Blue Gold: World Water Wars

In every corner of the globe, we are polluting, diverting, pumping, and wasting our limited supply of fresh water at an alarming level as population and technology grows. The rampant over-development of agriculture, housing and industry increase the demands for fresh water well beyond the finite supply, resulting in the desertification of the earth.

Corporate giants force developing countries to privatize their water supply for profit. Wall Street investors target desalination and mass bulk water export schemes. Corrupt governments use water for economic and political gain. Military control of water emerges and a new geo-political map and power structure forms, setting the stage for world water wars.

Blue Gold follows numerous worldwide examples of people fighting for their basic right to water, from court cases to violent revolutions to U.N. conventions to revised constitutions to local protests at grade schools. As Maude Barlow proclaims, “This is our revolution, this is our war”.  A line is crossed as water becomes a commodity. Will we survive?

Blue Gold: World Water Wars

 

People & Power – Ecuador: Water or Gold | Al Jazeera English

Like many South American countries, Ecuador has long been an exporter of raw materials - from agricultural produce such as cocoa and bananas, to oil, which alone accounts for more than half of its annual earnings. Now Rafael Correa, the country’s socialist president, believes much additional revenue could be gained by aggressively exploiting other natural resources, particularly gold and other precious metals with which Ecuador is endowed.  However, many Ecuadorians think the cost of this glittering prize could be far too high. Farmers, indigenous groups and environmentalists are campaigning furiously against large scale mining projects and provisions in a new water law backed by Correa’s government. They say the changes will open up pristine rural areas to extraction, pollute critical water supplies and deny local communities control over precious resources.

Bob Abeshouse reports for People & Power on how Ecuador may soon have to choose between economic growth and environmental protection.

 

L.A. Prison Using Experimental, Controversial ‘Pain Ray’ to Keep Inmates in Line – By Clay Dillow | POPSCI

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Senior Deputy David Judge aims the Assault Intervention Device (AID) with a toggle during a demonstration at the Pitchess Detention Center's North County Correction Facility. / Photo: Michael Owen Baker

Inmates bringing the ruckus at Pitchess Detention Center in California will find that deputies there can bring the pain. Working as the test-bed for a National Institute of Justice experiment, the prison is testing Raytheon’s Assault Intervention Device, a seven-and-a-half-foot-tall device that focuses an invisible energy ray on misbehaving inmates, causing a serious heating sensation that should bring said bad behavior to a halt.

The device, which will be mounted high on the wall in a dormitory housing some 65 prisoners, does no damage but it’s ray penetrates the skin about 1/64th of an inch over an area about the size of a CD, causing a sensation that’s been equated to opening an extremely hot oven. The pain stops when the target gets out of the way of the beam. It is controlled remotely via a joystick and a camera mounted on the ray itself. Deputies at Pitchess think it should help break up fights between inmates and keep deputies from having to hurl themselves into harm’s way when inmates get unruly.

The device is being evaluated for a period of six months by the National Institute of Justice for use in jails nationwide to curb inmate violence, and it was installed at no cost to the Sheriff’s Department.

Excerpt, read more: L.A. Prison Using Experimental, Controversial ‘Pain Ray’ to Keep Inmates in Line – By Clay Dillow | POPSCI

Authorities at Castaic Jail Poised to Use Assault Intervention Device – By C.J. Lin | Daily News

 

Domestic Violence in South Africa | Al Jazeera English

In December 1999, the new South African Domestic Violence Act came into effect. The new Act has opted for a broader definition of both “abuse” and “domestic relations” which include all cohabiting adults, whether sexually involved or family members such as parents of a child, or the children of elderly or infirm parents. The list defining “abuse” is open-ended, including economic abuse, stalking, harassment, damage to property and unauthorized entry to residence. Elderly people, for instance, are now able to obtain protection against physical and financial abuse from children, whether they are living together or not. However, the Act cannot be enforced without the State committing sufficient resources, such as the provision of shelters for abused women. In addition, an enormous shortage of resources such as trained staff, and transport threatens the enforcement of the Act.

This month is Women’s Month in South Africa. And one of the major issues for women there, is domestic violence. It is global problem but as Rosie Garthwaite reports from Johannesburg, it’s particularly bad in South Africa. Al Jazeera – English reports.

