---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Pambazuka Editor <[email protected]> Date: Thu, Jun 23, 2011 at 8:11 PM Subject: Pambazuka News 536: Polluters and corporates: Stealing the commons To: pambazuka-news <[email protected]>
PAMBAZUKA NEWS 536: POLLUTERS AND CORPORATES: STEALING THE COMMONS The authoritative electronic weekly newsletter and platform for social justice in Africa Pambazuka News (English edition): ISSN 1753-6839 CONTENTS: 1. Features, 2. Comment & analysis, 3. Advocacy & campaigns, 4. Books & arts /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 1 Features FROM BONN TO DURBAN, CLIMATE MEETINGS ARE CONFERENCES OF POLLUTERS Patrick Bond With a crucial conference on climate change taking place in Durban, South Africa, in December, Patrick Bond cuts through the elite conspiracy that will result in a no deal scenario and a continued rise in global temperatures. 'The strongest possible stance will be needed to finally address the mess,' he writes. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74251 ****** 'TRANSPARENCY' HIDES ZAMBIA'S LOST BILLIONS Khadija Sharife Mining corporations' tax avoidance schemes cost African nations billions of dollars each year, says Khadija Sharife. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74275 ****** BRINGING CANADIAN MINING TO JUSTICE Karyn Keenan Canadian mining interests in countries around the world are valued at tens of billions of dollars. Karyn Keenan looks at efforts by local communities to hold mining companies to account for human rights abuses. 'The issue of access to remedy for the victims of corporate abuse requires urgent attention,' she writes. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74254 ****** SAVING UGANDA FROM ITS OIL Jason Hickel Oil worth billions of dollars is set to start flowing in Uganda, but the existing framework fails to protect Uganda from being plundered by multinational corporations, Jason Hickel writes. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74276 ****** SENEGAL: VIOLENT UPRISING IN DAKAR Human rights activist Alioune Tine seriously wounded Tidiane Kassé, Yellitaare 'There is a violent uprising happening now here. In the city center of Dakar, in the suburbs and in the provincial areas. A lot of demonstrations and riots are happening,' writes Tidiane Kassé, as Senegalese people take to the streets to oppose a new law being discussed in parliament, which would allow a presidential candidate to take power with just 25% of the vote. Meanwhile, as a Yellitaare statement calls on the Senegalese government to ensure the safety of human rights activist Alioune Tine, reports from Dakar suggest that Tine is 'seriously wounded', after being hit on the head by attackers alleged to be the body guards of a minister close to President Abdoulaye Wade. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74297 ****** WHY REGIME CHANGE IN LIBYA? Ismael Hossein-Zadeh The reasons for the ongoing bombing of Libya go beyond a thirst for oil and can be found in Gaddafi's long-term 'insubordination' to Western imperialism argues Ismael Hossein-Zadeh. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74278 ****** STRIKING BACK AT EGYPTIAN WORKERS Hesham Sallam Can the new post-Mubarak Egypt succeed in addressing the socio-economic grievances that helped spark the January 25 uprising? The ‘prevailing discourse among Egyptian elites and opinion makers, however, already signals that the answer is no,’ writes Hesham Sallam. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74289 ****** EGYPT: THE OLD REPRESSION RESURFACES Sokari Ekine The situation in Egypt is increasingly complex writes Sokari Ekine, where power still lies with the remnants of the state and military, and the old mechanisms of repression are starting to reappear. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74282 ****** SENEGAL: THE COMING OF AGE OF AN HEIR APPARENT Amy Niang If the US really believes in democracy, how can it support Abdoulaye Wade’s plans to have his son succeed him as Senegal’s president, asks Amy Niang. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74283 ****** ETHIOPIA: PRESS FREEDOM, THE LAW AND DEMOCRACY Interview with Dawit Kebede Ron Singer Dawit Kebede, editor-in-chief of Ethiopian newspaper, the Awramba Times, speaks to Ron Singer about the perils of working in the media – from his arrest by the government to his struggle to get a license for a new paper – and his disappointment with US academics’ failure to support Ethiopian democracy. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74285 ****** CONTEXTUALISING HILLARY CLINTON’S ‘NEW COLONIALISM’ REMARK Isaac Odoom US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton jetted in to Africa recently, holding a press conference in Lusaka where she warned of a ‘new colonialism’ in Africa. Such warnings would be more credible to Africans if the US got its own record straight, points out Isaac Odoom. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74252 ****** BOKO HARAM: NIGERIA’S NEW NATIONAL CRISIS? Sokari Ekine Nigeria’s Boko Haram bombings, militants in the Niger Delta, attitudes towards homosexuality in Ghana, the censorship of internet pornography in Tunisia and a Canadian couple’s decision not to gender their child all feature in this week’s review of African blogs, compiled by Sokari Ekine. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74281 ****** WHY THE AU IS WRONG TO HOLD ITS SUMMIT IN EQUATORIAL GUINEA While Equatorial Guinea blows money on the AU summit, it's people live in poverty Geoffrey Njora The 17th African Union Summit takes place from 23 June to 1 July in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. Will the African Union violate its own Constitutive Act and policy standards by hosting the summit in Equatorial Guinea? asks Geoffrey Njora. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74284 ****** THE MALABO EXTRAVAGANZA, THE AU AND A ‘SACRIFICED AGENDA’ Eyob Balcha Dismayed by the AU’s willingness to host its summit at a luxury complex in Equatorial Guinea despite the government’s violation of human rights, Eyob Balcha says the summit will not improve the lives of ordinary Africans. What’s more, given the ongoing crises across the continent, the summit’s theme of youth empowerment will be the last thing on the mind of delegates. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74288 ****** LIVING ON THE COKE SIDE OF LIFE IN SWAZILAND Peter Kenworthy Next time you crack open a Coke to quench your thirst, spare a thought for the sugar cane workers in Swaziland. Peter Kenworthy investigates the operations of the Coca-Cola Company in the repressive monarchy. