Truths are illusions which we have
forgotten are illusions.
From The Nietzsche Family Circus via More Notes From Underground
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Monday, April 30, 2007
On Truth and Illusions
Truths are illusions which we have
forgotten are illusions.
From The Nietzsche Family Circus via More Notes From Underground
Boycott Bottled Water
Food and Water Watch is calling for a boycott of bottled water. Take the pledge to:
- End your daily use of bottled water
- Fill a reusable bottle with tap water
- Support programs to ensure access to clean, affordable, public tap water for all
I have to tell you, I hate bottled water. I guess it is because I see it as a symbol of our economic disparity (not everyone can afford imported water but it is a status symbol), gullibility (we actually believe it's better for us. Why? Because the Evian commercial told us so), bad resource management (let's let Coca-cola steal the water out of our aquifiers, deplete our groundwater, or use our subsidized munipical water and then sell it back to us at an incredible premium) and sheer destructive power
(when we consume bottled water we are really consuming petroleum: millions of gallons of oil are used for plastic bottles, not to mention transporting all that water in trucks instead of pipes).Casting doubt on the safety of our public water systems has been one of the greatest marketing coups of all time.
The truth is:
Bottled water (in almost all North American municipalities) is not safer or healthier
Bottled water is bad for the environment
Bottled water is a waste of money
Bottle water worsens inequality (If those with money and power aren't drinking tap water, they also won't be fighting for tap water, and everyone else has to suffer with worsening water quality)
Stop the commodification of water; boycott Evian, Dasani (coca-cola), Nestle, Aquafina (pepsi), and all others who are stealing the water that is part of the earth's bounty. Ensure clean drinking water for everyone. You'll probably save money too.
More on water:
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Another View of The Good Life
Following on the heels of yesterday's post, here's another way of looking at The Good Life.
Robert Neuwirth, author of Shadow Cities: A Billion Squatters, A New Urban World , who blogs at Squattercity.blogspot.com does a presentation about the amazing vibrancy of so-called slums: squatter communities. This will be of special interest for anarchists because there are real examples here of self-organizing, self-government. These are people taking their lives into their own collective hands - many because they have no choice, but others because they love these communities and the freedom they provide.
Robert Neuwirth, author of Shadow Cities: A Billion Squatters, A New Urban World , who blogs at Squattercity.blogspot.com does a presentation about the amazing vibrancy of so-called slums: squatter communities. This will be of special interest for anarchists because there are real examples here of self-organizing, self-government. These are people taking their lives into their own collective hands - many because they have no choice, but others because they love these communities and the freedom they provide.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
The Good Life and The Economy
Last night I went to see David Suzuki speaking and he got me thinking about something. He spoke about how we've elevated the Economy to something above and beyond its actual purpose. The Economy is no longer about making sure everyone has their material needs fulfilled; it is considered a good in itself and our almost religious imperative is to grow it. (He says to John Baird: why do you keep talking about the economy, you're the minister of the environment, not of finance. aaah, snap!)
That's probably why I was so pissed off earlier this week when I saw the cover the National Post - two scenes of armageddon, with a headline that said something like: The Economy or the Environment? Yes, that old false dichotomy, resurrected by the Conservatives and spit out verbatim by their cheerleaders.
We worship at the altar of growth. How much did our economy grow this quarter? is the only legitimate economic question. But were there more or fewer hungry children this quarter? is a social question, unrelated to The Economy (I wish I could make a choir sing every time you read the word "economy" because I think that would capture my point well). The truth is, growth has only a tenuous connection to The Good Life (and can indeed be a pretty bad thing) and yet is has this special status. (Another D.S. paraphrase: we have twice as much stuff now compared to the 60s - are we twice as happy?)
I know philosophers have been philosophizing about The Good Life for a very long time and I'm unlikely to have any sort of breakthrough, but we all have a commonsense understanding of it which bears remembering.
We need food, shelter, water, clean air, love and community, security, and a sense of personal agency. These things are like the building blocks that allow us to live happy and fulfilled lives. A bigger house, new pair of shoes, or a fancier car won't make us happier. Yet somehow we have come to believe these things are good.
It brings to mind those who compare the situation of the poor in Canada with the poor in the slums of Calcutta or Sub-Saharan Africa (you know the kind of poverty you see on a World Vision commercial: little black children with big bellies and flies all over their faces). They say things like: our poor have everything they need. That's not real poverty. They want too much. They just complain because they want a big screen TV or an iPod.
The problem with being poor in Canada is not about lack of funds to afford a big screen TV. It's first and foremost about a lack of security. It's about chronic insecurity. It's about constantly being one paycheck away from being evicted. It's about having no room for error, no ability to be flexible: uh oh hydro costs went up this month - there's nowhere for that money to come from except from other necessities. It's about living in neighbourhoods that have more pollution and crime. Or possibly couch surfing, living with friends, sleeping in your car. Or for women, living with boyfriends who often have too much of control since they know you have nowhere else to go.
It's also about social isolation, and especially your children's. We live in a society in which kids who don't have what the other kids have are ridiculed and rejected. They grow up feeling like they are worth less than the other kids - simply because their family can't afford the right brand of sneakers. Don't scoff: it's true. That is life in this consumer-based society.
Once very basic needs are accounted for, it is the gap between the rich, the poor, and the middle class that determines how detrimental poverty is.
That is why even equal growth worsens poverty: if I make $10,000 per year and you make $100,000 per year, the gap between us is $90,000
Now let's say we each have a 5% increase in our wages. I made $10,500 and you make $105,000. Now the gap between us is $94,500. It's gotten much bigger, despite the fact that we both received an equal percentage of income growth.
We do not need 5% per annum. We do not need the Enrons and the Exxons to post ever higher profits each year. We need wisdom in the management of our earth's bounty. Equitable sharing of its produce. The return of cooperation as a driving force. Solidarity. Community.
Unceasing growth for its own purpose is tumor. Capitalism is a cancer.
That's probably why I was so pissed off earlier this week when I saw the cover the National Post - two scenes of armageddon, with a headline that said something like: The Economy or the Environment? Yes, that old false dichotomy, resurrected by the Conservatives and spit out verbatim by their cheerleaders.
We worship at the altar of growth. How much did our economy grow this quarter? is the only legitimate economic question. But were there more or fewer hungry children this quarter? is a social question, unrelated to The Economy (I wish I could make a choir sing every time you read the word "economy" because I think that would capture my point well). The truth is, growth has only a tenuous connection to The Good Life (and can indeed be a pretty bad thing) and yet is has this special status. (Another D.S. paraphrase: we have twice as much stuff now compared to the 60s - are we twice as happy?)
I know philosophers have been philosophizing about The Good Life for a very long time and I'm unlikely to have any sort of breakthrough, but we all have a commonsense understanding of it which bears remembering.
We need food, shelter, water, clean air, love and community, security, and a sense of personal agency. These things are like the building blocks that allow us to live happy and fulfilled lives. A bigger house, new pair of shoes, or a fancier car won't make us happier. Yet somehow we have come to believe these things are good.
It brings to mind those who compare the situation of the poor in Canada with the poor in the slums of Calcutta or Sub-Saharan Africa (you know the kind of poverty you see on a World Vision commercial: little black children with big bellies and flies all over their faces). They say things like: our poor have everything they need. That's not real poverty. They want too much. They just complain because they want a big screen TV or an iPod.
The problem with being poor in Canada is not about lack of funds to afford a big screen TV. It's first and foremost about a lack of security. It's about chronic insecurity. It's about constantly being one paycheck away from being evicted. It's about having no room for error, no ability to be flexible: uh oh hydro costs went up this month - there's nowhere for that money to come from except from other necessities. It's about living in neighbourhoods that have more pollution and crime. Or possibly couch surfing, living with friends, sleeping in your car. Or for women, living with boyfriends who often have too much of control since they know you have nowhere else to go.
It's also about social isolation, and especially your children's. We live in a society in which kids who don't have what the other kids have are ridiculed and rejected. They grow up feeling like they are worth less than the other kids - simply because their family can't afford the right brand of sneakers. Don't scoff: it's true. That is life in this consumer-based society.
