News from Around the Globe, September 7, 2012 Stories of interest from around the globe presented for those who find the American media’s ‘news’ sorely lacking.
South Africa – continuing coverage of the Marikana miner’s strike….
http://www.iol.co.za/the-star/mineworkers-walk-out-of-negotiations-1.137...
The Union representing the workers striking against the Lomnin Company, is at odds with a majority of its members. Union leaders are asking that its members return to work on Monday, before contract negotiations begin with the Lomnin Company. However, the majority of union members at the Lomnin Marikana mine strike are refusing to return to work until Lomnin begins negotiations. The company has not offered any counter proposals to worker demands of improved safety and increased salaries. Instead, the company says that workers must return to work before negotiations can begin. Currently, workers earn an average of 4000 – 5000 Rand and are asking for a base salary of 12,500 Rand. The Lomnin Company is the world’s 3rd largest producer of platinum.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19508516
On September 6, 2012 the final group of 106 miners was released from jail and the murder charges against them dropped. The State had used an Apartheid era law to charge the 270 miners with murder for their participation during the August 16, 2012 riot in which police killed 34 strikers.
From Colombia….
http://www.ntn24.com/news/news/colombias-farc-rebels-ask-gove-17015
Representatives of the FARC have announced that in October they will ask the Colombian government for a ceasefire. The FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, or The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia)was formed in 1964 and has been fighting the longest continuous insurgency in South America. The last serious peace talks (1998 – 2002) between the government and FARC are widely viewed as a failure. The government is dismissing the idea of new peace talks and most observers do not believe that the latest proposed peace talks will yield any progress. FARC has lost much popularity with the majority of Colombians as their involvement in the drug trade (the primary source of FARC’s financing) and their use of child soldiers has increased.
From Mexico….
http://www.thenews.com.mx/index.php/opinion/O01-27429.html
An interesting opinion piece from a Mexican perspective on the above story concerning the peace talks in Colombia between the FARC and the Colombian government.
From Russia….
http://www.expatica.ru//news/russian-news/russian-court-rejects-believer...
Russia is one of my favorite countries in the world. I find it absolutely fascinating. The literature is powerful, the people unbreakable and the landscape harsh but beautiful. After the fall of communism I think that there existed a very narrow window of opportunity for Russia to become a true democracy. However, many different events, from DeBeers blacklisting Russian diamonds to America’s own unresolved cold war fears, allowed the opportunity to slip away, and Russia continued on its familiar path of dictatorial governments. Last month, three of the members of the band Pussy Riot were sentenced to jail, ostensibly for engaging in hooliganism, but actually for singing songs that were anti-religious. Strangely, the religious community is one of Putin’s more ardent supporters. Now, everyone wants to sue Pussy Riot for the pain and suffering caused by the band’s anti religious songs. In the above story a Russian court has dismissed the first of several lawsuits filed by people claiming to have been emotionally damaged by the Pussy Riot’s music. Of course, I think that millions of Americans would have happily sent the Dixie Chicks to Guantanamo if the opportunity had presented itself.
From France….
http://www.france24.com/en/20120823-roma-who-live-beg-streets-paris-roma...
Although only 15000 to 20000 Roma live in France, they are a source of constant debate for Europe’s second largest country which has a population of 65 million. While reading this article I could not help but hear echoes of our own country's debate on illegal immigrants. The French Roma come primarily from Bulgaria and Romania. They say that they cannot return to those countries as only poverty awaits them there. The French government is proposing new laws which will make it easier for the Roma to find legal work.
From Israel….
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/159735
The always calm and reasonable Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu says that he is ‘at his wit’s end’ with U.S.‘s stance on Iran. I simply cannot understand how anyone thinks that an attack on Iran is a good idea, however, it seems that there are plenty in the let’s go to war camp. Old men do love their wars.
Comments
Interesting.
Thanks for gathering these and sharing them. You'd never hear any of these stories on American media these days.
One comment on the Pussy Riot story:
While it is true that the band sings anti-religious songs, and that has caused a bit of an uproar among many Russians, that is not the source of the hooliganism charge. That charge came about because the band set up their equipment and played inside a Russian Orthodox Cathedral, without permission from anyone, and they and their fans proceeded to desecrate said cathedral. In the US, they would likely have been charged with a minimum of vandalism. While they may not have received prison sentences here, I don't see the Russian response as overly authoritarian, which is the accusation from many observers.
You are 100% correct
You are correct, the band did play without authorization. I should have made that point more clear, however, I'm not sure I understand what you mean when you say you don't think that the Russian response as overly authoritarian. Can you expound on that a little?
Well...
if you accept the reports of vandalism or desecration, an accusation I have now withdrawn in another comment due to lack of valid links, then two years isn't such a long term. Without said vandalism or desecration, prosecution is only for political statements, and therefore two years (or any time at all) would be unjust.
Assume for a moment that the vandalism is true. Crosses were broken in the church. The floor was urinated on. In the US, this would amount to destruction of private property or vandalism. In addition, the unauthorized "concert" would be considered trespassing I would imagine. In the US, they may have ended up with no more than a one-year sentence or even just a fine, but they would have been punished.
To be honest, as a person of faith I have been very uncomfortable with what this band did. I guess I'm not really neutral in the matter, and so probably should not have commented on it. I'm not Orthodox...in fact, not even Christian. But I can sympathize, I suppose is the correct word, with how this must have made the many Russian faithful feel. Being targeted for your religion is something I can relate to, as a Muslim in the USA. And make no mistake, while the band may have intended only to target Putin, by holding this "protest" where they did and in the manner they did they ended up making ordinary Russian citizens feel targeted.
