Challenge the Siege on Gaza with the Freedom Flotilla

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This week, the international Gaza Freedom Flotilla II: “Stay Human” of ten boats will attempt to depart from Cyprus towards Gaza. The mission of the flotilla states, “our destination is Gaza. Our means are non-violent. Our goal is to lift the illegal siege, completely and permanently, and freedom for the Palestinian people.” Most of the boats are carrying much needed humanitarian aid to donate to the people of Gaza. Global Exchange co-founder Medea Benjamin, former U.S. Army colonel, peace activist and Global Exchange board member Ann Wright, 2007 Global Exchange Human Rights Awards recipient Alice Walker and 2003 HRA recipient Kathy Kelly, are on board the US boat, Audacity of Hope, along with 31 other activists and 3 crew.

Gaza is still under siege. According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the U.S.-backed Israeli blockade that is in place, “deliberately impoverishes … and condemns hundreds of thousands of potentially productive people to a life of destitution.” Posted on the website US Boat to Gaza, Medea and other passengers aboard the Audacity of Hope share their stories of why they are going to Gaza.

This weekend Medea posted, “Is Greece Being Blackmailed to Put the Brakes on Gaza Flotilla?” raising questions about political maneuvering to stop the flotilla from leaving Greece together. She writes, “The U.S. passengers speculate that the Obama Administration is using economic blackmail on the Greek government… The United States may well be using its leverage at the IMF over the implementation of an ongoing bailout of European banks with massive Greek debts to compel the Greek government to block the U.S. boat.”

Global Exchange stands behind the Flotilla passengers, and are inviting you to get involved.

The nonviolent movement for a free Palestine has been challenging, empty-handed, one of the most powerful armies in the world. This flotilla is just one in a series of civilian attempts to break the brutal and illegal military siege of Gaza. Thousands of Palestinians and solidarity activists go out to the streets every week to demonstrate peacefully against the Israeli military; thousands have been injured or imprisoned; dozens have been killed. Just this week, six years of nonviolent demonstrations in one little village have succeeded in returning some of the stolen olive grove land to the villagers. We can join this incredible movement by responding to the 2005 call for Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions on Israel until it abides by International Law and International standards of human rights.

GET INVOLVED

Follow the Audacity of Hope and all the updates from the Gaza Freedom Flotilla.
Sign the petition to President Obama to ensure the safe passage for the U.S. Boat to Gaza.
Use your power as a consumer, investor and citizen to end the ongoing impunity and direct support to Israel. Sign the petition to get one of the largest financial services in the US to divest from the Israeli occupation.
Join the Economic Activism for Palestine program at Global Exchange.

Finally, if you are local in the Bay Area, join us on Thursday June 30, at 7pm, Berkeley City College, 2050 Center Street. 1/2 block from downtown Berkeley BART, for the West Coast premiere of Cultures of Resistance, a documentary showcasing global civil society in using art and culture as a means of resistance, by filmmaker and Freedom Flotilla passenger Iara Lee. Purchase tickets online.

“I refuse to accept the idea that man is mere flotsam and jetsam in the river of life, unable to influence the unfolding events which surround him,” said Dr. Martin Luther King as he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. These words will guide me and other passengers aboard the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, a fleet of nine boats scheduled to set sail for Gaza on June 25 from various Mediterranean ports. While the Israelis try to label us provocateurs, terrorists and Hamas supporters, we are simply nonviolent advocates following the teachings of Dr. King. We refuse to sit at the docks of history and watch the people of Gaza suffer.

The U.S. boat, which will carry 50 Americans, is called The Audacity of Hope. It is named after Obama’s bestselling political autobiography in which he lauds our collective audacity of striving to become a better nation. But I prefer to think of our boat as part of Dr. King’s legacy. He, too, talked about audacity, about his audacious faith in the future. “I refuse to accept the idea that the ‘isness’ of man’s present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal ‘oughtness’ that forever confronts him,” Dr. King said.

