Categories
In The News

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya Interview: Fear Has Changed Sides

Forced into exile in Lithuania after the contested Aug. 9 Belarusian presidential election, Tikhanovskaya is not giving up the struggle to push strongman Alexander Lukashenko from power.

Categories
In The News

The Kids Are Alright: What’s Missing In The COVID-19/Youth Narrative

In the rush to vilify ‘irresponsible’ young people, we too often overlook the efforts they’re making every day to help us through the pandemic and make the world a better place.

Categories
Geopolitics In The News

In Belarus, An Unexpected ‘Women’s Revolution’ Arises Ahead Of Sunday’s Election

A largely unknown figure until recently, candidate Svetlana Tsikhanovskaya is now challenging to end the 26-year presidency of Alexander Lukashenko.

Categories
Ideas

COVID-19 Couldn’t Have Come At A Worse Time For Latin America

Protests, slumping economies and the clear erosion in some countries of democratic institutions plagued the region even before the pandemic hit. So what now?

Categories
Geopolitics Ideas

Iran Risks New Nationwide Protests As Economy Keeps Sinking

-Analysis- LONDON — “We’re at the end of our rope,” is a phrase you may hear these days among lower-income Iranians struggling to survive in a country heaving under economic sanctions and the coronavirus pandemic. It’s also a statement recently issued by a national pensioners association, which has been seen as a “warning” to a […]

Categories
Ideas Society

From India To Oxford: How Black Lives Matter Hits Home For Me

An activist and Oxford professor of anthropology of South Asia recounts her experience, and reflections, during a Black Lives Matter protest in the UK.

Categories
In The News

Race Protests In U.S. — 26 Front Pages From Around The World

After more than two months headlines around the world focused on a single topic — COVID-19 — collective attention has turned to another story: the death of an unarmed black man George Floyd at the hands of four police officers in the American city of Minneapolis on May 25th, and the violent protests that followed […]

Categories
In The News

Lockdowns Push Protest Movements Online Around The World

In a number of countries around the world, the pandemic pulled the plug on street protests. But demonstrators have been quick to find digital alternatives.

Categories
Geopolitics Ideas

Beyond Resistance: What India Needs Now Is A Revolution

As the ‘center’ continues to shift rightward — in India and elsewhere — people need to do more than just push back against the powers that be.

Categories
In The News

The Latest: AMLO & COVID, Rescued Miners, Godzilla v. Kong

Welcome to Monday, where AMLO gets COVID, Chinese miners are rescued, and King Kong finds a worthy opponent. Les Echos also takes us to Syria, where coronavirus and a crumbling economy are wreaking havoc in a country already devastated by 10 years of civil war. Viktor Orban, Xi Jinping and a simple question for the […]

Categories
Ideas Society

The Uniquely French Art Of Blocking Reform, Myth Or Reality?

France is virtually shut down now by national strikes over pension reform. But from Denmark to UK to Germany, social change and the popular movements resisting have their own histories.

Categories
Geopolitics Ideas

Will Iran Step In To Suppress Lebanon And Iraq Uprisings?

Protesters in Lebanon and Iraq have been venting their fury at Iran, which is accused of practically running their countries. Tehran is not afraid to come down hard on its domestic opponents.

Categories
Geopolitics Ideas

Uprising In Ecuador: Lenin Moreno And The Price Of Betrayal

Moreno is now reversing course on austerity measures that provoked nearly two weeks of mass protests. But it may be too little too late to salvage his reputation.

Categories
In The News

Hong Kong, Kashmir And The Illusion Of Freedom In India

Compared to measures being taken in the Kashmir Valley, China’s handling of the Hong Kong protests seems remarkably permissive.

Categories
In The News

Why Sudan Should Matter To Us All

Beyond the geopolitical ramifications, what’s happening in Sudan is our problem too. Between the violence from those in charge and the meaning of citizen movements, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

Categories
Economy Geopolitics Ideas

Behind The Yellow Vests: The Great Fear Of Having Less And Less

-Analysis- PARIS — Did they really have to set France on fire for just a few cents? More than eight weeks after it began, the revolt of the “yellow vests’ still seems hard to grasp. For extremists on all sides who happily fanned the flames, it looked like the much-awaited beginning of the great revolution, […]

Categories
Ideas Society

France: From Rousseau To Yellow Vests To The Popular Referendum

-OpEd- PARIS — In the sometimes cacophonous concert of demands from France’s “yellow vests’ protest movement, one measure keeps coming back: the Référendum d’initiative citoyenne (RIC), or “Citizens’ Initiative Referendum,” which allows individual citizens to submit a legislative text to a popular vote, and to thus express their opinions in the ballot box rather than […]

Categories
In The News

The Yellow Vests, A Wake-Up Call For France And The World

The ‘yellow vest’ uprising is about more than Macron’s ill-conceived fuel tax. It’s symptomatic of a system-wide failure that must be fixed before it’s too late.

