India. Dharna for Education
From: "aiaif" [EMAIL PROTECTED] - Original Message - From: Rajesh To: viren ; ALL INDIA ANTI-IMPERIALIST FORUM Sent: Monday, November 27, 2000 12:04 AM Subject: Dharna for Education A Dharna For Education The newspapers of 25th November carried photographs and extensive reports of a small but noisy Shiv Sena demonstration at Delhi's Parliament Street the previous day. This was political theatre at its most idiotic, as saffron-bandanaed Shiv Sainik goons beat their breasts, clambered on police barricades and burnt an effigy of the Prime Minister to register their protest against the BJP's "betrayal" of Hindu interests by declaring a unilateral ceasefire in Kashmir. Batteries of press cameras whirred and clicked and moronic soundbites were dutifully recorded. But after the press had departed, a demonstration that was unique by Parliament Street's own standards took place and went largely unreported. Over two thousand rallyists of the All India Save Education Committee marched in an orderly procession from Ramlila Maidan for what their banners proclaimed as a "Dharna for Education". Students, teachers and parents from at least 16 states, holding placards that protested against the commercialisation and communalisation of education, reached Parliament Street where a temporary stage had been swiftly erected. For the next three hours, speakers described the condition of education in their respective states and demanded that the Government cease its twin attacks of commercialisation and communalisation of education. A number of eminent educationists including Professor Sushil Mukherjee, former Vice Chancellor of Calcutta University and Dr. N.A. Karim, former Pro-Vice Chancellor of Kerala University participated in the Dharna. Compared to the cheap histrionics of the Shiv Sena demonstration that preceded it and which was clearly an exercise of self-aggrandisement, this Dharna for Education was a reflection of one of the real concerns of the common man: the increasing inaccessibility of quality education. Just a few days earlier, Delhi's Education Minister Narender Nath had brazenly proclaimed that parents who could not bear fee hikes and demands for donation in private schools should shift their wards to Government schools as his Ministry would do nothing to curb this menace. The All India Save Education Committee was a product of the widespread students' and teachers' movement in the wake of the sudden and secretive unveiling of the National Policy on Education in 1986 by the Congress Government. (The Policy openly proclaimed for the first time that the provision of education was not the duty of the State, that private investment was essential and that citizens would have to bear the ensuing rising costs). Since then, the Committee, under the Presidentship of Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer, has been mobilising public opinion for the cause of education. Apart from holding two national-level conventions and several regional meetings of citizens concerned about education, the Committee has carried out signature campaigns and has published several booklets on the condition of education, including an outline People's Policy on Education as an alternative to the 1986 National Policy on Education. The text of a memorandum to the Prime Minister submitted by a delegation of the All India Save Education Committee during the dharna is appended here: Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee Prime Minister of India November 24th, 2000 Dear Prime Minister Realising the importance of education for the establishment of a democratic society, social reformers of the Indian renaissance and stalwarts of the freedom struggle had stressed on the importance of establishing free and compulsory education for all. Subsequently, this idea was incorporated in the Constitution. But in the 52 years after independence, we have witnessed a systematic process of curtailment of education rather than expansion of educational opportunities. The Kothari Commission had recommended that the Central and State Governments should invest 6% of the national income in education. But the actual investment has always been far lower regardless of the party in power. This has resulted in educational institutions being perpetually short of funds, equipment, infrastructure and teachers. Regular fee hikes have resulted in education becoming a privilege for the better-off rather than being accessible to all. The number of seats in institutions has been curtailed leading to an admissions crisis every year. The task of education is such a massive one that only the Government has the necessary resources for it. However, the National Policy of Education in 1986 openly declared that education could not be seen as the responsibility of the government alone, it would have to be privatised and commercialised. This Policy has resulted in the further deprivation of education for millions of underprivileged students. Moreover, making education more expensive will not make
Vietnam News Nov 27
