Archive for December 15th, 2016

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15/12/2016

Europe Must Not Be a Vassal to Trump’s USA

Human Wrongs Watch

By John Scales Avery*

OSLO, 15 December 2016 – Today human civilization and the biosphere face two existential threats: catastrophic climate change, and thermonuclear war. Each of these disasters could cause mass extinctions, and each could make large portions of the earth permanently uninhabitable.

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John Scales Avery

The hubris of oligarchic leaders in the United States is leading the world directly towards both these threats; and this is particularly true after the nightmarish 2016 November election, which brought an unstable, violence-advocating, racist, narcissistic, climate change denier to the White House.

Donald Trump’s proposed Cabinet is heavy with aggressive retired generals, and for Secretary of State, he has picked Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson.

In his campaign speeches, Trump promised that of elected, he would pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement.

As President-Elect he has said that he would end NASA’s climate research, and he has threateningly demanded a list of all scientists who worked with the Obama Administration on the issue of climate change.

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15/12/2016

Rise of Wood Production Driven by Housing and Green Energy Markets

Human Wrongs Watch 

 14 December 2016 – According to new data from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), global production of wood products has been increasing for the past six years, while wood trade saw a slight decline.
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A worker building a house out of Oriented Strand Board (OSB). Growth in global wood production was mainly driven by a recovering housing market and an increased demand for biofuels. | Photo: FAO

“Our data registers a healthy growth in the global production of wood products and a rapid growth in production and trade of relatively new products […] indicating that the forest industry is adapting to changes and has huge potential to become a key player in emerging bio-economies,” said Mats Nordberg, FAO Senior Forestry Officer.

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15/12/2016

Northeast Nigeria: 400,000 Children Could Suffer from Malnutrition – UNICEF

Human Wrongs Watch

With about two-thirds of health facilities in parts of Nigeria’s restive north-east region either completely destroyed or partially damaged, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has estimated that 400,000 children there could suffer from severe acute malnutrition over the next year.

A 7 month old boy is assessed for malnutrition by a UNICEF Nutrition Officer at a UNICEF-supported health clinic at Muna Garage IDP camp, Maiduguri, Borno State, northeast Nigeria. Photo: UNICEF/Katerina Vittozzi

“If they do not receive the treatment they need, 1 in 5 of these children will die. Cases of diarrhoea, malaria and pneumonia are on the rise, further endangering children’s lives,” on 14 December 2016 said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake in a statement.

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15/12/2016

President Trump and the Christian Right

Human Wrongs Watch

By Chris Shannahan*

14 December 2016 (openDemocracy)* – Does Trump’s election represent a victory for reactionary religion or a prelude to faith-based opposition?

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**Image: Donald Trump speaking to supporters at an immigration policy speech at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona. | Author: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America |  Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Generic license.

Do religion and politics mix or should faith be a purely private matter confined to home, church, synagogue or mosque?

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15/12/2016

Trump Does Taiwan

Human Wrongs Watch

By Pepe Escobar*

14 December, 2016 (RT)* – Did President-elect Donald Trump turn a 10-minute phone call with the president of Taiwan into a Hellfire missile, instantly vaporizing the US’ ‘One China’ policy? Of course not.
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**Image: New Taipei City Hall, Banqiao, Taiwan | Date: 8 February 2010 | Author: Undefined | Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. 

This is a riddle inside an enigma. Let’s start with a cool-headed interpretation, as published in a report by the National Academy of Development and Strategy at Beijing’s Renmin University, which for three years has been advising the Chinese leadership.

Yang Qijing, the author of the report, cuts to the chase: “The unspoken words behind ‘Make America Great Again!’ is that China’s economy, especially its manufacturing industry, is making the US not so great as before…So we should not question [the determination of the] Trump administration to mobilize any political, economic and military resources to protect and advance US economic interest, or even make it its first priority.”

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15/12/2016

‘Arbitrary Killings, Sexual Violence’ Plague Central African Republic’ – UN

Human Wrongs Watch

Violations and abuses of international human rights and humanitarian law in the Central African Republic (CAR), which include arbitrary killings, sexual violence and inhuman treatment, continue to plague the country, according to a United Nations report published on 14 December 2016.

Displaced children seek safety with their families in a churchyard in Kaga Bandoro, Central African Republic. Photo: UNICEF/Daniel Timme

During the period covered, which includes the final six months of the Transitional Government, the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) recorded 1,301 cases of human rights violations and abuses affecting at least 2,473 victims throughout the country, including 1,000 men, 261 women, 91 boys and 67 girls, with a further 808 unidentified adults and 246 victims whose age and gender could not be fully verified.

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15/12/2016

5% of All Oceans Now Protected – 2016 Set to Be the Hottest Year Ever

Human Wrongs Watch

14 December 2016 – Since April, an unprecedented 3.6 million square kilometres of ocean – an area larger than India – have been designated as marine protected areas (MPAs), meaning for the first time, more than 5% of the world’s oceans are now protected.

By absorbing much of the added heat trapped by atmospheric greenhouse gases, the oceans are delaying some of the impacts of climate change. Photo: WMO/Olga Khoroshunova

“The establishment of so many new protected areas is tremendous news and should give those fighting tirelessly to conserve the world’s oceans and seas an enormous sense of achievement,” announced Erik Solheim, head of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

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