Our intrepid group has its moral compass aimed at the way things ought to be. Our cargo is not humanitarian aid, as some of the other ships are carrying, but thousands of letters from the U.S. people, letters of compassion, solidarity and hope written to people living in the Gaza Strip. We travel with what Dr. King called “unarmed truth and unconditional love.”

We focus on Gaza because since 2007 the Israeli government has enforced a crippling blockade on its 1.5 million residents. Inflicting collective punishment on civilians is morally wrong and is a gross violation of international humanitarian law under Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Yet the world’s democracies do nothing to stop Israel’s extraordinarily cruel behavior, and in fact did nothing for 22 days in 2009 while the Israel military unleashed a tidal wave of carnage that left 1,400 Palestinians dead. They continue to sit by while the people of Gaza remain isolated and unable to secure access to building materials and basic living supplies, and while Israeli soldiers shoot at Gaza’s farmers trying to till their land along the border and attack fisherman trying to make a living in waters off their shore. And in the case of the United States, our government is not simply sitting by, but supporting the Israeli military with $3 billion in military aid a year.

The Palestinians’ plea for help has been ignored by world governments, but it has pricked the conscience of civil society. Caravans have crisscrossed Europe and Africa, carrying tons of aid. Boats have braved Israeli war ships and tried to dock in Gaza’s ports. Over 1,000 people joined the Gaza Freedom March, an attempt to break the siege that was brutally stopped by Egyptian police during the rule of Hosni Mubarak.

In May, 2010, seven ships and nearly 700 passengers carrying humanitarian aid tried to breach Israel’s naval blockade. The Israeli military violently intercepted the ships, killing nine passengers aboard the Turkish boat, including a 19-year-old American citizen. The rest of passengers were roughed up, arrested, thrown in Israeli prisons, and deported.

For a brief moment, this tragedy in international waters focused the world spotlight on Gaza. Israel said it would ease the draconian siege, allowing more goods to enter the beleaguered strip. But just this month, the health authorities in Gaza proclaimed a state of emergency due to an acute shortage of vital medicines and also this month, a report from the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees, UNRWA, found unemployment in Gaza at a staggering 45.2 percent, among the highest in the world. UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness said the number of abject poor living on just over one dollar a day has tripled to 300,000 since the blockade was imposed in 2007. “It is hard to understand the logic of a man-made policy which deliberately impoverishes so many and condemns hundreds of thousands of potentially productive people to a life of destitution,” Gunness said.

Hopes inside Gaza were buoyed by the Egyptian revolution. A groundswell of grassroots solidarity by Egyptians pushed the new government to announce that it would open its border with Gaza. But that promise remains elusive, as thousands are still blocked from crossing, and all imports and exports must still pass through the Israeli side. Israel remains the warden for the world’s largest open-air prison. It continues to decide what goods can enter, what exports can come out, and which people can get exit visas. It continues to control Gaza’s electricity, water supply, airspace and access to the Mediterranean.

Although the Israelis know that our boats will not carry arms and we, the passengers, are committed to nonviolence, they have nonetheless vowed to stop us with a dizzying array of force —water cannons, commandos, border police, snipers, and attack dogs from the military’s canine unit.

Equally astonishing is the U.S. government’s reaction. Instead of demanding safe passage for unarmed U.S. citizens participating in what passenger and writer Alice Walker calls “the Freedom Ride of our era,” the State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner has labeled our actions “irresponsible and provocative” and the U.S. government has joined Israel in strong-arming countries in the Mediterranean to prevent us from sailing.

This pressure is having an impact. At the urging of the Turkish government, our flagship, the Mavi Marmara, the same ship that was so violently attacked last year, recently announced that it will not be joining the flotilla. The Mavi Marmara was going to carry 500 people; its absence cuts our numbers in half. And there may be more ships forced to drop out.

All this bullying, however, only strengthens our resolve. We may be fewer boats, we may have fewer passengers, we may be threatened with violence, but we will sail. And if the Israelis intercept our boats, we call on people around the world to gather at Israeli embassies and consulates to express their outrage.

