Bolivia鈥檚 vice-president Alvaro Garcia Linera brought a message of hope and anti-imperialist commitment to Mexico in early February.
Speaking to an overflowing assembly of students and university personnel at Mexico City鈥檚 UNAM (National Autonomous University), he said the left-wing government led by President Evo Morales welcomes social-movement protests and conflict. The more, the better.
鈥淭he struggle is our nourishment, our peace,鈥 Garcia Linera said. 鈥淚t does not overwhelm us. Absolute calm frightens us.
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Addameer is a Palestinian human rights organisation that works to support political prisoners held in Israeli and Palestinian jails. It offers free legal aid and works to end torture and other abuses of prisoners' rights.
The group鈥檚 10 lawyers visit more than 500 prisoners inside Israeli jails each year. They also represent prisoners held by the Palestinian Authority (PA), representing more than 400 Palestinian prisoners arrested by PA security forces in 2009-10.
The International Network in Solidarity with the Political Prisoners (INSPP) received the wonderful news on February 29 that Colombian labour activist, human rights defender and political prisoner Liliany Obando was to be released on bond the next day.
Obando had been in jail for three years and seven months on charges of "rebellion".
Obando was arrested on August 8, 2008 while serving as the human rights coordinator for Agricultural Workers Union Federation of Colombia (Fengasuagro), Colombia's largest organisation of peasant farmers and farm workers unions and associations.
Kendra Pierre-Louis
IG Publishing, 216 pages
Radical German poet Hans Magnus Enzenberger once compared mainstream environmentalism to a Sunday sermon that terrifies parishioners with dire warnings of eternal damnation, but concludes weakly by promising salvation to any sinner who performs a simple act of penance.
鈥淭he horror of the predicted catastrophe,鈥 he wrote, 鈥渃ontrasts sharply with the mildness of the admonition with which we are allowed to escape.鈥
The Western media reported on March 3 that the rebel city of Homs had fallen to forces of the Assad regime after a bloody 26-day siege. There were reports of a humanitarian disaster in the city and widespread killings.
Sydney's inner-west community is set to take over Newtown鈥檚 nooks and crannies for the fourth time with the roving laneway festival Reclaim the Lanes.
On Saturday, March 17, the forgotten and underutilised urban spaces of the inner-west will be transformed by the one-day festival. Pockets of artistic experimentation, live music and community participation are expected to bring 500 locals, friends and families out and about to enjoy the colourful spectacle.
The release of secret emails from private intelligence company Stratfor by WikiLeaks has opened the door on the world of spying-for-profit.
More than 5 million emails between Stratfor employees were stolen by hacker group Anonymous in December last year. The emails were passed on to WikiLeaks, which began releasing them on February 27.
When the paramilitaries of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) arrived in San Onofre in northern Colombia in the late 1990s, they came after dark, dragging people from their homes and disappearing into the night.
Soon, they did not need the cover of darkness. People were executed in public plazas in broad daylight. Women and young girls were openly raped and abused.
Last year it was the indignado movement that filled Spain鈥檚 city squares with hundreds of thousands of protesters. On February 19, it was the union-led movement against the Popular Party (PP) government鈥檚 new labour law.
On February 29, another mass protest flooded the squares: tens of thousands of students protesting against cuts to education in 25 cities and towns across Spain.
They had paid no attention to the plea of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who on the eve of the protest asked Spaniards 鈥渢o understand that things are not that easy鈥.
Huge support
This is an abridged version of an article that first appeared on February 24 in the , the newspaper backing Occupy Chicago.
Despite brutal forced evictions of Occupy camps across the United States late last year, the movement for the interests of the 99% against the 1% is still going strong.
The House of Representatives narrowly passed changes on February 16 to the undemocratic building industry laws that target building workers.
The Building and Construction Industry Improvement Amendment (Transition to Fair Work) Bill, which will replace the Building Industry Improvement Act, was narrowly adopted by a margin of one vote. The bill is now before the Senate.
Dave Kerin from the new community group Enough has helped run a daily picket outside Telstra鈥檚 Collins St office in Melbourne for the past three weeks. The picket is a protest against Telstra鈥檚 decision to send hundreds of jobs offshore.
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