November 2015 Newsletter

Welcome to the November 24, 2015 edition of this Peace/Justice action email!

This newsletter contains two topics of note.  The first is a brief comment on the recent Paris terrorist attacks.

The second topic contains a global action for November 29 and is why the newsletter must go out now.  The overall topic is the upcoming world Climate Change conference in Paris.  While this newsletter has touched on the climate issue several times, the complexity of the topic itself is beyond the scope to address.  No one can predict accurately what impact humanity will have on our climate (due primarily to carbon dioxide emissions, as well as methane, etc.).  But the overwhelming consensus leans heavily toward a negative long-term impact if emissions are not reduced.  Long before such a consensus (though noting it is not scientific unanimity) this newsletter voiced a stance of using the Precautionary Principle, whereby the greater the risk, the greater the need to fall on the side of caution (and thus in this case to take mitigating action).  The blog link, below, was created particularly for issues such as this, that gives rise to many perspectives and thoughts – so please feel free to share respectfully your views.

Also included are articles on the recent Myanmar elections and such topics as antibiotics concerns.

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Pour la traduction française: cliqueter ici; et cliqueter alors le bouton de traduction sur la page Web.
Para la traducción española: clic aquí; y entonces hace clic en el botón de traducción en la página web.

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GLOBAL CLIMATE MARCH (NOVEMBER 29!)

Global climate change talks take place in Paris, November 30 – December 11.  While many people do not feel that substantial progress will be made, a signal of grassroots support – in the form of a global march – is a critical component to show that a large constituency for such change exists.

Paris was going to be the centerpiece of the Global Climate Change march, which will take place around the world on Sunday November 29.   However the Paris rally was cancelled due to the recent terrorist attacks.

Thus it becomes more essential that people around the world bring a strong, vibrant voice supporting a robust action plan on climate change!  Please consider attending by checking the link below (thus far over 2300 events worldwide)

Find An Event Near You:
http://globalclimatemarch.org/en/
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/event/globalclimatemarch/?blog

Add Your Name to the Global List:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/save_the_date_nov29_loc/?cl=8930374888&v=68264

 

 

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BRIEF REFLECTION ON PARIS ATTACK

For the Western world, the Paris terrorist attacks were extremely jarring.  They also evoked wide sympathy for all those affected by such a senseless loss of innocent lives.  I will defer analysis here – the attacks have already resulted in a massive stream of commentaries.

Instead I will simply voice a hope based on the “well-being of all.”   Such senseless loss is rightly an affront to one’s sense of humanity.  The hope is simply that everyone might use the above sense of sympathy to expand or refresh our sense “of all”.

It is hard to break through the typical narrow news that comes to us and recognize how tragically prevalent such loss is encountered through various forms of barbarism.  For instance using our longitudinal study, on a typical day (Nov. 22) in Darfur two children and others were burned to death in a militia raid while in a separate militia attack six women were raped.

May we continue to expand our sense of who is affected by any senseless loss of life.  And may it lead us to advocate for solutions better grounded in the well-being of all and thus less susceptible to any influence of undue fear-based reactions.

 

 

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SAVE INDONESIA’S FOREST AND PEOPLE’S HEALTH

Most environmental issues impact several other domains.  In this case people are burning areas of rainforest and peatland so they can grow palm oi and for paper products.  This impacts climate change both in the release of CO2 and for the peatland, methane which has a 100-fold greater impact.  It also destroys the habitat of some endangered species. The smoke and smog also affects the farmers’ health. Plus mono-culture farming is the worst on the ecosystem and least sustainable.  For all these reasons please consider sending a letter to Indonesia’s President and the CEOs of the companies in question to tell them to stop such destructive practices.

Take action:
Tell Indonesian President and CEOs to end crisis  [Greenpeace]

Background:
Effect of Palm Oil production in Indonesia

 

 

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=== FOLLOW-UP TO PREVIOUS ISSUES ===
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Burma (Myanmar) Elections Provide Hopeful Direction

The November 8 elections resulted in a landslide for the party of Aung San Suu Kyi, even though she is barred from being president.  As noted earlier there has been a hopeful shift in the last couple of years.  Now begin the delicate dance among Suu Kyi, the newly elected representative and the military who retain control over security and have a fixed minimum 25% of the seats.  The path exists for a better country overall.  It may be quite uneven since for instance Suu Kyi has ignored the plight of the Rohingya, though it is not known if that is a terrible blind spot or political calculus that such an embrace would be one step too far.

https://www.hrw.org/blog-feed/burma-elections-2015

 

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=== ARTICLES OF INTEREST ===
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The Future of Conflict:

On the 20th anniversary of the International Crisis Group they have produced a set of 20 articles about the future of conflict by significant world leaders and thinkers.  It can provide nothing more than interesting glimpses including “The Failures of Democracy”, “Globalistan’s Challenges”, and “Faith in Islam & Faith in Women: Why Gender Justice is Key to an Islam Without Extreme”.  To further enliven this set, it should be noted that some counter critiques would name some of the authors as part of the problem not the solution.
https://medium.com/the-future-of-conflict

 

Serious Alarm: World Running Out of Antibiotics

A recent Lancet report has raised serious alarm about a turning point where our top antibiotics will no longer work.  In short an infection could become lethal.  The basic concern, echoed for decades, has been the overuse of antibiotics, particularly in animals and in not keeping antibiotics for animals and humans separate.

