Catégorie : World People

Linked with Interview with Munir A. Malik, Jan. 13, 2008 (had been published on AHRChk.org Hong Kong) and with AHRC.

Munir A. Malik (Munir is also spelled Muneer) is a very prominent Pakistani lawyer.He is the former President of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) of Pakistan.He was the leader of the legal defense team of Chief Justice of Pakistan … Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry when the latter was illegally dismissed by general Pervez Musharraf … (wikipedia).

He says: « it was quite a sad instance that Army was victimizing its own masses rather than cross border enemies … (full text, Jan. 24, 2008).

Watch the videos:

• Ahmed Raza Qasuri abusing Munir A Malik, 4.35 min, September 24, 2007;
• Munir A. Malik Speaks After CJP Reinstatement, 9.21 min, July 20, 2007;
• and: Presidential reference hearing adjourns till April 18, 2007, 3.04 min, April 13, 2007;
• Congressional Quarterly reCap.

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Munir A. Malik – Pakistan

Some latest articles where Munir A. Malik is named:

• Lawyers to file petition before deposed judges, Jan. 31, 2008;
• Iftikhar swipes back at ‘extremist’ Musharraf, Jan. 31, 2008);
• Lawyers march for deposed judges, colleagues, Jan. 25, 2008.
• Police baton-charge lawyers in Islamabad, Jan. 24, 2008.
• Police tear-gas lawyers, Jan. 24, 2008.
• RDA calls for probe into Rs 155m embezzlement, Jan. 23, 2008;
• Aitzaz, Munir win human rights award, Jan. 23, 2008;
• VIEW: Same old story —Munir Ataullah, Jan. 16, 2008;
• Tahir files plea against setting up of LHC bench in Islamabad, Jan. 15, 2008;
• Iftikhar Chaudhry was removed because he defended the poor, Jan. 13, 2008;
• Masood Khan elected RDBA president, Jan. 6, 2008;
• LAHORE: Former Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Munir A Malik said that if lawyers’ movement did not succeed by February then the country would have no judiciary. In an interview with Somini Sengupta published in the New York Times, Malik said, “We have to change tactics. It’s now or never. If we don’t succeed by February, we won’t have any kind of judiciary.” He said lawyer leaders – including Aitzaz Ahsan, Ali Ahmad Kurd, Justice (r) Tariq Mehmood and he himself- were under detention and were not allowed to talk with each other ‘except covertly’ … (full text, January 6, 2008);
• PkPolitics request everyone to pray for the health of Munir Malik who is not in good health, Dec. 11, 2007.

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Linked with Community and Institutional Development CID.

For Laila Iskandar, founder and managing director of the Community and Institutional Development group (CID), that opportunity came in the form of an empty shampoo bottle. Multinational cosmetic companies were frustrated that empty bottles of their products were being filled with bogus material, then resold as the real thing with the labels still intact. Who was doing the refilling? The garbage collectors, of course … (full text).

Watch the videos:

• in english: Community & Institutional Development, 7.59 min., July 16, 2007;
• in german: Laila Iskandar, Unternehmensberaterin Ägypten, 7.34 min., May 21, 2007.

STUDY ON SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT OPTIONS FOR AFRICA, PROJECT REPORT, Final Draft Version.

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Laila Iskandar – Egypt

Egypt: where and who are the world’s illiterates? (2005).

She writes: They have living memories of the horror of evictions and a city that never regarded their work as valuable. In 1974, the choice to settle deep in the ‘belly’ of the Mokattam hills was made consciously and collectively in order to avoid further eviction. They have never stopped serving the city at great financial and personal cost. Let me enumerate some of these costs:

• unremunerated labour (they were never paid for the service of climbing up and down multi-storey buildings in Cairo);
• gruelling work (especially for the women who have to sort the garbage by hand);
• harsh living conditions and a lack of education and health care.

… (full text).

Visions of zero waste around the world.

Laila Iskandar and her Community and Institutional Development group (CID) took home the Schwab Foundation’s honor for Social Entrepreneur of the Year in Egypt. We look at how she and her fellow nominees are setting out to change the economy as we understand it today … (full text).

