Nonviolence &
forgiveness, theory and action
•
What to learn from the
demonstrations against the WTO summit in Seattle?
The
problem with anti-capitalist
demonstrations
'The disparate demonstrations against
capitalism represented more of a general moan about life
than a movement to change the world' - writes Mich Hume
in Living Marxism.
• An
amazing example of non-violent action - in this case to
end the sanctions against Iraq.
Voices
in the Wilderness
"In 1991, we opposed the Gulf War in a variety of
non-violent ways. Some lived on the border between the
opposing armies before and during part of the war; others
traveled to Iraq immediately before and after the war.
Still others filled the streets of the U.S. to decry the
war. Many of us have witnessed the consequences of
sanctions first hand and maintained contact with NGO's
that continually attempt to deliver relief supplies to
neediest groups and individuals in Iraq. In the tradition
of Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, we advocate
nonviolence as a means for social change. We oppose the
development, storage and use - in any country - of any
weapons of mass destruction, be they nuclear, chemical,
biological or economic. We advocate active development of
effective nonviolent methods of social struggle."
• When
did you last see 13 million demonstrating for peace in a
war-torn country? They do in Columbia in October
Millions
march for Colombia peace
Since 1964 more than 120.000 people have been
killed...Now there is a new
bout of violence,
as reported by BBC.
Democracy
•
You may call this a
democracy deficit. That's what will happen in
supranational
structures...
EU
drafts secrecy code to keep public in the
dark
Plans being drawn up by European officials would
introduce sweeping new restrictions on citizens' rights
to information about EU decision-making, campaigners
warn. The draft proposals are due to go before the
European commission early next year - reports the
Guardian and refers you to the source of detailed
information: Statewatch,
Secret Europe.
Militarization, New
Cold War - and the EU militarization
• Yet
another event in the building up of a New Cold War
Yeltsin
gives US nuclear warning
"Clinton allowed himself to pressurize Russia
yesterday," the Russian president told reporters in
Beijing after meeting China's leaders. "He must have
forgotten for a moment what Russia is. We have a full
arsenal of nuclear weapons." The Guardian reports.
• One
step at a time..and keeping options open, but:
Russo-Sino
Summit Marks Ascendance of China
The differing media coverage reflects the fundamental
difference in emphasis both nations place on the meeting.
Russia appears desperate for China's support, to
demonstrate to the United States that it is still a great
power. China, while maintaining some distance from
Russia's tactical concerns, is also demonstrating clearly
to the United States that a Sino-Russian bloc remains an
option. Yet another interesting analysis from
Stratfor.
Conflict-resolution -
Burundi
•
One more conflict
virtually forgotten
350,000
in camps as Burundi war rages
on
Detainees fight disease and hunger while government
battles to halt rebel attacks on capital - as reported in
The Guardian.
•
Yhis is the main problem
Nelson Mandela, the new mediator of the Burundian peace
process shall help solve: The majority Hutus are being
uprooted from their homes in Rwanda and Burundi.
Tutsi
rulers try their hand at social
engineering
Hundreds of thousands have been removed from their homes
following violent civil wars in ethnically-divided Rwanda
and Burundi earlier this decade. Since then, the
governing Tutsis in both nations aggressively guard
against uprisings by Hutu insurgents, while trying to
rebuild their broken countries. And both nations are
currently experimenting with massive displacement
efforts.
Balkans, Kosovo &
Yugoslavia
•
Croatia's president has died. The debate about
him - and the future of Croatia after him - is in
full swing. Here is an excellent analysis, from Slate -
followed by discussion:
Croatian
President Franjo Tudjman. The Balkans' (not much) lesser
evil.
History will remember him more accurately: "Franjo
Tudjman: Not Quite as Bad as Milosevic." Tudjman's good
fortune is that he has never been quite as nasty, stupid,
and uncivilized as his brother-in-crime, Slobodan
Milosevic. Tudjman shares Milosevic's eliminationist
nationalism, and he implemented it with similar
brutality, using murder, war, exile, and judicial
terrorism to empty Croatia of non-Croatians.
•
Court case in Belgrade disgusts everyone with a
humanitarian outlook
Jails
doctor and humanitarian
champion
Leading human rights lawyer comments that there is no
valid evidence against Dr. Brovina: "In Stalin's times
one got 10 years for nothing. Here one gets
12."
•
The area of Kosovo/a's
social life making most progress is - criminality
Invasion
of the
Bodysnatchers
Fear of crime is taking bizarre shape in Kosovo, with
rampant rumours of gangs kidnapping babies to steal their
body parts. The response of UN representative Bernard
Kouchner to the problem might seem to some as no less
eccentric.
•
And prostituion on the
rise too...
A
Prostitute's Call - 'We Will Take Over
Kosovo'
Kosovar Albanians are used to living their lives
according to a traditional moral code that - among other
things - guides the conduct of women in public. The
arrival of organized prostitution shows that like so much
else in the tormented province, that code is in tatters.
Another report from the Institute for War & Peace
Reporting.
•
Devastating criticism of
NATO's Kosovo policy - and a comment on OSCE's human
rights report
Nato's
deadly legacy
Western intervention in Serbia caused a humanitarian
catastrophe and encouraged Russian militarism. Unless we
are willing to come clean on Kosovo, Russia will not
listen to us on Chechnya - or anything much else - says
Robert Skidelsky. The author was dismissed as
Conservative Treasury spokesman in the House of Lords for
his opposition to Nato's bombing campaign.
Globalisation
• Can
capitalism satisfy economic human rights?
Human
rights should include economic rights
"Everyone has the right to a standard of living
adequate for the health and well-being of himself
(herself) and of his (her) family, including food,
clothing, housing and medical care…"-- Article 25,
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948. The US lacks
far behind, according to Anuradha Mittal, writing for The
progressive.
Militarism versus
development
•
Who cares about the
world's children?
Children
Live in Poverty Amidst
Plenty
Some 1.5 trillion dollars slosh around global
currency markets daily while more than 1.2 billion pe -
including 600 million children - throughout the world ,
live on less than a dollar a day, the UN Children's Fund
(UNICEF) said Monday. Pointing to this paradox, and the
growing inequities between the world's rich and poor,
UNICEF said that in 1960 the income gap between the
richest one-fifth of the world's population and the
poorest was 30-1. In 1977 it was 74-1.
Disarmament - nuclear
abolition
•
Join this campaign to
take nuclear weapons off alert at 2000 - send
Friends
of the Earth
your signature and
Read
the letter to nuclear
leaders
and read the European
parliament
passed without
opposition.
WIRE Editor
Jan Oberg with TFF
Associates
