New Internationalist articles from August 2008

New Internationalist archives from August 2008

From this month's guest editor.(Toilets)(Editorial)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... The problem with toilets is that no-one wants to talk about them. Even less do they want to talk about what goes into them (the's word) or the act of human waste expulsion (the'd' word) -except with smirks and giggles. That kind of verbal...

Beyond oil.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2008... Your issue on oil in Ecuador (Viva Yasuni, NI 413) examines a very important dilemma. For many countries extracting oil, coal and minerals is vital in terms of growth, trade and employment. Yet at the same time such an economic model is...

Embrace disarmament.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2008... I was four years old when the Berlin Wall fell, six when the Soviet Union disbanded. For as long as I can remember, nuclear weapons have been nothing more than a peripheral issue-at least here in Australia. Yet, as Dropping the bomb (NI 412)...

Unpacking the lingo.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2008... An image in your 'Everything has changed' piece (NI 412) on the history of nukes--of a man posing with a set of missiles--made me think of Carol Cohn's hilarious yet chilling account of her time spent observing 'defense intellectuals' in a...

Action lobby.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2008... Thanks NI for revving up the holy war against the abominations which are nuclear weapons (and the governments which sanction them). Here are a couple of recommendations for Nukewatch actions on the Oz front: 1) Strive to get musical...

Modest proposal.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2008... NI 412 suggests that there is a narrow window of opportunity for multilateral disarmament. I maintain that it is up to us to build more windows of opportunity for disarmament. We must first ensure that all politicians have the right...

Promoting revolutions.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2008... Why would you print a cultural theorist's views when there are so many Christian theologians that could do a better job ('Was Jesus Christ a revolutionary? NI 411). Of course Jesus was a revolutionary-look at what happened after his death. But...

No ordinary man.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2008... The conclusion as to whether or not Jesus was a revolutionary (NI 411) is likely to be an individual one based on personal beliefs. Interestingly, the search for an answer to this question seems almost lost in Terry Eagleton's article as he...

Transported.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2008... Were I to run into the flower beds in the local park to trample the flowers, I hope I would be rapidly restrained. But Ethical Travel (NI 409) suggests it might be fine and dandy were I only to trash a few plants. Only by going between them, as...

Beam me up.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2008... Your issue on Ethical Travel should have pushed for the substitution of air travel by videoconferencing. People even attend university now by remote hook-up. Virtual travellers could see and talk to friends and relatives by videoconferencing....

Politics of consumption.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2008... A sure sign of a materialistic profit-driven government is the fact that Tony Blair is now an advisor to a bank and the Tory leader's wife sells handbags for just over [pounds sterling]900 ($1,790). Increasingly, the British Government is...

The pen is messier than the sword; Visiting a newspaper office, Maria Golia assesses the worth of the written word in today's Egypt.(Letter from Cairo)(Essay)
August 1, 2008... Research took me to the headquarters of Al-Ahram ('The Pyramids'), an Arabic daily founded in 1875. When I reached the ninth floor, it was deserted; everyone was in a hallway praying. Not so Faris, the editor I'd come to see, a rotund elder who...

We need to talk about ... toilets: 2008 is the 'International Year of Sanitation'. What will it take, asks Maggie Black, to launch a new sanitary revolution?(Essay)
August 1, 2008... Exactly 150 years ago, an exceptionally hot summer reduced the Thames flowing through London to a disgusting trickle. The 'Great Stink' off the river was so excruciating that Parliament at Westminster could barely sit. The terrors of cholera...

Toilets--the facts.
August 1, 2008... FAECAL PERILS Every day, every person on earth emits from their body around 100 grammes of faeces and 1.5 litres of pee. From the emitter's point of view these are 'wastes' which need to be privately, congenially and safely disposed of,...

A lifetime in muck.(LIVELIHOODS)(Essay)
August 1, 2008... The business of human waste disposal is a respectable and well-paid profession when conducted by a certified plumber or civil engineer. It was not always thus. Until the automatic installation of flushing toilets in modern European homes,...

To sewer or not to sewer.(IN PRAISE OF SEWERS)(Essay)
August 1, 2008... FOR THOSE OF US who think the only decent toilet is one that flushes our wastes out of sight and out of mind, sewers seem essential-and in many countries, flushing with water is mandatory. But in the 19th century there were many advocates of...

For our convenience.(HISTORY)(toilets)(Essay)
August 1, 2008... We use many names for the place where we perform our daily business. Snobs prefer the old-fashioned 'lavatory', and Americans the 'restroom'--suggesting a place where one might lie down and doze. Despite its supposed vulgarity, 'toilet' is...

Dignity and the decent facility: sanitary engineers regard a toilet as a health aid. But women paint a very different picture, as Libby Plumb explains.(WOMEN AND GIRLS)(Essay)
August 1, 2008... 'We didn't have anywhere to defecate as there is nowhere private. When we went outside, the boys used to follow us and we felt shy and afraid. We used to end up going inside our houses, on the floor, just like children, and then cleaning it...

Stand up, stand up for toilets ...(CHAMPIONS)(Essay)
August 1, 2008... Bills Clinton and Gates, Matt Damon and Chris Martin have all associated their names with campaigns for clean water. But do they mention the faecal contamination and lack of toilets, which make 'dirty' water a threat? Never. 'Goodwill...