Once very basic needs are accounted for, it is the gap between the rich, the poor, and the middle class that determines how detrimental poverty is.
That is why even equal growth worsens poverty: if I make $10,000 per year and you make $100,000 per year, the gap between us is $90,000
Now let's say we each have a 5% increase in our wages. I made $10,500 and you make $105,000. Now the gap between us is $94,500. It's gotten much bigger, despite the fact that we both received an equal percentage of income growth.
We do not need 5% per annum. We do not need the Enrons and the Exxons to post ever higher profits each year. We need wisdom in the management of our earth's bounty. Equitable sharing of its produce. The return of cooperation as a driving force. Solidarity. Community.
Unceasing growth for its own purpose is tumor. Capitalism is a cancer.
Friday, April 27, 2007
The Week in review plus weekend news
__________________________________
Weekend Top Stories:
[KIDNAPPED CHINESE WORKERS FREED IN ETHIOPIA]
[Worries mount as U.S citizen remains detained in Ethiopia] - [EHRCO Condemns Degehabour Massacre] - [Somalis move bodies after clashes]
__________________________________
Coalition for H.R.5680, renamed Coaliton for H.R. 2003
Press Release
5K Walk FOR DEMOCRACY, HUMANRIGHTS, PEACE AND UNITY
Kinijit DC Metro Board
__________________________________________
KIDNAPPED CHINESE WORKERS FREED IN ETHIOPIA
ADDIS ABABA (AFP) - Seven Chinese workers captured in an attack last week on an oil plant by separatist rebels in eastern Ethiopia in which 77 people died have been released, their kidnappers told AFP on Sunday.
The ICRC in Addis Ababa confirmed that the workers had been handed over to them and said it would issue more details later in the day.A temporary ceasefire was arranged between the ONLF and the Ethiopian army -- with the ICRC acting as mediator -- to facilitate the handover, Mahdi said.(More...)
EHRCO Condemns Degehabour Massacre
The Ethiopian Humana Right Council (EHRCO) is saddened by, and utterly deplores with the strongest possible terms the summary execution committed on 74 innocent oilfield workers in Eastern Ethiopia, Degehabour Zone, Abole locality on the 26 April 2007 at around 5 a.m.
In this heinous massacre, 65 Ethiopians and 9 Chinese nationals have brutally been killed. The victims were on sleep in their tents when an armed group stormed the Chinese-run oil exploration facility, and committed such stunning atrocity against them. EHRCO believes that such brutal massacre of innocent people cannot be justified by whatsoever motives, and thus considers it as a sheer cowardly act.
EHRCO is also deeply concerned about the wellbeing and whereabouts of those oil workers abducted. It believes that no one benefits from crimes of this nature. EHRCO, therefore, demands the perpetrators to desist from committing such ghastly crimes against innocent workers. The Council also urges the government to bring the perpetrators of the crime to justice, and accord the necessary protection to innocent civilians.
Finally, EHRCO calls up on citizens, national and international organizations, representatives of governments, international groups, and individuals who stand for human rights protection and the rule of law, to deplore the massacre committed on innocent oil workers, and demand the immediate and unconditional release of those kidnapped individuals.
Worries mount as U.S citizen remains detained in Ethiopia
TRENTON, N.J. - The family of a man being held in Ethiopia for alleged ties to Islamic militants is growing increasingly frustrated that he is still being detained despite reports that he would be released.
News reports, a congressman's office and U.S. officials said this month that U.S.-born Amir Mohamed Meshal, 24, would soon be freed. But no one seems to know exactly why he was not.
"It was an emotional roller-coaster for us," said his father, Mohamed Meshal, speaking from their home in Tinton Falls on the Jersey shore. "We started cooking, and marinating the meat for his homecoming and the next minute, everything collapses."(More...)
Somalis move bodies after clashes
Residents of the Somali capital have started to clear the bodies of those killed in nine days of fierce battles from the streets of Mogadishu.
Fighting has stopped for the moment, after Ethiopian forces drove insurgents from northern suburbs on Thursday.
Many houses and businesses were looted during the fighting, including the Coca-Cola factory opened in 2004. More people have been displaced in Somalia in the past two months than any other country, the United Nations says.
AFP news agency is reporting that Ethiopians and government troops are moving house-to-house in northern districts arresting suspected insurgents.(More...)
_____________________________________________________
Weekend Top Stories:
[KIDNAPPED CHINESE WORKERS FREED IN ETHIOPIA]
[Worries mount as U.S citizen remains detained in Ethiopia] - [EHRCO Condemns Degehabour Massacre] - [Somalis move bodies after clashes]
__________________________________
The Week in Review
TOP STORIES FROM THE PAST WEEK- 8 Ethiopian Hostages Freed After 52 Days
- Gunmen kill 65 Ethiopians and 9 Chinese workers in Ethiopia
- Somalia: Kismayu falls into the hands of clan militia
- Chaos at Addis Abeba university
- Report: Update in the Ethiopia trial against human rights defenders, political opponents
- Congressman Donald Payne: Mogadishu, Another Darfur in the Making?
Coalition for H.R.5680, renamed Coaliton for H.R. 2003
Press Release
5K Walk FOR DEMOCRACY, HUMANRIGHTS, PEACE AND UNITY
Kinijit DC Metro Board
__________________________________________
KIDNAPPED CHINESE WORKERS FREED IN ETHIOPIA
ADDIS ABABA (AFP) - Seven Chinese workers captured in an attack last week on an oil plant by separatist rebels in eastern Ethiopia in which 77 people died have been released, their kidnappers told AFP on Sunday. The ICRC in Addis Ababa confirmed that the workers had been handed over to them and said it would issue more details later in the day.A temporary ceasefire was arranged between the ONLF and the Ethiopian army -- with the ICRC acting as mediator -- to facilitate the handover, Mahdi said.(More...)
EHRCO Condemns Degehabour Massacre
The Ethiopian Humana Right Council (EHRCO) is saddened by, and utterly deplores with the strongest possible terms the summary execution committed on 74 innocent oilfield workers in Eastern Ethiopia, Degehabour Zone, Abole locality on the 26 April 2007 at around 5 a.m.
In this heinous massacre, 65 Ethiopians and 9 Chinese nationals have brutally been killed. The victims were on sleep in their tents when an armed group stormed the Chinese-run oil exploration facility, and committed such stunning atrocity against them. EHRCO believes that such brutal massacre of innocent people cannot be justified by whatsoever motives, and thus considers it as a sheer cowardly act.
EHRCO is also deeply concerned about the wellbeing and whereabouts of those oil workers abducted. It believes that no one benefits from crimes of this nature. EHRCO, therefore, demands the perpetrators to desist from committing such ghastly crimes against innocent workers. The Council also urges the government to bring the perpetrators of the crime to justice, and accord the necessary protection to innocent civilians.
Finally, EHRCO calls up on citizens, national and international organizations, representatives of governments, international groups, and individuals who stand for human rights protection and the rule of law, to deplore the massacre committed on innocent oil workers, and demand the immediate and unconditional release of those kidnapped individuals.
Worries mount as U.S citizen remains detained in Ethiopia
TRENTON, N.J. - The family of a man being held in Ethiopia for alleged ties to Islamic militants is growing increasingly frustrated that he is still being detained despite reports that he would be released.
News reports, a congressman's office and U.S. officials said this month that U.S.-born Amir Mohamed Meshal, 24, would soon be freed. But no one seems to know exactly why he was not.
"It was an emotional roller-coaster for us," said his father, Mohamed Meshal, speaking from their home in Tinton Falls on the Jersey shore. "We started cooking, and marinating the meat for his homecoming and the next minute, everything collapses."(More...)
Somalis move bodies after clashes
Residents of the Somali capital have started to clear the bodies of those killed in nine days of fierce battles from the streets of Mogadishu.
Fighting has stopped for the moment, after Ethiopian forces drove insurgents from northern suburbs on Thursday.
Many houses and businesses were looted during the fighting, including the Coca-Cola factory opened in 2004. More people have been displaced in Somalia in the past two months than any other country, the United Nations says.
AFP news agency is reporting that Ethiopians and government troops are moving house-to-house in northern districts arresting suspected insurgents.(More...)
