New Internationalist articles from June 2003

New Internationalist archives from June 2003

From this month's editor.(Editorial)
June 1, 2003... A book entitled Notes from a Defeatist recently landed in my pigeon hole. It's by satirical cartoonist Joe Sacco -- and its angry, quirky, scabrous wit had me laughing out loud. Partly, I suspect, because of the light relief it offered from...

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2003... The absolute PITS Congrats on your exposure of the Great Global Con job (GGCJ) that is privatisation (The great privatisation grab, NI 355). The GGCJ has been sourced from evil advocates of 'might is right' in the US and has produced a new...

A house of one's own: Reem Haddad witnesses the sleight of hand that robs an elderly couple of their rest. (Letter from Lebanon).
June 1, 2003... I HAD never experienced an elderly man break down before and didn't quite know what to say. At 78, Arthur Hamalian suddenly found himself without a home. 'I beg you, help me,' he said, his tears flowing stronger. 'I'm depending on you. I...

Southern exposure: Highlighting the work of photographers from the majority world.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... AT the tender age of 16, Alamtaz Begum became a muktijoddha (freedom fighter) for Bangladesh's War of Liberation in 1971. When I met her in 2000, she lived in a two-room flat with a sister, two daughters and granddaughter. Nearly 30 years...

(S)word play. (View from the South).(manipulation of vocabulary and meaning)
June 1, 2003... WE live in strange times. Things are no longer what they seem, words no longer mean the same. Years ago I remember feeling shocked and affronted when right-wing women in India began to spout the slogans of the women's movement. At first my...

State of prejudice: in Gujarat, Muslims are still in exile after last year's communal violence, which killed more than 1,000 people. (India).
June 1, 2003... SHE'S been hiding behind closed doors for a year. There's no place she feels safe. The people who attacked her are free. But Sharifa (name changed) is on the run. Village leaders raped her, killed her three-year-old daughter and thirteen...

Resistance not futile. (Currents).(health aspects of political participation)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Work getting you down? Maybe the time has come to take action. British psychologist Dr John Drury and his team at the University of Sussex have found that campaigning is good for you. 'Collective actions such as protests, strikes, occupations...

NGOs gain foothold in China. (Currents).(non-governmental organizations)(endangered species protection)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... In a rare victory against the inflexibility of the Chinese Communist Party, a new environmental NGO, Green River, based in China, convinced officials in Beijing to change local policy. For one hour a day all traffic along the busy Qinghai road...

Haven't the foggiest. (Currents).(fog as a safe water source)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Fog gets a bad press It s associated with a creepy malevolence that belies its innate worth as a generous supplier of drinking water. Fog Quest a Canadian-based non-profit organization, aims to exploit the blanket-like stuff to its fullest. ...

IMF justifies its own destruction. (Currents).(International Monetary Fund)(deregulation increases risk of financial crises )(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... An IMF paper co-authored by its Chief Economist Ken Rogoff has concluded that financial liberalization may not be so goad for poor countries after all. The 'sobering' report, released earlier this year, admitted that not only was there no proof...

Assassin/Thug. (World Corner).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Assassin is from the Arabic hashshashin (hashish-eater). The original assassins were religious fanatics who supposedly drugged themselves with hashish before committing murder. The literal meaning of hashish is 'dried herb'. Thug is from the...

The Saudi connection: with Iraqi oil secured, the US relationship with Saudi Arabia is cooling. (Middle East).
June 1, 2003... The US has withdrawn its 5,000 troops from Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. But United Arab Emirates-based political analyst Victor Shalhoub dismisses the US' claims that the withdrawal is to do with the diminished...

Small loans, big deal? (Currents).(high interest rates on microloans)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... In recent decodes microcredit -- making small loans to the poor in order to allow them to start enterprises -- has been in vogue in development circles. But microcredit is not an easy cure for world poverty. A report released last...

