Friday, April 27, 2012
PoliticsSyria: Christians: An emergency appeal by Open Door agency
God and Politics UK (Apr24,2k12)
— reposted here by Politicarp, refWrite Frontpage political columnist
Thursday, April 26, 2012
EconomicsJamaica: Hard Times: Tropical island shoulders many problems, looks mostly to tourism
There's no reformational Christian movement in Jamaica, a country where one of the leading l+ts is the marxist intellectual C. L. R. James (now deceased), known and beloved wherever Caribbean-born scholars dwell. But most budding scholars leave the island and others in the Carribbean (Mr James maintained a home in Trinidad, sponsored by the Oil Fields Workers union there but lived a good part of most years in his later life in London UK); the younger thinkers go to England especially for further education and afterward find what academic jobs they can abroad. The brain drain. Otherw+z, on the island the preoccupations are music, ganja, and the economy. Everyone seems to have it tuff. That's why the entrepreneurial movement, fledgling tho it be, is so important to the culture and to the incomes of everyday people who suffer from the lowering of the quality of life.
— EconoMix, refWrite Frontpage economics columnist
Jamaica struggles toward
a sound economic future
Portia Simpson-Miller's party made a campaign promise of making a new deal with the IMF within two weeks of re-election
Half Way Tree is always busy. The traffic intersection that seemingly splits Kingston into two is one of the best-known views of the city, the colonial clock tower in the middle where uptown meets downtown, rich meets poor.
As office workers head to their desks, a young man at the traffic lights hustles, shouting: "Cash for your gold, any little piece we buy, money for your gold."
Kingston is like most modern cities, its inhabitants rushing to work or making money where they can.
But for many people, life is tough; it's estimated that about 17% of the population live below the poverty line on just under $4 a day.
In the business centre of the city, New Kingston, Marvin makes a living driving a taxi he's rented after losing his job in construction.
"People in my community say we need to get jobs, but there are none around, no jobs at all."
He says he's lucky to have found something.
Sticking point
Unemployment is above 12% and the country is one of the world's most indebted, owing about $18bn (£11.2bn; 13.7bn euros).
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
2nd new page launched, this one for Québec matters: Separatism au courant again!
New page launched on Ontario provincial matters: First up, protests at Legislature vs Anti-Bullying Act as written
For news on the proposed new Anti-Bullying Act for Ontario schools, see the first item for our coverage of Ontario life carried now on a free standing page affiliated to refWrite Frontpage. Our new "Ontario (Canada) Today" page may be found by clicking here.
To view the related video, go to refWrite's affiliated YouTube channel yUT2ube. Or, paste the code into your own viewer:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/m2MzaBM8vDw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Lawt, refWrite Frontpage juridics columnist
To view the related video, go to refWrite's affiliated YouTube channel yUT2ube. Or, paste the code into your own viewer:
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Lawt, refWrite Frontpage juridics columnist
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
JuridicsSaudiArabia: Human R+ts: Saudi activist imprisoned in Riyadh, on hunger strike
A week or so ago, the Gulf Center for Human R+ts alerted the news media to the dire straits of human r+ts defender Mohammed Albajady who has been secretly tried by Saudi Arabia and sentenced to four years in prison to be followed by a further travel ban, if he survives imprisonment, that will last another five years.
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Mohammed Albajady, Saudi Arabian human r+ts defender now imprisoned
GCHR "works to strengthen support for human rights defenders and independent journalists in Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. " I'll quote the full media statement by the Gulf Center below.
At present, the Saudi government seeks total containment of its tiny civil/political r+ts movement due to the Arab Spring, especially after the Shi'ite upraising in its vassal state, Bahrain. Also, at the moment, the Saudi govt may seriously consider appeals from the media, non-government organizations, and individuals in its client-countries. Countries that are customers of Saudi Arabian oil may have a bit of clout, especially Americans, due to the political opposition in the USA to further importation of Saudiland's oil products. President Barack Obama's policy regarding the eventual disuse of Saudi oil is extremely long-term; it is further in delay mode due to the reliance on that commodity of many European states which are presently joining the USA-promoted sanctions against import of Iranian oil, sanctions which will be a boon to the market-share that may further turn to the Saudis.