_____________________________________________________
Report: Update in the Ethiopia trial against human rights defenders, political opponents
Check back with ETP for more news throughout the day
Also in the news:[Congressman Donald Payne: Mogadishu, Another Darfur in the Making?]
[AAU: Food Poison Sends About 90 Students to Hospital ] - [UNICEF condemns shelling of Mogadishu hospital, calls for full access for humanitarian aid] - [Freed hostages return to Addis Ababa] - [Somalia govt. claims victory; diplomats are skeptical]
International:
[Analysis: Dems Keep It Cordial in Debate] - [Putin steps up missiles warning] - [Saudi police arrest 172 terror suspects ] - [France's Sarkozy in furore over axed TV debate] and more of today's top stories!
Freed Ethiopian captives, Yonas Mesfin (L), Debash Baye (2nd L), Hussain Ali (2nd R) and Ashenafe Mekonnen (R), celebrate with their friend Samson Teshome (C) at Bole international airport in Addis Ababa April 26, 2007. Eight Ethiopians made a tearful return to Addis Ababa on Thursday, two months after being kidnapped at gunpoint with five Europeans in the country's remote northeastern Afar region. REUTERS/Andrew HeavensCoalition for H.R.5680, renamed Coaliton for H.R. 2003
Press Release5K Walk FOR DEMOCRACY, HUMANRIGHTS, PEACE AND UNITY
Kinijit DC Metro Board
___________________________________
Report: Update in the Ethiopia trial against human rights defenders and political opponents
(by The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders)The Observatory recalls that it sent two international missions of judicial observation to Ethiopia in order to observe this trial in February and October 2006.
In view of its findings, the Observatory considered the charges to be arbitrary and disproportionate to the nature of the events that occurred in the aftermath of the May 2005 elections.
The Observatory also expressed its deepest concern about the fairness of this trial, as it believed it to be a way to silence any political criticism of the current regime.
The Observatory also condemns the continuing repression of human rights defenders and expresses its particular concern about the situation of members of the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO).
Indeed, since the second crackdown on mass protests, several of EHRCO's veteran staff have been forced into exile for fear of their lives. Besides, several EHRCO members have been arrested arbitrarily and held in detention for various periods of time in 2006 (See Observatory Annual Report 2006).
Therefore, the Observatory reiterates its recommendations to the Ethiopian authorities urging them to:(More...)
Also see:
-Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders Annual report: AFRICA
Congressman Donald Payne: Mogadishu, Another Darfur in the Making?
Congressman Donald Payne
For Immediate Release
April 27, 2007
Innocent civilians in Mogadishu are being killed and maimed by Ethiopian security forces and the militia of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). The atrocities being committed against innocent civilians in Mogadishu are war crimes and crimes against humanity. It is shameful and criminal to use tanks and heavy artillery against civilians.
Mogadishu is another Darfur in the making. It is sad to see that no one seems to care about the untold suffering of the helpless in Somalia. Unfortunately and sadly, the people of Mogadishu are not even allowed to bury their dead relatives and neighbors. We must not turn a blind eye to the suffering of innocent civilians.
Since the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia, thousands of civilians have been killed and maimed and more than 320,000 people have been forced to flee their homes.
The abuses that are being carried out by the TFG and the Ethiopian security forces are worse than during the dreadful days of the warlords. Instead of working towards peace and reconciliation, the TFG and the Ethiopian forces are engaged in collective punishment of innocent civilians.(More...)
AAU: Food Poison Sends About 90 Students to Hospital
AAU Students expressed anger on Tuesday after doctors of the Menelik II hospital allegedly took out some parts from the body of a student.
The deceased Ahmed Abdurrahman, a third year physics student from Harar, fainted in class while he was doing a presentation, before he died later.
One of his class mates told The Daily Monitor on conditions of anonymity that, after he died , Ahmed's body was taken to the hospital for autopsy and the doctors there "took his brain, his eyes and his kidneys." "The students demended that was outrageous, that it was inhuman, and that they wanted those who did this to be brought to justice," the student said.
According to the same source, the University's student community went to the University President's office the same day to demand that those responsible for the inhuman act on their colleague be named and brought to justice.(More...)
Freed hostages return to Addis Ababa
By Andrew Heavens
Addis Ababa - Eight Ethiopians made a tearful return to Addis Ababa on Thursday, two months after being kidnapped at gunpoint with five Europeans in the country's remote north-eastern Afar region.
"I am good. I am too happy. The first thing I want to do is have a beer," one former hostage, Ashenafe Mekonnen, told Reuters before being ushered away by government officials who said the eight would make full statements on Friday.
Crowds of cheering friends and family thronged the capital's Bole International Airport long before the eight arrived.(More...)
Somali PM Claims Win, but Battles Linger
MOGADISHU, Somalia Apr 27, 2007 (AP)— Somalis who fled the government's offensive against Islamic insurgents in Mogadishu began returning to the shattered capital Friday, following the prime minister's claim of victory in fierce fighting that killed hundreds.
But some began to question the claim when gunmen attacked a hotel housing government officials hours later.
"I don't think they accept yesterday's defeat," said businessman Abdullahi Kulmiye. "I believe they will restart the war until they get a victory over the government."(More...)
Also see:
-Ethiopia finds itself ensnared in Somalia (Some observers see similarities to U.S. in Iraq)
-Somalia govt. claims victory; diplomats are skeptical
UNICEF condemns shelling of Mogadishu hospital and calls for full access for humanitarian aid to displaced families
GENEVA, 27 April 2007 - UNICEF today condemned the mortar shelling of the SOS hospital in Somalia's capital and called for full access for humanitarian aid to the hundreds of thousands of civilians fleeing the fighting in Mogadishu. "We deplore the indiscriminate shelling of a medical facility," said UNICEF Representative in Somalia Christian Balslev-Olesen, "It is an action that is totally unacceptable and one for which no justification can be given."
"Where is the accountability in this conflict? Every day thousands of displaced people - most of them women and children - are living a nightmare of violence.
Lacking food and shelter; poor water and sanitation they are enduring a perilous and intolerable existence. UNICEF's ability to deliver much-needed supplies is also hampered by the fighting. We cannot access our warehouses in Mogadishu and we cannot effectively reach the people who need our assistance the most," added Balslev-Olesen.(More...)
Looting breaks out in Mogadishu as Ethiopians tighten grip
MOGADISHU (AFP) - Looting broke out across Mogadishu on Friday as Ethiopian forces tightened their grip, a day after taking control of insurgent strongholds in some of the heaviest fighting in the city's history.
Men wearing government army uniforms attacked a Coca Cola bottling plant and looted the property after shelling it overnight, said Ali Abdi Yusuf, the chairman of Somali Human Rights Action group.
They "attacked the factory and stole many things that they loaded into trucks, before fleeing," Yusuf told AFP.(More...)
Also see:-Somalis move bodies after clashes
Analysis: Dems Keep It Cordial in Debate
Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL (L) listens to Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) speak at the South Carolina Democratic party's presidential candidates debate at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, South Carolina, April 26, 2007. REUTERS/Jim Young AP -- It was less of a debate and more like a polite first date where the Democratic presidential candidates wanted to avoid any fast moves that risk turning off voters.
Front-runners Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were on the receiving end of a couple jabs, but the Democrats vying for the White House were downright complimentary, calling each other by their first names more like friends than rivals.
Offered a chance to rebut Obama on his plan for Iraq, Clinton said: ``I think that what Barack said is right.'' Asked who else on the stage could win against a Republican presidential candidate, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden said: ``I'm looking at a bunch of winners right here, number one. And whoever wishes for Hillary is making a big mistake.''(More...)
Today's Top International Stories
-Global net use makes rapid rise (The net is helping to close the digital divide between industrialised nations, suggests a report)-Putin steps up missiles warning
-France's Sarkozy in furore over axed TV debate
-Bank officials warn Wolfowitz 'a liability'
-Exiled Cuban Wins Journalism Award
-Iraq Sunni tribes build police force, fight al Qaeda
-Saudi police arrest 172 terror suspects
-Woman, 95, to be oldest college graduate
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Thursday, April 26, 2007
Chaos at Addis Abeba university
26/04/2007
Addis Ababa - Dozens of students were injured on Thursday in clashes with each other and the police at Ethiopia's largest university, said students.