Categories
In The News OneShot

Watch: OneShot — Thích Quảng Đức’s Saigon Self-Immolation

Our new OneShot commemorates Vietnamese monk Thích Quảng Đức’s self-immolation, which took place exactly 55 years ago, on June 11, 1963. The images of this dramatic moment by Associated Press photographer, Malcom W. Browne, won both the World Press Photo of the Year and the Pulitzer Prize. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/embed/gaFZvscGsM8 expand=1] Thích Quảng Đức’s self-immolation, June 11, 1963 (© Malcolm W. Browne/Associated Press/Public Domain) OneShot is a new digital format to tell the story of a single photograph in an immersive one-minute video. Follow OneShot:

Categories
In The News OneShot

World Press Photo Of The Year: Watch The Story Behind The Winner

AFP photographer Ronaldo Schemidt has won the prestigious 2018 World Press Photo of the Year Award. Check out our special OneShot video of his winning photograph: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/embed/1EET4lFsXMw expand=1] 2018 World Press Photo of the Year (©Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP) José Víctor Salazar Balza, 28, catches fire amid violent clashes with riot police during an anti-government protest in Caracas, Venezuela. Salazar was set alight when the gas tank of a motorbike exploded. He survived the incident with first- and second-degree burns. OneShot is a new digital format to tell the story of a single photograph in an immersive one-minute video. Follow OneShot: […]

Categories
In The News OneShot

Watch: OneShot — Venezuela Crisis

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/embed/dkO3eApLxdE expand=1] OneShot — Venezuela Crisis, 2017 (©Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP) José Víctor Salazar Balza, 28, catches fire amid violent clashes with riot police during an anti-government protest in Caracas, Venezuela. Salazar was set alight when the gas tank of a motorbike exploded. He survived the incident with first- and second-degree burns. This photo is among the World Press Photo of the Year 2018 Nominees. OneShot is a new digital format to tell the story of a single photograph in an immersive one-minute video. Follow OneShot: [rebelmouse-image 27068863 original_size=”320×320″ expand=1][rebelmouse-image 27068864 original_size=”174×174″ expand=1][rebelmouse-image 27068865 original_size=”128×128″ expand=1][rebelmouse-image 27068866 original_size=”227×227″ expand=1][rebelmouse-image 27068867 original_size=”256×256″ […]

Categories
In The News

From Memphis To Paris, Martin Luther King’s Unfinished Boulevard

PARIS — On any day of the week in Paris, my morning commute is interrupted by the word “Manifestation.” These political demonstrations and labor union protests occur with such frequency that I often barely notice the subject matter of the protest, hoping only to get to my destination within that window of acceptable lateness. As a black, disabled American, my entire public existence has been made possible because of the actions of the social justice and civil rights advocates who came before me. As we remember the life and solemnly mark the death of Martin Luther King Jr. on its […]

Categories
Ideas Paris Calling Rue Amelot

Berkeley To Paris To Moscow, Eternal Ideals Of Youth

-Essay- PARIS — Growing up in Northern California, acts of public protest were never far away. It felt perfectly natural for me to join fellow students in the annual “Day of Silence,” refusing to say a word in any of my classes to draw attention to discrimination against the LGBTQ community. My favorite English teacher […]

Categories
In The News

Iran Crackdown, A Tricky Diplomatic Test For Trump Team

What can the White House do, beyond public declarations? Loud statements not backed by action is not the answer.

Categories
Ideas Society

When Politics Invades The Soccer Pitch, And Vice Versa

-Analysis- The fraught drama of politics landing in the arena of sports has popped up recently in several different places around the world. It also happens to date back (at least) as far as Ancient Rome, as historian Sarah Bond recently explained in Forbes. In the U.S., the NFL is currently roiling in controversy over […]

Categories
In The News

After Charlottesville, Confederate Statues Ousted Under Cover Of Darkness

WASHINGTON, D.C. — City officials across the country are nervously trying to figure out how to avoid becoming the next Charlottesville as alt-right leaders and white nationalist groups vow to stage more rallies in coming days. A group claiming it is advocating free speech has planned a rally for Saturday on the historic Boston Common, with a group advocating racial justice planning its own gathering in opposition. Boston officials said they have laid down strict conditions, including no sticks, weapons or backpacks. “Make no mistake: We do not welcome any hate groups to Boston, and we reject their message,” Mayor […]

Categories
In The News

G20 To Gaza, Conflicts Among And Within Nations

-Analysis- On Sunday, the G20 summit concluded in Hamburg with a lot of hoopla but scant results. Seen by many as an opportunity for Donald Trump to advance his international agenda, the gathering of world leaders petered out when it became clear that few, if any, were willing to follow the American President’s lead on […]