 

Mexico: Landmark Adoption Ruling for Same-Sex Couples |Human Rights Watch

The landmark ruling on August 16, 2010, by Mexico’s Supreme Court recognizing the right of same-sex couples to adopt children in Mexico City upholds the core principle of equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in all aspects of their lives, including family life, Human Rights Watch said today.

Mexico’s high court voted 9-2 to guarantee adoption for these couples. Last week it decided in favor of the right to same-sex marriage and made clear that other states in the country have to recognize the same-sex marriages that take place in Mexico City.

“The Supreme Court’s ruling confirms that the state cannot withhold any legal rights on the grounds of a person’s sexual orientation and gender identity,” said Juliana Cano Nieto, researcher in the LGBT rights program at Human Rights Watch. “This decision will have resonance for courts throughout the continent for protecting the basic human rights of LGBT people.” The Supreme Court’s decision came in response to a challenge brought by the federal attorney general’s office to the December 2009 law in the Mexico City federal district that extended the definition of marriage to include marriage between same-sex couples. The attorney general’s office contended that the law breached the concept of family and the “best interest of the child” guaranteed in the constitution by allowing LGBT couples to adopt.

The court, however, said that the definition of a family is not restricted to one formed by a man and woman. The court cited the European Court of Human Rights judgment in E.B. v France, which held that a single lesbian woman could not be denied the right to adopt a child due to her sexual orientation and reiterated that same-sex couples should have the same rights to adopt as heterosexual couples and single parents to fully guarantee equality and freedom from discrimination. Finally, it made clear that the “best interest” of the child is to have a loving family, regardless of the sexes of the family members.

“The Supreme Court’s decision is clear cut: prejudice should not interfere in guaranteeing family rights,” Cano Nieto said. “The other states in Mexico should follow suit.” With this decision, Mexico becomes the 11th country in the world to provide LGBT people equal access to marriage, along with the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Argentina.

States including Iceland, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom allow same-sex couples to adopt children jointly. Uruguay allows adoption by same-sex couples joined by a civil union. Denmark, Germany, and Norway permit one lesbian or gay partner to adopt the other’s children.

Reprint: Mexico: Landmark Adoption Ruling for Same-Sex Couples | HRW

 

Some 200 Women Gang-Raped Near Congo U.N. Base – By Michelle Faul | Associated Press

Rwandan and Congolese rebels gang-raped nearly 200 women and some baby boys over four days within miles of a U.N. peacekeepers’ base in an eastern Congo mining district, an American aid worker and a Congolese doctor said Monday.

Will F. Cragin of the International Medical Corps said aid and U.N. workers knew rebels had occupied Luvungi town and surrounding villages in eastern Congo the day after the attack began on July 30, 2010. More than three weeks later, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo has issued no statement about the atrocities and said Monday it still is investigating. Cragin told The Associated Press by telephone that his organization was only able to get into the town, which he said is about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from a U.N. military camp, after rebels ended their brutal spree of raping and looting and withdrew of their own accord on Aug. 4, 2010.

At U.N. headquarters in New York, spokesman Martin Nesirky said Monday that a U.N. Joint Human Rights team verified allegations of the rape of at least 154 women by combatants from the Rwandan rebel FDLR group and Congolese Mai-Mai rebels in the village of Bunangiri. He said the victims are receiving medical and psycho-social care.

Nesirky said the U.N. peacekeeping mission has a military company operating base in Kibua, some 30 kilometers (about 19 miles) east of the village, but he said FDLR attackers blocked the road and prevented villagers from reaching the nearest communication point.

Some 200 women were gang-raped by Rwandan rebels near a U.N. base in the Congo. / Photo: Spencer Platt/ Getty Images

Civil society leader Charles Masudi Kisa said there were only about 25 peacekeepers and that they did what they could against some 200 to 400 rebels who occupied the town of about 2,200 people and five nearby villages. “When the peacekeepers approached a village, the rebels would run into the forest, but then the Blue Helmets had to move on to another area, and the rebels would just return,” Masudi said.