One student said he saw another killed, and about 50 wounded in the clashes at Addis Ababa University. Other students also reported dozens of injured.
But federal police spokesperson Demsash Hailu said no one had died, although there had been some injuries. There are "no dead, peace has been restored in the area," Demsash said, adding that police reinforcements had bought the situation under control.
Students and police said the riots began on campus on Wednesday evening, sparked by the alleged theft of the body organs of a dead student by a government hospital.
"The doctors took over some of his body parts without any authorisation from his family," said a demonstrator, asking to remain anonymous. "We asked the dean of the university to intervene but he refused. That is why we are demonstrating."
Students also cited the poor quality of food served in the university canteen as a reason for the riots. University officials were unavailable for comment on Thursday.
___________________________________________
Addis Ababa - Dozens of students were injured on Thursday in clashes with each other and the police at Ethiopia's largest university, said students.
One student said he saw another killed, and about 50 wounded in the clashes at Addis Ababa University. Other students also reported dozens of injured.
But federal police spokesperson Demsash Hailu said no one had died, although there had been some injuries. There are "no dead, peace has been restored in the area," Demsash said, adding that police reinforcements had bought the situation under control.
Students and police said the riots began on campus on Wednesday evening, sparked by the alleged theft of the body organs of a dead student by a government hospital.
"The doctors took over some of his body parts without any authorisation from his family," said a demonstrator, asking to remain anonymous. "We asked the dean of the university to intervene but he refused. That is why we are demonstrating."
Students also cited the poor quality of food served in the university canteen as a reason for the riots. University officials were unavailable for comment on Thursday.
___________________________________________
Economic Growth Creates Poverty In The World
There is a "mystery" we must explain: How is it that as corporate investments and foreign aid and international loans to poor countries have increased dramatically throughout the world over the last half century, so has poverty? The number of people living in poverty is growing at a faster rate than the world’s population. What do we make of this?
[...]
It is, of course, no mystery at all if you don't adhere to trickle-down mystification. Why has poverty deepened while foreign aid and loans and investments have grown? Answer: Loans, investments, and most forms of aid are designed not to fight poverty but to augment the wealth of transnational investors at the expense of local populations.
There is no trickle down, only a siphoning up from the toiling many to the moneyed few. (From Mystery: How Wealth Creates Poverty in the World by Michael Parenti)
Even though most Americans believe the poor are to blame for their own problems, the truth is inequality is the inevitable result of capitalism. "Wealth" is moved from those who have little money or power to those who already have a lot of both. Increasing the pace of economic growth does little to combat poverty, because it is a problem of distribution, not production. Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the most fertile places in the world, yet it also boasts the highest rates of poverty, hunger and malnutrition.
In The End of Economic Growth, Adam Parsons points out:
If one billion dollars in overseas aid truly lifted 434,000 people out of extreme poverty... then the world would be an altogether different place.
[...]
The 'trickle-down theorists', in no short number, argue with the same few hackneyed metaphors to illustrate their obsession with economic growth, like the rising tide that lifts all boats, or that, rather than share the cake more evenly, it is better to bake an even larger one... What this complacent premise fails to account for is the billions of people earning less than two dollars a day who are fortunate to own a corrugated shelter, let alone a 'cake' or a 'boat' to rise in. Poverty eradication is a nice enough idea, the lesson seems to be, so long as it remains consistent with the assumption of the rich getting richer.
To plead for a redistribution of wealth, even for a one percent redistribution of the incomes of the richest 20 percent to the poorest 20 percent, is tantamount to asking for a magic wand so long as the existing macroeconomic polices drive international politics... Another rudimentary metaphor to add to the trickle-down theorists limited repertoire, in this sense, might be the description of a cancerous tumour.
In other, related news, the UNDP says the brain drain costs the African continent over $4 billion annually. Canada's immigration policies do nothing to help, by the way. Our immigration policy favours the wealthy and professionals, such as doctors and lawyers - although once they get here, they are often unable to practice.
April 26, 2007 - The New Normal
I read something the other day in Leroy Sievers' blog that got me to thinking about my own situation (Leroy is the NPR journalist who’s been blogging, and broadcasting radio updates, chronicling his cancer story). Leroy – like me, a cancer patient in remission – described his situation as “the new normal.”When you finish an experience like cancer treatment, you don’t just return to where you were so many months before, and pick up right where you left off. Cancer is a life-changing experience. Once you’ve been awarded the dubious title of “cancer survivor,” you can never go back. Even the people who call themselves “cancer free” – having completed so many years following treatment, without further symptoms – usually continue to live with a certain, low-level fear that the cancer could recur.
It’s more complicated that mere anxiety, though. I don’t mean to give the impression that I’m paralyzed by worry. When I look ahead on my calendar and see a doctor’s appointment, I don’t feel swamped by a wave of dread. Dr. Lerner has been upbeat from the very beginning, observing that my type of lymphoma typically responds well to treatment, and that remissions tend to be long-lasting. I have every reason to expect that his prediction (or, at least, his statement of the law of averages) will prove true in my case. The observation I’m making is more existential than emotional in nature. Cancer changes you. You’re not the same person you were before. It’s hard to describe what I mean by that, other than saying that’s how things feel.
“The new normal” is a phrase some of Leroy’s blog readers have been using in responding to his recent postings, and it’s one that speaks to me, as well. I’d love to be able to say I’m now “back to normal” – indeed, friends and family would very much like to hear me say it – but I can’t. What is “normal,” anyway? Normal is a moving target, these days.
I'm glad I'm no longer where I was a year ago, dealing with chemo. But, on the other hand, I feel that the door back to where I was, pre-diagnosis, is closed and barred. The new normal is the country I now find myself in, and I’m still exploring the terrain.
When I was in the midst of chemo treatments, there was a very clear map to follow. I went from treatment to treatment, weathering the more-or-less predictable side effects. Now, I find myself in a country where many of the old landmarks are no longer recognizable. It’s a better place to be than where I was a year ago, but I’m still trying to figure out how it compares to the place I was in, when I commenced this cancer journey.The ancient Sophist philosopher, Heraclitus, memorably said that you can’t step into the same river twice. Once you step out of your ordinary, day-to-day life to undergo a season of chemotherapy, when you do finally get back to that river, the waters that once carried you have moved on. There’s a certain continuity, of course, but things feel different, also.
The challenge is letting go of the old normal, and embracing the new.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Fighting Against Occupation Will Not be Tolerated (Unless you're on our Side)
Let's do a little mental experiment.
Let's say the USA was invaded by Cuba for harboring known terrorist Luis Posada Carriles. Many American civilians were killed.
Along with US army, private security contractors, militias, and regular armed citizens join in the popular resistance against the occupiers. Now lets say one of those killed a member of the invading Cuban army. Would that person deserve to be taken to a secretive prison, charged with murder, and potentially receive the death penalty?
What if this American was a teenager: 14 or 15 years old?
15 year old Omar Khadr (actually a Canadian Citizen) was arrested in 2002 because he threw a grenade which caused injury leading to death. He has been in Guantanamo since.
Now, nearly 5 years later he is being formally charged with murder. Originally the process was ruled illegal by the US Supreme Court, and the charges were thrown out, but the law was conveniently changed by Congress.
The message being sent? This is what happens when you resist the great military imperialist juggernaut that is the USA. Resistance is futile. It will not be tolerated.
The truth? The invasion and occupation of Afghanistan is the crime. Resisting is not.
Oh yeah, and why do we understand that child soldiers in Africa are victims, who are traumatized and need treatment, while Middle Eastern children are not given the same consideration? Oh silly me. I know why: because of who they kill. If a child soldier kills one us they are evil. If they only kill other Africans we get that it isn't their fault. Read A Child in War: Detaining Omar Khadr Violates Our Moral and Legal Principles
UPDATE MAY 2, 2007
Read this excellent post, and the scary comments that follow
Let's say the USA was invaded by Cuba for harboring known terrorist Luis Posada Carriles. Many American civilians were killed.