Like the inexorable rhythm of the ocean, the Palestinians will continue to lap at the shores of injustice. They will keep coming back, wave after wave, demanding the right to rebuild their tattered communities, the right to live in dignity. Shoring them up will be the international community, including activists like us who join their nonviolent resistance. The real question is: How long will the Israelis, with U.S. backing, continue to swim against the tide?

Medea Benjamin is cofounder of Global Exchange and CODEPINK: Women for Peace. Follow the flotilla on this blog, and at www.codepink.org /pinkonflotilla and at www.ustogaza.org.

Ben Cohen, Tex Dworkin, Kevin Danaher, Jerry Greenfield Photo Credit: Natalie Mottley

The Ninth Annual Human Rights Awards was a great success! The sold out event included inspirational speeches by three incredible honorees, witty banter by event emcees Ben & Jerry (in tuxedos!), and the participation of the entire Global Exchange staff, board, and community.

Since 2001, the Human Rights Awards Gala has brought together activists, supporters, and friends to recognize the efforts of exceptional individuals and organizations working for human rights from around the country and around the world.

Guests in attendance this year included folks from Ben & Jerry’s, CODE PINK, Dr. Bronner’s, Drug Policy Alliance, Fair Trade USA, Harrington Investments, Sungevity, The Pachamama Alliance, Thanksgiving Coffee, and a whole lot more!

Fair Trade models Jocelyn Boreta, Rae Abileah, Zarah Patriana

Fair Trade models donned Fair Trade outfits & accessories with “Ask Me About My Outfit” sashes or swatches. They strutted their stuff on the big stage to showcase some of the Fair Trade goodies being auctioned off during the silent auction, while guests enjoyed Fair Trade Certified Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream.

Thank you to everyone who joined us June 1, 2011, as we honored the work of:

Gulf Coast Activist Wilma Subra (Domestic Honoree). Wilma is an accomplished environmental scientist who has been on the frontlines fighting for the rights of local communities in Louisiana following the Gulf Spill. Watch her speech at the HRA here.
U.N. Ambassador for Bolivia Pablo Solón (International Honoree), a strong proponent of climate justice and the Rights of Nature.View his speech at the HRA here.
Javier Sicilia (People’s Choice Honoree) , a poet building a movement to free Mexico from the spiraling violence of the ‘war on drugs.’ Watch his speech here.

Photographer Natalie Mottley

All in all, the 9th annual Human Rights Award Gala was a great time. If you weren’t able to make it, we hope to see you there next year!

The event was photographed and filmed by pros, and we’ll be sharing some of those clips n pics down the road a bit.

In the meantime, I brought my camera along to snap a few pics on my own during the event. Below are a few of them, plus one from photographer Natalie Mottley. Hope you enjoy!

2011 Human Rights Awards Gala Photos

Liza Gonzales and Medea Benjamin

Jason Mark, Antonia Juhasz, and Wilma Subra

Beth Rogers-Witte Garriott and Ashley Cline

Wanda Whitaker checking out the silent auction

Walter Turner and Pierre Labossiere

Kylie Nicole-Nealis and Cheryl Meeker

Mary & Mike Murphy and Kevin Danaher

Kevin Danaher and Jeff Furman

Javier Sicilia and Ted Lewis Photo Credit: Natalie Mottley

Pablo Solón and Carleen Pickard

CODEPINK: Women for Peace , Global Exchange, Interfaith Peace-builders, and the Fellowship of Reconciliation, together with over 100 peace and justice groups, organized the Move Over AIPAC conference that took place in Washington, DC on May 22-24, 2011. The purpose; to expose the AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) lobby and build the vision for a new US foreign policy in the Middle East.