There was no fighting and no deaths, Cragin said, just “lots of pillaging and the systematic raping of women.” Four young boys also were raped, said Dr. Kasimbo Charles Kacha, the district medical chief. Masudi said they were babies aged one month, six months, a year and 18 months. “Many women said they were raped in their homes in front of their children and husbands, and many said they were raped repeatedly by three to six men,” Cragin said. Others were dragged into the nearby forest.

International and local health workers have treated 179 women but the number raped could be much higher as terrified civilians still are hiding, he said.

Excerpt, read: Some 200 Women Gang-Raped Near Congo U.N. Base – By Michelle Faul  | Associated Press

 

Why Doesn’t the World Care About Pakistanis? – By Mosharraf Zaidi | Foreign Policy

An aerial view of floodwater covering the land as far as the eye can see, around Taunsa near Multan, Pakistan. / Photo: AP Photo/Khalid Tanveer

The United Nations has characterized the destruction caused by the floods in Pakistan as greater than the damage from the 2004 Asian tsunami, the 2005 Pakistan earthquake, and the 2010 Haiti earthquake combined. Yet nearly three weeks since the floods began, aid is trickling in slowly and reluctantly to the United Nations, NGOs, and the Pakistani government.

After the Haiti earthquake, about 3.1 million Americans using mobile phones donated $10 each to the Red Cross, raising about $31 million. A similar campaign to raise contributions for Pakistan produced only about $10,000. The amount of funding donated per person affected by the 2004 tsunami was $1249.80, and for the 2010 Haiti earthquake, $1087.33. Even for the Pakistan earthquake of 2005, funding per affected person was $388.33. Thus far, for those affected by the 2010 floods, it is $16.36 per person.

Why has the most devastating natural disaster in recent memory generated such a tepid response from the international community? Something of a cottage industry is emerging to try to answer this latest and most sober of international mysteries.

There is no shortage of theories. It’s donor fatigue. It’s Pakistan fatigue. It’s because the Pakistani government is corrupt and can’t be trusted. It’s because the victims are Muslim. It’s because people think a nuclear power should be able to fend for itself. It’s because floods — particularly these floods — spread their destruction slowly, over a period of time, rather than instantaneously. It’s because of the tighter budgets of Western governments. It’s because of the lingering effects of the financial crisis.

There’s a degree of truth to all these explanations. But the main reason that Pakistan isn’t receiving attention or aid proportionate to the devastation caused by these floods is because, well, it’s Pakistan. Given a catastrophe of such epic proportions in any normal country, the world would look first through a humanitarian lens. But Pakistan, of course, is not a normal country. When the victims are Haitian or Sri Lankan — hardly citizens of stable, well-government countries, themselves — Americans and Europeans are quick to open their hearts and wallets. But in this case, the humanity of Pakistan’s victims takes a backseat to the preconceived image that Westerners have of Pakistan as a country.

Excerpt, read more: Why Doesn’t the World Care About Pakistanis? – By Mosharraf Zaidi | Foreign Policy

Photo Gallery: Severe Flooding in Pakistan | Boston Globe

Photo Gallery: Flooding in Pakistan | BBC

 

Saudi Arabian Judge Ask Hospitals to Paralyze Man| Guardian UK

A Saudi judge has asked several hospitals whether they would punitively damage a man’s spinal cord after he was convicted of attacking another man with a cleaver and paralyzing him, local newspapers reported today.

Saudi Arabia enforces strict sharia law and occasionally metes out punishments based on the ancient code of an eye for an eye.

Abdul-Aziz al-Mutairi, 22, was left paralyzed after a fight more than two years ago, and asked a judge to impose an equivalent punishment on his attacker under sharia law, reports said. The newspaper Okaz said the judge in northwestern Tabuk province, identified as Saoud bin Suleiman al-Youssef, asked at least two hospitals for a medical opinion on whether surgeons could render the attacker’s spinal cord nonfunctional.

The attacker, who was not identified, has spent seven months in jail. The reports cited the letter of response from one of the hospitals and the victim.

Two of the hospitals involved and the court were closed for the Saudi weekend beginning today and could not be reached for comment.

Okaz reported that a leading hospital in Riyadh – King Faisal specialist hospital – said that it would not do the operation. The article quoted a letter from the hospital saying “inflicting such harm is not possible”, apparently refusing on ethical grounds.