Scientific and technological awards presented A ceremony to present Ho Chi Minh Awards and State Awards on Science and Technology was held on November 26 at the Hanoi Opera House. The State president, on September 1, 2000 signed a decision to present the Ho Chi Minh Awards on Science and Technology to 21 works and the State Awards on Science and Technology to 71 others. Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem presented the State presidents certificates to the winners. The deputy prime minister spoke highly of the great achievements and the precious contributions of the countrys scientific and technological circle in general and of the winners in particular. He also urged them to make greater contributions, creating more scientific products of high value to serve the cause of national industrialisation and modernisation. Two scientists, Professor, Dr Nguyen Van Luat, representing for the scientists of the technological, medicine and pharmaceutical block, and Professor Ha Van Tan, on behalf of the scientists of the social and humanity block, thanked the Party and the State for the attention to the scientists and promised to make more contributions to national construction. Dignitaries to the meeting included Advisors to the Party Central Committee Do Muoi and Le Duc Anh; Vice State President Nguyen Thi Binh; Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem; National Assembly Deputy Chairman Vu Dinh Cu; General Vo Nguyen Giap and many other leaders of the Party and State. BACK TO TOP --- - PM meets foreign leaders Prime Minister Phan Van Khai and leaders of other ASEAN countries met with Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and President of the Republic of Korea (RoK) Kim Dae- Jung in Singapore on November 25. PM Khai is head of the Vietnamese delegation to the fourth ASEAN informal summit in Singapore. During these meetings, PM Khai expressed his delight at further development of the relations between eastern Asian countries, saying that the development of such relations has important significance both at present and in the future. He affirmed that Vietnam would do its best to contribute to developing the neighbourly friendship and co-operation between the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China. He said he believed that with both sides' determination, their relations would be certainly strengthened for peace, stability, co-operation and development in the region and the world. He held that Vietnam has effectively fulfilled its role as co-ordinator of the ASEAN-Japan relationship. He said he hoped that Japan would actively help carry out the Hanoi Plan of Action which is aimed at narrowing the development gap, developing human resources, information technology and poverty reduction, particularly the development of the Mekong River basin and the East-West Corridor. The Vietnamese PM expressed his support for the settlement of issues on the Korean peninsula by peaceful means through dialogue and for the Korean people's aspiration of peaceful national unification. He welcomed the RoK's efforts in strengthening and promoting its co-operation with the ASEAN and asked the RoK to actively support and participate in the implementation of the Hanoi Plan of Action, especially the ASEAN's current priority programmes. PM Khai also met on separate occasions with Singaporean Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, RoK President Kim Dae-Jung, Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji. During these meetings, they informed each other of the situation in their respective countries, and discussed measures to further promote bilateral political, economic, trade and investment ties as well as their co-operation at regional and world multilateral forums, especially co-operation within the framework of ASEAN and between ASEAN and the three north-east Asian countries. PM Khai expressed his pleasure at the new development of friendship and co-operation between Vietnam and those countries and developments in the relations between the ASEAN countries and the north-east Asian countries. He affirmed that Vietnam in its capacity as President of the ASEAN Standing Committee and the ASEAN Regional Forum will spare no effort to boost effective co-operation among ASEAN countries and between ASEAN and China, Japan and RoK. The leaders of Thailand, China, Japan and RoK conveyed their condolences to Vietnamese leaders on the losses in lives and property caused by recent floods in Mekong delta provinces. They praised the achievements recorded by the Vietnamese people in national renovation, industrialisation and modernisation and welcomed Vietnam's contributions to strengthening co-operation among ASEAN countries and between ASEAN and the north-east Asian countries in its capacity as ASEAN President. They pledged to accelerate co-operation with ASEAN
IRAQ SANCTIONS MONITOR Number 161
IRAQ SANCTIONS MONITOR Number 161 Monday, November 27 2000 LATEST NEWS++VHS copies of the film 'Big Ben to Baghdad', the epic account of last year's journey in a 37-year-old Routemaster bus from London to the capital of sanctions-engulfed Iraq. The 65-minute-film costs £9.99 from the Mariam Appeal, 13a Borough High Street, London+LATEST _ Iraqis celebrate Asian youth cup victory. BAGHDAD, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Baghdad was in jubilant mood on Sunday after its Asian youth football victory. Hundreds of young people took to the streets in the evening to celebate their country's 2-1 win against Japan, handing Iraq the title at the Asian Youth Football Championship in Tehran. Carrying Iraqi flags, the celebrators crowded the main streets of the capital, singing and dancing as shots were fired into the air. Iraq's youth team has won the Asian title four times - in 1975, 1977 and 1988. The team qualified this year after heading their group four on goal aggregate. The group included Bangladesh, Nepal and the Maldives. __ India and Iraq seek UN permission to enter into a barter agreement. NEW DELHI Nov. 25. - India has sought clearance from the United Nations (UN),to enter into a barter agreement with Iraq, seeking crude in lieu of foodgrains. India will supply Iraq with food, in an effort to bypass the sanctions imposed on that country by the international community. The Petroleum Minister, Mr Ram Naik, disclosed this after a preliminary meeting with the Iraqi Oil Minister, Mr