Move Over AIPAC attendees; Rae Abileah in pink flowered skirt Photo Credit: By acourtney6☆

CODEPINK’s Medea, Shaden, Alli, Sasha, Rae, Tighe, and the Move Over AIPAC Team summed up the events that took place during this 3 day conference:

On Friday we kicked off our actions with a demonstration outside the White House, and participated in the Hava Nagila parody flashmob, which has been seen by more than 30,000 people so far! See it here.
On Saturday we had the privilege to hear keynote talks from The Israel Lobby authors John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, renowned authors, and a stellar panel of analysts discussing the way forward.
On Sunday we surrounded the AIPAC meeting at the convention center with chants, music and amazing visuals like the apartheid wall that turned into a Palestinian village scene and a human-powered flotilla to Gaza.
On Monday the protests continued outside the Justice Department demanding AIPAC be registered as a foreign agent, followed by a march to our workshop about military aid to Israel and lobbying training. That night during the AIPAC gala, a group of five brave activists stood up to disrupt Netanyahu’s speech with messages about what is really “indefensible” – occupying land, starving Gaza, silencing dissenters.
On Tuesday Move Over AIPAC participants lobbied members of Congress, while courageous CODEPINK organizer Rae Abileah interrupted Netanyahu’s Congressional address with a banner that said “Occupying Land Is Indefensible” and shouting, “No more occupation, stop Israel war crimes, equal rights for Palestinians, occupation is indefensible.” Read her account of the action here.

Dalit Baum, Global Exchange’s Economic Activism for Palestine Director, attended the Move Over AIPAC conference and had this to share:

For me, it was striking to see first-hand the hordes of well-dressed people coming into the AIPAC gala event from hundreds of buses. More and more of them: congressmen, African American community organizers, business people, Jewish youth from all around – so many –

Speaking to whomever we could, there was even one open-mike session when demonstrators invited the AIPACers to come on stage and speak to us. Again and again, I saw in these conversations such total blinded ignorance about the fate of the country they claim to support, about the implications of sending more and more free weapons to Israel. I also encountered a lot of polite racism and Islamophobia – most of the well dressed gala guests who spoke with me would not listen to anything a Palestinian says; they dismissed all accounts of human rights violations, imprisonment, torture, checkpoints, land grab etc. as an anti-Semitic fabrication. It was very different then similar arguments in Israel, where people are mostly aware of the facts, but they try and justify the crimes by “security”.

I was amazed by the courage of Rae and the rest of our friends who went into the gala and then into Congress to confront Netanyahu’s speech. If it weren’t for them, all left on record would have been the 29 standing ovations and outpouring of unconditional US support to one of Israel’s most hawkish, neo-liberal and racist governments. The protesters inside had to deal with the most brutally violent, sexist and hateful elements among the well dressed AIPACers, and they had to face this violence alone. I am very grateful for their courage.

More On the Move Over AIPAC Conference

Move Over AIPAC Press Coverage: www.moveoveraipac.org/press
Move Over AIPAC Photos: www.flickr.com/groups/moveoveraipac

2011 Painting Winner Christopher Minafo, 15 years old, New York "Unity"

The following website exclusive was written by Global Exchange Executive Director Kirsten Moller who was the Grand judge in the 2011 “What About Peace?” contest for young artists, an international arts contest for youth ages 14 – 20 to express ideas and thoughts about peace.

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A Modest Proposal ~ Peace

Early this spring I drove north to Sebastopol, CA through the green hills of northern California with the radio reporting on Egypt and what young people and ordinary citizens can accomplish with a mind set on freedom and a steadfast commitment to nonviolence. I was on my way to be the Grand judge in the What About Peace? contest for young artists.

For more than 6 years the What About Peace? contest has challenged young people to answer this question with all their creativity through the medium of painting, photography, graphic arts, poetry and creative writing.

2011 Graphic Winner Jessica Christensen, 18 years old, Tennessee "What Shape Is Your Heart In?"

What About Peace? is a joint program of Global Exchange & Jadetree Three. Jadetree Three is a California trust dedicated to peace and social justice worldwide. When the Jade tree three started the contest and Global Exchange joined in, we thought it was a good way to spark a conversation and a commitment to peace by harnessing the hope, from the smart, thoughtful young people who have thought seriously and creatively about peace.

Every year a team of volunteers seeks out new high schools and community groups to send the announcement to. They stuff envelopes, select judges and update the web site and then wait to see if anyone is thinking about peace. Little by little the submissions come in – from all over the world – Thailand, the Philippines, Missouri, Washington and beyond.

