AIDemocracy.org | transnational corporations

Aid for AIDS* – Exporting health and expectations (* political revolution optional)

February 28, 2011 by Gillian Rollason

Protect human rights, empower women, create jobs, strengthen the economy, spread democracy, save children, pipe water, grow crops…the benefits of development are a shining torch that many in the international community use to guide their foreign and domestic policy (or so at least, they would have us believe). A few contentious issues arise when we ask ourselves in which direction we are supposed to be ‘developing’ and tensions run high when foreign powers are accused of buying political influence with aid or investment. America might be used to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Featured Less, Hunger, Security, Sex and Justice Tagged With: activism, aid, capitalism, China, Climate Change, Cold War, economic growth, Egypt, foreign aid, globalization, HIV/AIDS, Human Rights and Social Justice, humanitarian aid, Libya, Middle East Democracy, national security, poverty, social justice, sustainable development, transnational corporations

Africans Face Competing Visions of Agricultural Development at a Critical Juncture

July 23, 2010 by Sarah Frazer

A follow up post to the one below, also from the Food First blog. A little long, but well worth it. Africans Face Competing Visions of Agricultural Development at Critical Juncture Posted May 20th, 2010 by rjonasse By Richard Jonasse, Food First A contest of competing visions over the future of Agriculture is playing out across Sub-Saharan Africa. Farmers' organizations are lining up against an aid regime that threatens to swamp smallholders with purported "solutions" to which these farmers have not assented and do not desire. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Hunger Tagged With: agriculture, aid, food sovereignty, IMF, MDGs, transnational corporations, USAID, World Bank, WTO

Coming Together for Farmworkers' Rights

November 20, 2009 by Sarah Frazer

Students at the University of Florida are working to help farmworkers battle for fair wages and basic human rights. By Kristen Abdullah and Richard Blake November 16, 2009 Migrant worker Jorge Rodriguez plays the “quijada,” in Immokalee, Fla. Farmworkers celebrated the recent decision by Taco Bell to accede to the demands of local tomato pickers, who led a four-year boycott against the restaurant chain, and pay a penny more for each pound of Florida tomatoes. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz) As we made the four-hour journey south to tomato-town Immokalee, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Hunger Tagged With: Campus Initiatives, Guatemala, Haiti, Human Rights and Social Justice, Mexico, transnational corporations

Five things the Corporate Media doesn't want you to know about the Coup in Honduras

July 22, 2009 by Sarah Frazer

There's all sorts of great information on what's going on in Honduras right now, but I thought this list pretty much summed it up (as well as most coups). For a more comprehensive look at what's been happening, see NACLA or Amy Goodman's report on Democracy NOW! From The Dominion: 1. It was a military coup carried out on behalf of corporate, national and transnational elites. "Restoring Democracy" though a military coup is akin to bombing your way to peace. 2. Coup participants were trained by the CIA and at the School of the Americas. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Hunger, Security Tagged With: Honduras, transnational corporations

Workers and Earth Day

April 27, 2009 by Sarah Frazer

Guest post from Tim Newman, Campaigns Assistant, International Labor Rights Forum People around the world are celebrating Earth Day today [Wednesday, April 22nd]. The labor movement and the environmental movement have not always worked together productively. As the demand for eco-friendly products increases, many businesses are introducing products that are meant to be less destructive to the environment, but these products are often made by exploited workers. For example, NPR did a recent story about a new line of "green" footwear at Payless … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Climate Change, Hunger Tagged With: agribusiness, Climate Change, transnational corporations

Water Privatization

January 21, 2007 by AIDemocracy

Picture queuing for your daily ration of water, only to discover that water meter prices have doubled from last month. Imagine private water enforcers blocking your family’s access to water and disease ravaging local communities when people are forced to use nearby streams for drinking and bathing. As private companies jockey for global control of water, these scenarios have already become a reality in India, Latin America, and Africa. And, with nearly two thirds of the world’s population expected to be ‘water-poor’ by 2025, it’s an issue … [Read more...]