Amer Mohammad Rashid, in New Delhi today, prior to the five-day visit of Iraq's Vice-President, Mr Yassin Ramadhan, beginning tomorrow. "The issue will be discussed during the meeting of the Indo-Iraq joint commission beginning on Monday," Mr Naik said. "Since Iraq is facing sanctions from the international community, it is not possible for India to import oil," Mr Naik said, adding that foodgrains could be sent on humanitarian grounds. According to the foreign ministry, it is anticipated that this time long term cooperation agreement, updating previous agreements, will take place on bilateral issues. There are currently about 74 bilateral agreements between the two countries. The Indo-Iraq joint commission is expected to focus on trade and sectors like agriculture, telecom, food production, industry, information and technology, housing and construction and training. The oil sector is, however, a primary component of bilateral cooperation, and Iraq has been a consistent and dependable source of India's energy requirements. Under the 'oil for food' programme, Indian companies, including Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited (Bhel), have already entered into contracts worth $550 million. Iraq has thus far bought half a million tons of wheat from India. Indian government godowns are totally stacked with foodgrain stocks and it would greatly ease the pressure on foreign exchange (Forex) reserves, if India could dispose of some of these foodgrains for much needed crude. India has sought special concessions for developing countries from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), of which Iraq is a member, claiming that volatile international oil prices exerts tremendous pressure on developing economies struggling to remove poverty. All Material Subject to Copyright Copyright 2000: The Statesman (India). All Rights Reserved. _ Vice-President Ramadan urges airlines to resume flights to Baghdad. Text of report by Iraqi TV on 26th November Vice-President Taha Yasin Ramadan left Baghdad for India this evening aboard an Iraqi Airways plane. Ramadan is leading a delegation that comprises a number of officials. [Baghdad TV reporter Sham'un Matti - recording] Mr Vice-President: Would you tell us about the nature of the visit you will pay to India and the talks you will hold with officials there? [Ramadan] Relations with India have witnessed over the past two years progress in many fields, following our meeting with the Indian prime minister in South Africa on the sidelines of the nonaligned summit. The work of the joint ministerial committee became regular; many contracts were signed; and contacts were held between both countries' parliaments and organizations. The talks between senior officials dealt with economic, scientific, technical and even political issues. In the light of this, we received an invitation from the [Indian] vice-president to discuss with the Indian prime minister and leaders all aspects of cooperation between the two countries. Therefore, we will discuss the general framework of a long-term agreement for cooperation between the two countries in all fields. [Matti] You will leave on board an Iraqi Airways plane. Yesterday, Tariq Aziz left on board an Iraqi Airways plane. Is this tantamount to an official announcement on the
Scotland/Ireland: Terrorist Alert At Ibrox - Micheal Stone
Terrorist Alert At Ibrox Kate Foster ONE of Northern Ireland's most notorious terrorists threatened to spread trouble to Scotland yesterday by heightening sectarian tensions with an appearance at the Old Firm game at Ibrox. Police officers feared Loyalist killer Michael Stone had travelled to Scotland to attend the emotionally charged fixture but were relieved when he could not be seen in the stadium. His presence in the Glasgow area prompted warnings in the media about the possibility of violence between fans of the rival clubs. Stone, who killed three people during an IRA funeral, was caught in an early morning bomb scare hoax at the hotel in which he was staying just hours before he was due to attend the match. The 45-year-old, who spent 12 years in the Maze jail, was travelling with friend and pubowner James Gray who was providing his security. He travelled with around 200 other Rangers fans from east Belfast but at the last minute pulled out of joining the crowd at Ibrox to witness his team beat Celtic 5-1. Police sources said they could not be sure whether Stone attended the match but expressed their relief that, if he was there, he stayed out of sight to avoid antagonising the Celtic supporters. Stone declined to comment on his visit to Scotland but a minder said he was in Glasgow to thank Loyalist groups for their support. He said: "Michael is here for the football and for some time away to relax. He has friends here, a lot of people who supported the prisoners. There is nothing inflammatory about his visit. He wants it to be kept as quiet as possible." However, the killer's intention to attend the match provoked anger from anti-sectarian group Nil By Mouth. Carla Henderson set up the organisation after her boyfriend, 16-year-old Mark Scott, a Celtic fan, was murdered by Rangers supporter Jason Campbell in 1995. She attended yesterday's match and said reports that Stone would be attending had spread throughout the crowd. She said: "Stone had the right to be there but I would question his motive for coming to Glasgow. This kind of thing does nothing to help dispel sectarian associations." Stone was evacuated from Glasgow's Hilton hotel , along with his security and 400 guests, after staff received a telephone bomb threat. The call was made around 2:30am and police and bomb disposal experts sealed off the area. No device was found.