But the Saudi's will note that the potential of a major human r+ts case to feed a political weapon to the American critics of the Obama-Saudi alliance. These critics will underscore (hopefully) the ongoing failure of the Saudi régime to provide Saudi non-govt activists with basic human, civil, and political r+ts. So refWrite calls upon Americans and all our other readers around the globe to write to the Saudi officials mentioned below, on behalf of the imprisoned Mr. Mohammed Albajady. I propose this as a reformational political task.
— Lawt, refWrite Frontpage juridics columnist
Mohammed Albajady, Saudi Arabian human r+ts defender now imprisoned
GCHR "works to strengthen support for human rights defenders and independent journalists in Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. " I'll quote the full media statement by the Gulf Center below.
At present, the Saudi government seeks total containment of its tiny civil/political r+ts movement due to the Arab Spring, especially after the Shi'ite upraising in its vassal state, Bahrain. Also, at the moment, the Saudi govt may seriously consider appeals from the media, non-government organizations, and individuals in its client-countries. Countries that are customers of Saudi Arabian oil may have a bit of clout, especially Americans, due to the political opposition in the USA to further importation of Saudiland's oil products. President Barack Obama's policy regarding the eventual disuse of Saudi oil is extremely long-term; it is further in delay mode due to the reliance on that commodity of many European states which are presently joining the USA-promoted sanctions against import of Iranian oil, sanctions which will be a boon to the market-share that may further turn to the Saudis.
But the Saudi's will note that the potential of a major human r+ts case to feed a political weapon to the American critics of the Obama-Saudi alliance. These critics will underscore (hopefully) the ongoing failure of the Saudi régime to provide Saudi non-govt activists with basic human, civil, and political r+ts. So refWrite calls upon Americans and all our other readers around the globe to write to the Saudi officials mentioned below, on behalf of the imprisoned Mr. Mohammed Albajady. I propose this as a reformational political task.
— Lawt, refWrite Frontpage juridics columnist
Beirut, 18 April, 2012 -- The Gulf Center for Human Rights (GCHR) has received information concerning the sentencing of human rights defender Mohammed Albajady in Saudi Arabia, to four years in prison followed by a five-year travel ban. The sentence was handed down following a secret trial in flagrant breach of fair procedures and in total disregard for his right to a fair trial.
Mohammed Albajady co-founded the Saudi Civil & Political Rights Association (HSM), in October 2009. He was previously the host of a weekly on-line forum called “The citizen and his rights”. The GCHR issued an appeal on his case on 10 April 2012 (http://gc4hr.org/news/view/116).
On 10 April 2012 the Special Criminal Court in Riyadh, established to try terrorism and security-related offences, reportedly held a secret session during which the four-year prison sentence was handed down. According to information received, soldiers in military uniforms and a representative of the governmental National Human Rights Commission attended the trial. However, neither Mohammed Albajady ‘s family nor his legal representatives were told of the court session.Read more ...
Monday, April 23, 2012
JuridicsCanada: Student class warfare: Québec's 'radical' student union of 170,00
Student radicals have issued a compromise with Québec's Premier Jean Charest by at last denouncing physical violence Sunday n+t. This is an important development, albeit one not to be much trusted, since the student left in Québec is known for its long silence in regard to its extremist elements. The rationale offered is that "the physical integrity of citizens" (note that word, 'citizens' not police, etc) may be "put in danger."
I found the item below in the email newsletter of Canadian Civil Liberties Association which wrote to a branch of the University of Québec. In any case, even if only on paper, the revised stance of the class warfare organization of students, CLASSE (Coalition large de l'association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiant - an umbrella group of no-physical-violence and more extremist groupings) is a start. The reformational movement is unfortunately not present in Québec, either in a student formation, nor in an academic, labour, psychotherapeutic, farmer, or other sphere-specific grouping. Christian Schools in Quebec web location lists only one independent Christian school, in Montréal, called The Priory. All of these sphere-specific entities with a reformational Christian affinity exist in Ontario, a neibouring province, but sadly not among francophones in Canada anywhere, as far as I know.
Ostensibly, the students promoting the mayhem do so out of a concern regareding their tuition costs. But Québec already affords them the h+est tuition grants in Canada. I don't presume to know what fairness woud mean in the situation, how much budget constraints shoud determine the denial of larger grants (more expensive for the Québec government and all taxpayers, they sholdering more debt long term), the availablity of jobs for those students willing to postpone further advanced education in order to work and earn an income to future education. Still, I find the stance of the pictured class-warrior anything but repulsive. By the way, the photo is by Dario Alaya of the Montreal Gazette, an anglophone newspaper.