Categories
Geopolitics Ideas

Why Half Of Turkey Will Never Accept The Referendum Result

-OpEd- ISTANBUL — The April 16 referendum result that gave Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sweeping powers can be summed up in a single sentence: he won on paper but lost the political battle. The followers of the “chief” — a term used by Erdogan’s loyalists to describe the Turkish president — would consider this […]

Categories
In The News

European Democracies And The Referendum Trap

-Analysis- PARIS — Long live the people! For a few months now, referendums have been blooming all over Europe. In Britain, to decide whether or not to leave the European Union. In Hungary, to ban European Union refugee-sharing quotas. In the Netherlands, on the EU’s pact with Ukraine. Now in Italy, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi […]

Categories
In The News

O Globo: Brazilians Storm Congress Calling For Coup

O Globo, Nov. 17, 2016 “Attacks on the Legislature” was the headline Thursday morning on Brazilian newspaper O Globo after protesters calling for a military coup forced their way into Brazil’s lower chamber of Congress. The protestors in Brasilia, the country’s capital, pushed passed security guards and smashed a glass door before entering into the […]

Categories
In The News

Violence Against Women, The Drawing Behind Argentina’s Massive Protests

The black-on-pink drawing of a wide-eyed girl covering half her face with an open hand seems, at first glance, to be too cute, too pretty to convey the horror implanted in so many people’s minds by the ghastly gang-rape and murder of an Argentine teenager. And yet in recent days, the stylish image and the […]

Categories
Ideas Society

The Day That Changed Polish Women Forever

The massive march in Warsaw and other protests against Poland’s proposed strict new anti-abortion law is a revolutionary moment in what it means to be a Polish woman.

Categories
Society

Slacktivism Or Digital Revolutions? The Pros And Cons Of Online Activism

PARIS — Never before had this kind of effort been so successful in France. In the span of two weeks, starting in mid February, an online petition to say “No, thanks!” to a proposed labor-reform bill collected a million signatures. The government decided, subsequently, to amend the imitative and put off submitting it to the […]

Categories
Geopolitics Society

Tehran Is A Poem — Art And Uncertainty In The Iranian Capital

TEHRAN — Repeating something Ayatollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Republic, said years ago — long before Iran’s latest clash with Saudi Arabia — Moussa reveals much about the current mindselt in the streets and cafés of the Iranian capital: “With the Great Satan we could forgive and forget,” he says. “But with the Ibn […]

Categories
Society

From Japan To Hong Kong, Female Sexuality Is A Free Speech Battle

Japanese artist Megumi Igarashi has been arrested for her provocative work. With a new exhibition in Hong Kong, Asia’s battle for free speech and open sexuality comes together.

Categories
blog

The Indian Woman Who Has Been On A Hunger Strike For 15 Years

DELHI — On November 4, 2000, Irom Sharmila, an Indian civil rights activist, began what would become the longest recorded hunger strike ever, protesting against India’s military following the killing of 10 civilians in her northeastern state of Manipur. Fifteen years later, the now 43-year-old has never broken her fast, as The Indian Express reports […]

Categories
blog

Jailed Hip Hop Star Leads Democratic Movement In Angola

A new wave of democratic protests has been spreading across Africa, from Angola to Burkina Faso and beyond, as several long-time leaders look to extend their rule for as long as they can, often defying their country’s own constitution. Front and center in these popular movements have been several prominent hip hop stars. The French-language […]

Categories
blog

Mob Violence Against Air France Executives ‘Unjustifiable’

French daily Le Parisien called yesterday’s violence against two Air France executives “unjustifiable” on its Tuesday front page. On Monday, angry workers and union members stormed Air France’s headquarters at Charles de Gaulle airport, north of Paris, to protest some 2,900 proposed layoffs. Pierre Plissonnier, the director of the Air France hub, and the company’s […]

Categories
Geopolitics

India: 5 Stories Making Headlines At Home

This week, we shine the spotlight on India: P FOR PICHAI Google’s surprise announcement that it was restructuring its businesses under a new parent company called Alphabet was a significant boost to India’s national pride, with much of the media coverage focused on Google’s new CEO, Indian-born Sundar Pichai. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was quick […]

Categories
blog

Extra! Ferguson’s ‘Painful Year’

St. Louis-Post Dispatch, Aug. 9, 2015 “A Painful Year,” the headline in Sunday’s front page of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reads, above a photo of Michael Brown Sr. pausing after a five-mile march from his son’s memorial in Ferguson, Mo. The otherwise peaceful protest march to commemorate Sunday’s one-year anniversary of Michael Brown’s death at […]

Exit mobile version