New Internationalist articles from December 2007

New Internationalist archives from December 2007

Corporate Responsibility.(From this month's editor)(Editorial)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... It's been tricky finding the right images for this edition. Corporate abuses against people all over the world are all too real. But visually illustrating that the solutions being offered, in the form of 'Corporate Responsibility', are...

Double standards.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2007... Before the Iraq war I wrote to Tony Blair to mention the dangers of DU weapons, in the hope that DU would not be used (Depleted Uranium, NI 406). When it emerged that British armed forces had used them, I talked to him about it. Tony Blair...

Christian complexity.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2007... 1 You list five 'Signs of infantilization' (Big babies, NI 405). The first was: 'Simple over Complex--the issues are reduced to sound bites. It is a question of stark choices between right and wrong, good and evil.' Pity you did not take...

Religious challenge.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2007... It was initially the juxtaposition of the monks' protests in Burma and comments in the issue on infantilization (NI 405) that rankled. These were religious people challenging dictatorship and paying for it with their lives. But yet they're...

Vanguard celebs.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2007... The advice to 'ignore celebrities except when they are doing what they are celebrated for doing' ('Eleven ways to leave your Mummy and Daddy', NI 405) surely disregards the valuable and important work done by the likes of Vanessa Redgrave, Tim...

Complete indoctrination.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2007... You simply forgot the biggest infantilization effort in history--Marxism and communism (NI 405). Here was an entire system of thought and its concrete realization where the individual was considered so unable and unworthy to choose for...

Short on specifics.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2007... 'Siren song--conspiracy!' by Chip Berlet, which purported to debunk 'conspiracy theories', especially 9/11 'conspiracism', was placed in your October issue (NI 405) just before an article which claimed to educate us on 'grown-up thinking'....

Liberal schooling.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2007... You report that Christopher and Peter Hitchens went to 'elitist private boarding schools in Britain' (Worldbeaters, NI 405). In fact they went to the same school--The Leys School, Cambridge (as did I). I was a contemporary of Christopher's and,...

World-weary sigh.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2007... I write to express my sadness at the inclusion of the increasingly puerile and nihilist cartoons, Big Bad World, as drawn by Polyp. His 'trash an SUV' cartoon (Trafficked, NI 404) brought a world-weary sigh from me. NI has done a remarkable job...

Discipline vs movement.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2007... Permaculture as a movement will not work in Africa (Edible Earth, NI 402). But there is huge potential I think for permaculture as a discipline--the discipline of 'designing agricultural ecosystems that have the diversity and resilience of...

The thinness of things.(Letter from Cairo)
December 1, 2007... I recently purchased a stepladder, only to discover it had one leg dangerously shorter than the others. When I returned it, the shopkeeper duly noted its wobble, then explained to me it was because the ladder was new. I asked if that meant the...

Companies who care? Jess Worth ventures into the world of Corporate Responsibility and finds it is not just dumb but dangerous.(KEYNOTE)
December 1, 2007... 'Low Carbon, High Profits!' promised the conference programme seductively. 'Global warming has reached a tipping point... smart business leaders are keeping one step ahead... are you? GreenCorp will show you the way! Working for the NI...

Spinning out of control: it is often the least ethical companies that plough the most resources into Corporate Responsibility. Rebecca Spencer delves into four classic cases.(CASE STUDIES)
December 1, 2007... Blatant Propaganda BP's new logo and name change to 'Beyond Petroleum' in 2000 was derided by environmentalists as a shameless case of greenwash. Solar-powered petrol stations? was the point? However, in the public imagination, the company...

Just don't do it!
December 1, 2007... The United Nations' 'partnership' with corporations is a travesty, argues Jean Ziegler, UN Special Rapporteur for the Right to Food. "The UN Global Compact boasts that it is 'the world's largest, global corporate citizenship initiative'....

People versus corporations: a history; For almost as long as corporations have existed, people have lobbied, agitated and legislated to constrain their power and prevent the social and environmental harm caused by the single-minded quest for profit-maximization.
December 1, 2007... 1 The first corporations The first corporations emerged in the late 16th century with the aim of encouraging investment in projects of public interest such as roads and hospitals. European states issued 'charters' setting out the tasks...

The big debate: reform or revolution? NI put the two of them together in a room, sat back, and watched the sparks fly.(DEBATE)(New Internationalist)(Interview)
December 1, 2007... Jonathon Porritt has pioneered a strategy of working with leading corporations to help them become more socially and environmentally responsible. As chair of the UK Sustainable Development Commission, he is a principal adviser to the British...

Corporate Responsibility: the facts.
December 1, 2007... There are not many solid 'facts' about Corporate Responsibility, because it is voluntary, interpreted differently by different companies, has no common standards with which to measure performance, and is selectively reported on. the...

Small is powerful: Jess Worth wonders what 'corporate justice' might look like.(ACTION)
December 1, 2007... I suppose I'd better come clean. This whole Corporate Responsibility charade is partly my fault. In my defence, I really believed I was doing the right thing at the time. I was young, naive... It was 1999, and I had just landed my first...

Getting out.
December 1, 2007... Here, in numbers, is the story of the four years since US and British troops 'liberated' Iraq: [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The number of Iraqi deaths in those four years is disputed territory: 76,218-83,034 documented Iraqi civilian...