— Lawt, refWrite Frontpage juridics columnist
|
PolitcsFrance: Prez Elections: Socialists win over Sarkozy's center/r+t in 1st round
France has conducted its Presidential election, resulting as usual in no absolute majority — so a second round is necessary between the two leading candidates emerging from the first round, all others struck from the ballot for the second round which will take place May 6.
France is on the precipice of possibly defaulting on its balance of payments from its national treasury and, on the other hand, its income. It is the second largest as-yet solvent European nation among those whose national economies in Europe are intertwined with France's. But the prospect of France being overwhelmed by its sovereign debt is dangerous to the entire West, not just still-solvent European nations. Greece, Spain, Italy, Ireland, and Portugal. If France moves onto this list, it will affect not only Europe but the whole world.
The present President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, is the best bet for the French to impose the necessary austerities, survive them, and correct the present aggregious imbalance. There's not much room in this calculus for third parties. Where will the voters for these smaller parties that competed in the first round of voting know go in two weeks t+m? Of course, the smaller socialist, trotskyist, and communist elements may succumb to the siren song of François Hollande, who is campaigning on an Obama-l+k "happiness and we-can rhetoric" (we can't even call it a political platform). But some of those voters will prefer the evem the dreader austerity of arch-enemy Sarkozy, to the smoke-and-mirrors of Hollande.
Let's take a momentary look at the stats for French parties in the lower-house of the French parliament, the National Assembly:
Now the French Senate:
Of the partylets not even (yet) represented in the French parliament we at last come to the foremost distinctively Christian Democratic party:
For Sarkozy the task is to winnow out for his own candidacy as many votes as possible from this cluttered political landscape in a population of 64,800,000. Without the stats for yesterday's vote, we must deflect to those for those of the last Presidential vote.
Some stats from the 2007 Presidential vote's 2nd round, which Sarkozy won:
Bes+ds the left vote and centre-r+t vote for Sarkozy's UMP (Union pour un mouvement populaire into which much of the Christian Democratic party disappeared after its self-secularization), there is the rise of the far-r+t party Front National, led by the redoubtable dawter of its founder, Marine Le Pen, who bested her father's h+est vote-level and received what is considered an 18% of the votes in the 1st round:
CSM (Apr23,2k12):
France is on the precipice of possibly defaulting on its balance of payments from its national treasury and, on the other hand, its income. It is the second largest as-yet solvent European nation among those whose national economies in Europe are intertwined with France's. But the prospect of France being overwhelmed by its sovereign debt is dangerous to the entire West, not just still-solvent European nations. Greece, Spain, Italy, Ireland, and Portugal. If France moves onto this list, it will affect not only Europe but the whole world.
The present President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, is the best bet for the French to impose the necessary austerities, survive them, and correct the present aggregious imbalance. There's not much room in this calculus for third parties. Where will the voters for these smaller parties that competed in the first round of voting know go in two weeks t+m? Of course, the smaller socialist, trotskyist, and communist elements may succumb to the siren song of François Hollande, who is campaigning on an Obama-l+k "happiness and we-can rhetoric" (we can't even call it a political platform). But some of those voters will prefer the evem the dreader austerity of arch-enemy Sarkozy, to the smoke-and-mirrors of Hollande.
Let's take a momentary look at the stats for French parties in the lower-house of the French parliament, the National Assembly:
|
Now the French Senate:
|
Of the partylets not even (yet) represented in the French parliament we at last come to the foremost distinctively Christian Democratic party:
|
For Sarkozy the task is to winnow out for his own candidacy as many votes as possible from this cluttered political landscape in a population of 64,800,000. Without the stats for yesterday's vote, we must deflect to those for those of the last Presidential vote.
Some stats from the 2007 Presidential vote's 2nd round, which Sarkozy won:
As of January 1, 2011, 63,136,180 people lived in metropolitan France, while 2,685,705 lived in overseas France, for a total of 65,821,885 inhabitants in the French Republic.[2] Thus, metropolitan France accounts for 95.9% of the French Republic's population.