Our last current top antibiotic – colistin – now has a mutation that renders it ineffective and is easily spread.  It is in Southeast Asia and is spreading.  While science may come up with another answer, leading scientists depict a highly troubling future of staying ahead of superbugs, and of doctors having to simply say to patients with an infection, “There is nothing more I can do.”
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34857015

October 2015 Newsletter

Welcome to the October 31, 2015 edition of this Peace/Justice action email!
As promised in the last newsletter this brief newsletter focuses on the Syrian crisis and possible responses we can make. In addition there is further news on oil drilling in the Arctic and disturbing new about tuberculosis.

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Pour la traduction française: cliqueter ici; et cliqueter alors le bouton de traduction sur la page Web.
Para la traducción española: clic aquí; y entonces hace clic en el botón de traducción en la página web.

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RESPONDING TO THE SYRIAN CRISIS

The Western world has been bombarded with images of desperation as waves of refugees have boarded rickety boats or endured parched and hostile journeys. This crisis has reached a threshold in our world, resulting in a call for extraordinary action, just like the “Vietnamese Boat People” of the 1980s.

This article will not attempt to cover the complexities of this crisis (though please raise any issues of concern via the above blog link). What follows is simply a quick sketch of possible responses:

1. An acknowledgement of our primitive dynamics. Human creativity has put men on the moon and created driverless cars. Canadians just spent $1 billion on Halloween. Contrasting that incredible ability and such disposable income with all the preventable and curable diseases that still ravage the world; with the existing 60 million refugees and others suffering unnecessarily (eg., Darfur’s forgotten yet continuing atrocities); and with an earth that still has enough and to spare, seems – at best – like the definition of “primitive”. I start here, not to evoke any guilt, but to step back, attempt to ground myself better in what life is really about, and thus hopefully engage in new possibilities.

2. Support credible humanitarian help. One aspect of the deluge has been the under-funding of the normal crisis agencies. For example, the World Food Programme had to cut its funding to Syrian refugee camps by 50%. Such underfunding forces people who were desperate enough to go to refugee camps, to consider leaving them, thereby adding to the exodus to Europe.

To be clear this point must be seen in the context of the entire list. It is not a subtle attempt to keep such people “over there, away from my country”, nor that refugee camps should be seen as normal, permanent fixtures on the world scene. It is more basic – for now they are simply the first line of refuge for a traumatized people and should be able to provide all essential resources for this stage. But they do not. There are many issues outside the scope of this article – the inconsistency of other stages, issues of land and local relations for the camps, etc. – that must be left for another article.

Thus within the context of this entire list, this aspect does need support and it can take two forms:

a. Donate to the reputable charitable aid agencies;
b. Press your country to increase its funding to the UN aid agencies;

3. Support agencies in your area that provide resources that help refugees adjust to life in Canada. These are not the sponsoring groups themselves, but agencies that assist immigrants with the basic tools and resources to integrate into one’s society (language classes, translation resources, basic living skills, etc.). Support could be donations of money or time;

4. Sponsor one or more families with another group. Details for this will depend on your country. But if feasible it is an easier path to join with a group who already has expertise in sponsorship;

5. Fully sponsor a family. Again this will depend on your country. But if feasible one must be clear-eyed about the commitment. The very basics usually involve:
a. A substantial cash outlay (usually at least $30,000 for a one year commitment to fully support their needs);
b. Enough volunteer time to help them get established (housing, schooling, medical, language, jobs, etc.). It would involve substantial time at the start, though a pitfall can be that once the basics are stablished that the continued support falls off. As well, some people will have extra needs due to trauma, low literacy rates, etc. (This must be clearly factored in, but is also a doubly wonderful gift to give them if it is viable). One needs to be clear-eyed about this year-long commitment, and hopefully beyond;
c. For both this point, and the one above, “sponsorship” does not need to mean a Syrian family. If your country has a good policy on refugees, it can be best to simply take what they deem the most critical need. Remember, there are currently 60 million refugees around the world (4 million Syrians). Our longitudinal study of Darfur should have taught us that “being in the spotlight” does not necessarily mean “the most critical need”.

6. Advocate an end to the civil war via all political and diplomatic means, so that the exodus will be stopped and the people will be able to return home. Again the complexity and layers involved are well outside the scope of this article;

The above barely touches all the factors in this complex disaster. But “complex” does not need to mean “immobilized”! The above responses do make a difference.

Finally, I do what to raise up a counter sentiment to the start of this article. While it is clear how primitive we are, especially on point #6, there are also numerous people and organizations using the creative human ability to envision and create organizations and resources that are slowly building alternative patterns to move us forward (such as the value of transparency and good governance, the transformative role women can play, the indicators of a failing state so that it can be caught before it fails, and so on). World conditions are improving, due to such wonderful people and efforts. Unfortunately it remains at an abysmal pace and is continually undercut by other dynamics, thus keeping the word “primitive” the most apt overall label.

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=== FOLLOW-UP TO PREVIOUS ISSUES ===
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US curbs Arctic offshore oil and gas drilling
The US government has announced new curbs on oil and gas exploration in Arctic waters off Alaska’s northern coast. It comes after oil giant Royal Dutch Shell last month stopped its Arctic activity citing “disappointing” tests. These are further hopeful steps on this issue.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34557099

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=== ARTICLES OF INTEREST ===
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TB ‘joins HIV as most deadly infection’
Tuberculosis now ranks alongside HIV as the world’s most deadly infectious disease, the World Health Organization (WHO) said. While there had been a great drop in TB rates (cut in half since 1990) it is more difficult now due to more resistant strains of TB, and a lack of global focus.
   http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34658015