“Think of Others:” Vermont Artists Depict Palestinian Poet’s Words in Painting

Six artists from Vermont and one from New Hampshire have come together to create a visual representation of Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish’s poem “Think of Others” in collaboration with Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel (VTJP). The ten panel display debuted at the 2016 Burlington Art Hop exhibit this past September, offering visitors a new interpretation of one of Palestine’s most renowned poets.

Trump Alebrije Leads Mexico’s Traditional Paper Mache Monster March: A Photo Essay

Fantastical, boldly-colored creatures wove their way from Mexico City's Zocalo and through the city on Saturday. With neoliberalism's stronghold on Mexico, combined with 60 percent of workers forced to sell goods informally in the streets and on trains, consumerism in the country can be overwhelming. But cultural traditions like the production of these giant paper mache alebrijes help to combat consumerism's dominance and bring communities together.

Why East Africa Should Reject Economic Partnership Agreement Trade Deal with Europe

Europe is in crisis, and yet countries in East Africa are ready to sign on a poorly understood trade agreement with the EU whose overall impact will be disastrous for years to come. Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) will favour trade in the direction of Europe and stunt African progress. Tanzania has hesitated and called for public debate. Tanzania should provide the bold leadership required in the region to reject the EPA.

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Where the Bodies Are Buried: War and Survival in South Sudan

Source: The Nation

Leer, South SudanThere it is again. That sickening smell. I’m standing on the threshold of a ghost of a home. Its footprint is all that’s left. In the ruins sits a bulbous little silver teakettle—metal, softly rounded, charred but otherwise perfect, save for two punctures. Something tore through it and ruined it, just as something tore through this home and ruined it, just as something tore through this town and left it a dusty, wasted ruin.

This, truth be told, is no longer a town, not even a razed one. It’s a killing field, a place where human remains lie unburied, whose residents have long since fled, while its few remaining inhabitants are mostly refugees from similarly ravaged villages. read more

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Why Libya Is a Mayhem State

Source: Alternet

ISIS is the least of their problems, as Libya struggles with daily violence and economic distress.

On October 14, a former Prime Minister of Libya – Khalifa al-Ghwell – gathered some supporters at the Rixos Hotel in Tripoli and announced that he was the new head of government. It was a curious moment for this former engineer from the city of Misrata – the hotbed of the anti-Qaddafi uprising in 2011. Various militia outfits that support al-Ghwell surrounded the Rixos, but did not have the capacity to seize the main institutions of the country. It was more like a press conference than a declaration of a coup. read more