuable large bases in the world are concentrated in Japan. This includes the top three: the Navy base at Yokosuka, home port for a nuclear aircraft carrier ($3.88 billion); the Air Force base at Kadena, the largest air terminal in Asia ($3.82 billion); and the airbase at Misawa ($3.71 billion).

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