You can check out the submissions at www.whataboutpeace.org. The range of creativity, concepts and commitment make it nearly impossible to select the best. A jury of professional artists and writers pick the top entrants in each category and then the Grand judge has to make a final decision.

2011 Photo Winner Sidney Hahm, 15 years old, Maryland "Peace In Our Hands"

This year as the Grand judge, while driving north I thought about the young people leading us to a better world in Tunisia, in Egypt, in the climate struggles and in the local green initiatives sprouting up around the US. I realized that I wanted to select a winner who not only showed originality and beauty but who represented that spirit of empowerment. A winner who conveys a belief that despite all odds, change is possible, peace is possible, justice is core, and that we have the ability to do it.

So with that measure in place it was with great pleasure that I selected for the 2011 Grand Prize winner—18 year old John Falchetta’s essay: “My Modest Proposal”, an essay which describes his decision to run for president on a peace platform. His essay ends with this paragraph:

I see, in this movement, the next generation of young leaders worldwide; from Afghan peace volunteers to student protesters in London – and am reminded of Gandhi, who said, “Whatever you do may seem insignificant to you… but it is most important that you do it.”

Yes, John – the answer to the question “What about Peace?” is the modest proposal to do something!

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You can read the entire winning piece here.

The following originally appeared on our sister organization CODEPINK’s website and was written by CODEPINK/Global Exchange Co-founder Medea Benjamin:

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The death of Osama Bin Laden should be a time of profound reflection. With his death, we remember and mourn all the lives lost on September 11. We remember and mourn all the lives lost in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan. We remember and mourn the death of our soldiers. And we say, “Enough.”

There was never any justification for invading Iraq. Our troops must come home now—all of them.

With Al-Qaeda driven out of Afghanistan and Osama Bin Laden dead, there is no justification for continuing the war in Afghanistan. Our soldiers—and contractors—must leave, now, opening the path for Afghan government and the Taliban to negotiate a ceasefire.

Our drone attacks in Pakistan are only fueling the violence and creating more Osama Bin Ladens. We must stop these barbaric attacks, now!

You can read more about my take on the death of Osama Bin Laden in the Huffington Post article Osama Bin Laden Is Dead; Let the Peace Begin.

Our military, and our federal budget, must focus on rebuilding at home, not making new enemies abroad. Let us give meaning to the death of Osama Bin Laden by calling on President Obama to put an end to the violence.

TAKE ACTION!

Make your voice heard. Visit the CODEPINK website to send a letter or make a phone call to President Obama asking him to “Let the Peace Begin.”

The Gandhian Legacy 2008-09 Photo Credit: Garth Dyke

The following is a guest blog post by Dr. Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mohandas K. Gandhi (a.k.a. Mahatma Gandhi), and trip leader of Global Exchange’s Gandhian Legacy Tour.

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Mohandas K. Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolence is like the iceberg – what is visible is only a fraction of what is hidden.

Scholars have analyzed over and over the part that deals with political conflicts and independence of nations, because they insist that nonviolence is simply a strategy of convenience. (Mohandas) Gandhi said:

This philosophy is not like a jacket that you wear when necessary and discard when not. Nonviolence is a life style that one has to adopt which means allowing all the love, understanding, respect, compassion, acceptance and appreciation to emerge and dominate one’s attitude. Then we will be able to build good relationships not only within the family but outside of the family. We will no longer be selfish and greedy but magnanimous and giving.

It is no longer a secret that official India had abandoned Gandhi’s philosophy upon gaining independence. However, there are many at the grassroots level, young and old, who are still inspired by his philosophy and have put it into action to bring about a qualitative change in the Indian society. Many have started projects to bring solace to the poor of whom there are more than 500 million in India.

The Gandhian Legacy Tour explores these projects in the cities and in the villages to see first hand how people have used Gandhi’s philosophy in every day life. How they are trying to deal with conflict situations constructively. It is an unusual tour in as much as we visit places where normal tourists do not go, we are hosted by the poor in city slums and in traditional India.