Along with US army, private security contractors, militias, and regular armed citizens join in the popular resistance against the occupiers. Now lets say one of those killed a member of the invading Cuban army. Would that person deserve to be taken to a secretive prison, charged with murder, and potentially receive the death penalty?
What if this American was a teenager: 14 or 15 years old?
15 year old Omar Khadr (actually a Canadian Citizen) was arrested in 2002 because he threw a grenade which caused injury leading to death. He has been in Guantanamo since.
Now, nearly 5 years later he is being formally charged with murder. Originally the process was ruled illegal by the US Supreme Court, and the charges were thrown out, but the law was conveniently changed by Congress.
The message being sent? This is what happens when you resist the great military imperialist juggernaut that is the USA. Resistance is futile. It will not be tolerated.
The truth? The invasion and occupation of Afghanistan is the crime. Resisting is not.
Oh yeah, and why do we understand that child soldiers in Africa are victims, who are traumatized and need treatment, while Middle Eastern children are not given the same consideration? Oh silly me. I know why: because of who they kill. If a child soldier kills one us they are evil. If they only kill other Africans we get that it isn't their fault. Read A Child in War: Detaining Omar Khadr Violates Our Moral and Legal Principles
UPDATE MAY 2, 2007
Read this excellent post, and the scary comments that follow
Sprawl --> Sedentary Lifestyle --> Obesity & Health Problems
When you create a mental image of the countryside, it probably features the smell of clean air, and green seas of rolling fields. Seems so healthy, doesn't it? But according to this article on SFGate.com people who live in the country are generally far less healthy than city-dwellers. That's because usually the countryside is actually a suburban environment that has little in the way of nature, and a lot in the way of big box chain stores whose names end in "-mart" that are connected by highways peopled by SUVs. This is not a recipe for health: "a sedentary lifestyle (which may or may not manifest in obesity) contributes to many American health problems -- including asthma, diabetes and high blood pressure."Ever since two studies linked sprawl and obesity in 2003, study upon study has been published suggesting that our built environment -- marked by car-oriented, isolated, unwalkable neighborhoods -- is having a deleterious influence on our health. In other words, sprawl is making us unhealthy, unhappy and fat.
One early study of 200,00 people, led by urban planner Reid Ewing, found that residents of sprawling communities tended to weigh more, walk less and have higher blood pressure than those living in more densely populated areas. Another study, by health psychologist James Sallis of San Diego State University, concluded that people living in "high-walkability" neighborhoods walk more and were less likely to be obese than residents of low-walkability neighborhoods. A 2004 study based in Atlanta, led by Lawrence Frank, reported that the number of minutes spent in a car correlated with a risk of obesity. Among the oft-cited conclusions of the study: A typical white male living in an isolated residential-only neighborhood weighs about 10 pounds more than one living in a walkable, mixed-use community.
I never understood the suburbs. I know someone who moved out of the city when he got married because he wanted to bring up his kids in the country. Of course what this meant was getting a McMansion in a subdivision (which destroyed the very nature he said he wanted to live in). The cute little chipmunks he sees on his lawn are there because their home was bulldozed to make way for his lawn. His family has to drive any time they want to go somewhere. He doesn't like his neighbours. There's no sense of community. Culture is hours (of driving) away.
Unfortunately in places like Toronto, living in the city is increasingly expensive. Many have little choice: "30 percent of the respondents reported that they wanted to live in walkable neighborhoods but were unable to afford them."
The answer isn't necessarily to move everyone into the few walkable cities that exist in North America, but to focus all development on the principles of New Urbanism: neighbourhoods that are pedestrian-friendly, medium-density development, mixed-use zoning, and preserved green spaces outside the city. In concrete terms this means you can live, work, and shop in the same neighbourhood, without having to own a car. (Here's a virtual demo of what such a community might look like)
Via the Carfree USA Blog. Urban environments can have all kinds of benefits, health is just one.
The hunt for seized Chinese oil workers continues as death toll rises to 77
Check back with ETP for more news throughout the day
Also in the news:[Washington Update ] - [Ethiopia says Eritrea behind Chinese oil field bloodbath] - [Somalia's interim government suspected of preventing humanitarian aid] - [Beijing condemns attack that killed 9 Chinese in Ethiopia]
International:
[Nigeria's president says elections not fatally flawed] - [Democrats predict they can win Iraq vote] - [Potentially Habitable Planet Found ] - [French centrist Bayrou rebuffs presidential rivals ] and more of today's top stories!
A procession of ambulances leaves Bole International airport, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Wednesday, April 25, 2007. Some of the ambulances were carrying Chinese workers who were injured in Tuesday's attack. (AP Photo/Anita Powell)ETHIOPIA HUMAN RIGHTS BILL RE-INTRODUCED IN THE HOUSE
The Coalition for H.R. 5680___________________________________
Washington Update
(By Mesfin Mekonen)I. Congress
Rep. Donald Payne introduced the Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007 on April 20. The bill essentially the same as HR 5680 that Rep. Chris Smith wrote and introduced last year. The primary differences are:
1) the “findings” have been updated to include language from the State Department’s human rights report that describes outrages the Meles regime has inflicted on members of the opposition, including unlawful killings, beatings, and arrests.This legislation may not be perfect, but its enactment would be a tremendous benefit to Ethiopia. We should have an initial list of co-sponsors very soon. Once we have the list we will know who should be thanked for their support and especially who should be contacted to solicit support.
2) the findings describe the results of an investigation by the Commission of Inquiry that the Meles regime created to investigate the use of force by government security forces. Although the Commission was hand picked by the government, it concluded that government security forces acted illegally and with extreme brutality.
3) Makes U.S. non-humanitarian assistance to Ethiopia contingent on punishment of security personnel who were involved in the unlawful killing of demonstrators. The bill specifically mentions Etenesh Yemam and the killing of prisoners at Kaliti prison.
4) The section on economic development assistance for Ethiopia has been expanded. It specifies that the U.S. government is to provide financial assistance for the development of irrigation to avoid future famines, including funds for the Blue Nile and Awash River. It also directs the U.S. to support Ethiopia’s healthcare infrastructure.
5) The bill authorizes the expenditure of $20 million per year for fiscal years 2008 and 2009 to accomplish its goals.
6) Language in the previous version of the bill that provided assistance for development of Ethiopia’s tax collection system, debt management and other financial infrastructure has been deleted.
We have spoken with Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) and he has indicated that he will co-sponsor the Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007. He was a co-sponsor of HR 5680.
At this point it is important for every Ethiopian in the U.S. to contact Rep. Payne’s office to thank him for introducing the legislation and to urge him to push hard for its rapid enactment.
It is also important to acknowledge Rep. Smith’s efforts and to ensure that this remains a bipartisan issue. Especially when this legislation moves to the Senate, bipartisan support will be critical.
The Meles regime is certain to look for cracks that it can exploit to block the bill. We need to create and maintain a united front. There is no reason that Ethiopian human rights, freedom, democracy and economic development should be a partisan issue in the United States.
II. State Department
U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia, Donald Yamamoto, has helped arrange for a physician to travel from South Africa to Addis Ababa to treat Hailu Shawel, who remains in prison. We are hoping that he and all political prisoners will be released quickly.The hunt for seized Chinese oil workers continues as death toll rises to 77
ADDIS ABABA (AFP) - Ethiopia searched for up to seven seized Chinese oil workers Wednesday after an attack on a Chinese-run oil venture which killed 77 people, according to a new toll.
Ethiopia sent an investigation team to the Ogaden oil prospection site in a remote eastern region, while a local leader added three more Ethiopians to the death toll, which includes nine Chinese.
The Ogaden National Liberation Front separatist group claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attack in a statement on its website in which it said it had completely destroyed the oil facility.(More...)
Ethiopia says Eritrea behind Chinese oil field bloodbath
ADDIS ABABA (AFP) - Ethiopia on Wednesday accused arch-foe Eritrea of supporting the rebels behind an attack on a remote Chinese-run oil field that killed 74 people, including nine Chinese workers.
Eritrea immediately denied the claim -- the latest in a string of accusations and counter-accusations between the rival neighbours.(More...)