Two years for expression of a political opinion is absurd
Lets be perfectly clear, this 'trial' was nothing more than a political persecution of critics of Putin. I highly recommend that you read what Amnesty International is saying about Putin in general, and specifically, about the persecution of the band Pussy Riot. Neither Putin, nor the Russian Orthodox church is embracing an agenda that is beneficial to the Russian peoples.
and thanks for reading
Thank you very much for reading!
Putin is an old school authoritarian despot
Amnesty International, among other organizations, has declared the three women to be prisoners of conscience. http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/russian-court-jails-pussy-riot-2012-08-17
The Russian Orthodox church is one of Putin's strongest supporters. The head of the Russian Church as even called Putin a miracle from God. One of Putin's first acts as President (in his quasi legal 3rd term) was to sign into law new restrictions on the freedom of expression and association. This was a move aimed solely at limiting the rights of his critics to protest. What Pussy Riot did was conduct an authorized concert in Moscow's main Orthodox cathedral a few weeks before Putin's election. They were asked to stop but kept performing, singing verses such as: Mother Mary save us from Putin. I have not read any accounts of damage to the church. If you have any links regarding the damaging of the church please share them(by desecration I'm thinking you mean damage - if by desecration you mean conducting an 'unholy' act in a 'holy' place, then I think that it's clear that what they did is not a crime deserving 2 years in prison). Here are some more links that provide more information on this story.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/pussy-riot-members-jailed...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/17/pussy-riot-trial-guilty_n_17955...
Right on
Free Pussy Riot! Putin's record is straight up authoritarian like detainment of this awesome punk band. I'm a big fan of Garry Kasparaov(he should be President, not Putin) whom was also beaten up at a protest for Pussy Riot.
In a free Russia Garry Kasparov would be president
Oh, Kasparov is one amazing person. I'm an avid chess player and I have quite an extensive chess library. Kasparov is just a God in the world of chess. Amazingly, he always said that the American chess genius Paul Morphy was one of his favorite players. If you play chess you should definitely read some of Morphy's games to see what scary brilliant chess looks like. Kasparov has an excellent website that contains a great deal of information regarding his political activities. http://www.kasparov.com/
The Russians are very good at chess
My father was a big fan of Kasparov and Karpov. The Russians dominated chess for a long time. It was basically a microcosmic cold war when Bobby Fischer beat Spassky of the USSR.
In a just world
I never took the time to get really into it or good, but I admire those that do and did. I noticed Kasparov's political activities which is what turned me onto him. His knowledge of history and everything else is just mind blowingly awesome. When he comes on the TV and any cable host tries their schtick, he dismantles them systematically as he does in chess as far as debate. Thank you for the link.
I agree.
Putin is an old-school authoritarian. And I retract what I said about desecration, because I can't now find the link. Several crosses were broken and at least one fan urinated on the floor of the cathedral, or so I read when all this first happened.
As for Church support for Putin, frankly I can't blame them for that. Putin is the first Russian leader to openly support the Church since the days of the Czars. You have to remember Russian history. From Wikipedia:
In light of such a history, its not surprising that the Church would embrace a leader who openly promotes his faith. I believe this is the source of the "miracle of God" statement, meaning that they believe Putin was put in place by God to aid the Church. I may not agree with that, but I do support their right to believe it if they wish.
Thank you for insisting on nuance
It's never that simple. Of course, Pussy Riot is not responsible for the behavior of everyone at the protest, and I have no doubt that the motivation behind their arrest is repression of dissent. But that does not excuse desecration of things that are holy to some people. Such behavior is equally offensive as the Taliban destroying ancient Buddhist shrines or U.S. soldiers peeing on the Koran. We can be offended by this behavior and sensitive to the rights of religious people without falling for the charade that the Russian authorities are interested in meting out justice. One thing this episode underlines is the importance of understanding non-violence for those who would stand up to power on the basis of nothing but ideals and integrity. Of course, it is part of severe inequality that anything short of perfect behavior by the protestors becomes subject to legal proceedings while the state operates with impunity. All these things can be true at the same time, and focusing on one aspect does not necessarily mean condoning another.
I do not like the jailing of political dissidents
not even the censoring of political dissidents for that matter.
Dissidents serve a special function in any given society. They keep that society in check. If concerned citizens do not reveal a nation's flaws, that nation will never move to correct those flaws.
Yippee, the murder charges were dropped.
It was in an earlier post of this series that Sartoris pointed out that the charges were a distraction. Is anyone asking now, "Who DID kill the workers?" And the union leaders do seem co-opted. Cash in your only bargaining chip, then we'll negotiate? No thanks.
Naomi Klein describes Russia as yet another example of the neocon rape of countries in trouble using the shock doctrine principles. That surprised me.
Netanyahu was at his wits end the day he was born. But seriously folks, for documentary lovers, here is a wonderful, deeply moving documentary of Netanyahu's brother, Yonatan-a selfless, committed, sensitive, thoughtful person. He was the true leader, but he was the only Israeli who died in the raid on Entebbe.
http://www.followmethemovie.com/
A highly educational documentary on the Roma: People Uncounted. Here's a little factoid: there is a famous photo that in some ways become the emblem of the holocaust--a little girl peering out of the death showers before the door is closed. That little girl was Roma, not Jewish.
I'm going to follow the Marikana strike until it's resolved
It is wonderful that the murder charges were dropped, however, remember that Lomnin is the 3rd largest producer of platinum and that makes them part of the state apparatus that will be used to crush the miners. The more media attention this strike receives the better.
Oh, is this your joke? Netanyahu was at his wits end the day he was born. I'm so stealing that line.
Thank you for noticing
Yeah, I'm pretty proud of that line.
I know you can't believe it, because I couldn't believe it either, but someone made me go see Follow Me, and afterward, I was so inspired and had immense respect for the Netanyahu brother. The man was a poet who took his life as seriously as we all should. Highly recommended film.