New Internationalist articles from August 2005

New Internationalist archives from August 2005

The challenge to violence.(London bombings)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
August 1, 2005... FROM THIS MONTH'S EDITORS 8:50AM, 7 July 2005: An office day like any other. Except that a minute later, a bomb goes off in London's underground: the first of four. The radio goes on. Two are dead, then 10, then 38, and rising. Hundreds...

Service above humanity.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2005... Out of Africa (NI 379) was compelling and superb. My Caribbean mother was one of a generation of young Caribbean men and women recruited and trained by the British government in the 1950s/1960s to work for the National Health Service. So I...

Beyond media spin.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2005... I'm a journalist and recently turned documentary maker. My last project was a TV documentary on the Millennium Development Goals, including the theme of Recent Immigrants to Northern Ireland. Scepticism about asylum seekers and their...

Chavez as shining light.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2005... 1 Your Country Profile on Venezuela (NI 379) was biased and inaccurate. In the rating for Freedom (just two stars) you failed to mention that Venezuela now has the most democratic constitution in the Americas, with the facility for recall...

Taiwanese independence.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2005... Is the NI really suggesting that the Taiwanese shouldn't be allowed to maintain their independence ('The Neocons', Worldbeaters, NI 379)? The US certainly is 'The Big Bad Wolf' of world politics; to my knowledge there is not one US policy...

Default on Hariri.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2005... I was surprised and somewhat disappointed to read Reem Haddad's Letter from Lebanon about the death of Rafiq Hariri (NI 378). I have been in Lebanon for the past year and so also experienced the event and its aftermath at first hand. ...

Encouraging plurality.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2005... Reem Haddad writes that Rafic Hariri 'became a self-made billionaire when he started his own construction company in Saudi Arabia'. There is no such thing as a 'self-made billionaire': a company's wealth is made by everyone in that 'company',...

Message received.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2005... Being only three years old, our son [below] cannot yet read the words of his less fortunate counterparts (Street Children, NI 377). Nonetheless, it is clear that the pictures were more than sufficient to communicate their stories. We thank you...

Yesterday's men: in the thick of the convoluted Lebanese elections, Reem Haddad can't believe her eyes or her ears.(Letter from Lebanon)
August 1, 2005... I MUST have missed something--or else the world has gone mad. More specifically Lebanon has gone mad. The same faces are back. Older, greyer and more wrinkled. But definitely the same ones who haunted us for 16 years of war, ordered the death...

Southern exposure: highlighting the work of photographers from the majority world.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... This picture was taken in a mosque where children read and learn about the Qur'an. I was walking around the class. When I saw this kid I just paused. There was something special about him. The picture was taken in New Delhi, near where I...

Strange bedfellows.(VIEW FROM THE SOUTH)
August 1, 2005... I ONLY became interested in the French referendum on the EU constitution when news reports began to say that the tide was turning against the constitution. Before that I had just assumed that France was so closely tied to the EU that the idea...

Intifada in Western Sahara: Morocco seals off the occupied territory.(HUMAN RIGHTS)
August 1, 2005... THE capital of Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara, La'youn, has been effectively cut off from the outside world following weeks of protests and brutal repression by security forces in May and June. Delegations of Spanish journalists and...

Turkey takes the honour out of killing.(life sentence for honor killings)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Early last year 22-year-old Guldunya Toren was shot in Istanbul, Turkey, because she gave birth to a boy out of wedlock. While she was recovering in hospital from a first attempt on her life, a male relative disguised as a visitor came to her...

Golden Pen.(Mahjoub Mohamed Sahil receives Golden Pen of Freedom award from World Editors Forum)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... The veteran Sudanese journalist and editor Mahjoub Mohamed Sahil has been awarded the Golden Pen of Freedom award by World Editors Forum. The award was presented in Seoul, South Korea. Sahil, now 76, set up Sudan's first independent newspaper...

Turning back the clock: women face myriad difficulties in post-Soviet Asia.(women's rights)
August 1, 2005... WOMEN'S position is worsening in the Central Asian republics, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan and the north Caucasus--in spite of these nations' commitment to international conventions on women's rights. In each republic, conservatives have been...

Speechmarks.(world risks )(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... "The forces generated by the techno-scientific economy are now great enough to destroy the environment, that is to say, the material foundations of human life. The structures of human societies themselves, including even some of the social...