In the second round of the 2007 French presidential election, 37,342,004 French people cast a ballot (meaning a record turnout of 83.97%). 35,907,015 of these (96.16% of the total voters) cast their ballots in metropolitan France (turnout: 85.31%), 1,088,679 (2.91% of the total voters) cast their ballots in overseas France (turnout: 69.85%), and 346,310 (0.93% of the total voters) cast their ballots in foreign countries (French people living abroad; turnout: 42.13%).[3]
The French National Assembly is made up of 577 deputies, 555 of whom (96.2% of the total) are elected in metropolitan France, and 22 of whom (3.8% of the total) are elected in overseas France. — Wikipedia
Bes+ds the left vote and centre-r+t vote for Sarkozy's UMP (Union pour un mouvement populaire into which much of the Christian Democratic party disappeared after its self-secularization), there is the rise of the far-r+t party Front National, led by the redoubtable dawter of its founder, Marine Le Pen, who bested her father's h+est vote-level and received what is considered an 18% of the votes in the 1st round:
A key victory of the night was for the Front National's Le Pen, who came third with around 18% of the vote, beating her father Jean-Marie's record success in 2002, and placing herself firmly at the heart of rightwing politics in France. She said "the battle of France has just begun" and "nothing will be the same again".
The lawyer and twice-divorced mother of three had presented herself as the modern face of her party, trying to strip it of unsavoury overtones after her father's convictions for saying the Nazi occupation of France was not "particularly inhumane".
She had initially stressed economic issues, calling for France to leave the euro, but in recent days returned to her hard-right stance on curbing immigration. At her final rally in Paris, supporters had shouted: "This is our home, our country!"
Sarkozy's chances now hang on bringing over voters from Le Pen. However, not all her voters will automatically turn out for Sarkozy in the second round; there is a strong anti-establishment feeling among many.
Sarkozy gave a defiant speech, going on the offensive and betraying no hint of having been beaten. He styled the result as a "crisis" vote, by a French population which was "suffering". In a clear overture to Le Pen's voters, and the extreme-right motto of loving France, he said: "I call on all French people who put love of their country above partisan considerations, to unite and join me." He vowed to tighten border controls, stop manufacturers from leaving France, make work pay and defend law and order. — "Françoise Hollande on top but far r+t scores record result in French election," by Angelique Chrisafis in Paris, Guardian UK (Apr23,2k13)The Christian Democrats are linked to the UMP of Sarkozy, but not dissolved into it. Notice in the Guardian quote's headline that Sarkozy is not even mentioned, just the two extremes of left and far r+t. L+k most of the French press, the English edition of AlJazeera uses Sarkozy's name in opprobrious connotation, "French show their disapproval of Sarkozy" by Yasmine Ryan, AlJazeera (Apr23,2k12). I think the Christian Science Monitor frames the issue and Sarkozy's problem better, "Will the far r+t be the kingmaker in France's presidential election? (+video)" by Robert Marquand,
CSM (Apr23,2k12):
French President Nicolas Sarkozy told roaring crowds last night that it is “crunch time” now that the presidential election has been narrowed down to a May 6 runoff between him and Socialist challenger François Hollande, to whom he lost by one point in the first round of elections yesterday.
A high 81 percent turnout rate in national elections combined, unusually, with low voter enthusiasm captured something of the political disillusionment. But also the high stakes for the future at a time when five governments in Europe have collapsed over fallout from the ongoing debt crisis.
Mr. Hollande captured 27 percent of the vote, with Mr. Sarkozy just behind at 26 percent. The election has become a referendum on how the No. 2 economy in Europe – which the International Monetary Fund hinted has the potential to drag down the world economy – will deal with the eurozone crisis going forward. Hollande campaigned for stronger growth policies while Sarkozy has hitched his wagon to the austerity prescription favored by Berlin for the past year.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Earth Day: Origins in Lenin?: Evangelicals reject scientific anomalies
Today is Earth Day. See the comment by Politicarp in the refWrite Calendar for April. Scroll down to the blog entry for April 22, c+ting the newest empirical anomaly of more ice not less in areas of the Himalayas. Let's celebrate the day, whether Lenin is at its root or not. Let's celebrate even in face of the anomalous new evidence claimed. Let's not get twisted up becawz our previous position is prevailing, or not. Stewardship of the Earth and the climates in which all humans must live is the main point.
