PoliticsDRC: Congo devastated: 'conflict-minerals' finance terrorists

Business & Human Rights (Aug31,2k11)

How Congress Devastated Congo

David Aronson in New York Times 07 Aug 2011

The...Dodd-Frank [Law]...includes an obscure provision that requires public companies to indicate what measures they are taking to ensure that minerals in their supply chain don’t benefit warlords in conflict-ravaged Congo...Unfortunately, the...law has had unintended and devastating consequences...The pastor at one church told me that women were giving birth at home because they couldn’t afford the $20 or so for the maternity clinic. Children are dropping out of school because parents can’t pay the fees...Meanwhile, the law is benefiting some of the very people it was meant to single out. The chief beneficiary is Gen. Bosco Ntaganda...Ostensibly a member of the Congolese Army, he is in fact a freelance killer with his own ethnic Tutsi militia, which provides “security” to traders smuggling minerals across the border to neighboring Rwanda. All this might be a price worth paying if the law were having its intended effect of economically asphyxiating the warlords who turned eastern Congo into the deadliest conflict zone since World War II...But...[t]he law has not stopped their depredations. [refers to Apple, Intel]

Read full item here

What Conflict Minerals Legislation Is Actually Accomplishing in Congo [DRC]

Sasha Lezhnev, Enough Project, in Huffington Post [USA] 09 Aug 2011

Ending the world's deadliest conflict is no easy task, but a growing consensus of Congolese civil society, electronics and metals companies, investors, and governments are now taking action to do so. A chief driver of their work is the Dodd-Frank legislation on conflict minerals, which is why a coalition of 40 Congolese human rights groups called it "the leverage needed to instill and impose ethical business practices in the Great Lakes region." David Aronson's op-ed "How Congress Devastated Congo," misses the critical link in eastern Congo: the continuing role of the minerals trade as a fuel for violence and a major source of revenue for armed groups and military units responsible for atrocities. The Dodd-Frank legislation is the first policy initiative to start to change that equation in 15 years.

Read full item here

[PDF] Global Witness response to David Aronson’s article on the Dodd-Frank Act

Global Witness 17 Aug 2011

For the past decade and a half, the trade in metals that power our laptops and make our cell phones vibrate has helped to fuel the devastating war in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The Dodd Frank Act…is a groundbreaking measure that aims to cut off a major source of cash for for abusive armed groups in the region…Business lobby groups are pulling out the stops to ensure that these regulations are delayed or diluted...As Mr Aronson’s reporting and our own recent research in eastern Congo shows, the international demand for Congolese minerals is currently at a low ebb...The idea that the Dodd Frank Act amounts to a long-term embargo is not correct, however. Indeed...the past few weeks have seen major international companies unveiling plans to invest in and source from mines in areas of Congo covered by the law...Other positive effects of the law are being felt.

Read full item here

A Conflict Over ‘Conflict Minerals’

UN special representative for sexual violence in conflict; Peter Rosenblum (professor at Columbia Law School); Global Witness; Enough Project 15 Aug 2011

To the Editor:...In fact, the United States government should be commended for its leadership in trying to regulate “conflict minerals” and to starve rebels of the resources and weapons they need to kill and rape...The “conflict mineral” provisions of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, which put the burden on companies to know and disclose the source of their supply, are a small but vital step in shifting the incentives away from the warlords...David Aronson’s attack on the Dodd-Frank law’s provisions on “conflict minerals” does not tell the full story...As a Congolese civil-society advocate, I have seen how the Dodd-Frank legislation on “conflict minerals” provides “the leverage needed to instill and impose ethical minerals business practices,” according to a coalition of Congolese human-rights groups.

Read full item here

Ignore the naysayers, restrictions on DRC conflict minerals remain vital

Salil Tirpathi, Guardian [UK] 10 Aug 2011

A string of recent media comments have argued that a piece of US legislation aimed at ending conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) actually hurts civilians….[They] all make the…point…that requiring companies to identify the source of their minerals will drive investment away from the DRC and keep people poor. It is a familiar argument…It is also…wrong…[M]inerals from the DRC provide revenue for armed groups to buy weapons to continue fighting. Eastern Congo, where these minerals are found, is an area where murders, massacres, rapes, and other acts of gender-based violence are widespread. According to Global Witness, companies from around the world…are working to extract the region's precious resources. To gain access, they must deal with commanders accused of ordering mass atrocities. This exposes them to potential criminal liability and complicity in rights violations….The challenge for companies working in the DRC…is to develop measures which ensure they source from entities not party to conflict.

Read full item here

— Business&HR materials reposted here by Politicarp & EconoMix

EuropeEconomics: Recession? : No recession as financial institutions stand firm

BBC News (Sep6,2k11)

Jose Manuel Barroso said authorities were doing all they could to tackle the eurozone's debt problems

Barroso says Europe will avoid 

return to recession

Continue reading the main story

Global Economy

• End of the world as we know it?
• Europe's Wile E Coyote moment?
• Charting Europe's economic woes
• What turmoil means for you

Europe will not slide back into recession, and the euro remains "strong and resilient", the president of the European Commission has said.