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74253 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 2 Comment & analysis GABON IN RUINS: A DEMOCRACY DEVASTATED Open letter to US President Barack Obama Marc Ona Essangui Outraged by President Bongo Odimba’s visit to the US from 6-9 June, Gabonese civil society has written to US President Barack Obama, calling on him to take a stand against the Bongo government’s devastation of democracy. The letter also asks Obama to revisit the speech he made in Accra after his election, which it says should inform his relationship with African leaders. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/74287 ****** UNGA REVOLUTION: REPORT ON SOLIDARITY VISIT TO TAITA TAVETA COUNTY The right to food and access to national resources Unga Revolution Stray elephants from Kenya’s Tsavo National Park are destroying the crops and livelihoods of communities in Taiva Taveta County, leaving them dependent on unaffordable maize flour and government relief supplies. The Unga Revolution committee made a solidarity visit to the area on June 14, to look at how to ensure that the government fulfils its constitutional obligation to ensure the community’s right to food and protection of livelihood. This is the committee's report on the visit. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/74290 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 3 Advocacy & campaigns ARREST OF THE ANGOLAN CIVIL SOCIETY ACTIVIST AGOSTINHO CHICAIA OSI Angola, AJPD Following the arrest of human rights defender Agostinho Chicaia in Kinshasa at the request of the Angolan authorities, OSI Angola and the Association for Justice Peace and Democracy (AJPD) are calling on Angola and the DRC ‘to state clearly what are the circumstances and the legal grounds for Mr Chicaia’s detention.’ http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/74296 ****** HUMAN RIGHTS, SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITY In 17 June, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. It is the first time the UN has adopted a resolution on LGBT issues. This post reproduces the introductory statement for the resolution by South African permanent representative, Ambassador JM Matjila, during the 17th Session of the Human Rights Council. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/74280 ****** GAY KENYA CONGRATULATES UN ON RESOLUTION ON LGBT HUMAN RIGHTS Gay Kenya has welcomed the passing of a United Nation Human Rights Council resolution that protects and defends the human rights of LGBT persons. 'The UN Human Rights Council resolution sought equal rights for everyone regardless of their sexual orientation, marking progress for gay rights despite strong Arab and African opposition,' said a statement. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/74279 ****** STOP NATO FROM USING YOUR DOMAIN FOR THEIR KILLINGS IN LIBYA! Open letter to Twitter @antireb A group of Twitter users are calling on the site to prevent NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) from using the service to obtain logistical information for its military campaign in Libya, arguing that Twitter appears ‘to be in violation, not only of the law, but also of its own Terms of Service.’ http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/74291 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 4 Books & arts 2011 CAINE PRIZE: IKHIDE’S COMPLAINT Emmanuel Iduma Nigerian born writer Ikhide R. Ikheloa made it a point to ‘diss’ the shortlisted stories for the 2011 Caine Prize, says Emmanuel Iduma, but ‘there are deeper concerns than the sweeping conclusions he makes in his short essays’, for example, whose story are we supposed to write, how real can we be about Africa, and does the story of the real Africa belong to only one person? http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/books/74298 ****** BRINGING NKRUMAH TO THE PEOPLE Review Of ‘The Mind of Kwame Nkrumah: Manual for the Study of Consciencism’ Centre for Consciencist Studies and Analyses A new book by Lang T.K.A. Nubuor will help to make the ideas in Kwame Nkrumah’s ‘Consciencism’ more accessible to readers, says the Centre for Consciencist Studies and Analyses. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/books/74295 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ Fahamu - Networks For Social Justice http://www.fahamu.org Pambazuka News is published by Fahamu Ltd. © Unless otherwise indicated, all materials published are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. For further details see: http://www.pambazuka.org/en/about.php Pambazuka news can be viewed online: English language edition ( http://www.pambazuka.org/en ) Edição em língua Portuguesa ( http://www.pambazuka.org/pt ) Edition française ( http://www.pambazuka.org/fr ) RSS Feeds available at http://www.pambazuka.org/en/newsfeed.php Pambazuka News is published with the support of a number of funders, details of which can be obtained here ( http://www.pambazuka.org/en/about.php ) . To SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE go to: http://pambazuka.gn.apc.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/pambazuka-news or send a message to [email protected] with the word SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line as appropriate. The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of Pambazuka News or Fahamu. With around 2,600 contributors and an estimated 600,000 readers, Pambazuka News is the authoritative pan-African electronic weekly newsletter and platform for social justice in Africa providing cutting edge commentary and in-depth analysis on politics and current affairs, development, human rights, refugees, gender issues and culture in Africa. Order Samir Amin's 'Ending the Crisis of Capitalism or Ending Capitalism?' from Pambazuka Press ( http://fahamubooks.org/book/?GCOI=90638100866770&utm_source=PZ_newsletter_footer_amin_crisis&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=amin_crisis ) . * Pambazuka News is on Twitter. By following 'pambazukanews' on Twitter you can receive headlines from our 'Features' and 'Comment & Analysis' sections as they are published, and can even receive our headlines via SMS. Visit our Twitter page for more information: //twitter.com/pambazukanews ( http://twitter.com/pambazukanews ) . * Pambazuka News has a Del.icio.us ( http://Del.icio.us/ ) page, where you can view the various websites that we visit to keep our fingers on the pulse of Africa! Visit http://delicious.com/pambazuka_news. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "JFD info" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/jfdinfo?hl=en.
