Hunger and Systemic Injustice

May 21, 2012

Jesse Epp-Fransen writes about hunger and systemic injustice in the latest Third Way Cafe.

Economic justice in the United States is an incredibly complex topic. It covers far more than the simple math of the cost of food and shelter compared to the average wage. Economic justice must be rooted in the ability to meet not only immediate needs, but future needs as well.

[...]

Food insecurity not only inhibits households from having enough food, but decreases their chances of being able to be successful in work and school. Hunger combines with interrelated issues such as unemployment and lack of health insurance to create a larger structure of economic injustice from which there is no simple escape.

Read the entire article here.

Leave a Comment » | Issues, U.S. Economic Justice | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by jesseeppfransen

Earthquake Reconstruction: Another look at progress

January 25, 2012

Wawa and Kristen Chege reflect on the international response to the Haiti earthquake and the need for transparency in reconstruction efforts in the latest Third Way Cafe.

In this chaos of reconstruction, with an influx of aid money and the pressure to spend quickly, international companies have instead found an opportune time to push Haiti down the path of industrialization. Investors have reframed their factories as opportunities for development, and in the process secured significant funding from USAID and international financial institutions.

Read the article here.

Leave a Comment » | Issues, Latin America/Caribbean | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by jesseeppfransen

‘We don’t know who really won in the Congo’

January 6, 2012

Patricia Kisare provides analysis on the November elections in Congo.

W don’t really know who won the presidency, because there are many indications that the electoral process was flawed. Local and international election observers found the elections to be fraught with widespread irregularities. The Carter Center reported that “the quality and integrity of the vote tabulation process has varied across the country, ranging from the proper application of procedures to serious irregularities, including the loss of nearly 2,000 polling station results in Kinshasa.”

Read the article here.

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Posted by jesseeppfransen

Frosty relations: U.S. and Iran

December 23, 2011

Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach writes about the end of the Iraq war and rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran in the latest Third Way Cafe.

One would think that policymakers would have no interest in getting into another conflict in the region. But since early November, U.S.-Iran relations, which have long been frosty, have gotten even more tense.

Read the full article here.

Leave a Comment » | Articles, Issues, Middle East, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by jesseeppfransen

When Elephants Fight

April 25, 2011

Ebuka Mefor writes about the situation in Ivory Coast for Third Way Cafe:

Ivorians and many others on the continent are afraid and tired of civil wars. In Ivory Coast, one million people have been displaced due to the recent conflict.

In the book of Romans we are instructed “to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15). Our empathy for others should also include working for peace, as Romans 12:21 says: “do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

With the removal of Gbagbo, Ouattara has taken the position of president.  It is yet to be seen what this means for the average Ivorian. The need for lasting peace, justice and prosperity has never been greater.

Click here to read more.

Leave a Comment » | Africa, Articles | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Birkebak

Imagine

April 13, 2011

Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach writes about military spending and the federal budget for Third Way Cafe:

Currently the United States spends more on defense than nearly all other countries combined. Yet in the budget proposals that Congress is discussing, funding levels for the Pentagon remain virtually unchanged. Some actually increase the amount compared to last year’s budget.

This unquestioning support for military spending comes at the same time that poverty programs, which make up a much smaller part of federal spending, are facing dramatic cuts. Cutting weapons programs which, in some cases, the military itself deems excessive would eliminate the need to cut food, housing and heating assistance.

Click here to read more.

 

 

Leave a Comment » | Articles, Militarism, U.S. Economic Justice | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Birkebak

How Free is Free Trade? The Cost to Colombia

April 1, 2011

Sarah Birkebak writes about the U.S. trade agreement with Colombia for Third Way Cafe:

Currently, the Obama Administration is seeking to pass a Free Trade Agreement with Colombia despite previous promises to hold off until the human rights situation improved. A free trade agreement would be severely detrimental for Colombia’s already vulnerable populations as the country’s labor laws are poorly enforced and fall far short of the international standards.

Opening Colombia to an increased number of multinational corporations and large-scale agricultural companies would result in the displacement of more Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities from their land, and would create further inequality by forcing small-scale farmers to compete with highly subsidized U.S. goods.

Click here to read more.


 

Leave a Comment » | Articles, Global Economic Justice, Latin America/Caribbean | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Birkebak

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