Word power.(CURRENTS)(Brief Article)(Glossary)
August 1, 2005... The language of artistic expression adverse n. protest song artichoke v. to censor bathos n. President Bush diaTribe n. theatrical speech designed to incite racial hatred and distract from the speaker's political failings ...

Ethiopian repression.(CURRENTS)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Security forces in Addis Ababa and several other Ethiopian cities have cracked down hard on demonstrations over alleged fraud in the recent elections. Three dozen unarmed demonstrators were killed in the capital and more than 100 wounded....

Reds implode: Communist Party hitlist takes aim at global activism.(THE PHILIPPINES)
August 1, 2005... The spectre of Stalinism still lingers as the Communist Party of the Philippines steps up its programme of assassinating political opponents. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In the December 2004 issue of a publication of the Communist Party of...

Seriously ...: true tales of a mixed-up world.(highlights of Live 8)
August 1, 2005... Live8 lives in lalaland Thanks to all the media megahype surrounding the Live8 concerts which took place on 2 July, Seriously has collected enough ludicrous material to fill volumes. Here are some of the highlights: The Hyde Park venue...

The challenge to violence: nonviolence has already defeated dictators and despots. But can it soothe a civil war? Chris Richards goes to Sri Lanka to find out.(Nonviolent Peaceforce )
August 1, 2005... WHAT would you do? There is a gang of young men surrounding your car--banging on your doors, your windows and your roof. You do not know how many there are, but when you saw them as you drove by before, there looked to be 20 or 30. Some were...

The power of the people: some defining strategies in the rich history of nonviolent action--and the people behind them.
August 1, 2005... Rise like lions after slumber In unvanquishable number-- Shake your chains to earth like dew Which in sleep had fallen on you-- You are many--they are few. WITHDRAW YOUR CONSENT Mohandas Karamchand (Mahatma) Gandhi and...

Letters from Gandhi: what would Gandhi say today? Through a series of letters to the spirit of Gandhi, a 21st century activist explores the relevance--and irrelevance--of his legacy today.
August 1, 2005... DEAR MAHATMA GANDHI, Well, Gandhi... do you mind if I call you Gandhi? I'm writing to let you know what's been happening over the last 60-odd years. You may be interested to know that many young activists--be they reclaiming the...

How the hawk kills the dove: Western intervention keeps slamming the door on peace in Iraq. Stephen Zunes reports.(POLITICAL ECONOMY)
August 1, 2005... IN a country wracked with violence, more than 100,000 Iraqis marched peacefully through the streets of Baghdad on 19 January 2004 demanding direct elections. Shouting 'No to Saddam!' and 'No to America', the nonviolent throng--many of them...

Attention! In western media, 'if it bleeds it leads'. Dylan Mathews examines a different approach that breaks down conflict.(Studio Ijambo, peace radio)
August 1, 2005... DEATH swept quickly through Burundi. It was October 1993. Just months earlier this small Central African country had sworn in its first Hutu President, Melchior Ndadaye, in the first democratic elections since it gained independence in 1962....

About face! A world without armies! Costa Rica's past President, Oscar Arias Sanchez, explains his vision to Chris Richards.(DRILLS FOR NONVIOLENT RECRUITS)(Interview)
August 1, 2005... DR OSCAR ARIAS SANCHEZ is running for the presidency of Costa Rica again. He's already campaigning for elections that will take place in February next year. So, when I contact him for an interview about the abolition of world armies, I'm rather...

Present arms! Sholto Macpherson discovers how sex, soaps and sin are disarming one of the world's most violent cities.(Rio de Janeiro)
August 1, 2005... WITH the colour of a carnival attraction, the destruction of the largest number of guns in a single day took place in Brazil on 24 June 2001. More than 100,000 rifles, pistols, revolvers and machine guns were laid out on metal plates stretching...

Forward march! Nonviolent action can help Iraq move closer to peace. Jo Wilding makes some suggestions.(DRILLS FOR NONVIOLENT RECRUITS)
August 1, 2005... AS overwhelming as the bombing was in Iraq, if you were underneath it (like me) it was less than had been expected. And it was the world-wide protest by people like you that made it so. People often ask me what they can now do to help the...