— Owlb, refWrite general editor
— Owlb, refWrite general editor
PoliticsEgypt: Military junta: Disqualifies 3 leading Prez candidates and 7 more out of 23
Egypt's military junta has arrogated to itself the role of arbiter for acceptable candidacies to the office of the country's President, after the displacement of former dictator Hosni Mubarek. The Presidential election is scheduled for May 23-24.
An interesting development in the wake of the junta's action is the possiblity of a split between two potential candidates with Muslim Brotherhood backgrounds. A third MB figure is among the leading disqualifieds, Khairat el-Shater (English spellings vary), who had been incarcerated as a criminal under the previous Mubarek régime. At first the Brotherhood had planned not to run any candidate at all, which incensed a prominant member to leave the organization, Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh, currently Secretary-General of the Arab Medical Union, and considered by some to be "a moderate."
Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh Abdel Hady
Dr. Fitouh left the Muslim Brotherhood and its political wing called the Freedom and Justice Party (headed by Mohammed Mursi). After the MB's externally-sudden shift from non-contestant in the election to favour the running of its own candidate, it nominated as well an alternative but emphasized Kairat el-Shater as its first choice. The Brotherhood was aware of El-Shater's disfavour with the junta, since the Mubarek days.
Kairat el-Shater
Pictured in a photo (above, AP photo by Nasser Nasser), El- Shater on Friday called for "a million-man march" to "the [public] squares of liberation again to complete the march of the revolution." The cagey MB, named alongside El-Shater alternative candidate Mursa in order to have a back-up plan; apparently he had gained no criminal status.
Omar Suleiman
Another of the 3 leading disqualifeds, Omar Suleiman was "spy chief" for Mubarek and briefly served as stand-in when Mubarek was forced to stand down. Suleiman has h+ standing with the junta, as a result, but low esteem among Islamicists and Salafists.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Aujv2CdIsFQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/yUT2ube?feature=creators_cornier-%2F%2Fs.ytimg.com%2Fyt%2Fimg%2Fcreators_corner%2FYouTube%2Fyoutube_32x32.png"><img src="//s.ytimg.com/yt/img/creators_corner/YouTube/youtube_32x32.png" alt="Subscribe to me on YouTube"/></a><img src="//www.youtube-nocookie.com/gen_204?feature=creators_cornier-//s.ytimg.com/yt/img/creators_corner/YouTube/youtube_32x32.png" style="display: none"/>
Amr Moussa, World Policy Conference, December 2k11
Interestingly, while the 3 and another 7 have been disqualified, another figure, one active in government under Mubarek, Amr Moussa, had left his post as foreign minister to become Secretary-General of the Arab League (which itself is now trying to end Syrian govt repression, after the organization had largely supported the previous Egyptian repression under Mubarek, and that of Sudan before the secession of South Sudan). The junta disqualified anyone who had been part of the Mubarek régime during the last 10 years; Moussa changed posts 11 years ago. So he has not been disqualified (yet) from running. Among all the candidates, he seems most l+kly to work for internal peace in Egypt, including perhaps a more conciliatory approach to the country's 6 million Christians who are largely on the outs+d of the political process, living in dread of an Islamicist repression that seems to be waiting in the wings.
Also, at this juncture, the process of wr+ting a new Constitution for the country has been delayed; Parliament has not been assembled, and the 100 member commission for Constitution wr+ting is being boycotted by the 2-person delegation to represent Christians, becawz the process is considered by them and many secularists, to be a sham. Individual and communal liberty will not be guaranteed to those not locked into the Islamic fortress-mentality. (On this, please see ForeignPolicy.com, Apr16,2k12); also ComparativeConstitutions.org email newsletter, Apr16,2k12.)
At present, refWr+t is endorsing a Muslim non-Islamicist, Amr Moussa, for President of Egypt.
— Politicarp, refWrite's frontpage politics columnist
Main news sources & background materials:
"Mass protests brewing in Egypt, after 3 leading Presidential candidates are disqualified," by Patrick Goodenough (Apr16,2k12) CNSnews.com
"Egypt's transition imbroglio" by Nathan Brtown (Apr16,2k11) Foreign Policy via ComparativeConstitutions email newsletter
Wikipedia — articles on Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, Omar Suleiman & Amr Moussa
YouTube (see refWr+t's YouTube collection of politics videos yUT2ube — subscribe!)