The Urban Poors as Development Partners.

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Linked with Trident Ploughshares TP.

Angie Zelter is a British peace activist who founded Trident Ploughshares, which seeks to disarm nuclear submarines in Great Britain through nonviolent means. Since the mid-1990s she has been arrested more than 100 times and more than 2200 arrests have occurred all around the world after Trident Ploughshares actions. These arrests help to bring media attention to the cause of nuclear disarmament in order to raise public awareness about the issue. Trident Ploughshares has also presented legal actions to show that nuclear weapons and nuclear armed submarines are a violation of many international laws. Angie Zelter is the author of the 2001 book, « Trident on Trial: the case for people’s disarmament » and that year her organization received the Right Livelihood Award (often referred to as the Alternative Nobel Prize) “… for providing a practical model of principled, transparent and non-violent direct action dedicated to ridding the world of nuclear weapons”. She is a Betterworld-heroe.

She says: « I had people in the village who would cross the road rather than speak to me and others who would tell me to go back to Russia ». (edp24).

Trident Ploughshares campaigner Angie Zelter said: « These women are very long-standing campaigners who have devoted a huge amount of their lives to protesting all over the UK, at huge cost to themselves. They command a huge amount of respect ». (full text, January 10, 2008.

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Angie Zelter – England

She founded the group Trident Ploughshares to challenge Britain’s deployment of nuclear weapons (and she) describes her work as a peace activist in Britain and the Palestinian territories. (the 12 principles).

She quotes: « Our planet is dying – both spiritually and physically. Fear, aggression and greed, narrow-minded national interests and immature dominance and control over others is a common theme in most countries. However, there are more and more people who define themselves as global citizens, who know that life is intimately interconnected, and that we can never be fully human whilst others continue to suffer, and who know that love, justice and nonviolence is the very essence of life. And what gives me hope is the very many different ways in which ordinary people are taking responsibility. They are creating the changes needed to pass beyond war and injustice, control and dominance and towards a free, just, loving, and diverse world ». (Betterworld heroe).

One stop shop for justice – JUSTICE in Inverclyde is set to undergo its biggest overhaul in decades, with extra court room, extra powers and the return of the High Court, Jan. 7, 2008.

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Linked with Transnational Institute, with Foreign Policy in Focus FPIF, and with The Climate Corporation.
Walden Bello (born 1945) is a left-wing author, academic, and political analyst. He is a professor of sociology and public administration at the University of the Philippines, as well as executive director of Focus on the Global South. Born in Manila, Philippines, he became a political activist following the declaration of Martial Law by Ferdinand Marcos on September 21, 1972. In 2003, he was awarded the Right Livelihood Award; describes him as « one of the leading critics of the current model of economic globalisation, combining the roles of intellectual and activist. »[1] Bello is also a fellow of the Transnational Institute, based in Amsterdam and is a columnist for Foreign Policy In Focus. (wikipedia).

See his personal website.

Little photogallery and more.

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Walden Bello – Philippines

European Commission ploughs ahead with irresponsible agrofuels push, 25/01/2008.

He writes: The American fast food diet and the meat eating habits of the wealthy around the world support a world food system that diverts food resources from the hungry. A diet higher in whole grains and legumes and lower in beef and other meat is not just healthier for ourselves but also contributes to changing the world system that feeds some people and leaves others hungry. (betterworld). See also it’s Vegetarian Quotes.

Social forum proposes alternative to Davos, 23/01/2008.

He writes also: I’m engaged in the global resistance movement because I think that one has to do something worth while with one’s life. There’s nothing heroic about this. It’s just that you have to do it, to be human. It’s something we owe to our fellow human beings. We have a situation in the world in which this sort of exploitation and poverty that we have should not be seen. Human beings should be able to devise more equitable structures. And so one has to be part of that process. Because you either engage in the process and thereby be true to yourself or you disengage from the process and are just an onlooker and that, I think, would be not being true to oneself. So, the answer to the question why does one engage in this work, it’s because that’s the only decent thing to do. There’s no big inspiration and there’s no big heroism, there’s no sort of martyrdom and there’s no glory. It’s just pure decency. I think that’s at least what motivates me. (full text, scroll down).

