AMAZON WATCH » Supporting Indigenous Peoples, Protecting the Amazon. Sudan: Ban Death by Stoning. (Nairobi) – The sentencing of a young Sudanese woman to death by stoning for adultery presents numerous grave violations of domestic and international law, Human Rights Watch said today. The sentence also underscores the urgent need for Sudan to reform its legal system in accordance with its human rights obligations, Human Rights Watch said.
Intisar Sharif Abdallah, whose age has not been determined but is believed to be under the age of 18, was sentenced by a judge on April 22, 2012, in the city of Omdurman, near Khartoum. Since her sentencing, she been held in Omdurman prison with her 5-month-old baby, with her legs shackled. “No one should be stoned to death – and imposing this punishment on someone who may be a child is especially shocking,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch.
She initially denied the charge of adultery but later confessed after she was allegedly beaten by a family member. “Sudan should uphold international and African standards,” Bekele said. Business-Managed Democracy. Corporations have always had a certain amount of power through their ability to make decisions concerning production and employment. And as they have grown in size and number that economic power has become significant and has been used to exert political influence. Individual corporations frequently influence the political process on matters of immediate financial interest to themselves through donations and lobbying and the threat of transferring their activities abroad. They also play a major role in setting the political and the public agenda through their use of public relations, lobbying, and funding of third parties such as media, think tanks, and business organizations. However, corporations have not been content with the degree of economic power and political influence they can wield individually.
More cartoons from Polyp Growth of Corporate Propaganda Reference: J. Reference: A. Political Mobilisation In the past large corporations have been more willing to accept shared power. Political Corruption. Ignorance Apathy Greed. Ignorance, Apathy, and Greed by Fred E. Foldvary, Senior Editor The causes of social problems exist on many levels. When we ask why social problems such as poverty, unemployment, crime, and war exist, each time we determine a cause, we can ask “why” again, as children often do until they are hushed. Poverty exists because some folks can’t find jobs or the jobs pay poorly.
But then why is the wage level so low? Because of the tax and land-tenure systems. When we dig down through all the layers to the roots of the causes, we find three fundamental causes of social problems: ignorance, apathy, and greed. As an example of the interplay between ignorance, apathy, and greed, consider the problem of pollution. But suppose the best policy is known. Greed is wanting and taking more than one morally deserves. Greed alone is not sufficient for policy failure, since the question then is why the people do not organize to counter the influence of the greedy interests and power seekers. Fred Foldvary. Papau New Guinea locals protest at logging ship bound for China | Greenpeace East Asia.
Greenpeace was on the ground for what local customary landowners are terming 'the biggest land grab in Papau New Guinea history'. Residents from Pomio villages in East New Britain province gathered to protest near a site where logs were being readied for loading on a cargo ship bound for China. A ship that Greenpeace activists later painted along the side "Stop The Land Grab" in giant, white letters. Greenpeace campaigner Sam Moko writes from his home country: Papua New Guinea (PNG) is one of the few places on earth where indigenous people still control their land, with just three percent of the country controlled by the government or private enterprise. Customary ownership is partly responsible for the fact that PNG is home to one of the world's largest areas of intact tropical forests. Read the rest of Sam's post: Massive land grab of Papua New Guinea's remaining forests results in violence against local people.
Supports Occupy Wall Street Peaceful Protests | Greenpeace. Abolitionist Theodore Parker said the arc of history is long, but it bends towards justice. In certain moments we have the power to bend that arc more quickly if we act together. Greenpeace’s solar demonstration vehicle, The Rolling Sunlight, powers the media center at Occupy Wall Street with solar cells. The world is alive with activism — the Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street, and Madison, Wisconsin — in reaction to the over-reach of corporations, corrupt politicians and an economic system that enriches the few while leaving our environment and our retirement accounts depleted.
In a time of economic hardship, the Arab Spring caught fire when a crooked police officer demanded a bribe from a street vendor. People rose up against corruption and for a more democratic society. In the U.S. wages have declined since 1973 due in large part to corporate globalization and the rise of productivity. College grads can’t find jobs. Indonesian Lawmaker Continues to Attack Greenpeace. An Indonesian lawmaker reiterated his position on Tuesday that Greenpeace should be expelled from the country if an investigation finds the environmental group is trying to “ruin our sovereignty.” “We have found indications that Greenpeace has its own political and economic agenda in Indonesia,” said Effendy Choirie, who sits on a parliamentary commission overseeing security and foreign affairs. “If there is clear data that they are trying to ruin our sovereignty, then the government has to expel them or give sanctions,” added the lawmaker from the Muslim-based National Awakening Party (PKB).
The party is a member of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s ruling coalition. There was no formal response from the government to the allegations. Choirie refused to elaborate on Greenpeace’s alleged wrongdoings, except to say that the international nongovernmental agency was biased against certain unnamed companies. “We have a plan to invite Greenpeace for a hearing.