Beijing condemns attack that killed 9 Chinese in Ethiopia
BEIJING: China condemned an attack on a Chinese oil company site in Ethiopia that killed 74 people, including nine Chinese, and said Wednesday it was working for the release of another seven Chinese taken hostage in the assault.
Rebels stormed a Chinese-run oil field in eastern Ethiopia on Tuesday, destroying an exploration facility, killing 74 people, and kidnapping seven Chinese in the first such attack against a foreign company in the Horn of Africa nation.(More...)
FACTBOX - Facts about rebel group ONLF
* Formed in 1984 amid a resurgence of separatist sentiment in the Ogaden region on Ethiopia's border with Somalia, many of its first members supported Mogadishu in its failed war with Addis Ababa over the region in the late 1970s.
* The ONLF's aims have varied over time, ranging from full-scale independence to joining a "Greater Somalia", to more autonomy within ethnically diverse Ethiopia.(More...)
Somalia's interim government suspected of preventing humanitarian aid
Somalia's interim government is suspected of preventing humanitarian aid from urgently reaching people who have fled fighting in the capital.
Western diplomats say demands to inspect all aid shipments was adding to the misery, AP news agency reports. Earlier, the UN humanitarian chief said insecurity, checkpoint harassment and new administrative directives have all obstructed humanitarian efforts.
An estimated 320,000 people have left Mogadishu since February, the UN says. This is the eighth consecutive day of clashes between Ethiopian troops backing the interim government and insurgents and fighters from the city's dominant Hawiye clan.(More...)
Ethiopian tanks pound Somali insurgents, peace talks under way
MOGADISHU, Somalia - Civilians were caught in the crossfire Wednesday as the government’s Ethiopian backers used tanks and heavy artillery to pound insurgent strongholds, witnesses said.
Ethiopian military officials met with elders of Mogadishu’s dominant clan to try to broker a peace, said Abdullahi Sheik Hassan, a spokesman with Mogadishu’s powerful Hawiye clan. He gave no further details. Hundreds have been killed in eight straight days of fighting.(More...)
Also see:
-Fighting in Somalia kills 29 civilians
-Mogadishu clashes enter second week
-Militant group linked to Somalia bombing
Today's Top International Stories
-Nigeria's president says elections not fatally flawed-Democrats predict they can win Iraq vote
-British court orders release of 9/11 suspect
-French centrist Bayrou rebuffs presidential rivals
-Pakistan's Quiet Fight For Iran's Favor
-N. Korea’s Kim reviews massive military parade
-Potentially Habitable Planet Found (European Astronomers Find Potentially Habitable Planet Outside Solar System)
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Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Sorry We Missed You
Funny anti-Patriot Act door-hanger. Scare the pants off your Patriot Act-loving Republican friends. Buy a memo pad with 25 sheets at Carryabigsticker.com. Via Window into Palestine
Gunmen kill 65 Ethiopians and 9 Chinese workers in Ethiopia
Check back with ETP for more news throughout the day
Also in the news:[Rebel group (ONLF) says it attacked Chinese oil field in Ethiopia]
[Ethiopian tanks pound Mogadishu] - [US accuses Eritrea of fueling deadly fighting in Somalia ] - [CPJ: In Somalia, shelling destroys broadcast stations, injures journalists] - [EHAHRD-Net: HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN SOMALIA DEPLORABLE]
International:
[Seven die as world rejects ‘flawed’ election in Nigeria ] - [British anti-terror police arrest 6 people ] - [Hamas armed wing ends truce, govt urges calm ] - [Iran's Leader Proposes Talks With Bush ] and more of today's top stories!
(Insurgents prepare a mortar to launch against government and Ethiopian positions south of the Somali capital Mogadishu, Tuesday, April 24, 2007. AP Photo/Abdi Farah)ETHIOPIA HUMAN RIGHTS BILL RE-INTRODUCED IN THE HOUSE
The Coalition for H.R. 5680FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Commentary on Coalition for H.R. 5680 Press Release
International Ethiopian Women Organization (IEWO)
Radio Program
___________________________________
Gunmen kill 65 Ethiopians and nine Chinese workers in Ethiopia
ADDIS ABABA, April 24 (Reuters) - Gunmen killed 65 Ethiopians and nine Chinese on Tuesday in an attack on an oil field run by a Chinese company, and Ethiopia's government blamed rebels backed by regional foe Eritrea.Bereket Simon, special adviser to Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, blamed the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) which he said was fighting a proxy war on behalf of Asmara.
"The bandits entered the camp at around five a.m. and shot dead the 74 people while they were sleeping," he told Reuters.
Seven other Chinese workers and "scores" of Ethiopians were kidnapped by the gunmen from the site near Jijiga, 630 km (390 miles) east of the capital Addis Ababa, Bereket said. "The government has launched hot pursuit," he said.
In a statement, the ONLF said it attacked Ethiopian soldiers guarding an oil exploration field in Northern Ogaden region. "The oil facility has been completely destroyed," it said. "The ONLF has stated on numerous occasions that we will not allow the mineral resources of our people to be exploited by this regime or any firm."(More...)
Rebel group (ONLF) says it attacked Chinese oil field in Ethiopia
The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) said it had launched "military operations against units of the Ethiopian armed forces guarding an oil exploration site," in the east of the country.
-ONLF Statement
Ethiopian tanks pound Mogadishu
Ethiopian tanks are pounding parts of the Somali capital, stepping up a week-long campaign against insurgents and fighters of the Hawiye clan. Heavy shelling is also taking place near the presidential palace - guarded by Ethiopian and African Union troops.(More...)
Hospitals at capacity as fighting rages in Somalia
MOGADISHU, Somalia -- There are no empty hospital beds in Somalia's bloodstained capital, and barely enough bandages to patch up the wounded. Even bottles of medicine are running dry.
But patients kept pouring in yesterday -- and they were the lucky ones, having survived another day of bullets and mortar shells as Islamic insurgents battled troops allied to the country's fragile acting government.
"Even the shades of the trees are occupied at this point," said Dahir Dhere, director of Medina Hospital, the largest health facility in Mogadishu. "We are overwhelmed."(More...)
Also See:
-ANALYSIS-Somalia burns - but does anyone care?
-Somali govt and insurgents battle for seventh day
-UN chief appeals for ceasefire in Somalia
-Suicide bomber targets Ethiopian troops in Somalia
US accuses Eritrea of fueling deadly fighting in Somalia
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States accused Eritrea Monday of providing funding, arms and training to insurgents battling Somali forces and allied Ethiopian troops in Mogadishu. The State Department's top Africa official, Assistant Secretary of State Jendaye Frazer, also called for renewed ceasefire talks to end the deadliest fighting that Somalia has seen in years.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was due to discuss the situation Monday with her visiting Ethiopian counterpart, Seyoum Mesfin, officials said.
The fighting in Mogadishu pits heavily armed Ethiopian troops allied to the country's UN-recognized interim government against an Islamist militia known as al-Shabab and other insurgents supported by the city's dominant Hawiye clan.(More...)
CPJ: In Somalia, shelling destroys broadcast stations, injures journalists
New York, April 23, 2007—Two private broadcast stations were destroyed and several journalists were injured last week as Ethiopian troops backing Somalia’s transitional government attacked suspected strongholds of Islamist fighters and militiamen from the Hawiye clan, according to news reports and local journalists.
HornAfrik television and radio—the first independent broadcaster in Somalia’s history— has been off the air since several mortar shells destroyed its Mogadishu studios on Saturday, injuring cameraman Abdi Dhaqane and reporter Yahye Ali Farah, according to media reports and the National Union of Somali Journalists.
Dhaqane, who is also a Reuters stringer, was flown to neighboring Kenya for treatment after losing a finger and sustaining a thigh injury, Reuters Chief East Africa Correspondent Andrew Cawthorne told CPJ.(More...)
EHAHRD-Net: HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN SOMALIA DEPLORABLE
(The East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Network)
EHAHRD-Net Index: SOMA 010/005/2007
23rd April 2007
Death of innocent human rights defenders, bombardment of media houses, arrests of media workers, chaos and forced censorship among human rights defenders’ organisations; this according to the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Network (EHAHRD-Net), is a brief description of the current situation is Somalia.