Poor, Deluded Europeans, January 22, 2008.

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Linked with Rebuilding a Bridge, and with War Crimes Studies Center WCSC, U.C. Berkeley.

Francis (Frank) S. L. Wang ’72, sharpens the contrast of East and West with two quotes, one by Angus Graham – “…The most striking difference between…the two ends of the civilized world is in the destiny of logic. For the West, logic has been central…” – and the other by Liu Shuhsien – “…it is precisely because the Chinese mind is so rational that it refuses to become rationalistic and…to separate form from content”. (full text).

He says: “It’s not as if the two cultures are from different planets, but they do originate from differing philosophies and perspectives. It is not sufficient just to preach about the rule of law; we need to understand that people are different. If we want to bridge the gap between China and the West, we need to learn more about China’s philosophies and culture so as to understand the way the Chinese organize their world view, and as a consequence their society, and the way they think about law” (full long text).

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Francis S.L. Wang – China & USA
Professor Wang is a Professor of Law at the Kenneth Wang School of Law of Soochow University and is a visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley, as well as a visiting professor and Distinguished Scholar in Residence at the University of the Pacific / McGeorge Law School, (Courses: International Intellectual Property, Concepts of Chinese Law). He is one of the founders and the Senior Counsel of the U.C. Berkeley War Crimes Studies Center. He is one of the founding members and serves on the Board of Governors of the International Association of Law Schools IALS. He is the Executive Director of the Wang Family Foundation (named in SuperPages.com). He has testified before the United States Senate, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Trade Commission, as well as the United States Trade Representative’s Office. He has published widely and lectures frequently in the U.S. and Asia on selected aspects of international law and related issues. (full text).

Find him on FindLawyer.cn (a chinese website).

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Linked with Shirin Neshat – Iran & USA, with Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in IRAN CASMII, with The Lost Children of the Revolution, and with The American Muslim TAM.

Born in 1936 in Teheran, Bahman Nirumand studied German Studies, Philosophy und Iranian Studies in Munich, Tübingen and Berlin. In 1960 he received his PhD on the basis of a dissertation on Brecht. After his studies, he returned to Iran, and worked as a Lecturer for Comparative Literature at the University of Teheran, and also as a writer and journalist. He soon came into conflict with the Shah-Regime and fled the country in 1965 in order to escape his imminent arrest … (full text).

Bahman Nirumand (* 18. September 1936 in Teheran) ist ein iranischer und deutscher Publizist und Autor (wikipedia.de).

He writes: « The more the regime manages to mobilize the masses for its foreign policy aims, the easier it is to increase pressure within the country. The nuclear conflict, the threat of sanctions by the USA and the EU in an attempt to force Iran to forego its internationally given right to the enrichment of uranium – a right that has in the meantime be elevated to a matter of national honor, along with the general demonization of Iran by the West and similar developments, give the radical Islamists just the ammunition they need to bring the masses into line in terms of ideology, religion and nationalism and to demand their solidarity with their country. This is the context in which Ahmadinejad’s invective against Israel and denial of the Holocaust must be seen ». (full text).

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Bahman Nirumand – Iran & Germany

Media Darlings of the Unenlightened Masses.

Bahman Nirumand calls on the West to take a closer look at Iran: « There are also moderate forces at work within the government. Even conservatives reject President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s confrontational policies. The signs of Tehran’s adopting a softer tone which could be observed over the past few weeks throw light on a power struggle that has become increasingly fierce since Ahmadinejad made his radical statements. It’s thanks to the moderate forces within the government that Tehran described Russia’s offer to produce nuclear fuel in Russia as ‘positive’ and as a ‘possible way out of the crisis’, and that just last Monday an Iranian delegation tried to prevent Europe from making ‘rash decisions’. The question now is which faction within the Iranian parliament will win the battle. The answer depends to no small extent on the West’s response. Threats, sanctions or a military attack will only serve to strengthen the radicals’ position and silence the voices which today rise in opposition to Ahmadinejad’s policies. (euro topics).