PCE (r): Solidarity With Spanish Communists And Anti-Fascists Arrested In France
(Forwarded) INTERNATIONAL APPEAL OF THE PCE (R) SOLIDARITY WITH THE SPANISH COMMUNISTS AND ANTI-FASCISTS ARRESTED IN FRANCE Last 9th November the French politic police unleashed in Paris, under the Spanish Civil Guard, raid against the-PCE ( r) and the GRAPO arresting our Secretary General and several members of the Central Committee of our Party. This is a new step in the growing repressive collaboration between the Spanish fascists and the French police services against the whole of the political movement of resistance that confronts the Spanish fascist State. Nowadays, 7 militants of our Party and the GRAPO and more than 70 Basque independentists are jailed in French prisons. The fact that the Spanish monopolist and fascist regime is powerless to control the people's discontent and to stop the activity of the revolutionaries and the patriots is becoming more public and evident. In these bitter moments for the current rulers of the PP government they resort to the intenational police collaboration under the excuse of supporting the Spanish democracy in its struggle against terrorism - to chase implacably the communist revolutionaries, the antifascists and the Basque patriots. All this exposes the growing fascistization of the European imperialist fortress. The leaders and militants of our Party detained in Paris have been arrested by the mere fact of denouncing consistently the ruling Spanish fascist regime and organizing the working class to overthrow it. In Spain the fascist laws do not allow even the tiniest loophole to organize the workers politically in the perspective of the struggle and the combat for socialism. The underground character of the communist organization is something that is imposed by the very nature of the fascist regimeand the repression that it exerts permanently against it. The Leadership of our Party has not remained underground and at exile for more than 15 years as a matter of taste but in order to ensure the politic and organizational survival of the whole Antifascist Resistance Movement, securing its leadership and making possible in this way that it can be in conditions to face up the needs that the sharpening of the class struggle in our country imposes. We will continue firmly along this path showed to us by the comrades that have been arrested. Today, the French special judges accuse the leaders of our Party of belonging to a "criminal association related to a terrorist organization", repeating in this way the old-fashioned arguments that the Spanish politic police has been incapable to prove nor even a single time in the last 25 years. They pretend to involve our Secretary General in the planning of the GRAPO actions when even the Spanish judges have been forced to admit on more than one occasion that the PCE(R) and the GRAPO are two different organizations. The French special judges should not ignore the fact that our militants are sentenced and jailed in Spain accused of "unlawful association", an essentially political offence, that the 'Spanish democracy" took directly from Franco's laws. The Spanish fascist State, the same one that launched under successive governments its death squads (GAL, Spanish Basque Battalion) to assassinate political refugees on French ground allows itself nowadays the cheek of presenting our leaders and militants arrested in Paris as "terrorists". This is not the first time that our Party is attacked in France. In 1979, already after the "democratic reform", the Spanish secret service assassinated in Paris Francisco Javier Martin Eizaguirre - responsible of the International Relations Commission of the Central Committee- and Aurelio Fernandez Cario. In 1986, also in Paris, three militants were arrested and spent several years in the French prisons. One of them, Milagros Caballero Carbonell, was extradited to Spain after serving her sentence in France. Nowadays she needs to use a walker as a consequence of a paralysis resulting from the long hunger strike that she maintained in 1990-91 together with the rest of her imprisoned comrades to confront the policy of torture and extermination of the political prisoners. Waiting for their possible extradition to Spain, our comrades arrested in Paris are nowadays imprisoned in the special jails built by the French bourgeoisie to annihilate those who oppose their system. In view of the policy of extermination through the white torture of isolation that the French gendarme- State is perpetrating against the militants of Action Directe, the Basque independentists and other political prisoners like the Turkish communists and anti- imperialists of DHKP-C, we have no doubt that our comrades are also going to be submitted to the same treatment. At the same time they will try to use our comrades as political hostages in order to blackmail our
Workers Party Of Belgium: Proposal Of A Common Communist Platform Against EU Summit
Workers' Party of Belgium == International department Boulevard M. Lemonnier 171 1000 Brussels Tel.: +32-2-5040.139, +32-2-5040.111 Fax: +32-2-5040.141, +32-2-513.98.31 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Internet: http://www.wpb.be Brussels, November 26, 2000 Proposal of a common communist platform against the European Summit in Nice (France) Dear Comrades, On the occasion of the European Summit in Nice (France) on 7th and 8th December 2000, we propose to present a common communist platform, endorsed by as many communist parties and organisations as possible. If your organisation supports the platform, please mention hereafter the full name and address (including E-mail address) of your organisation, as well as the name of a responsible with his/her function. -- Our organisation supports the platform 'No to the European State' Name: Address: Name of a responsible with his/her function --- You will find the text we propose hereafter (also in attachment). With our fraternal communist greetings Jean Pestieau International Relations Secretary International department -- No to the European State On the 7th and 8th of December, the heads of State of the countries of the European Union will gather in Nice. Their agenda: the reform of European institutions. In fact, it is about the creation of the foundations of a European State. A good thing ? This State is a creation of the European bosses. The group that has the most influence on the European deciders is the European Round Table of Industrialists, an association of 48 managers of the big European multinationals: Philips, Fiat, Renault, TotalFina Elf, Bayer, Siemens, Unilever, Shell, BP Amoco, Suez-Lyonnaise, etc. Founded in 1983 with the support of the European Commission, it was behind the setting up of the single market, the Maastricht Treaty, the creation of the Euro, the expansion to the East and the submission of these countries to Western capitalism. Today these employers want a political entity at the European level. This state is and will be anti-democratic. The Parliament has only very few powers. All power is concentrated in the Commission, in the Council of ministers and in the European Council. Each of them are under the influence of employers' lobbies like the Round Table. Think tanks like the European Policy Centre, where politicians and businessmen sit next to each other, orientate the debates about Europe. All this happens without the workers knowing and against them. For of course this state is also anti-social. The almost unanimous desire of European leaders is to make of Europe a supercompetitive entity, whose companies will be able to beat their American and Japanese rivals. To this end, the workers must agree to make themselves available for employers according to the conditions of the latter : extreme flexibility, decrease of salaries and of social allowances, dismantling of social security systems, night and week-end work, generalisation of temporary employment and part-time work, etc. The Social Charter that is to be ratified in Nice is another example of social regression: no right to employment, no right to housing, no right to income. The European State is and will be a war machine. First against the workers. Then against the East European countries incorporated by force into the net of European multinationals. Finally against the US and Japan. Because the interest of European bosses in such a state is to be able to counter the political and military hegemony of Washington. At the end of the day, it is to be able to replace the US as the world dominant power. It is an imperialist project. We, communists, defend the following : the right to a decent job for every worker maintaining workers' established rights democratic rights for everybody the right for each Third World country to develop in an independent way support for the national liberation movement in the Third World the struggle for peace and against the dangers of war caused by the desire for power of the US, the European Union and Japan the development of the socialist countries For we think that, to destroy this European state, to stop the globalisation of markets and capital, to suppress the wealth gap in the world, in order to create an economy centered on the human being, we have to change society. Join us. Contact address : [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Workers'Party of Belgium)
THE PEAK OF WORLD OIL PRODUCTION
- Original Message - From: perry arnett [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Perry Arnett [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, November 25, 2000 4:22 PM Subject: [CrashList] Fw: this is very long, and takes a few minutes to load, but you may find it of some importance - Perry you'll need to click on this URL so you can see the graphs http://dieoff.com/page224.htm it's worth it!! Perry Home THE PEAK OF WORLD OIL PRODUCTION AND THE ROAD TO THE OLDUVAI GORGE Richard C. Duncan, Ph.D.1 Pardee Keynote Symposia Geological Society of America Summit 2000 Reno, Nevada November 13, 2000 ABSTRACT The Olduvai theory has been called unthinkable, preposterous, absurd, dangerous, self-fulfilling, and self-defeating. I offer it, however, as an inductive theory based on world energy and population data and on what I've seen during the past 30 years in some 50 nations on all continents except Antarctica. It is also based on my experience in electrical engineering and energy management systems, my hobbies of anthropology and archaeology, and a lifetime of reading in various fields. The theory is defined by the ratio of world energy production (use) and world population. The details are worked out. The theory is easy. It states that the life expectancy of Industrial Civilization is less than or equal to 100 years: 1930-2030. World energy production per capita from 1945 to 1973 grew at a breakneck speed of 3.45 %/year. Next from 1973 to the all-time peak in 1979, it slowed to a sluggish 0.64 %/year. Then suddenly -and for the first time in history - energy production per capita took a long-term decline of 0.33 %/year from 1979 to 1999. The Olduvai theory explains the 1979 peak and the subsequent decline. More to the point, it says that energy production per capita will fall to its 1930 value by 2030, thus giving Industrial Civilization a lifetime of less than or equal to 100 years. Should this occur, any number of factors could be cited as the 'causes' of collapse. I believe, however, that the collapse will be strongly correlated with an 'epidemic' of permanent blackouts of high-voltage electric power networks - worldwide. Briefly explained: "When the electricity goes out, you are back in the Dark Age. And the Stone Age is just around the corner." The Olduvai theory, of course, may be proved wrong. But, as of now, it cannot be rejected by the historic world energy production and population data. 1Institute on Energy and Man 5307 Ravenna Place NE, #1 Seattle, WA 98105 [EMAIL PROTECTED] THE PEAK OF WORLD OIL PRODUCTION AND THE ROAD TO THE OLDUVAI GORGE Richard C. Duncan, Ph.D. Pardee Keynote Symposia Geological Society of America Summit 2000 Reno, Nevada November 13, 2000 Collapse, if and when it comes again, will this time be global. No longer can any individual nation collapse. World civilization will disintegrate as a whole. Competitors who evolve as peers collapse in like manner. Joseph A. Tainter, 1988 1.. INTRODUCTION The Olduvai theory is a data-based schema that states that the life expectancy of Industrial Civilization is less than or equal 100 years. We shall develop the theory from its early roots in Greek philosophy down to respected scientists in the 20th century. This approach is useful because, although the theory is easy to understand, it is difficult (i.e. distressing) for most people to accept - just as it was for me. The Olduvai theory deals neither with the geology or the paleontology of the Olduvai Gorge. Nor is it prescriptive. Rather, the theory simply attempts to explain the historic world energy production (and use) and population data in terms of overshoot and collapse. I chose the name "Olduvai" because (1) it