Among the many diversities in India the one that divides the westernized urban India and the traditional rural India is the most odious. Urban India is not India at all and we shall explore this on the tour, while the traditional India is the true heart of India. The experience of traveling with the Gandhi Family is both educative and enjoyable. Come and experience it for yourself.

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For more information about our upcoming Gandhian Legacy Tour, please visit our website.

“Something wonderful is being born here: an inclusive, grassroots, democratic movement which is, even in this time of extreme crisis, enacting ideals of nonviolence, creativity, courtesy, public service…what can I say? This revolution is not just Egyptian; it belongs to everyone who believes in the possibility of a better way for us all to live together.”
–Ahdaf Soueif, Acclaimed Egyptian novelist sent this message to Medea and CODEPINK to share with you.

One voice among millions, a simple yet elegant declaration of the aspiration of a nation on the precipice of revolution. We have been awed and inspired by the determination of Egypt’s people, their refusal to back down from their rightful claim to freedom and dignity, despite increased violence and heavy personal cost.

Along with the rest of the world, Global Exchange is closely watching the struggle for freedom in Egypt. Global Exchange Co-Founder, Medea Benjamin, is on the ground in Cairo, blogging the latest news from the embattled Egyptian people.  Medea, along with a delegation of CODEPINK activists, is in Cairo standing in solidarity with the people of Egypt. Follow her latest reports on our blog.

Medea has met with dozens of women and groups in Cairo and learned this:

The next major demonstration has been called for this Friday after prayers. People are desperate for it to be a peaceful mobilization. They have a plan to deliver hundreds of flowers to demonstrators, wounded protesters, and to the gun barrels of the Army’s tanks during the next big uprising on Friday after prayers.

Our sisters at CODEPINK will deliver hundreds of flowers at tomorrow’s protest in Cairo. Donate $5 to help buy flowers and send a message of solidarity and peace to Egypt. This is one way we around the world can support the nonviolent people’s uprising. Please consider making a larger gift; any donation over $5 will support the ongoing, critical human rights work of Global Exchange, and will be tax deductible.

[update February 8, 2011. Thanks for choosing to support the people’s movement in Egypt. The rally in Cairo has now happened and thanks to GX supporters we were able to send flowers to demonstrate our solidarity for peace and the respect of human rights. Your donation to support our ongoing work is crucial and 100% will be tax deductible.]

Here are ways you can support the Egyptian people in their call for a peaceful revolution:

Protest and March in solidarity with the Egyptian and Tunisian people; Join the International DayofMobilization in San Francisco, Sat. Feb. 5th, 2011, 1 pm at the U.N. Plaza, Market and 8th, San Francisco, CA. More info on Facebook.
Protest in front of Egyptian embassies — Find an Embassy near you.
Spread the Word — with information blockades and unprecedented efforts by the regime to cut off access to social media, we need to work together to ensure that the Egyptian people’s voices are heard. Blog, tweet, and share, share, share!
Call on the U.S. government to end military aid to the Mubarak regime.
Sign Avaaz’s statement of solidarity and let the people of Egypt know they are not alone.

Get firsthand accounts of what is happening on the ground in Egypt. For continual updates, check our People to People blog.

Thank you for your support of Global Exchange and of our ongoing commitment to human rights, democracy and peace here at home and around the world.

In Solidarity,
Carleen Pickard, Associate Director
Global Exchange

This was originally sent out to our News and Action e-mail list. Sign up for Global Exchange’s Newsletters and stay on top of the latest news in the Global Exchange community.

On December 27, 2009, on the one-year memorial of the major Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, concerned people from around the world met in Cairo to travel to Gaza, despite the siege, for the Gaza Freedom March, calling for an end to the siege of Gaza. Only 100 marchers were allowed into Gaza; protests in Cairo generated international attention. Over 150 solidarity actions occurred around the world including Israel, the West Bank, Switzerland, New York, and Minnesota. Video courtesy of our friends at Code Pink Women for Peace and edited by Linda Bobel.