The face of violence: Mayra Juca finds out why violence is so attractive to the young men of Rio de Janeiro.(MEN)
August 1, 2005... JUST imagine it's you. You've known since you were nine that your life has a value to society of absolutely zero. You could be shot down in the street at any moment, perhaps by a police officer. There won't be an investigation, much less...

Flowers on the razor wire: can a nonviolent army of trained civilians bring peace to conflict zones? Chris Richards reports from Sri Lanka on the peace movement's new frontier.(FUTURE DIRECTIONS)
August 1, 2005... THERE were only 16 on the first night--each a parent who slept fitfully in the dirt outside the army camp, waiting to glimpse their child inside. Each remembered the last time that they had heard their children's voices--laughing in the warmth...

Action stations.(people could act against arms companies, dealers)
August 1, 2005... HELP CLOSE DOWN ARMS TRADERS Find out more about arms traders in your region. Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) provides the latest data about arms traders and trading, either through their latest yearbook or...

Worldbeaters ...: taking aim at the rich and powerful.(Thomas Friedman)(Biography)
August 1, 2005... Thomas Friedman Status: Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter and columnist; US TV pundit Reputation: Media superstar; tough approach to international affairs; glib advocate of US imperial power THOMAS FRIEDMAN is a big...

The Travels of a T-Shirt in The Global Economy An Economist Examines the Markets, Power, and Politics of World Trade.(Ripped and Torn: Levi's, Latin America and the Blue Jean Dream)(Book Review)
August 1, 2005... The Travels of a T-Shirt in The Global Economy An Economist Examines the Markets, Power, and Politics of World Trade by Pietra Rivoli PhD (John Wiley & Sons ISBN 0 471 64849 3) Ripped and Torn Levi's, Latin America and the Blue Jean...

Minaret.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
August 1, 2005... Minaret by Leila Aboulela (Bloomsbury ISBN 0 7875 7626 2) Leila Aboulela won the Caine Prize for African Writing for her debut novel The Translator and her excellent short story collection Coloured Lights; spare, beautifully observed tales...

Chavez Ravine.(Sound Recording Review)
August 1, 2005... Chavez Ravine by Ry Cooder (Nonesuch 7559 798 772 CD) A UFO is hovering over the Los Angeles Latino enclave known as Chavez Ravine. Its occupant, something called the Space Vato, has a radio. He's picking up conjunto, jazz, corrido, Lil...

In the Heart of the Moon.(Sound Recording Review)
August 1, 2005... In the Heart of the Moon by Ali Farka Toure and Toumani Diabate (World Circuit WCD072 CD) In the Heart of the Moon contains two or three moments in which you hear a low murmur pass between Ali Farka Toure and Toumani Diabate. These brief...

Argentina - Hope in Hard Times.(Movie Review)
August 1, 2005... Argentina--Hope in Hard Times directed by Mark Dworkin and Melissa Young In December 2001 the Argentinean economy collapsed. Millions of people, working class and middle class, lost their jobs. Many who stayed in employment received only a...

Dangerous Living Coming Out in the Developing World.(Movie Review)
August 1, 2005... Dangerous Living Coming Out in the Developing World directed by John Scagliotti While Western gay-rights activists celebrate achievements such as legalized same-sex marriage and adoption, the gay communities in Africa, Latin America and...

Making waves: interview with Nora Castaneda from the Venezuelan Women's Development Bank (Banmujer).(Interview)
August 1, 2005... Nora Castaneda should be tired from her gruelling speaking tour around Europe. Instead she is like a power station, pumping out energy and radiating sparkle; inspiring packed audiences wherever she speaks. She is President of Banmujer (the...

Railway to the top of the world: Erling Hoh sees more than steel rails beneath Beijing's push into Tibet.(ESSAY)
August 1, 2005... As the railroad to Tibet that is now under construction reached the northern bank of the Tuotuohe River, the headstream of the Yangtze River, a reporter from Tibet TV recorded the historic event. Framed by the snow-capped Tanggula Mountains, an...

The Gambia.(COUNTRY PROFILE)
August 1, 2005... RECENT visitors to The Gambia are likely to be struck by the huge numbers of smartly dressed schoolgirls chatting away happily on their way to or from school. They are beneficiaries of an ambitious government programme which provides free...