is justly famous, (2) I've been there, (3) its long hollow sound is eerie and ominous, and (4) it is a good metaphor for the 'Stone Age way of life'. In fact, the Olduvai way of life was (and still is) a sustainable way of life - local, tribal, and solar - and, for better or worse, our ancestors practiced it for millions of years. No doubt that the peak and decline of Industrial Civilization, should it occur, will be due to a complex matrix of causes, such as overpopulation, the depletion of nonrenewable resources, environmental damage, pollution, soil erosion, global warming, newly emerging viruses, and resource wars. That said, the Olduvai theory uses a single metric only, as defined by "White's Law." But now it comes with a new twist - (((a will-o'-the-wisp))) - electricity. Most of my industrial experience is in electric power networks and the energy management systems (EMS) that control them. Electricity is not a primary energy source, but rather an "energy carrier": zero mass, travels near the speed of light, and, for all practical purposes, it can't be stored. Moreover, electric power systems are costly, complex, voracious of fuel, polluting, and require 24h-7d-52w maintenance and operations. Another problem is that
Scotland: SSP's Sheridan Seeks Pop Fans Votes - Times
FROM: THE TIMES, MONDAY NOVEMBER 27 2000 Sheridan seeks pop fans votes BY FRASER NELSON, SCOTTISH POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT TOMMY SHERIDAN, the Marxist MSP, is to record a Christmas pop single. The Jasmine Minks, a veteran rock band committed to the downfall of capitalism, have asked him to perform a rap-style monologue for their next release. His soliloquy will denounce new Labour and praise class struggle. All proceeds will be donated to the Scottish Socialist Party, which he leads. Mr Sheridan said yesterday that he had had to bring forward the recording date as he could soon be imprisoned for refusing to pay a fine imposed after a protest at Faslane nuclear base. He confessed he was not an avid fan of the Minks. "The boys told me they had a big international following, but I had to be honest and say I had never heard of them," he said. "They e-mailed me with the lyrics, which rubbish Tony Blair's claims that the class war is over. This gives me a chance to raise money for the party - we need all we can get as we prepare to stand in the general election." He is not the first MSP to show off his musical talent.Dennis Canavan (Ind, Falkirk West) performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with an impersonation of John Swinney, leader of the Scottish National Party. The catchphrase he invented for Mr Swinney - "I'm so angry I'm going to say a sweary word" - has become repeated around Holyrood. Cathy Peattie (L, Falkirk East) sang to the Scottish Parliament during a debate about traditional music. Pauline McNeill, (L, Glasgow Kelvin) assembled a band called The Kelvinettes and sang in Glasgow Anniesland last week, helping the party's by-election effort.
Support the extradition of Luis Posada Carriles to Cuba
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] A project of the International Action Center Ramsey Clark, Founder 9 West 14th St. # 206 New York, New York 10011 212.633.6646, Fax: 212.633.2889 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED], Web: www.iacenter.org biggerFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MEDIA ADVISORY Press Contact: Sarah Sloan or Teresa Gutierrez 212.633.6646 November 27, 2000 IAC JOINS THE CALL FOR THE IMMEDIATE EXTRADITION OF LUIS POSADA CARRILES TO CUBA Delegates from the IAC to World Meeting in Solidarity with Cuba held in Havana Nov. 10-14 demand an end to U.S. aggression against Cuba The International Action Center condemns yet another terrorist act against the Cuban Revolution and its leaders. We call on the Panamanian government and its president, Mireya Moscoso, to immediately extradite Luis Posada Carriles to Cuba for his foiled attempt to assassinate President Fidel Castro In addition, the U.S. government must not be allowed to obstruct justice. The White House must make sure that Cuba be allowed to freely seek full remedy in this case. In November, over 600 North Americans, including 90 people organized by the IAC, traveled to Cuba to participate in the Second World Meeting in Solidarity and Friendship with the People of Cuba. The conference was held in Havana, Cuba from November 10-14. Over 4,000 people from 117 countries participated in the meeting. These delegates represent a more accurate picture of how Cuba is seen by the world than the desperate acts of a tiny minority, such as that of Posada Carriles and others like him. The 4,000 spirited people who traveled to Cuba represent millions of people around the world who want to see normal relations between the U.S. and Cuba. It is the U.S. government and the right wing in Miami who are isolated on the issue of U.S. Cuba relations. On November 9 at the United Nations, for example, 167 countries voted against the U.S. blockade of Cuba. This overwhelming vote shows that it is the U.S. government, not the Cuban government, that is isolated on this issue. On November 17, Posada Carriles was captured along with three accomplices in Panama in an attempt to assassinate President Fidel Castro while he was traveling in Panama. Posada Carriles is a notorious anti-Cuba right-winger who is responsible for the bombing deaths of dozens of people. The assassination attempt was revealed at a press conference held by President Castro in Panama on November 17. Castro was in that country attending the 10th Ibero-American Summit on Adolescents and Children. At the press conference, Castro stated that Posada had slipped into Panama on Nov. 5 with false papers and a wide array of weapons and explosives with the explicit purpose of "physically eliminating" him. The Cuban government made the charge of the assassination attempt in Panama after a careful and meticulous investigation. It came as a result of a high level of organization by Cuban security forces as well as information provided by friends of Cuba. Were it not for this thorough effort, Panamanian authorities might not have been able to capture the gang in time. Fidel's life was not the only one placed in danger. Preliminary reports indicate that the assassination might have been carried out Saturday night, November 18, when President Castro was scheduled to speak at the University of Panama with thousands of students in attendance. A sketch of the university and 20 kilograms of plastic explosives