1. The velvet revolution: the anniversary of the liberation Soviet satellites
2. A question of humanist organization: how the Philippines can prevent typhoons kill as many people
3. Cause and effect in the blind spot: the links between free trade and climate change
4. Permit moral green consumerism makes us selfish and greedy
5. The tank dry: the International Energy Agency lied about global oil reserves
7. The future of journalism: why the 4th power of government needs to survive
VELVET REVOLUTION
It's time to celebrate in Prague now
To mark that November day 20 years ago when the Velvet Revolution took place
a moment to mark the beginning of the end of Soviet rule, which crushed the reform movement in Czechoslovakia and its neighbors in Eastern Europe eastern and central
For two decades, Soviet troops and politicians were puppets of Moscow in charge
But here, in November 1989 hundreds of scholars took to the streets of downtown Prague
The riot squad returned to the peaceful demonstration and Vargas in the bunch ... This has fed the fire and a month of peaceful demonstrations additional
was the beginning of the Velvet Revolution which then led to the end of Soviet domination
was the realization of a liberation which was expected 20 years ago in 1968
A movement called the Prague Spring
In August 1968 it was Soviet troops from the USSR who crashed into the pile
killing dozens of innocent Czechs
The tanks arrived from the neighboring Czechoslovakia, the heads of these satellites USSR feared that if the rebellion was a success Czech
It could inspire the youth of their own States do the same thing
crushed the rebellion, for two decades without minds then the bureaucrats have dominated public life in Czechoslovakia
They were the leaders most rigid satellites, headed by Gustav Husak, who became prime minister in 1968
A hardline Stalinist, Husaz spent twenty years chasing people who were not Communist enough for his taste
But in the end, Husak and others have succumbed to the pressures generated by the reform policies of glasnost and Gorbachev prestroika
importantly, under the pressures generated the velvet revolution that began 20 years ago on a cold day in November in Prague
PHILIPPINES TYPHOON AND
Four typhoons hit the Philippines in the last month ...
Ketsana and two other storms have killed over 900 people in the Philippines.
Some 87 000 people who fled the weather, were still in temporary shelters Mirinae when struck.
The last typhoon has killed 20 people, most by drowning, in six provinces in the Philippines.
Again we see the difference between an organized country like Cuba which deals citizens when hurricanes hit the country ...
And others where the poor are left to themselves
The typhoons have made enormous damage on the Philippines
And it has everything to do with ways to undertake efforts to assist victims
But good government accuses the Filipino poor squatters and their bad habits
Their illegal structures and their detritus would supposedly blocked exits natural water
It will be necessary to relocate hundreds of thousands of urban poor the so-called danger zones
handy put all the blame on the poor who live on the margins of rivers and lakes themselves if they know their huts will not ever cons flood
Although the poor probably did not know how they were in danger before Katsuni typhoons and Parma
Rich or poor, all live in a certain degree of uncertainty, but those who have no options, we doubt that the extreme
The poor live, or rather survive in dangerous areas
But these areas is becoming dangerous to the poor because they lack the means to ensure their own safety in those corners where
is that the palaces and houses of rich fall less easily than small shacks to rivers and lakes overflowing
Yet these are not the poor who cause climate change that increases the strength and frequency of typhoons and tropical storms
No, the poor are the victims
Those who contribute most to climate change are capitalists
owners of the industries that pollute the atmosphere of massive carbon emissions that cause global warming
Take for example the Philippines damage caused by mining companies and developers Earthlings ... as landslides during storms
Damage that occurred because the government does not supervise anything since the waves of deregulation and privatization
solutions are simple for the Philippines and elsewhere in the world who live similar problems
Establish a plan to use coordinated and centralized land use
Implement a plan of social houses that could accommodate millions of Filipino families
And if the poor are to be relocated it should be in decent communities in sustainable housing with opportunities to seek a livelihood
There is a solution to every crisis when the people unite and fight for immediate demands using a strategic vision for social change
FREE TRADE
In the 10 years since the protests in Seattle against the World Trade Organization, the worldwide opposition to free trade and financial globalization has widespread
The general public's understanding although brief, of how it all works against them
The Business travel the world in search of cheap labor, helping to depress wages in developed countries
any regulation that reduced profits is destroyed or ignored
Then the two targets of the anti-globalization movement has been the dismantling of the WTO and free trade agreements
And even if these two targets are met the transnational corporations will not stop targeting the same policies against workers
So we see, the Doha round of WTO stagnant for the past eight years, and we are still far from signing a comprehensive agreement Free Trade
Rich nations, pushed by their big companies, it started to grow for bilateral agreements between them and poor nations
To inflate their profits, TNCs need guaranteed access to markets, cheap labor, resources, raw
Once they have captured these items through a Free Trade Agreement bilateral foreign competitors are excluded
Suddenly, the international battle for scarce resources has intensified
And the threat of war or regime change is still considered an option when threats fail
It becomes clear, then, that free trade is nothing but a political allowing transnational pursue their goals in even a larger system
Where capital and goods move freely throughout the world, while keeping workers trapped within national borders
But not all agreements free trade are equal ...