Southern exposure: highlighting the work of artists and photographers from the Majority World.(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... This image of children peeking into my camera lens was shot in a village-like setting in Karrare Camp for Internally Displaced People (IDP) on the outskirts of El Nyala, a small town in southern Darfur. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It was my...

Stones in a minefield: refugees' rising frustration at UN impotence.(WESTERN SAHARA)
December 1, 2007... On 23 August this year, nearly 1,000 young Saharawi refugees gather for their annual protest at the Berm, a 2,500-kilometre fortified wall guarded by 130,000 Moroccan soldiers. Approaching the Berm, the young people walk around landmines and...

Lions poisoned in protest.(UGANDA)(farmers evicted from Queen Elizabeth National Park are killing lions and hyenas )(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Angry farmers evicted from Uganda's Queen Elizabeth National Park in advance of November's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting have taken to poisoning wildlife in retaliation, killing hordes of lions and hyenas. Scientists say it will take...

The language of public protest ...(Currents)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Word power 34 boycott v. to not eat fruit, smugly curfew n. bedtime for naughty political activists DEMONstration n. derogatory media coverage of public agitation gathering n. (colloquial) group of people (military term) threat...

Yes! But ... controversial treaty sneaks through in Costa Rica.(TRADE)(Central American Free Trade Agreement)
December 1, 2007... Costa Rican President Oscar Arias must have heaved a huge sigh of relief on the evening of 7 October. His country had just voted 'Yes' to signing the controversial Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with the United States, and the...

Travelling without moving.(CLIMATE CHANGE)(One Climate.net )
December 1, 2007... No longer just a playground for computer nerds and lonely hearts, virtual reality now offers an alternative for those wanting to attend global events without doing environmental damage by travelling. New campaign group--One Climate.net is...

The deepest scar.(Currents)(Abdullah Almalki experience in a Canadian torture centre)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... 'The set-up of the cells is designed to break a person in a matter of days. Their shape physically and psychologically breaks down the person. When I was in the cell I was able to hear the voices of other people being tortured. That by itself...

Citizens attacked: Lebanon fails to protect its Palestinian refugees.(HUMAN RIGHTS)
December 1, 2007... In late May the Lebanese Army attacked the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr El-Bared. Officially, it was aiming for between 200 and 300 Fateh El Islam militants who had quietly moved in, but it did not allow the approximately 35,000 civilian...

Burma's horrorscopes.(Seriously)(juntas and the occult)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... We're accustomed to good old-fashioned despots driven by banal desires such as insatiable greed and a lust for power; but add a soupcon of superstition and you have the Burmese junta. These chaps are no ordinary garden variety psychopaths...

Speechmarks.(Currents)
December 1, 2007... "If you thought the army was here protecting people like yourself, I've some news for you--they're here to defend wealth." Billy Bragg (1957-), British musician

Fucking Cowboys.(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Fucking Cowboys by Gnawa Diffusion (Uncivilized World 6132702 CD + DVD) Cheerfully describing themselves as a band of ruffians, Gnawa Diffusion are, as the abrasive naming of this album suggests, a bunch of musical chancers that have...

Afriki.(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Afriki by Habib Koite & Bamada (Cumbancha CMB 5 CD) Further proof that the creative crucible that is Malian music never stops bubbling. A jeli--that is, a musician from the traditional caste of griots or praise singers--Habib Koite...

Girls of Riyadh.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea (Fig Tree ISBN 9781905490202) Girls of Riyadh, 25-year-old Rajaa Alsanea's debut, caused a stir when it first appeared in Saudi Arabia in 2005. Flagged by the Government for inflammatory content,...

Jesus Camp.(Movie review)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Jesus Camp directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady This is one very disturbing documentary about American Evangelicals--people who have a mission to take back America for God. People like children's pastor Becky Fischer, who gets them...

Manufacturing Dissent (DVD).(Brief article)(Video recording review)
December 1, 2007... Manufacturing Dissent (DVD) by Rick Caine and Debbie Melnyk The filmmaker who turned political documentaries into blockbusters comes under scrutiny in Manufacturing Dissent. Oversized Michael Moore is portrayed as 'a bit megalomaniacal...

Another production is possible.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... Another production is possible by Boaventure de Sousa Santos (ed) (Verso, ISBN-13: 978-1-84467-148-9) I picked (or rather, lifted) up this volume unaware that it is only the second of five in a giant project entitled Reinventing...

NI prize Crossword.
December 1, 2007... 126 by AXE Win a copy of the latest World Guide reference book... All correct solutions received by the 25th of the cover month will be put into a draw--though only the winner will be notified. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Post your...

Big Bad World.(Cartoon)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.(Worldbeaters)
December 1, 2007... Job: President of the Philippines Reputation: Political survivor, representative of the oligarchs, front woman for a military reign of terror. You would think that someone who had been the object of coup plotters would take a more...

Bling, Iranian-style: Nasrin Alavi returns to Tehran to take the temperature of a country under threat.(Essay)(Essay)
December 1, 2007... Until a decade ago one could easily pick up a second-hand Cartier or Rolex watch from the many jewellery shops scattered around Tehran. Pawned by the newly insolvent gentry, the sight was reminiscent of pre-revolution days when, for some, a...

Laos.(country profile)(Country overview)
December 1, 2007... On the surface it would be hard to dispute Laos's reputation as a centre of Buddhist tranquillity. Luang Prabang, the sleepy (religious) capital of majestic temples and parading monks, has become a minor magnet for Western travellers. Its perch...