Agence France-Presse. Activists Take On Corrupt Politicians in India. Twenty-One Of History’s Most Corrupt Politicians. When it comes to politics, everyone has an opinion, even if that opinion is: they don’t like politics. A wise “unknown author” once said, “Politicians are like diapers. They both need changing regularly and for the same reason”. The following list will cover some of history’s most corrupt leaders and politicians. The World Bank defines corruption ” as the abuse of public power for private benefit”. However, for the purpose of this list, the term political corruption will go further, to pertain to any form of abuse of power or deviation from a sound government system. N.B. This list could easily have surpassed twenty-one. Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (a.k.a Caligula) Years in Power: 37 CE – 41 CERoman Empire Emperor Caligula began his political career as an admired leader, but took a turn for the worse after falling very ill in the first two years of his rule.
William Marcy Tweed (Boss Tweed) Years in Power: 1853-1855Country: United States Joseph Stalin Benito Mussolini Adolph Hitler. 10 Most Corrupt Indian Politicians. While everyone has been animatedly supporting Anna Hazare's fight against corruption, people seem to have forgotten who the people are who actually led to this situation. The peak of irony was when Anna was, allegedly, lodged in the same jail that housed the people who were responsible for two of the biggest scams in the country ever. How must the authorities have felt when they saw Raja and Kalmadi fill their plates while Anna was on a fast because of their misdeeds? Corruption has become an unavoidable part of politics and every now and then, one or the other politician re-affirms this fact. Here is our pick of the 10 most corrupt politicians of India.
Suresh Kalmadi Suresh Kalmadi, almost single handedly caused a loss of hundreds of crores of rupees to the country. A. A scam worth Rs. 176,000 crore had former Union Cabinet Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Andimuthu Raja at the centre. Mayawati Lalu Prasad Yadav Madhu Koda Mulayam Singh Yadav Karunanidhi Sharad Pawar.
Time to Prosecute Corporate Criminals at Massey, BP. Nothing prevents the government from criminally prosecuting corporate CEOs who willfully ignore health and safety standards, killing workers, as in Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch Mine disaster, and causing environmental catastrophe, as in BP’s massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. For years, we haven't seen many corporate criminals prosecuted in the United States, thanks to the power of corporate lobbyists and the reluctance of government officials to take on business interests. A PBS Frontline show "A Dangerous Business"notes that, in the 32 years since OSHA was created, there have been over 200,000 workplace deaths. But OSHA has referred only 151 of these cases to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution.
Of these, only eight have resulted in prison sentences for company officials. But that may be changing. BP was involved in a Texas oil refinery explosion that killed 15 people in 2005. This became clear after the Massey Energy mine disaster. Why Corporate Fraud Is On The Rise - Forbes.com. Keystone XL pipeline: Oil chief issues threat to Obama over decision | Environment. Lobbying links put pressure on coalition | Politics. Ministers held more than 1,500 meetings with corporate representatives in the first 10 months of the coalition, according to a Guardian analysis which has prompted claims of a "massive disparity" in access. As the Liberal Democrats indicated that they would use the resignation of Liam Fox to speed up the introduction of a register of lobbyists, the Guardian publishes figures showing the extent of the government's links with business.
The figures show that ministers met corporate representatives on 1,537 occasions in the first 10 months of the coalition. This excludes several hundred round-table meetings where numerous companies were present. Trade bodies, thinktanks and other interest groups had 1,409 meetings. By contrast, charities were met on just 833 occasions, and union representatives just 130 times, less than a tenth as often as their corporate counterparts. "This just can't be done when ministers are meeting those who have commercial interests. Murdoch's influence extends to U.S., global politics. It's been reported that Murdoch has close, and sometimes inappropriate, relationships with conservative politicians in the U.K.
It's also commonly believed that he has close ties to what we consider conservative politicians here in the U.S. as well, but campaign finance records suggest he has ties to both sides of the aisle. According to the Sunlight Foundation's Influence Explorer, News Corp's political givings are actually split pretty evenly between Democrats (51 percent) and Republicans (49 percent). The biggest all-time recipient of contributions from News Corp is President Obama. It should be noted that the totals for News Corp’s contributions include money from employees of the organization and their family members. It’s also been reported that Fox News also has contracts with Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee, all having run for president either in the past or currently, to appear on the network as commentators. See below for a list Murdoch’s top recipients. Poisoning American Politics: The Colonization of the State by the Polluter-Industrial Complex | Socialism and Democracy.
Creating a Policy Infrastructure for Corporate Polluters Acting on the perception that strong environmental regulations are detrimental to the competitiveness of US industry in the global economy, capital has unleashed a wide-ranging assault on the ecology and environmental justice movements.1 As part of a “new class war” against popular social movements, this political attack is being spearheaded by the most environmentally destructive sectors of American business.
These corporate polluters and their financial supporters on Wall Street are pouring money into old and new anti-environmental organizations alike, as well as into the election campaigns of “pro-business” candidates in both major political parties. In the United States, corporate-sponsored thinks tanks and policy institutes play a particularly important role in moving international, national, and state public policy priorities to the Right. Think-Tanks and Policy Institutes against Progressive Environmentalism. Monsanto cash helped fund bill to stifle whistleblowers in Iowa.