Excerpt, read more: Saudi Arabian Judge Ask Hospitals to Paralyze Man| Guardian UK

Saudi Arabia Urged Not to Deliberately Paralyze Man as Retribution Punishment| Amnesty International

 

Kenyan Sentenced to 17 Years for Trying to Sell Albino Man – By Emma Hurd | SKY News

A Kenyan man has been sentenced to 17 years in prison for trying to sell an albino colleague to witchdoctors for £180,000 (USD $250,000).

Nathan Mutei, 28, pleaded guilty to charges of abduction and human trafficking at a magistrates court in Tanzania. The case has highlighted the ongoing threat to the albino population in the east African nation, where their body parts are believed to have magical powers.

Mutei tried to lure Robinson Mkwana with a job offer, intending to sell him to witchdoctors who would have killed him. “He told me there were jobs in Kenya,” Mr Mkwana said. “But he just wanted to trade me in.” Mutei was given an eight-year jail term for abduction and nine years for human trafficking. The sentences will run simultaneously for each count, meaning he will only spend nine years in prison.

Robinson Mkwana said Mutei tried to lure him to Kenya with a job offer. / Photo: SKY News

There are 170,000 albinos in Tanzania and at least 53 have been killed for their body parts since 2007. The same, dangerous superstition has also led to murders in neighboring Burundi, where communities of albinos have been forced into hiding after 11 killings since last year. The prosecution of Mutei is a sign the authorities are trying to combat the trade.

“We welcome the decision of the magistrate,” said Alfred Kapole, the Albino Society spokesman.

But some in the small community of Mwanza, where the attempted abduction happened, are disappointed Mutei will only serve nine years of his 17-year sentence. The wave of attacks on albinos in Tanzania has tarnished the country’s reputation for peace and stability. There are fears an upcoming election in the nation will fuel further murders, as the candidates turn to witchdoctors for “good luck”. The government is trying to combat generations of superstitious belief in the power of albino body parts to bring luck, love and riches.

Reprint: Jail for Kenyan Who Tried to Sell Albino Man – By Emma Hurd | SKY News

Tanzania Albinos Centre

 

France Expels Roma Immigrants -By Lizzy Davies | Guardian UK

Outside No 431, rue de Lyon, the Mediterranean sun beat down on the pavement and an old man lay in wait for the police. Inside, behind the long grass and a dilapidated green gate, the women were preparing themselves for the worst. “We are getting things ready,” one explained, pointing at a half-packed suitcase. In among the ramshackle sheds and squealing toddlers, they took turns at holding a six-week-old baby in their arms.

Today, as the French government pushed forward with its mission to rid the country of foreign Roma it deems to be living there illegally, Marseille’s most marginalized community was in the grip of both fear and resignation: fear because the authorities have in recent weeks ratcheted up the pressure, and resignation because, after years of repeated expulsions and unrelenting social isolation, many of them have seen it all before.

“That’s France for you,” said one middle-aged woman, sitting dejectedly in pink flip-flops at the rue de Lyon squat. She, like all other Roma to whom the Guardian spoke, was unwilling to be identified. Intense media interest since the start of Nicolas Sarkozy‘s crackdown on crime and illegal immigration last month has made them uneasy in front of the cameras.

Known as the melting pot of the south, Marseille is home to a large proportion – possibly up to a fifth – of France’s total Roma population, itself estimated at between 15,000 and 20,000. Despite its reputation for successful integration, however, the city’s Roma, as in so much of Europe, live apart from mainstream society. Observers say routine expulsions and endemic discrimination have pushed them to the outer limits, both physically and psychologically.

But in recent weeks, ever since Sarkozy announced the imminent destruction of hundreds of squats and the return of Romanians and Bulgarian citizens living in France illegally, the situation has worsened. Police are making ever more regular visits. Across the country, dozens of illegal Roma camps have been broken up, and today, as part of the government’s “voluntary” return program, 1040 Roma flew home to Bucharest with €300 per adult and €100 per child in their pockets.

Roma men in a caravan pack up their belongings during an expulsion operation in Dompierre-sur-Mer. / Photo: Xavier Leoty/ AFP/Getty Images

Excerpt, read more: France Expels Roma Immigrants -By Lizzy Davies | Guardian UK

Stop EU Money Funding Roma Discrimination | Amnesty International Campaign