were part of the booty seized by the authorities. Cuban officials are requesting that the convicted terrorist Luis Posada Carriles and his accomplices be tried in Cuba. They are asking that the Panamanian government keep these criminals in jail in the meantime. In 1976, Posada Carriles was instrumental in organizing the bombing of a Cuban airliner that killed 73 passengers, including a Cuban youth fencing team. He was also behind the 1997 bombing of a Havana hotel that killed an Italian tourist. The recent assassination attempt is a direct result of the hostile policies fostered and encouraged by the U.S. government towards the Cuban Revolution. The Cuban government has painstakingly proved that Posada Carriles and his accomplices have all the backing of the Cuban American National Foundation (CANF). U.S., Cuban and other historians have well documented that the CIA works with Posada, who has directed many terrorist acts against Cuban missions. He was on the payroll of the U.S. State Department and played a prominent role in the Iran-Contra scandal. While in prison in Venezuela for his deadly acts, Posada escaped jail with the aid of the CANF and the CIA. As long as the U.S. government continues its covert and overt hostility against Cuba, the likes of Luis Posada Carriles are free to carry out their bloody acts against the Cuban people and its leaders. CANF has received millions of dollars from Congress to carry out its war against Cuba. No other immigrant group
3rd World opposes US WTO agenda
X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] When the United States and Australia tried to set a date for a new WTO Round of negotiations in 2001, Malaysia led a fight against putting a dateline. Malaysian Minister for International Trade and Industry, Ms. Rafidah Aziz, had insisted that there could not be a mention of a date until an agenda for a round had first been agreed to."If there is no agenda, then what are countries going to talk about?" Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2000 13:39:47 -0500 (EST) From: Martin Khor [EMAIL PROTECTED] Organization: Public Citizen Global Trade Watch www.tradewatch.org By-way-of: Information Habitat [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [mai] Analysis of APEC Summit and WTO Round TWN INFO SERVICE ON WTO ISSUES 21 Nov 2000 From: Martin Khor, Third World Network [EMAIL PROTECTED] ANALYSIS OF APEC SUMMIT AND WTO ROUND The APEC Debate: Launch A New WTO Round or Fix An Agenda First? WHY IT MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE By Martin Khor SUMMARY: Last week's (Nov 2000) APEC meetings in Brunei saw a dramatic debate between the developed countries and some developing countries (led by Malaysia) on how soon to launch a new Round of trade talks at the World Trade Organisation. Malaysia insisted that first agreeing to the content of such a Round should precede a move to launch a Round. Fixing the agenda or launching a Round may appear to be only a matter of emphasis. In fact, it could make all the difference to the future economic and social prospects developing countries. What's the difference between launching a new round of trade talks at the World Trade Organisation, and fixing an agenda first before committing to such a launch? Lots, judging from the controversy that erupted and then stayed on the boil at the series of high-level meetings of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum held in Brunei last week. The battle began at the APEC Economic Ministers' meeting on 12-13 November. When APEC members from developed countries like the United States and Australia pressed for an agreement to launch a new WTO Round in 2001, Malaysia led a fight against putting a dateline. Malaysian Minister for International Trade and Industry, Ms. Rafidah Aziz, had insisted that there could not be a mention of a date until an agenda for a round had first been agreed to."If there is no agenda, then what are countries going to talk about?" She denied that Malaysia was a "lone voice" speaking against the tide, and said Malaysia's views were shared by many other countries that were just not so vocal. "Malaysia is vocal on the side of the majority and does not want the rest of the world to be bulldozed by the very vocal but powerful few." (The Star, 14 November). However, when the APEC leaders' meeting ended last Thursday, the mention of a date for launching a new round had appeared. The Declaration of leaders stated that: "We agree that a balanced and sufficiently broad-based agenda that responds to the interests and concerns of all WTO members should be formulated and finalised as soon as possible in 2001 and that a round be launched in 2001." There were, however, differing interpretations among the leaders as to the meaning and the points of emphasis to the placed on this part of the Declaration. Whilst much of the mainstream media highlighted that APEC leaders had called for the launching of a new WTO round, Malaysia's Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad stressed at a post-Summit press conference that any launching of a Round would be conditional on first having agreement on an agenda, and that this position was shared by some other APEC leaders as well. Dr Mahathir said the differently-worded Declaration did not mean that APEC had backtracked on Malaysia's earlier proposal to set a deadline for the agenda first before deciding on a launch date for a WTO round. "The general opinion is that we should have the launch in 2001, but it must be preceded by an agreement on the agenda. If there is no agenda, how can we have a meeting? It (the launch) is conditional on having an agenda. And this is not just Malaysia, others speak in the same way." Dr Mahathir reiterated that if an agenda cannot be finalised, then there is no way that a new Round of WTO talks can be launched. "I hope that they (trade officials in Geneva) can have an agenda. If they purposely do not come up with an agenda, then it will be difficult to have a new round. What are we going to talk about?" The different opinions at the APEC meeting reflect the on-going battles at the WTO between developed countries led by the US, European Union, Japan and Australia (that want to expand the powers of WTO through a new round) and developing countries like Malaysia, India, Pakistan, Egypt and Zimbabwe (which want the WTO to first resolve problems faced by developing countries arising from implementing the WTO's existing agreements). The sharp differences came to a head at the
Is Israel using DU radioactive weapons?