What about us?(CHAMPIONS)
August 1, 2008... Is there any way of opting out of water-profligate 'flushing', and instead composting our wastes for garden use? Yes, there is--if you live in a place where you can be flexible in your toilet arrangements and have space. The Centre for...

Technofixes: climate solution or corporate scam? Can science save the planet or should we avoid putting our faith in high-tech fixes to deliver us from the ecological mess we've made? Jim Thomas and Paul Fitzgerald push each other's buttons.(The Technofix Debate)(Discussion)
August 1, 2008... Dear Paul Let's start with an agreement: we have to deal with humanmade climate change. The ridiculous fight over whether it is real is long over. What society faces now is a more serious conflict over how to deal with the problem. Behind...

Jail babies: children are hidden victims of prison systems across the world.(HUMAN RIGHTS)(Essay)
August 1, 2008... 'They make you feel guilty for just being there. They search you and make you take your shoes off and you feel ashamed.' Like 14-year-old Clare, who is visiting a member of her family in prison, thousands of children throughout the world are...

Rights for albinos.(TANZANIA)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Albinos in some African countries have always struggled to overcome the superstitions that surround them. They face daily discrimination and are often shunned by their community. They are also vulnerable to skin cancer-which kills many of them...

The language of the car ...(Word power)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... air-bag n. car company lobbyist AUTOmatic n. car use biofuels n. crop used to feed cars instead of humans car-share n. bus congestion n. breathing difficulties caused by emissions horse-drawn adj. descriptive of a car of...

Getting fair treatment: Brazil faces new challenge in its fight against Big Pharma.(HIV AND AIDS)
August 1, 2008... Brazil has a success story to share with the world. It was the first developing country to provide free antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to its HIV-positive citizens, leading to a dramatic cut in AIDS deaths. By manufacturing its own cheap generic...

Tortured for 'refusing to kill'.(TURKEY)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Turkish conscientious objector Mehmet Bal was arrested in June, reports campaigning group Payday (www.refusingtokill.net). Having been held in custody at Besiktas Military Prison, where he was beaten by duty officers, Bal was later sent to the...

The drugs don't work: young people use painkillers to escape reality.(INDIA)
August 1, 2008... The depression afflicting Indian farmers is filtering down a generation to disillusioned village youths. A survey conducted by the Punjab State Department has found there is an addict in over two-thirds of households in the 24-million-strong...

Eau de victory.(WATER)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Water privatization has been high on the globalizers' agenda for the last decade. But privatizers haven't all found it easy to get their way. Vibrant campaigns by residents, trade unionists and environmental activists have been so...

Mandela's no tourist: true tales of a mixed-up world.(Seriously ... [TM])(Nelson Mandela)
August 1, 2008... As the world celebrates the 90th birthday of the Nobel laureate and freedom fighter, Nelson Mandela, the United States is hastily rushing through paperwork to repeal the elder statesperson's appearance on the US Government's official Terror...

Big bad world.(Cartoon)
August 1, 2008... WORK HARDER EARN MORE MONEY BUY MORE THINGS LEEP GOING SEE IT ANIMATED AT-www.foei.org/livemore [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Worldbeaters taking aim at the rich and powerful.(Thabo Mbeki)(Essay)
August 1, 2008... Job: President of South Africa (though not for much longer). Reputation: ANC's Crown Prince Charming, Ethereal intellectual, Compromised African nationalist, Wannabe father of the nation. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] There was general...

Highlights from Toronto's international hot docs festival.(Mixed Media)(Movie review)(Sound recording review)(Book review)
August 1, 2008... Letter to Anna: the Story of Journalist Politkovskaya's Death. by Eric Berkraut (84 minutes) The veteran Swiss director knew Politkovskaya personally and shows her in full humanity--complete with lively humour and obsessive...

The eighth commandment--lies.(View from Montevideo)
August 1, 2008... Until a short while ago, the mainstream media were regaling us daily with cheery statistics about the international war against poverty. Poverty, it was reported, was beating a retreat, though the poor, ill-informed, didn't hear the good news....

Interview with Teofilo Acuna on the costs of confronting Colombia's paramilitaries.(Making Waves)(Interview)
August 1, 2008... Asked about his family, Teofilo Acuna's expression saddens. 'I have a small family. They are very worried about me and I'm obviously very worried about them. But I also have a very big family--my community. I have been displaced for a long time...

River bleeds black; Highlighting the work of artists and photographers from the majority world.(Southern Exposure)
August 1, 2008... THE RIVER BURIGANGA flows through Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. I have visited the banks of Buriganga hundreds of times in the past 20 years. It has always been busy, vibrant and full of life. Because historically it has been a hub for...

Dominica.(Country Profile)(Country overview)
August 1, 2008... When Hollywood wanted to film the Pirates of the Caribbean they yachted and limoed Johnny Depp to the 'unspoiled' Eastern Caribbean island of Dominica to do his thing. Reportedly there was no place fancy enough on the island for Depp and his...

Drowning in plastic: living in a toxic world.(COMING NEXT MONTH)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Sixty years ago plastic was an exotic development of modern chemistry. Today it is the most widespread human-made substance in the world. More than 250 billion pounds of raw plastic pellets are produced from petroleum feedstock every year. It...