Visit the Code Pink website for info about the next Gaza march leaving at the end of this month, and Global Exchange Reality Tours for other travel opportunities to Palestine.

2011 is finally here. So now seems as good a time as any to take stock of everything we’ve accomplished in the past year, to draw together our challenges and victories and lay them out there for you to see. Since there isn’t space enough to showcase everything, we’ve selected a few of our favorite highlights from 2010 to share with you:

Climate Change

People's World Conference on Climate Change

This year, Global Exchange attended the People’s World Conference on Climate Change in Cochabamba, Bolivia, where 35,000+ people called for a dramatic rethinking of our place on this planet. When it came time for the COP 16 climate talks in Mexico, we knew we would have our work cut out for us. At the end of the day, the progress we made in Mexico was minimal, and we knew the best bet for real climate change solutions was a renewed organizing effort at home and around the world.

Shannon Biggs published this on December 12th to Commondreams.org: “It is time to deliver the message of Cochabamba to the people who are capable of creating change, of creating 1,000 Cochabambas…If we want to be heard at the U.N., then we need to go home and build the revolution of change in the places where we live.”

Want to read the rest? Click here.

Peace

Medea Benjamin speaking out

Is it crazy to act a little crazy to stop something you think is crazy? We think not. When Jon Stewart announced his rally to restore sanity, we had to say something. This piece written by Medea Benjamin appeared on the Huffington Post on October 27th, 2010.

“CODEPINK has been proposing solutions since the day we started. Whether under Bush or Obama, our voices of sanity have been drowned out by a war machine that makes billions selling weapons and hiring mercenaries.”

Read the entire article here, then read how Medea was invited to appear on The Daily Show.

Antonia appearing on Democracy NOW! with Amy Goodman

Getting Tough on Big Oil

The oil spill in April opened up a lot of people’s eyes about the horrific dangers of the oil industry. The lives lost, the ecosystems and livelihoods destroyed, plus the billions of dollars in damage were all testaments to the magnitude of the threat posed by this dirty industry. When it came time to hear from the experts, our in-house authority on oil Antonia Juhasz weighed in on the debate. She shared her views on Democracy NOW! and in The Guardian, May 24, 2010 article entitled How Far Should We Let Big Oil Go? where she had this to say:

“The communities most directly harmed by oil’s abuse are organized, networked, and ready. The public is roused, angered, and ready to act. The oil corporations are on notice: the true cost of their operations is simply too great to bear.”

Click here to read more.

Reality Tours

Agriculture in Cuba

This year, National Geographic decided to list Global Exchange Reality Tours as one of their 2010 Tours of a Lifetime. Our Cuba trips, and the unique opportunities they afford travelers to cut through the misinformation and discover things for themselves, caught the attention of this esteemed travel magazine.

National Geographic praised our Cuba trip’s “commitment to authenticity, immersion, sustainability, and connection.”

Click here to read more.

Fair Trade

Hershey’s refuses to go Fair Trade. Despite years of promises, despite the massive evidence of child slavery and other abuses on West African plantations, Hershey’s still won’t budge. So, Global Exchange partners with other organizations to apply some pressure. The result? A CNBC news story covered far and wide, in which Adrienne Fitch-Frankel, Global Exchange Fair Trade Cocoa Campaign Director, shared:

“Hershey’s demonstrates a commitment to children in the U.S. by funding the Milton Hershey School. They can demonstrate the same concern for children and families in the African communities that farm their cocoa by using Fair Trade Certified cocoa for their chocolates.”

Want to read the rest? The article is still cross-posted here.

Speaking Out About Violence in Mexico

Most of us have become all too aware of the gruesome violence that has gripped Mexico over the past year. What is not as well known is the role played by the U.S. government and its allies in the Mexican government in the problems associated with narco-trafficking and arms smuggling. Ted Lewis, director of our Human Rights Program, spoke out in the Seattle Times in September:

“…Any effective prescription to pull Mexico back from the abyss will require cooperation as well as introspection and substantive policy changes from the U.S.”