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] IS THE ISRAELI MILITARY USING DEPLETED-URANIUM WEAPONS AGAINST THE PALESTINIANS? International Action Center calls for an investigation By John Catalinotto and Sara Flounders, Depleted Uranium Education Project of the International Action Center The International Action Center calls upon international organizations, NGOs, environmental and health organizations to investigate the Israeli militarys use of prohibited weapons in the West Bank and Gaza, and to mobilize to stop it. These weapons include dumdum bullets and CS gas. The IAC believes it also includes depleted- uranium weapons. The effect of dumdum bullets and CS gas is immediate, easily shown and obvious. Using radioactive and toxic depleted-uranium weapons is an additional crime that has an insidious long-term effect, not only on combatants and civilians in the vicinity, but over a broad area and to the general environment, as has been shown by the Pentagons massive use of DU weapons in Yugoslavia and especially in Iraq. The International Action Centers own investigative team on Nov. 1 and 2 saw Israeli helicopter gun ships firing into densely populated areas. According to international law these attacks on civilian areas are war crimes--as is the long-term destruction of the environment from DU contamination. Mobilizing investigations, public challenges and mass protests against the use of DU weapons can stop this crime against humanity. The aim of this paper is to show with supporting data that it is credible that the Israeli military is using DU weapons in the Occupied Territories. We know that Israel is DU-armed and capable, and shielding on Israeli tanks is DU-reinforced. The IAC urges scientists, doctors and soldiers who know of the use of DU shells to come forward with definitive proof that the Israeli military has at least tested DU weapons in its attacks on Palestinian offices and homes. In addition, we urge environmental and other organizations to demand an accounting from these authorities. It will also show how following similar Pentagon or U.S. government denials regarding test-firing DU weapons in Puerto Rico, Okinawa Panama and south Korea, revelations and public pressure have forced admissions and in some cases have won pledges to stop firing DU weapons. In Kosovo, Yugoslavia, and in the Persian/Arabian Gulf region this pressure has led to international investigations and legal actions against DU use. DU IS PART OF ISRAELI ARSENAL U.S. arms make up the major part of the Israeli arsenal and Israel has been the number one recipient of U.S. arms aid for decades. These U.S. weapons include the M1 Abrams tankwhich fires DU shells and is armored with DU-reinforced metal. The Apache and the Cobra helicopter gun ships are also equipped to fire DU shells. Since this latest Intifada started, the U.S. has shipped Israel the newest and most advanced multi-mission attack helicopters in the U.S. inventory, as reported in the Jerusalem Post. These were Apache helicopters. The IAC delegation witnessed Israeli attack helicopters, which people described to them as Apache helicopters from the U.S., firing shells and rockets at targets in and around Ramallah on Nov. 1. They then examined a small office used by the Fatah organization that the projectiles hit and destroyed. The following day they saw machine guns on tanks being fired at Palestinian youths in Ramallah armed only with rocks and slingshots. They also visited a Fatah office near Nablus that Israeli rockets had hit the night before. The IAC delegation gathered up shell casings and metal fragments in these areas. As they were preparing to leave from Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, members of the IAC delegation were stopped, searched and interrogated. The shell casings and metal fragments were confiscated. While this prevented the IAC from arranging its own tests, it made them even more suspicious that the Israeli forces were using DU shells and trying to hide it. Because of its great density, DU is also used to stabilize or balance airplanes and missiles, including the Tomahawk Cruise missile. When the missile explodes, or should the plane crash, the DU burns and is released into the air just as it is when DU shells hit steel. DU is also used to shield tanks, including the M1 Abrams tank used by the U.S. and Israel. After 32 continuous days, or 64 12-hour days, the amount of radiation a tank driver receives to his head from overhead armor will exceed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's standard for public whole-body annual exposure to man-made sources of radiation. Whether from shells or from the scrapings from tanks moving around the countryside, radioactive materials enter into the land, the water and the whole food chain, contaminating the densely populated West Bank and Gaza, where water is a scarce resource. Wanton radioactive contamination of this region is a crime against