EHAHRD-Net wishes to bring to the attention of the UN Human Rights Council and the international community, the deplorable and gloomy human rights situation in Somalia , and calls for immediate intervention.
In the latest developments received so far, EHAHRD-Net has received information from the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) to the effect that; Radio HornAfrik was hit by artilleries on April 21st, temporarily halting its operations.
Journalist Yahye Ali Farah and Cameraman Abdi Dhaqane sustained injuries in the attack and were admitted to Dayniile and Madina hospitals respectively. Earlier, on April 19th 2007, the Global Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) based in Mogadishu had experienced “indiscriminate bombardments”, a situation that led to the damaging of equipment in its TV studio and newsrooms. GBC later had to shut down following the attack.
The above is only a small fraction of the mayhem that has rocked Somalia ever since fighting broke out in the capital Mogadishu between the forces of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) backed by Ethiopia, and remnants of the Islamic Courts Union backed by Eritrean forces. Observers say the turmoil faced by Mogadishu in the last one month could be the worst Somalia has ever faced since the collapse of the State 15 years ago.
“The current operational environment of HRDs in Somalia is simply deplorable. The Network has recorded some deaths, while intimidation and closure of the media houses has, but become somewhat a daily occurrence.
This is a cause for worry, and we wish to call upon the warring forces to exercise restraint against inflicting further damage on the Somalis, and HRDs’ internationally recognised rights to operate. In trying to find a balance of the political situation in the country, all parties have to adhere to their international human rights obligations,” says Hassan Shire Sheikh, Chairperson EHAHRDP/Net.
BACKGROUND:
Human rights violations in Somalia considerably escalated towards the end of 2006 when Ethiopian troops entered Somalia in a bid to drive out the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) who had previously overtaken the capital Mogadishu .
This was done to reinstall the weak but internationally recognized Transitional Federal Government (TFG). However, following the expulsion of the UIC militia from Mogadishu, an all-out war broke out that has so far claimed the lives of hundreds of civilians, and caused over half a million others to flee the fighting and as a result becoming internally displaced or seeking refuge outside Somalia.
In this situation, journalists and other human rights defenders have not been spared. A prominent human rights defender, Isse Abdi Isse, formerly working with the Kisima Peace and Development Organisation, was murdered at his hotel in Mogadishu in March 2007; journalist Ali Mohammed Omar, working with Radio Warsan, was murdered in February 2007, while a number of media houses have either been closed or handed serious warnings by the Transitional Federal Government.
APPEAL:
The Network appeals to the Transitional Federal Government, the Ethiopian Government, the Eritrean Government and the wider international community, to strictly observe human rights and humanitarian laws in order to save the people of Somalia from further suffering and demise.
The three nations should furthermore allow human rights defenders to pursue their work for the benefit of the civilian population, and adhere to the duties spelt out in the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.
Network members should add their voices to this call to remind the warring forces of their international obligations. Network members should also appeal to the UN Human Rights Council to use its mandate to ensure compliance of the countries in question.
Today's Top International Stories
-Seven die as world rejects ‘flawed’ election in Nigeria-Car bomb kills 9 U.S. troops in Iraq
-British anti-terror police arrest 6 people
-Iran's Leader Proposes Talks With Bush
-Hamas armed wing ends truce, govt urges calm
-Scientists unearth Superman's "kryptonite"
______________________________________________
Happy Announcement
I'm going back to school!
As of September 2007, I'll be working towards my masters at U of T. I'll be taking the Collaborative M.A. in International Relations and History at the Munk Centre.
As of September 2007, I'll be working towards my masters at U of T. I'll be taking the Collaborative M.A. in International Relations and History at the Munk Centre.
Monday, April 23, 2007
The Gender Genie Thinks I'm a Dude
Via Do you Blog Like a Girl?, comes the Gender Genie, which is supposed to predict the gender of an author.
I ran several of my posts through; here are my results:
So, despite the fact that almost all of these were wrong, apparently the algorithm is pretty accurate.
Interestingly, I took a nice long post from Daddy Dialectic: peein like a boy, or the follies of fathering in which the author talks about being a father. The results: "Female Score: 2014, Male Score: 1903 - The Gender Genie thinks the author of this passage is: female!"
Which leads me to wonder if my voice would be more "female" if I wrote more about personal relationships and less about politics and social issues? If so, that means the "out of the home" topics are still largely the purvey of men, while "in the home" topics are womens' topics. Or is "serious" writing considered to be male? Or do I feel the need to take on a "male" writing style when discussing serious topics? Is there really such a thing as a female or male voice, or are we simply so programmed to communicate differently? Are these different linguistic styles simply a clear demonstration of patriarchy? Are women relational communicators due to our subordinate position in the hierarchy? In which case, does my "male" voice indicate I'm not writing submissively? Or is it because women are still the primary caregivers - then of course we'd communicate more relationally?
Or is this tool just bunk?
Try it out yourself. Choose posts that are longer than 500 words, and that quote the least from other sources, so as to ensure your own style comes through. Let me know if it is accurate.
I ran several of my posts through; here are my results:
- Microcredit and Women Empowerment - Female Score: 692, Male Score: 993. The Gender Genie thinks the author of this passage is: male!
- Humanitarian War in Afghanistan? Female Score: 581, Male Score: 857 - The Gender Genie thinks the author of this passage is: male!
- The Fraser Institute and Drowning Public Education in a Bathtub Female Score: 888, Male Score: 854 - The Gender Genie thinks the author of this passage is: female!
- Class and The Pursuit of Happyness - Female Score: 434, Male Score: 817 - The Gender Genie thinks the author of this passage is: male!
- Pseudo-Scientific Hate Propaganda and "Women Drivers" - Female Score: 363, Male Score: 1039 - The Gender Genie thinks the author of this passage is: male!
- International Women's DayFemale Score: 424, Male Score: 985 - The Gender Genie thinks the author of this passage is: male!
- Blame the Victims Female Score: 594, Male Score: 2068 -
The Gender Genie thinks the author of this passage is: male!
So, despite the fact that almost all of these were wrong, apparently the algorithm is pretty accurate.
Interestingly, I took a nice long post from Daddy Dialectic: peein like a boy, or the follies of fathering in which the author talks about being a father. The results: "Female Score: 2014, Male Score: 1903 - The Gender Genie thinks the author of this passage is: female!"
Which leads me to wonder if my voice would be more "female" if I wrote more about personal relationships and less about politics and social issues? If so, that means the "out of the home" topics are still largely the purvey of men, while "in the home" topics are womens' topics. Or is "serious" writing considered to be male? Or do I feel the need to take on a "male" writing style when discussing serious topics? Is there really such a thing as a female or male voice, or are we simply so programmed to communicate differently? Are these different linguistic styles simply a clear demonstration of patriarchy? Are women relational communicators due to our subordinate position in the hierarchy? In which case, does my "male" voice indicate I'm not writing submissively? Or is it because women are still the primary caregivers - then of course we'd communicate more relationally?
Or is this tool just bunk?
Try it out yourself. Choose posts that are longer than 500 words, and that quote the least from other sources, so as to ensure your own style comes through. Let me know if it is accurate.
Somalia: Kismayu falls into the hands of clan militia
Check back with ETP for more news throughout the day
Also in the news:[8 Ethiopian Hostages Freed After 52 Days] - [Asmara denies kidnapped Ethiopians freed by Eritrea ] - [Shelling rattles Somali capital for the sixth day as civilian casualties mount] - [Psychiatrists see big need in Ethiopia]
International:
[Former Russian Leader Boris Yeltsin Dies] - [Nigeria Opposition Rejects Election as Winner Declared] - [Sarkozy and Royal go through as 84% turnout sets new record] - [Virginia Tech students return to campus after massacre] and more of today's top stories!
ETHIOPIA HUMAN RIGHTS BILL RE-INTRODUCED IN THE HOUSE
The Coalition for H.R. 5680FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Commentary on Coalition for H.R. 5680 Press Release
International Ethiopian Women Organization (IEWO)
Radio Program
___________________________________
Brief Commentary on the Somalia situation
ETP -- On January 1, 2007 Ethiopian troops rolled into Somali's port city Kismayo after a fierce battle at Jilib with the Islamic Courts Union (ICU). Now, less than four months later, clan militias have taken total control of Kismayo.
