Popular comedian Zarganar faces 45 years in jail for organising aid runs to victims of Cyclone Nargis which hit in May. He is the latest in a string of opposition activists to be jailed by the military government for
Popular comedian Zarganar faces 45 years in jail for organising aid runs to victims of Cyclone Nargis which hit in May. He is the latest in a string of opposition activists to be jailed by the military government for
Celebrate the life and work of libertarian socialist dissident Noam Chomsky on his 80th birthday by adding your tribute here…
A new Corner House report looks at the real costs, consequences and possible solutions to the global financial crisis.
Full article available to download as a pdf from The Corner House website.
against toxic trade to stop the UK’s electrical waste being dumped in developing countries.
Computeraid International have recently launched a campaign calling on the UK government to tighten up the WEEE directive and take action to prevent the UK’s electrical waste (e-waste) being illegally exported and dumped in countries such as Ghana, Nigeria and China.
Computer Aid’s mission is to reduce poverty through practical ICT solutions. Modern economic development is not possible without information and communication technologies, but we must put a stop to this shameful abuse of non tested and faulty equipment being dumped in the developing world.
The people of Sarajevo call for an end to recent homophobic brutality.
In an open letter to the international community, a group of progressive citizens of Sarajevo have called for support in condemning the recent brutal attacks against gay, bisexual and lesbian people.
“We, the citizens of Sarajevo, call upon the representatives of the International Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina to raise their voices against the escalation of violence in the Capital, especially with regards to the recent events that increased the feeling of insecurity among law-abiding people. Namely, the events that followed
the opening of the Queer Festival in the night of the 24^th September, when eight people were injured and other participants and visitors verbally and physically harassed in the very heart of the city, are
only the continuation of violent crimes that we have been witnessing over the past year, the most horrific one being the brutal murder of a young boy, Denis Mrnjavac back in February. We believe that the failure of the authorities to take responsibility for prosecuting and punishing the perpetrators in an efficient manner led to this shocking
surge of crime.”
“This is why we ask you to demand from the representatives of the authorities to condemn the violence that occurred on 24^th September and to apprehend and punish the perpetrators. If they fail to do so, we fear that the promotion of fascism and homophobia will spread to the other spheres of social life of the wider community. We, the citizens of Sarajevo, have the right to freedom, without fear of persecution because of our personal beliefs or sexual
orientation.”
“Please help us fight discrimination and violence!“
Recent report reveals the scale of Chinese police surveillance of Skype and Tom-Skype text chats.
The full text chat messages of Chinese TOM-Skype users, along with Skype users who have communicated with TOM-Skype users, are regularly scanned for sensitive keywords, and if present, the resulting data are uploaded and stored on servers in China.
Tell Boris not to scrap the western extension of the congestion charge. The congestion charge works for cycling, but it risks being scrapped. It is essential that you make your views known to the TfL consultation.
London Mayor, Boris Johnson has asked for your views, so don’t lose this chance to support the congestion charge.
The original central London congestion charge led to an immediate reduction in motor vehicle traffic and a 30% increase in cycling. Pollution levels went down and the health of Londoners went up. The congestion charge raises vital income to support sustainable transport and a more liveable London.
The western extension of the congestion charge encouraged cycling and initially resulted in a 20% decrease in congestion. Major roadworks in the area have reduced the congestion impact, but without the charge congestion would be far far worse.
The Mayor and his advisors are known to be critical of the congestion charge. Boris Johnson is asking for views on whether the western extension should remain as it is; should be removed; or whether it should be altered. None of the alterations suggested in the consultation will reduce congestion and may even increase it.
London is renowned globally for the political courage in introducing congestion charging. Don’t let things slip back and see worse conditions for cycling and growth in motor traffic, congestion and pollution.
London Cycling Campaign is calling on the Mayor to retain the western congestion zone and strengthen its impact on reducing congestion.
LCC wants:
* Retention of the western extension and of the current operating hours * Action to reduce congestion caused by travel between the western extension and the central zone. This means separating the two zones, charging separately for each zone, with a discount for drivers and zone residents travelling across both zones * Measures to capitalise on the road space freed-up by congestion charging, such as reallocating the space to cycling, walking and making streets and public spaces people-friendlyYou’ll find LCC’s official responseat www.lcc.org.uk
The congestion charge has been central to promoting cycling and making London more pleasant. We can and must stop it being rolled back.
Make your views known at: TfL consultation
When you visit the TfL consultation website, you need not be constrained by the options given to you in the questionnaire. If you share our views, we suggest you tick the box for ‘keep the western extension as it is’, and then use the space on the next page to suggest changes, such as those we list above.
Act now, to make London a better city for cyclists
Stephen Fry wishes the GNU project a happy 25th birthday! GNU stands for “GNU’s Not Unix”, and is a complete, free operating system. GreenNet proudly runs GNU/Linux on its servers.
The combination of GNU and Linux is the GNU/Linux operating system, now used by millions. There are many distributions of GNU/Linux, many of which are tailored for desktop use. GreenNet currently recommends Ubuntu to people interested in exploring a free, community-developed computing environment.
For an introduction to free software, see Stephen Fry’s birthday message.
Activists and indigenous groups condemn Gordon Brown’s offer of military help for Shell in the Niger Delta.
At the G8 Gordon Brown promised to send equipment, trainers and ‘advisors’ to the Nigerian military to “ensure oil production can bring prosperity” and to make sure that there’s a ‘sustainable peace’ in the area.It’s very hard to make an obscene profit when locals keep attacking your oil platforms, as the oil giants have been finding out to their cost since the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) began its campaign in 2005.
MEND responded by saying their ceasefire with the Nigerian government was over, and that British interests would “suffer the consequences.” And they’re not known for making idle threats.
This Thursday, the 47,000 barrels-per-day Eni pipeline was blown up by attackers in what the company, in a rare candid moment, called a ‘community dispute’. The dispute in question is pretty clear; one between the community and the oil industry. Within 24 hours of this attack more than 30 militants attacked the naval boat protecting oil facilities belonging to Shell Petroleum Development Company.
Report by SchNews.
Join the call for Zimbabwean exiles to be allowed to work and acquire skills in the UK. The British government can help exiled Zimbabweans by allowing them to acquire the skills they need to rebuild their country when the opportunity comes. Instead, thousands of Zimbabwean exiles in the UK live in limbo – de-motivated and de-skilled, and prevented by law even from working as volunteers.
The Strangers in Citizens campaign is calling for the Home Office to enable Zimbabweans resident in the UK to have:
On Friday, 11th July, the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu will lead a service at St Margaret’s Church, Westminster Abbey at 12.00. This will followed by a rally and walk to the Home Office; Parliament Square and the South Bank at 1.30pm
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