Worldwide Protests against Injustice: Just One Day’s Examples, April 9, 2014

Social injustice continues to increase, largely fueled by the greed of the one percent and the military-corporate complex. These news links provide examples from just one day:

National Day of Action to Shut down Spy Centers. This week’s Thursday action was organized by privacy groups across the country, encompassing actions in Charlotte, NC; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; Los Angeles, Oakland, and San Francisco, CA, as well as possible actions in Montana, Ohio, Florida, elsewhere:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shut-Down-Spy-Centers/1426176900963934?ref=hl. All protests will occur simultaneously: e.g., starting at 11am [PST] on the West Coast, and at 2pm [EST] here.

Tell the NY Times to Stop Censoring Support for Venezuela

NYT published an editorial by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, titled Venezuela: A Call for Peace. Since then they have refused to print any favorable letters in solidarity with the country’s elected government. Rather, they have been printing attacks by such writers as House Foreign Affairs Chairman Ed Royce, Senator Marco Rubio and Julio Borges of the US funded opposition group Primero Justicia.

Maine Veterans Oppose Encircling China And Russia. This weekend Maine Veterans for Peace, and other sponsors, will hold three events to make public the issue of the US military ‘pivot’ into the Asia-Pacific, being used to provocatively surround China and Russia as 60% of US forces move into that region. The ‘christening’ of the new $4 billion Zumwalt ‘stealth’ destroyer ought to be connected to climate change and growing cutbacks in social spending.

Snowden and Poitras to Receive Truth-Telling Prize. The Ridenhour prize for truth-telling will be given to Edward Snowden and Laura Poitras. Journalism and public policy organizations have heaped praise on the reporting based on the disclosures.

Movement towards Privatizing Post Office Continues. “By October, the institution of the small-town career postmaster will become a thing of the past at almost half the country’s post offices,” says SavethePostOffice.com.

Why the Millennial Generation Sees Keystone XL As More Than Just a Pipeline. 

The 18-34 year old group are 74 million strong in the U.S. and when the worst happens, they will suffer the most from climate change. With little representation in Congress—where the average age is 60—they look to civil disobedience as a strategy to create the political will to address this threat.

Beyond The Minimum Wage

 An increase from $7.25 an hour to $10 an hour will not bring the working poor out of poverty. Nor will it restore the type of labor rights that built the American middle class in mid-20th century. How do we promote a better vision of economic justice?

Giant Portrait Shows Drone Operators People Aren’t “Bug Splats”

A giant art installation in Pakistan wants to show drone operators that a “bug splat” belongs to an actual human being. The portrait was apparently designed to be big enough to register on satellite imagery, ensuring it at least has some staying power on online mapping systems.

Carbon divestment activists claim victory as Harvard adopts green code. Harvard has become the first American university to sign on to a United Nations-backed code of responsible investment – in a move to assuage a carbon divestment campaign.

Wave Of Action Re-Energizes New York Activism

April 4 kicked off a three-month period of heightened activism, which Wave of Action’s website describes as “people throughout the world…protesting corruption, rallying around solutions and taking part in alternative systems.”

Occupy Taiwan Sunflower Movements Moves To Next Stage

As the occupation of the legislature enters its 21st day, we give our deepest gratitude to the citizens of Taiwan for their participation and support. Now, this is the right moment for the youth in the legislature to walk to all corners of Taiwan.

 

World’s Largest Coal Company Agrees to Stop Depleting Chinese Community’s Water Supply

Last year, Greenpeace decided to do something we had never done before during our 13 years of work in China: Target and confront the biggest and boldest Chinese government-owned coal company: Shenhua—the largest coal company by volume on the planet.

Hopkins Hospital Workers Launch Three-Day Strike for a Living Wage. Workers at the world-renowned Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore launched a three-day strike on Wednesday after contract negotiations broke down.

Please do what you can to fight worldwide injustice, starting in your home town. One person with a sign on a street corner, day after day, during rush hour can make a difference.

 

Sources: Popular Resistance, The Guardian, EcoWatch, The Real News Network

Paul Brown is a retired neuroscience professor whose primary interests are human rights, overpopulation, mass extinction, global warming, and the military-industrial complex.