An interesting development in the wake of the junta's action is the possiblity of a split between two potential candidates with Muslim Brotherhood backgrounds. A third MB figure is among the leading disqualifieds, Khairat el-Shater (English spellings vary), who had been incarcerated as a criminal under the previous Mubarek régime. At first the Brotherhood had planned not to run any candidate at all, which incensed a prominant member to leave the organization, Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh, currently Secretary-General of the Arab Medical Union, and considered by some to be "a moderate."
Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh Abdel Hady
Dr. Fitouh left the Muslim Brotherhood and its political wing called the Freedom and Justice Party (headed by Mohammed Mursi). After the MB's externally-sudden shift from non-contestant in the election to favour the running of its own candidate, it nominated as well an alternative but emphasized Kairat el-Shater as its first choice. The Brotherhood was aware of El-Shater's disfavour with the junta, since the Mubarek days.
Kairat el-Shater
Pictured in a photo (above, AP photo by Nasser Nasser), El- Shater on Friday called for "a million-man march" to "the [public] squares of liberation again to complete the march of the revolution." The cagey MB, named alongside El-Shater alternative candidate Mursa in order to have a back-up plan; apparently he had gained no criminal status.
Omar Suleiman
Another of the 3 leading disqualifeds, Omar Suleiman was "spy chief" for Mubarek and briefly served as stand-in when Mubarek was forced to stand down. Suleiman has h+ standing with the junta, as a result, but low esteem among Islamicists and Salafists.
The third of the leading candidates dumped by the military thru its puppet electoral commission is Hazen Abu Ismail who is "an ultra-conservative Salafist," an Islamicist ideology which woud impose a strict and punitive Sharia-law régime. Civil r+ts woud be curtailed severely, and the extermination of Christians and homosexuals seem to be major intentions. In comparison, the Muslim Brotherhood is somet+ms laid out as "pragmatic Islamicism" — evoking a parallel to the ruling Islamicist party of Turkey, the latter also in conflict with its military over secularism. But the comparison between ideological puritianism and Muslim pragmatism does not hold up well.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Aujv2CdIsFQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/yUT2ube?feature=creators_cornier-%2F%2Fs.ytimg.com%2Fyt%2Fimg%2Fcreators_corner%2FYouTube%2Fyoutube_32x32.png"><img src="//s.ytimg.com/yt/img/creators_corner/YouTube/youtube_32x32.png" alt="Subscribe to me on YouTube"/></a><img src="//www.youtube-nocookie.com/gen_204?feature=creators_cornier-//s.ytimg.com/yt/img/creators_corner/YouTube/youtube_32x32.png" style="display: none"/>
Amr Moussa, World Policy Conference, December 2k11
Interestingly, while the 3 and another 7 have been disqualified, another figure, one active in government under Mubarek, Amr Moussa, had left his post as foreign minister to become Secretary-General of the Arab League (which itself is now trying to end Syrian govt repression, after the organization had largely supported the previous Egyptian repression under Mubarek, and that of Sudan before the secession of South Sudan). The junta disqualified anyone who had been part of the Mubarek régime during the last 10 years; Moussa changed posts 11 years ago. So he has not been disqualified (yet) from running. Among all the candidates, he seems most l+kly to work for internal peace in Egypt, including perhaps a more conciliatory approach to the country's 6 million Christians who are largely on the outs+d of the political process, living in dread of an Islamicist repression that seems to be waiting in the wings.
Also, at this juncture, the process of wr+ting a new Constitution for the country has been delayed; Parliament has not been assembled, and the 100 member commission for Constitution wr+ting is being boycotted by the 2-person delegation to represent Christians, becawz the process is considered by them and many secularists, to be a sham. Individual and communal liberty will not be guaranteed to those not locked into the Islamic fortress-mentality. (On this, please see ForeignPolicy.com, Apr16,2k12); also ComparativeConstitutions.org email newsletter, Apr16,2k12.)
At present, refWr+t is endorsing a Muslim non-Islamicist, Amr Moussa, for President of Egypt.
