In The News

Jakarta Post: Water Privatization in Jakarta

April 3, 2018
Water privatization, in theory, is supposed to steady supplies and costs of the limited resource. But water is essential for survival and is regarded as a basic public service. Government handing control to companies seeking profits leads to problems including emphasis on increased costs, reduced maintenance, and emphasis on developers’ goals, according to Food & Water Watch. Courts in...

CNN: Worldwide March for Our Lives and Gun Reform

Dakin Andone, Amanda Jackson and Isabella Gomez March 25, 2018
A tipping point was reached after 17 students and staff were gunned down in an affluent high school in Parkland, Florida. Survivors swiftly and articulately pointed to the US leading in gun violence and the need for controls like background checks and limits on assault weapons. They criticized politicians who instead do the bidding of industry associations like the National Rifle Association and...

Financial Times: Voice of China for the Globe

Emily Feng March 22, 2018
China is consolidating its state-run media including television broadcaster CCTV, China Radio International and China National Radio. The media giant will be known as Voice of China and will continue to target a global audience, presenting “Communist party theories, guidelines and policies” and a Chinese model of governance as an alternative to Western democracy and media reports. “China’s state...

Channel 4: Cambridge Analytica Election Consultants Filmed

March 20, 2018
Cambridge Analytica executives claim to have consulted on more than 200 elections around the globe - the website claimss 100 - and an undercover investigation in London suggests the company may have used extreme measures to support candidates in violation of the UK Bribery Act and the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Channel 4 News reporters posed as prospective clients over four months, filming...

The Observer: Facebook Profiles Harvested

Carole Cadwalladr and Emma Graham-Harrison March 19, 2018
A whistleblower has exposed how Cambridge Analytica, a data analysis firm, relied on a software program and Facebook user profiles to target voters with political advertisements. The number represents about a quarter of the US electorate. “Documents seen by the Observer, and confirmed by a Facebook statement, show that by late 2015 the company had found out that information had been harvested on...

Mail & Guardian: Ethiopia’s Crisis

Simon Allison March 8, 2018
Ethiopia is Africa’s second most populous country after Nigeria and could soon overtake Kenya as East Africa’s largest economy. But the country is in political crisis with protests, violence by security forces, and the media under censorship. “The international NGOs and think-tanks that operate in Ethiopia are complicit in maintaining the veil of silence. Many agree to refrain from any criticism...

NBC: Old Law May Stall Trump Bid to Undo Obama Regulations

Suzy Khimm March 6, 2018
US courts are providing checks, balances and brakes on the Trump administration’s agenda to reverse policies of previous presidents. “In recent weeks, federal judges have blocked the administration's attempts to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA), postpone a rule giving low-income families broader access to housing in wealthier neighborhoods, and delay an...