Archive for ‘Africa’

09/02/2021

Creeping Corporate Statism, aka Fascism

By Ann Garrison | Black Agenda Report – TRANSCEND Media Service*

Despite depending on separate news media that purvey different realities, the two corporate parties both serve a corporate dictatorship.

When I look back to the beginning of Donald Trump’s presidency, four light years ago, the first image that comes to mind is that of Jimmy Dore’s conversation  with Glenn Greenwald about Congressmember Adam Schiff’s appearance on The Tucker Carlson show. Schiff is a Democrat representing California’s 28th District, and the military industrial complex
Northrop Grumman, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon are among his most generous campaign contributors.
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He voted against  banning armed forces in Libya without congressional approval, voted against  removing U.S. troops from Afghanistan, voted in favor  of the Iraq War, voted in favor  of arming moderate Syrian opposition rebels, and pushed  for the US to arm Ukrainian rebels.

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09/02/2021

The West vs the Global South: You Have the Numbers. We Have the Money

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UNITED NATIONS, Feb 9 2021 (IPS)* – When the 134-member Group of 77, the largest single coalition of developing countries, was trying to strike a hard bargain in its negotiations with Western nations years ago, one of its envoys famously declared: “You have the numbers. We have the money.”

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When Palestine made history as Chair of the Group of 77 in 2019. The current chair is the Republic of Guinea. Credit: UN Photo/Manuel Elias

But that implicit threat– signifying the power of the purse– did not deter the G77 from playing a key role in helping shape the UN’s socio-economic agenda, including sustainable development, environmental protection, universal health care, South-South cooperation, eradication of extreme poverty and hunger—all of them culminating largely in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted in 2015 and targeted for a 2030 deadline.

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09/02/2021

A Major Intrusion of Sand and Dust from the Sahara Transformed Skies and Landscape over Europe, with Far-Reaching Impacts for the Environment and Health

8 February 2021 (WMO)* — A major intrusion of sand and dust from the Sahara transformed skies and the landscape over Europe on the weekend of 6-7 February, with far-reaching impacts for the environment and health. It once again highlighted the importance of accurate forecasts and warnings of this transboundary hazard.

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08/02/2021

‘Companies that Ignore Their Impact on the Environment Don’t Just Alienate Customers and Turn Off Investors…’ Ultimately They Face “Existential Challenges”

Survival of the greenest: businesses must reduce their footprint

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Photo credit: Georgina Smith/UNEP / 03 Feb 2021

8 February 2021 (UNEP)* — Companies that ignore their impact on the environment don’t just alienate customers and turn off investors. Ultimately, says a new business brief from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), they face “existential challenges”.

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08/02/2021

Indebtedness Affects 68% of Returnee Migrants in Six West African Countries, Jeopardizing Their Reintegration at Home

Dakar, 7 February 2021 (IOM)* A study conducted by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on the impact of indebtedness on returnee migrants in six West African countries reveals that 68 per cent are in debt, while over two-thirds characterize either the shame or burden of their indebtedness as a hindrance to their reintegration in their home communities.

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An IOM study on migrant debt reveals that the estimated amount of the indebtment of all returnees across the six countries surveyed may reach EUR 18 million Photo: IOM

As migration becomes increasingly hazardous and costly, many migrants take out loans and incur debt from relatives and friends to finance their journey.  On a personal level –social and psychological– many of those surveyed cited feelings of anxiety, failure, social isolation and fear of not being able to repay their obligations.

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08/02/2021

Heartbreaking Refugee Film Opens Human Rights Weekend 2021

Amsterdam,  8 February 2021 – Online only, free of charge, and streaming across the Netherlands. These are the unique features of the 9th edition of the Human Rights Weekend(February 12 to 14), 2021. All three documentaries are European or Dutch premieres and available on all days of the event, accompanied by various bonus content.

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© Pieter Scheltema for Human Rights Watch

The opening night, co-presented by De Balie, features a live event about refugee rights on Zoom and the Netherlands premiere of Mira Jargil’s documentary film Reunited, available from February 11  through February 14.

Reunited is the heartbreaking story of a family torn apart by the Syrian war and their attempts to navigate frustrating bureaucracies, living separately in Denmark, Canada, and Turkey.

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07/02/2021

Oceans and Climate Change: It’s Time to Talk

FAO hosts a discussion on the state of our oceans and the threat posed by climate change

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About 25 percent of the greenhouse gases that we emit actually gets absorbed by the oceans, as does almost all of the globe’s excess heat… 93 percent of it, to be exact! ©Kimberly Jefferies/Coral Reef Image Bank

5 February 021 (FAO)* — Oceans are an essential part of our planet. They provide us with food to eat and keep our atmosphere healthy. Without the oceans, we simply wouldn’t exist.

But climate change means that ocean temperatures are increasing, icebergs are melting, and sea levels are rising. We need action to reverse these trends, and raising awareness is the first step.

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07/02/2021

United Arab Emirates’ Double-Standard on Citizenship Rights

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UAE flag with Dubai skyline © 2019 Getty Images

5 February 2021 — The United Arab Emirates (UAE) recently announced a plan to extend citizenship opportunities to highly-educated, skilled, or wealthy foreign nationals and their families.

Unfortunately, the country’s citizenship law still leaves out other groups, including children born to Emirati women and foreign fathers, and stateless people.

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07/02/2021

Migrants Play Key Role in Disaster Response

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) Explores Diaspora’s Engagement in Humanitarian Assistance

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Stronger diaspora coordination has the potential for better and more effective humanitarian assistance in countries affected by disasters. Photo: IOM/Muse Mohammed

Washington, DC, 6 February 2021 (IOM)* – Many people, when they consider the contributions of migrants to their countries of origin, think first of remittance flows —the billions of dollars travelling annually between high income, “developed” destination countries to lower income regions in the Global South.

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07/02/2021

Chicken Wings, Hunger and the Super Bowl

6 February 2021 (UN News)* —  The amount of money spent on food and beverages to enjoy, perhaps, the United States’ most high-profile annual sporting event, adds up to more than twice the global budget of the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP), according to the agency.

Unsplash/WFP | Americans spent more than $17 billion on 2020 Super Bowl parties.

WFP says Americans spent around $17 billion on food, drinks, party supplies and other paraphernalia to mark the 2020 Super Bowl, the flagship event of the American football season, and in the process consumed a stomach-churning 1.3 billion chicken wings and almost 900 million pints of beer.

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