Nov 2016 – The Free

Media Silent as Lame-Duck Congress Passes Resolution for Syrian No-Fly Zone — Provoking War with Russia

by Justin Gardner, via Free Thought Project

Hillary Clinton’s loss was a shock to the purveyors of U.S. military hegemony, who saw in her an easier path to keep the Syria conflict going. Secretary of State Clinton was instrumental in the early days of Syria intervention, in 2010 making a series of demands for Syria to get in line behind the U.S. vision for the Middle East.

When Bashar al-Assad refused to roll over, regime change became the talking point of Washington think tanks and mainstream media echo chambers. Clinton promised during her campaign to ramp up action in Syria, to the delight of the same neocons who brought the Iraq invasion. She acknowledged that many civilians would die if the U.S. set up a no-fly zone.

Establishment of a no-fly zone is the next crucial step toward full-scale war. It would mean Syrian planes could not fly in their…

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Women expose Violent Macho Culture with Camera Trap

text from Observers , with thanks

video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIk5fWw0Xps

‘Las Morras’ use video and social media to fight back against misogyny in Mexican society.

The group have received death threats for the video which has had 1,298.797 views on YouTube

Armed with skirts, social media, and a hidden camera, a group of women have taken to the streets of Mexico City to expose the misogyny inherent in Mexican society. ‘Las Morras’ (the young women) say Mexico’s macho culture is making life unbearable for women across the country.

Earlier this year in May, four young Mexican women ventured through the streets of Mexico City with a hidden camera, determined to film the misogyny that women are forced to deal with every day.

The insults caught on tape – from “Whores!”, to “Hey, dolls!” – come thick and fast. Six months later, the footage is still being shared on social media networks, and has even become a regular feature at feminist conferences. Continue reading “Women expose Violent Macho Culture with Camera Trap”

UpFront special: Noam Chomsky blasts Trump with a Truth Bomb

Noam Chomsky

“The most predictable aspect of Trump is unpredictability. I think it’s dangerous, very dangerous,” says Noam Chomsky.

Noam Chomsky Drops Truth Bomb on Trump’s Election

“If Clinton had won… the left could have been organized to keeping her feet to the fire.”

By Alexandra Rosenmann / AlterNet

Noam Chomsky has message for Trump apologists and normalizers post-election.

“They’re making a bad mistake,” Chomsky said in an interview with Al Jazeera’s Mehdi Hasan.

..great video, great man..Noam will be 88 on Dec 7th and can’t be with us much longer.. his voice a little shaky but his mind is still spot on, outliving even the ‘eternal’ Fidel.. salud!.. compañero de toda la vida!

While Chomsky initially backed Bernie Sanders in the primaries, he encouraged his supporters to back Clinton once she received the nomination. Continue reading “UpFront special: Noam Chomsky blasts Trump with a Truth Bomb”

Barcelona’s Complex Struggle to Advance the Commons

On a visit to Barcelona last week, I learned a great deal about the City’s pioneering role in developing “the city as a commons.” I also learned that crystallizing a new commons paradigm – even in a city committed to cooperatives and open digital networks – comes with many gnarly complexities.

The Barcelona city government is led by former housing activist Ada Colau, who was elected mayor in May 2015. She is a leader of the movement that became the political party Barcelona En Comú (“Barcelona in Common”). Once in office, Image result for barcelona commons

Colau halted the expansion of new hotels, a brave effort to prevent “economic development” (i.e., tourism) from hollowing out the city’s lively, diverse neighborhoods. As a world city, Barcelona is plagued by a crush of investors and speculators buying up real estate, making the city unaffordable for ordinary people. Continue reading “Barcelona’s Complex Struggle to Advance the Commons”

UK’s Largest Ever Anti-Fracking Gathering

$frack-free$

submitted to Earth First! Newswire

An estimated two thousand people marched through the center of Manchester today in what was probably the largest anti-fracking gathering ever seen in the United Kingdom. Activist converged on the city from Lancashire, Yorkshire, London, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, claiming Manchester was today the “capital of the so-called bleak and desolate north“.

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The march was led by Bianca Jagger, who addressed the crowd at the Castlefield Arena by saying “I’m here not only as the founder and president of the Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation, but as a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother because I feel fracking is a real threat to our way of life, it’s a threat to our environment, it’s a threat to our water sources, it’s a threat to the air we breathe, it’s a threat to everything we think is important in our lives.”

Continue reading “UK’s Largest Ever Anti-Fracking Gathering”