Bahman Nirumand, born in 1936 in Tehran, is an Iranian-German writer. (The following article appeared in Taz in german). Here the english translation by Yoshie Furuhashi, on 17 November 2007.

The Danger of War Grows: The Scenario Reminiscent of the Iraq War (texts on this site are in english AND in german). (critical montages, Nov. 17, 2007).

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Linked with Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, and with Dream Change DC. Also linked with John Perkins of 3rd November 2006 on this blog.

John Perkins (b. 28 January 1945 in Hanover, New Hampshire) is an activist and author. His best known book is Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, an insider’s account of the exploitation or neo-colonization of Third World countries by what Perkins portrays as a cabal of corporations, banks, and the United States government. His 2007 book, The Secret History of the American Empire, makes further claims about the negative impact of global corporations on the economies and ecologies of poor countries, as well as offering suggestions for making corporations behave more like good citizens … (full text).

He says: « When you look at the world we humans have created you may conclude that it was created by sleeping people, because awake, aware, conscious people would manifest a very different world. We have entered one of the most important periods in human history…We have the opportunity to lift ourselves to new levels of consciousness » … (full text).

Listen his video: Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, 53.34 min, June 21, 2007.

Look at his own website.

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John Perkins – USA

He is the Founder of DREAM CHANGE.

Listen his video: John Perkins – America’s Secret Empire, 5.30 min, August 13, 2007.

He says: « Basically what we were trained to do and what our job is to do is to build up the American empire. To bring—to create situations where as many resources as possible flow into this country, to our corporations, and our government, and in fact we’ve been very successful. We’ve built the largest empire in the history of the world. It’s been done over the last 50 years since World War II with very little military might, actually. It’s only in rare instances like Iraq where the military comes in as a last resort. This empire, unlike any other in the history of the world, has been built primarily through economic manipulation, through cheating, through fraud, through seducing people into our way of life, through the economic hit men. I was very much a part of that » … (full interview text).

John Perkins spent three decades as an Economic Hit Man, business executive, author, and lecturer. He lived and worked in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and North America. Then he made a decision: he would use these experiences to make the planet a better place for his daughter’s generation. Today he teaches about the importance of rising to higher levels of consciousness, to waking up – in both spiritual and physical realms – and is a champion for environmental and social causes. He has lectured at universities on four continents, including Harvard, Wharton, and Princeton. (full text).

Self-Described Economic Hit Man John Perkins: “We Have Created the World’s First Truly Global Empire”.

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Linked with The Gender and Media Project, with Daughters for loan under fire, … , and also linked with Malawi PeaceWomen already on our blog: with Irene Chaluluka, with Helen Munthali, and with Madam Felister Chinthunzi.

Pilirani Semu-Banda is a journalist contracted by the USAID as Media Specialist for Casals and Associates in Malawi. As a freelancer, Pilirani has won both local and international awards, including the Africa Education Journalism Award. She has also been voted Malawi’s best female journalist twice. (altvoices).

Visit her blog.

A short video-statement about Pilirani Semu-Banda, by USAID to Africa, 0.39 min, 20 Nov 2007.

Malawi: ‘Foreign Traders Are Taking Our Jobs‘, by Pilirani Semu-Banda, December 20, 2007.

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Pilirani Semu-Banda – Malawi

Modern Day Slavery in Malawi Persists in the Name of Culture.

As one of the major tobacco exporters in the world, Malawi derives up to 70 percent of its foreign exchange earnings from tobacco, accounting for five percent of the world’s total exports and two percent of the world’s total production. Tea is the second major foreign exchange earner after tobacco, contributing a nine percent share to the country’s total exports. This little country in southern Africa, 20th in population out of the 54 countries and island kingdoms that make up Africa, ranks only after Kenya, which has almost three times the population, as the second largest producer and exporter of tea in Africa; it is 12th on the world list … (full text).

The Cost of the US Elections on Africa.