For example, there is fair trade, including demands for decent wages for all workers throughout the world
And high standards regarding working conditions and environmental protection ... We hear
CLIMATE CHANGE AND FREE EXCHANGE
The countdown has begun for the UN Conference on Climate Change to be held in Copenhagen from 7 to 18 December next
Not since the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992 have I seen so much buzz around a global meeting on the state of the biosphere
Unfortunately after Rio all journalists have returned home and forgot the Earth for a while ... especially in the media
The Copenhagen Summit will hopefully be different ...
There will speak not just GHG emissions standards, but especially of green technologies and investment
The UN says the world needs an investment of $ 200G to combat climate change
This means that the expected investment by large companies
It is expected that developed countries can provide developing countries between $ 90G and 140G per year for clean tech
Climate change will be good for business finally
Which brings me to the ministerial conference of the World Trade held in Geneva from November 30 to December 2
The general theme of the multilateral system trade
And the general state of the economy ... you tighten surprised to learn that there is absolutely nothing about climate change
is that world trade are not just economic growth ... it has a serious impact on the biosphere
More trade means more goods transport, which means burning more oil
... and consequently, global warming
So the two major international meetings of elected representatives of the world's productive cons
Yet nobody talks about the role trade to take us to a point of no return
is that any effort to enter into trade negotiations on climate change will affect business interests
The World Bank has already predict that if the Doha Round could generate that resulted in $ 291G overall economic gains
But the Bank does not say how much the Earth will warm up accordingly
Already 60% of the world's oil goes to transportation, and 95 % of transport are dependent on hydrocarbons
So when the Doha Round is completed, it can be certain that the GHG emissions related to transportation will skyrocket
CONSUMERS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Researchers have recently demonstrated that buying green gives consumers a clear conscience ... which leads to bad behavior on the environment by following
is published in the journal Nature: Scientists call this effect the license ...
Small green innocuous gestures can make a person adopt destructive behaviors elsewhere
Again I must denounce the moral justification of green actions ...
is that little habits that are not worth much to protect the biosphere to serve more than anything else feel good
is not true that to small local actions makes people want to do more to protect the environment
People take their rather small actions to justify their unwillingness to engage in activities more engaging
There's a lot of problems with green consumption, otherwise known as democracy through the consumption ...
1. When we vote with our purchases we must play a game that is not democratic because there are people who many more votes than others
2. and those with the most votes are the ones who are least motivated to change a system that has served so well
3. A change in consumption habits did not have much effect unless it is accompanied by government action ...
because our power is acting as citizens seeking political change ...
and not acting in consumers
4. We are all very good when it comes time to be convinced that we have no impact on the environment, say that we have a very selective memory
5. Certainly we must try to make purchases that do the least damage, but should not these little decisions that gives us the impression that did extraordinary things for the environment
RESERVES OIL
World reserves of oil are much much lower than what was announced
In fact, we passed peak oil and the situation regarding oil is far worse than publicly acknowledged
All this according to two sources anonymous IEA, International Energy Agency
Apparently the IEA had afraid to reveal the true figures for the reserves ... fearing that the truth would cause panic on the markets
hydrocarbon reserves are depleted more quickly than we would like to admit ... IEA and overestimates, at least publicly, the possibility of finding new sources
While the IEA said world oil production could be increased from 83 to 105 million barrels per day
Much to the same The organization believes that keeping the production level of 90 to 95m per day would be impossible
To avoid significant economic disruption by the passage of the peak oil would have required that we take a turn away from conventional oil there is at least 20 years less
So now it's more a question of if there will be an economic crash, but when ... it depends on the speed at which we collectively towards the dark wall
THE FUTURE OF INFORMATION
The collapse of the news media threatens democracy at the point where citizens have no choice require that the government gets involved ... otherwise it is the dictatorship and corruption ahead
production and circulation of quality news and independent press is the foundation for a society Democratic
And no, the Internet will not save us, at least not the way it works now
A recent study of Goldsmiths Leverhulme ResearchCentre Media in Britain shows
While the traditional economic model Information stumbles and falls into the digital age
Professional journalists are the first victims ... Then comes the papers falling into disuse
True, on the net and TV news channels 24 hours, there was an increase of news sources, including newspapers
But this multiplication is accompanied by a decline in advertising revenue and layoffs of journalists
We therefore ask fewer and fewer people doing more and more work, more and more rapidly
These factors combine to have a very negative impact on journalism for the common good and public interest
With fewer journalists and permanent positions with no job security in this environment
journalists who are still involved in producing new ones that look like more cannibalism and the true art of journalism
Then they must fill more space at a higher speed ... They talk less to their sources, they are
taken to their office to make the cut and paste journalism
This leads to a homogenization of content while commercial pressures compel journalists to rely not only on agencies press, but on all forms of information gathering can
expensive
Looking at how fast they have to work, the amount of work and noise which are exposed daily journalists
It becomes almost impossible for citizens regular and non-elite sources to establish contacts with journalists
A media Information must open enough space to allow journalists to question authority, the public debate ...
All governments who truly believe in basic principles of democracy should be willing to find ways to make the 4th power to operate properly
That is to say, to create conditions for the media to information work for the public interest rather than purely for profit margins
Ignoring this fact is to accept that we can rely on the market on the vitality of democracy
And we all know that markets do not care about democracy, otherwise
When profits are threatened, democratic values and ethics are set aside rather quickly
The solution: Although we need a system of information beyond the media to profit, funded, but independent of the state
The unwillingness of our governments to move in that direction there is irrefutable proof of their contempt for democracy
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