Category Archives: human rights

New Dream Community Action Kit

It\’s one of the first things we learn as kids: How to share.

But this practice usually fades as we become adults. Our houses become filled with our own “stuff.” Garages, attics, basements, and closets transform into cluttered warehouses. When we need something, whether it’s a chainsaw or a roasting rack, our first thought is to go out and buy it. But why get it new when our neighbor down the street has one we can borrow?

Guide to Sharing

The first guide in the New Dream Community Action Kit is all about sharing: everything from starting a tool library to organizing a solar cooperative, from holding a clothing swap to launching a time bank.

via New Dream Community Action Kit.

Ukraine parliament pushes through sweeping anti-protest law | News , International | THE DAILY STAR

The decision in parliament, taken suddenly by a show of hands which caught the opposition off-guard, followed a court ban on protests in Kiev, boosting opposition fears of an imminent police crackdown.

\”What happened today in parliament is a violation of laws,\” said boxer-turned-politician Vitaly Klitschko, an opposition leader who is regarded as a strong challenger to Yanukovich for the presidency. \”They do not have any legal basis,\” he said.

And far-right nationalist Oleh Tyahnibok, another opposition leader, said the vote was \”simply a usurping of power\”.

The law would make it an offence punishable by up to 15 days detention to wear a mask or face-covering like that adopted by many of the protesters, particularly those from the nationalist parties.

Dissemination of extremist information and slander was also banned and seemed to be aimed at forcing the removal of political graffiti on walls and bill-boards, pillorying Yanukovich and his government.

via Ukraine parliament pushes through sweeping anti-protest law | News , International | THE DAILY STAR.

Destroy the land for jobs and then bye-bye! Gold mining stirs up controversy in Greece | Europe | DW.DE | 16.01.2014

Sustainable jobs?

“It’s a question of sustainability. I might be able to employ 1,300 people for 10, 12 years or so, but I also cause huge environmental damage in the process,

” Verginis said. “I also hurt jobs in other sectors, for instance tourism. If tourism numbers drop by 25 percent, 12,000 people will lose their jobs.”

According to Eldorado Gold’s vice president and general manager for Greece, Eduardo Moura, the company and its contractors currently employ about 1,600 people in the region. Its subsidiary Hellas Gold, of which Eldorado Gold owns 95 percent, is preparing the region for mining operations.

According to documents on Eldorado Gold\’s website, the Skouries mine is expected to be open by 2016 and have a mining life of 27 years.

via Gold mining stirs up controversy in Greece | Europe | DW.DE | 16.01.2014.

China cloning pigs and gene sequencing ‘cute animals’ at ridiculous rates: Shanghaiist

Looks like China might be able to solve its potential food and endangered species crises in one go, through industrial-scale cloning. The Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI) clones 500 pigs each year, making it the world’s largest center for pig cloning. It also has plans to gene sequence millions of humans, plants, and other animals, but apparently only if they\’re cute. BBC reports:

The scale of ambition is staggering. BGI is not only the world\’s largest centre for cloning pigs – it\’s also the world\’s largest centre for gene sequencing.

To illustrate the scale of this operation, Europe\’s largest gene sequencing centre is the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute near Cambridge. It has 30 machines. BGI has 156 and has even bought an American company that makes them.

…..Again, a comparison for scale: a recently-launched UK project seeks to sequence 10,000 human genomes. BGI has ambitions to sequence the genomes of a million people, a million animals and a million plants.

Wang Jun is keen to stress that all this work must be relevant to ordinary people through better healthcare or tastier food. The BGI canteen is used as a testbed for some of the products from the labs: everything from grouper twice the normal size, to pigs, to yoghurt.

Species that taste good is one criterion. Another he cites is that of industrial use – raising yields, for example, or benefits for healthcare.

\”A third category is if it looks cute – anything that looks cute: panda, polar bear, penguin, you should really sequence it – it\’s like digitalizing all the wonderful species,\” he [Wang Jun, chief of BGI] explains.

(So I guess if you\’re endangered and ugly, you\’re screwed?)

via China cloning pigs and gene sequencing ‘cute animals’ at ridiculous rates: Shanghaiist.

Woman’s Body Recovered From Chicago River | NBC Chicago

 “I lost two good friends,” Hoang said in the written statement. “It’s not easy seeing your friend drift away and having one die in your arms. I have never felt so helpless in my life. This situation is very emotionally difficult and out of respect for the families involved I would like to leave it at that.”An autopsy conducted Tuesday found Ken Hoang drowned, and listed alcohol toxicity as a secondary factor, the medical examiner’s office said. His death was ruled an accident.

via Woman’s Body Recovered From Chicago River | NBC Chicago.

‘No way to safeguard your data’ from NSA | World | DW.DE | 15.01.2014

(Real news is one thing but this is nothing but something made up to look like news – an interview with a secrecy “expert” for a magazine with no sources given for his musing. If true, document it! Otherwise…)

DW: News reports say that the NSA is using a special technique in order to spy on about 100,000 computers outside the US – even if they’re offline. How is that possible?

Martin Holland: According to reports, they\’re using special implants placed on the computer components. With the help of the implants, they can conduct surveillance on those machines. The NSA sends signals to the implants, and can then find out what was done on the computer by what\’s reflected back from the device.

via ‘No way to safeguard your data’ from NSA | World | DW.DE | 15.01.2014.

Erdogan takes on the Internet – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has never been at peace with the Internet. His animosity toward it increased after last summer’s Gezi Park protests proved how effective this medium can be in mobilizing the public politically. Already under international scrutiny over its negative approach to press freedoms and the freedom of expression, his government has now prepared draft legislation that will enable it to arbitrarily decide which websites the public will be allowed to enter, and which ones will be banned.

via Erdogan takes on the Internet – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East.

Chinese Feminist Activist Walks 2,000 Kilometers to Protest Sexual Abuse · Global Voices

Traveling alone on foot is still a new concept in China. While some women like the adventurous idea, they worry about sexual harassment on the road. That’s why Chinese feminist activist Xiao Meili started her new project: Beautiful Feminist Walk- A Protest Against Sexual Abuse to Promote Women’s Freedom.

Xiao, the lead actor in the Chinese version of the “Vagina Monologues”, is walking all the way from Beijing to the southern city of Guangzhou – a distance of about 2,000 kilometers – to protest against sexual harassment and child abuse. She has already spent four months on the road and along the way has been collecting signatures, staging performances and handing out information to local governments. She has been sharing her experience on her blog with photos, writing and drawings.

via Chinese Feminist Activist Walks 2,000 Kilometers to Protest Sexual Abuse · Global Voices.

Jewish extremists cut down fruit trees in revenge attack | Maan News Agency

“Reminds one of how the KKK used to operate in in the American South.” Suspected Jewish extremists cut down fruit trees belonging to Israeli-Palestinians overnight in an apparent revenge attack for Palestinian villagers detaining Jewish settlers, police said Friday.

The vandals left placards in the orchard reading

“Regards from Esh Kodesh,” the West Bank settlement outpost whose residents were assaulted and briefly detained on Tuesday when they entered the Palestinian village of Qusra, some wearing masks.

The vandals struck near Kfar Qasim, an Israeli Arab town that borders the West Bank some 40 kilometers west of Qusra, police spokeswoman Luba Samri said.

Seven of the dozen settlers involved in the original incident were meanwhile remanded in custody on Thursday night, Samri added.

via Jewish extremists cut down fruit trees in revenge attack | Maan News Agency.