Baboons protest road killing. (Currents).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... A group of baboons by a busy highway in eastern Uganda became furious after a speeding lorry killed a female from their troop. They surrounded her body in the middle of the road and held a 'sit-in', refusing to move for 30 minutes and...

Seriously: you couldn't make this stuff up. (Currents).(guerrilla enters and wins karaoke contest)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Khaki or karaoke? Using a little-known tactic dared only by a brave few, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) insurgents of the Southern Philippines have secured a glorious victory against both the Filipino national police and army....

The big switch: Vanessa Baird on what it's going to take to tackle global warming. (Keynote).
June 1, 2003... IT was easy. Glued to our screens we saw how easy it was. As the 'liberators looked on -- or looked away, or chose to be elsewhere -- looters took lifesaving medical equipment from hospitals. Computers, incubators, heart-monitors. ...

Toxic sceptics.(some scientists don't belive in global warming)
June 1, 2003... More than 2,000 of the world's leading scientists who sit on the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) are agreed. Global warming is happening -- and it's connected with fossil-fuel use. But there are disbelievers, too. Here are six...

End tailpipe tyranny. (Transport).(reduce air pollution with alternative fuel cars )
June 1, 2003... Belching petrol and diesel fumes may become history sooner than we think. But we need to keep an eye on who's out to capture our hydrogen future, warns Jim Motavalli. CHINA'S auto industry is the fastest growing in the world. In 1996 there...

Time for topia. (Farms and Forests).(obstacles to sustainable agriculture)
June 1, 2003... Pioneering Colombians have created a model for the world -- in the most unpromising place they could find. Monica del Pilar Uribe Marin tells the extraordinary tale of Gaviotas. FIVE o'clock in the afternoon. The sun is setting over the...

Climate justice the facts.(air pollution control to prevent climate changes)
June 1, 2003... 1 The heat is on Last year was the second warmest since 1860 -- the hottest was 1998. Fossil-fuel use is mainly to blame -- with the rich world doing most of the damage. To stabilize the global Climate will require huge Cuts in...

Run with the wind. (Power).(environmental and economic benefits of wind power)
June 1, 2003... Clean green energy could halt global warming and meet the world's power needs several times over. So why aren't we all making the switch? Janet L Sawin looks at a country that's taken an unexpected lead. CLUSTERS of tall white wind...

People power.(environmental associations protest power plants, climate change)
June 1, 2003... Wait for governments to take effective action on global warming and you could fry or drown -- first. Luckily communities, groups and individuals around the world aren't hanging about but are getting off their butts to use that most potent form...

Coal to sunrise. (Local Equity).(increasing jobs through sustainable energy)
June 1, 2003... When jobs are at risk, can you match fairness for workers in polluting industries with planetary justice? AUSTRALIA has a problem: we have plentiful coal and are hugely dependent on it. Not only is over three-quarters of our electricity...

Shares in the sky: how can the world cut greenhouse emissions in a way that is both effective and fair? Mark Lynas on why he thinks 'contraction and convergence' is our best bet. (Global Equity).
June 1, 2003... FOR once the Americans seemed to be on the side of the poor. As he took the podium at the UN climate-change conference in Delhi on 31 October 2002, Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee might have been surprised -- and perhaps even a...

Worth reading on Climate Change Solutions.
June 1, 2003... Websites Some of the best information can be found on the web. Here are a few sites worth checking out: www.climateark.org (a comprehensive portal of climate-related stories and excellent starting place) www.heatisonline.org...

Ahmed Chalabi. (Worldbeaters).
June 1, 2003... 'He's a criminal banker. He's a swindler. He's interested in getting money and I suspect it's all gone into his bank accounts and those of his friends.' James E Akins, former US ambassador to Saudi Arabia. It's not clear what role Ahmed...

Hearing Birds Fly: A Nomadic Year in Mongolia. (Mixed Media).(Book Review)
June 1, 2003... by Louisa Waugh (Abacus, ISBN 0-349-11580-X) In 1997 Louisa Waugh moved from Ulaanbaatar to teach at a school in the remote mountainous village of Tsengel, near the border with Kazakhstan. Now she has turned her year in Tsengel into a book....