She writes: In Nkombanyama, a village in Malawi’s northern district of Chitipa, a 14-year-old girl was saved by a traditional chief as she was about to be married off to a successful farmer. Sadly, her father was using her as currency to settle a debt with the farmer.

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Linked with the Mathematics Genealogy Project, and with Family Tree for Mathematic Scholars.

Retired Minnesota State University-Mankato mathematics professor Harry B. Coonce has proven once again that nature abhors a vacuum. Four years ago, he started a small project that has blossomed into a massive online effort to list all the world’s mathematicians. His reason for starting the Genealogy Project for Mathematicians? The information wasn’t available anywhere else … (full text).

A Labor of Love: the Mathemiatics Genealogy Project.

The Project in the UK: Notes.

the Project on wikipedia.

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Sorry, I found no photo of Harry B. Coonce in the internet.

He has created the Mathematics Genealogy Project of thed NDSU North Dakota State University.

(To access their feature – as participant of the project – you have to login with your ACM Web Account and, if you fullfill their requirements*, click on ‘this link’ of the project).

* to full fill their requirements, Dr. Coonce requests that the following information be sent to him (by mail) for any Ph.D. mathematician not currently included in the list (or for whom there is an incomplete or inaccurate entry):

• The complete name of the degree recipient;
• The name of the university that awarded the doctorate;
• The year in which the degree was awarded;
• The complete title of the dissertation;
• The complete name(s) of the advisor(s).

(full text).

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Shirin Neshat doesn’t quite know where to call home. The 43-year-old artist was born and raised in Iran but moved to the U.S. after high school to study art. When the Islamic Revolution overtook her homeland in 1979, Neshat was exiled and couldn’t return until 11 years later – and the country she went home to bore little resemblance to the one she left … (time.com).

She says: « For a long time I resisted that word, exile. I feel like when you say “exile” it implies a state that is not voluntary like when you leave your country. At the time I made that statement -that was quite a few years ago – I had been traveling to Iran, and I was really proud that I had made the effort to go there. It’s within the last few years that the notion of exile has really started to sink in for me. Every time I tried to go back, there were all these blocks that prevented me. I started, for the first time, to really feel this frustration. Before, it had always been a matter of choice. I made the decision. This time I realized I didn’t have the choice, and I felt really angry and frustrated. Then I said, “Well you know something? I am an artist in exile.” I decided that maybe once I accepted that, other doors would open in my mind in terms of the way I situate myself, in terms of my work, my psychology ». (BelieverMag).

She was also impressed with the museum’s commitment to show the works of artists who have not been seen in the region, including Shirin Neshat, Pipilotti Rist and Bill Viola … (full text, Jan. 9, 2008).

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Shirin Neshat – Iran & USA

Listen the video: The Noam Chomsky / Shirin Neshat / Death Penalty panel, 56.40 min., 09.06.2006 on charlierose.com.

This will be the first time that the subject will be offered as an extensive one-day course and for many art lovers in Dubai, some of the artists to be discussed will be familiar thanks to having exhibited in the city and across the region. These include Farhad Moshiri, Shirin Neshat, Walid Raad, Rabab El-Nemr and Paul Guiragossian. (full text, Jan. 7, 2008).

Universes in Universe.org.

Solo show reviews include: Gert & Uwe Tobias, Mariko Mori, Carlos Amorales, Mary Heilmann, Slater Bradley, Ian Kiaer, Duncan Marquiss, Luisa Lambri, Charlotte Posenenske, Joanne Tatham & Tom O’ Sullivan, Mathieu Mercier, Mark Leckey, Job Kolewijn, Ian Tweedy, Konstantin Kakanias, Enrico Morsiani, Gino De Dominicis, Yael Bartana, Jordan Wolfson, Lorenzo Scotto di Luzio, Shirin Neshat, Jean-Luc Moulène, Sean Snyder, Teresa Margolles, Noriko Yamaguchi. (full text, Jan. 7, 2008).

An Unveiling.

Continuer la lecture de « Shirin Neshat – Iran & USA »