As the battle in Mogadishu rages on and death toll of Ethiopian troops plus Somali civilians keep rising, it is becoming apparent that the Ethiopian government made a big blunder in choosing to militarily intervene in Somalia.
Even if it succeeds in securing Mogadishu for the short term (after sacrificing troop lives and resources), there is no guarantee that the city will not eventually suffer the same fate that befell Kismayo.
Somalia: Kismayu falls into the hands of clan militia
Government troops took off their military dresses and joined the militias
Shabelle Media-- Mogadishu ,April.23 - More than 16 people were killed and dozens more were wounded in the port city of Kismayu, 500 km south of the capital Mogadishu, Monday after a heavy gun battle between rival clans, Majegten and Marehan, took place in the town.
Shabelle reporter in Kismayu, Mohammed Ahmed, said the fighting stopped around 2:00 PM local time as the town fell into the hands of Marehan militias.
The rival clans fighting in Kismayu have long been challenging over the leadership of the town since contingents of Ethiopian troops deserted the town in mid February.(More...)
Shelling rattles Somali capital for the sixth day as civilian casualties mount
MOGADISHU (AFP) - Heavy shelling shook the Somali capital Monday as Ethiopian forces stepped up their nearly week-long battle against Islamist insurgents, and civilian casualties mounted.
After a night of sporadic fire, heavy explosions hit northern Mogadishu's districts, where Ethiopian forces aboard tanks pursued the insurgents seeking to wipe them out from the seaside capital, residents said.
At least five people were killed and 15 wounded as the clashes raged.
We have recovered the bodies of four people in a shop near Tawfiq area after an artillery shell landed in a house where they were hiding," said elder Ollow Mohamed Hassan. Another man was killed by a stray bullet.(More...)
Also see:
-Fighting rages in Somali capital as bodies rot in streets, say witnesses
-Hundreds of thousands flee bloody capital
8 Ethiopian Hostages Freed After 52 Days
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) - Eight Ethiopians held hostage for 52 days after they were kidnapped along with five European tourists have been released unharmed, government officials said Sunday.
Thirteen Ethiopians were seized at gunpoint along with the five Europeans on March 1 while on a sightseeing tour in northeastern Ethiopia near the disputed border with Eritrea. Five of the Ethiopians were found within days of the kidnapping. The Europeans were released March 13.(More...)
Asmara denies kidnapped Ethiopians freed by Eritrea
ASMARA, April 23 (Reuters) - Eritrea on Monday rejected Ethiopia's assertion that Asmara had released eight Ethiopians who were kidnapped last month with a group of Europeans, saying Eritrea had never held the group.
Ethiopian state television said on Sunday the eight had been freed following international pressure on Eritrea, its foe and neighbour, which has always denied involvement in the abduction in a remote desert region.
"It's not true. These are Ethiopians who have been taken by Ethiopians and it has nothing to do with us," Information Minister Ali Abdu told Reuters by phone.
"I don't know whether it is paranoia, obsession or madness. They have developed this pattern blaming Eritrea every day and night," he said.(More...)
Psychiatrists see big need in Ethiopia
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia -- Amanuel Hospital, Ethiopia's only psychiatric hospital, has a chaotic and desperate feel.
Male inpatients in pajamas wander aimlessly across a football field-sized courtyard where patches of green grass grow despite the dusty red soil and merciless sun.
Other patients sit and stare all day, some wearing chains around their ankles to prevent them from escaping. Many women pass their days braiding one another's hair under a dark overhang that protects them from the scorching equatorial sun.
Only a handful of overwhelmed doctors staff this 360-bed hospital -- not surprising given that the entire country of 75 million people has just 17 psychiatrists and 190 psychiatric nurses.(More...)
Nigeria Opposition Rejects Election as Winner Declared
ABUJA, Nigeria April 23 — The candidate of the governing People’s Democratic Party, Umaru Yar’Adua, has won the presidential election in Nigeria, according to party officials.
Partial results from Saturday’s election, which was marred by widespread fraud, violence and chaos, showed landslide victories for Mr. Yar’Adua in several states.
The European Union election observer criticized the conduct of the election and questioned the legitimacy of the results, which handed huge victories to the governing party.
Max van den Berg, chief observer for the mission, said at a news conference Monday that the elections “have fallen far short of basic international and regional standard for elections.”(More...)
Sarkozy and Royal go through as 84 per cent turnout sets new poll record
(France's first round presidential frontrunners Segolene Royal (L), Socialist party candidate, and Nicolas Sarkozy, UMP conservative party candidate - REUTERS)PARIS (AP) - Socialist Segolene Royal and conservative Nicolas Sarkozy have two weeks to sell voters on two vastly different visions for France - at a time when its people are nervous about retaining their prosperity and carving out a viable identity in a rapidly changing world.
Either would be the first French president not to have lived through World War II, a significant generational shift. But the similarities end there.
Royal would bring a breezy elegance to the Elysee. She has openly appealed to women voters and says her election as the first French woman president would have no less than ``planetary'' consequences. On campaign posters the feminine ``e'' has optimistically been added to read ``presidente.''(More...)
Today's Top International Stories
-Virginia Tech students return to campus after massacre-Former Russian Leader Boris Yeltsin Dies
-Police chief among 33 killed across Iraq today
-Echoes of Cold War in missile arguments(Russian hostility to the American plan to station anti-ballistic missiles and their radar in Poland and the Czech Republic is an indication of the wider unease in relations between Moscow and Washington)
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April 23, 2007 - The Value of a Life
I’ve been thinking – as many others have, as well – of the horrible incident on the campus of Virginia Tech University, as Seung-Hui Cho, a deeply disturbed young man, randomly murdered 32 of his fellow-students and professors. Accounts are now emerging that portray the shooter as a lifelong loner, who had difficulty discerning reality from fantasy. He told roommates, for example, he had a girlfriend who was a supermodel who traveled by spaceship, and that he had recently vacationed in North Carolina with Vladimir Putin. The projects he submitted in creative-writing class were filled with dark fantasies of violence. An English professor who tutored him (after another professor had ejected him from her class for strange behavior) felt so uneasy in his presence that she arranged a code-word her administrative assistant could use to summon police. From a very early age, Cho was so sullen and withdrawn that his family expressed amazement at the diatribes on the video he’d mailed to NBC News. They had seldom heard him speak in such complete sentences.When all the pieces of the puzzle are assembled, it seems clear that Cho was suffering from serious mental illness, and had been for some time. Everyone knew he was troubled; they just didn’t know how much. The second-guessing is likely to go on for a very long time: why the counselors who worked with him didn’t try to commit him, why he was permitted to purchase guns. But, there may never be any satisfying answers. Cho was a cipher. No one, it seems, had seen all the puzzle-pieces that made up his twisted personality. No one fully understands him, even now.
Thirty-two people – 33, counting him – is a large number. So are the numbers coming out of Iraq daily, as the suicide bombers and the mortar attacks exert their grisly toll. I’ve been through months of very costly medical treatments, aimed at saving my life. It’s disconcerting to hear of how many otherwise healthy lives can be snatched away, in a few brief moments of random violence.
I find it ironic, and sad, that some members of the human race can work so hard to save lives through medical treatment, while others can – with such apparent ease – slaughter so many others. We can all agree that cancer is an enemy that should be fought with every resource at our disposal. Yet, why are we so reluctant to work equally hard to uproot the causes of violence?The experiences I’ve been through in recent months have focused my thinking very intensely on the value of a human life. So many good people – from the researchers who developed my medicines, to the doctors and nurses who administered them, to the radiologists who puzzled out the images on my scans – have devoted their lives to saving people like me. Life is precious, and worth that kind of effort. When a young man in Baghdad straps plastic explosives around his waist, or another young man in Virginia methodically buys guns, bullets and chains to bar the doors of a building, it seems to negate that good work.
My life is of no more value than those who have fallen in Blacksburg or Baghdad. Why I am still alive and they are not is a mystery. Call it survivor’s guilt, but it’s very real to me these days.
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