Odantalan.02. (Mixed Media).(Sound Recording Review)
June 1, 2003... by Victor Gama (Pangeiart PAN 003 CD) Is it a book? A CD? A philosophy? All these things and, if you want to be really accurate, Odantalan.02 is a history too. But don't stop reading here: the thing about Odantalan.o2 is just how...

Deb. (Mixed Media).(Sound Recording Review)
June 1, 2003... by Souad Massi (Wrasse 96 CD) It's hard to know whether being dubbed the Arabic Joni Mitchell-will help or hinder Souad Massi in her bid to crack Western markets but Deb makes one thing quite clear: there have been few debuts as stylish or...

From White Australia to woomera. (Mixed Media).(Book Review)
June 1, 2003... by James Jupp (Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0 521 53140 3) Millions around the globe have seen Australia's people-caging fences thrown up by a supposedly multicultural society in a supposedly borderless world. This harsh response...

War on Iraq -- and related themes. (Mixed Media).(Bibliography)
June 1, 2003... In the heat of war and fog of propaganda, good books that provide a context for what's happening are even more vital. Here are some recent titles we can recommend: Dreaming War: blood for oil and the Cheney-Bush junta by Gore Vidal...

Drowned out. (Mixed Media).(Video Recording Review)
June 1, 2003... directed by Spannerfilms This quiet, fierce, beautiful film follows the story of the Sonkariya family, who live on the banks of the Narmada River in India under the long shadow of the Sardar Sarovar dam -- synonymous with all that is wrong...

Making waves interview with RAWA.(Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan)(politcal activism by way of women's education )
June 1, 2003... ANYONE who doubts that women's demand for democracy can be revolutionary need look no further than Afghanistan and its feminist poet, Meena Kishwar Kamal. Giving voice to the deprived and silenced women of Afghanistan at the end of the 19705...

Essay.(military government, political corruption, and economic conditions)
June 1, 2003... Free trade goes hand-in-hand with political freedom, say the advocates of globalization. Not so, says Aasim Sajjad Akhtar. He looks at the case of Pakistan. In 1989 George Bush Sr announced a 'new world -- order' -- an order that...

Indonesia. (Country Profile).(political corruption, human rights, and government resistance)
June 1, 2003... IN Jakarta's dockland, Tanjung Priok, the poor still live in foul shanty settlements built on stilts over the fetid water. But at least they can talk more freely than in the bad old days. It is five years since the' downfall of Suharto, who...

Slobbie Ozzie does detox!(environmental conservation techniques)
June 1, 2003... A 20-step programme to help you Kick your global-warming, energy-guzzling habit. Anyone can do it! Even him! Around half of C[O.sub.2] emissions -- the main green house gas -- come from energy use in homes and from personal transport. So...

Travelling light (or not.).(preventing and measuring air pollution )
June 1, 2003... Walking and cycling are obviously best, but not always an option. When you have a choice, go by public or collective transport rather than by private car. And if you are considering flying... Flying To calculate your carbon dioxide...

Eco-friendliness begins at home (and in the workplace).
June 1, 2003... AUSTRALIA National Green Power Accreditation Steering Group Their website includes the option to find a local Green Power retailer throughout Australia, with business and home use options at www.greenpower.com.au The Australian...

Food and forests.(Brief Article)(Directory)
June 1, 2003... AUSTRALIA The Organic Federation of Australia at www.ofa.org.au Friends of the Earth Australia PO Box 222, Fitzroy VIC 3065 Tel: 03 9419 8700 Fax: 03 9416 2081 Email: foe@foe.Org.au Web: www.foe.org.au ...

Getting political!
June 1, 2003... AUSTRALIA Climate Action Network Australia NGO committed to reducing climate change. Solarch Building, 1408 Anzac Parade, Little Bay 2036 Tel: 0407 227 633 Email: info@cana.flet.au Web: www.cana.net.au Friends of the Earth at...