— Politicarp, refWrite's frontpage politics columnist
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Cross-posted to refWrite old-styleMain news sources & background materials:
"Mass protests brewing in Egypt, after 3 leading Presidential candidates are disqualified," by Patrick Goodenough (Apr16,2k12) CNSnews.com
"Egypt's transition imbroglio" by Nathan Brtown (Apr16,2k11) Foreign Policy via ComparativeConstitutions email newsletter
Wikipedia — articles on Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, Omar Suleiman & Amr Moussa
YouTube (see refWr+t's YouTube collection of politics videos yUT2ube — subscribe!)
Monday, April 2, 2012
EconomicsCanada/Congo: Mining Company: 8 year delay by Anvil Mining, Ltd to pay victims
I'm musing on this one r+t now. Hmmmmm. What do Congolese -- presumably of the Democratic Republic of Congo [not of Congo Republic (Brazzaville) — It proves later that my presumption was quite factually incorrect, as well, so you see I must reverse the order to "presumably of the Congo Republic (Brazzaville), not the DRCongo (Kinshasa) ] — What do Congolese have to do with Canadian mining companies operating in Congo Republic Brazzaville? Well, I must modulate my question, what have Congolese to do (in either of the African national capital cities Kinshasa or Brazzaville), what have they to do with Anvil Mining Limited? -- a company once operating out of Montréal, Québec, but now apparently in the process of being absorbed into its new mothership, Minmetals Resources Ltd., which is a China-controlled company with head offices in Australia. Minmetals Resources acquired Anvil earlier in March for $1.3 billion.
— EconoMix
The Canadian Press
Last Updated: Mar 26, 2012 9:59 AM ET
— reposted here by EconoMix (Mar26,2k12)
— EconoMix
Congolese raise
mining lawsuit
in Supreme Court
of Canada
The Canadian Press
Posted: Mar 26, 2012 10:01 AM ET
Last Updated: Mar 26, 2012 9:59 AM ET
— reposted here by EconoMix (Mar26,2k12)
Human-rights groups are turning to Canada's highest court in their effort to sue a Canadian mining company on behalf of the victims of a massacre in Congo.
The Canadian Association Against Impunity, a coalition of human rights groups and non-governmental organizations, filed a last-ditch plea to the Supreme Court of Canada on Monday.
The groups allege that Anvil Mining Limited provided logistical support to the Congolese military who raped and murdered people as it crushed a rebel uprising in 2004, killing as many as 100 people in the port city of Kilwa.
That support allegedly included planes, trucks and drivers instrumental in ending the conflict. The port was key to the operation of a copper mine, the exit point for $500,000 worth of copper and silver every day.
Nearly eight years later, victims' relatives say they have no choice but to turn to Canadian courts.
"We've been fighting for years and what we want is justice," Dickay Kunda said Sunday in a phone interview from Congo. "Our wish is to have Canada help us get justice."
Kunda says his 22-year-old sister, Dorcas, died after being raped by soldiers. His father, a policeman, was badly beaten and tortured while in military custody. He never recovered and died in November 2009.
Anvil Mining, which had offices in Montreal but has since been acquired by another mining company, has denied any culpability in the Kilwa incidents and said logistical support was requested by authorities.
The civil suit has been making its way through the courts for some time.
In January, Quebec's Court of Appeal overturned a 2011 lower-court ruling that had paved the way for it to be heard in Canada.
The appeal court ruled that Anvil's Montreal office was not involved in any of the decision-making that led to a massacre, making it inappropriate to hear the case in Quebec.
It also ruled that victims could have sought justice in Congo or Australia, where the company also operated.
Last April, a lower-court judge had rejected the notion that the links between Quebec and Anvil were insufficient.
If the Supreme Court decides to hear the case, advocates say the ruling could have major implications on whether Canadian companies can be held accountable for their involvement in human rights violations committed abroad.
"I think this case is a really important one and the facts that we've alleged are so stark that it really is the kind of case a Canadian court needs to hear," said Matt Eisenbrandt, legal director for the Canadian Centre for International Justice, one of the NGOs involved.
"It can really set the ground rules for whether corporations can be sued when they are involved in human rights violations."
A Chinese company called Minmetals Resources Ltd., with headquarters in Australia, acquired Anvil earlier in March for $1.3 billion.
Sally Cox, a company spokeswoman, denied any wrongdoing on Anvil's behalf.
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