Jose Manuel Barroso added that the Commission and national governments were "doing all it takes" to tackle the debt problems in the eurozone area.

His comments came after rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) said last week that the risk of a double dip recession in the eurozone had grown.

Yet S&P said that it should be avoided.

Read the whole article on the BBC News site.

— EconoMix

PoliticsCanada: New Democratic Party: Split regarding unions role in party

Globe and Mail, Toronto (Sept4,2k11)

NDP solidarity cracks over 

role of unions in picking leader

The first clean split among federal New Democrats since Jack Layton passed away last month rests on an issue that strikes at the historical heart of the party: the role of union members in choosing the next leader.

The matter is the first in what promises to be a number of sharp policy debates among the various candidates and factions that Mr. Layton managed to hold together during his time as NDP leader.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/video/video-how-will-the-ndp-cope-with-losing-jack-layton/article2142162/

The article is by 

DANIEL LEBLANC

Ottawa— From Monday's Globe and Mail

Published Sunday, Sep. 04, 2011 7:38PM EDT

Last updated Sunday, Sep. 04, 2011 9:47PM EDT

This one's definitely a refWr+tRecommend!

At the same time, another important article in the mass media on Canadian politics will be found in a second Globe & Mail feature article, Without any fanfare, Canada has grown up.  The stimulating piece is by John Ibbitson, G&M's Ottawa correspondent.

Leader of the itsy-bitsy teenie weenie Greenie Party complains about the present Conservative-majority govt under Stephen Harper which the article renders more understandable, comprehensible. 

“We have never had a prime minister who was less interested in a national vision, and in particular in a strong, shared national-provincial vision,” laments Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party.

One day, a political party may come to power in Ottawa that once again seeks to impose pan-national programs in the interest of a Greater Canada.

But if the country has grown up, then parties of the left as well as the right may prefer co-operation to confrontation, accommodation to imposition. After all, one thing grown-ups learn is to give each other space.

— Politicarp

TurkeyPolitics: Religion: Muslim Party heads secular state, Muslim liberalism

Source with link (date)

This startled me:

HOMEPAGE FEATURE

Making the Case for Muslim Liberty

BY THE WORLD ⋅ AUGUST 29, 2011 ⋅ POST A COMMENT

Mustafa Akyol (Courtesy of thewhitepath.com)

Audio: Play | Download

Meeting Mustafa Akyol on a Friday night during Ramadan in the Asmalimescit quarter of Istanbul, you probably couldnt tell it was the holy month for Muslims worldwide.

In fact it is a lot emptier than usual tonight but not because of the holiday. Shortly before Ramadan, witnesses say, municipal police brutally grabbed tables and chairs off the street while customers were still eating and drinking at them. The controversy is only the latest in Turkey’s perennial conflict between its Islamic faith and its secular government. Akyol says the restaurant owners accuse the city of forcing Islamic morality on the public.

“Some people say ‘well, they weren’t paying the rents and people couldnt walk on the streets, because there were too many chairs and there was a pragmatic reason to do that,’” Akyol says. “Others say ‘Oh, this is an Islamic minded municipality, so they’re trying to minimize the space where you can drink alcohol.’”

Akyol is a writer and columnist from an urban, educated secular background. He considers himself a believer in keeping with Turkey’s moderate Islamic tradition.

Read more of 

Making the Case for Muslim Liberty ...

PoliticsUSA: Debt Ceiling Legislation: The impasse according to Charles Krauthammer

Washington Post (July30,1940)

Krauthammer:  "Obama faces two massive problems — jobs and debt. They’re both the result of his spectacularly failed Keynesian gamble: massive spending that left us a stagnant economy with high and chronic unemployment — and a staggering debt burden. Obama is desperate to share ownership of this failure. Economic dislocation from a debt-ceiling crisis nicely serves that purpose — if the Republicans play along. The perfect out: Those crazy Tea Partyers ruined the recovery!

"Why would any conservative collaborate with that ploy? November 2012 constitutes the new conservatism’s one chance to restructure government and change the ideological course of the country. Why risk forfeiting that outcome by offering to share ownership of Obama’s wreckage?"

— I recommend that you read the entire WaPo article by Krauthammer.  And while you're at it, you mite want to read also Todd Zywicki's item in Volokh Conspiracy (July30,2k11), "Charles Krauthammer on the Debt Ceiling Debate," a short comment and a different quote from The Hammer (he always hits the nail on its head!).


— Politicarp

Juridics: Criminal Justice: San-Hyun Song, Prez, International Criminal Court makes statement July 17

Christian Post, Singapore Edition (July15,2k11)
Material posted here by Lawt

International Criminal Justice Day

Friday, Jul. 15, 2011 Posted: 7:32:39PM HKT

On 17 July the world celebrates International Criminal Justice Day. This commemorates the adoption on 17 July 1998 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC for short). States and civil society from all continents came together to end impunity for the gravest international crimes – genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and aggression.

In 2002, the ICC opened its doors in The Hague, Netherlands. Today, it is a major international institution, securing justice for victims when this cannot be delivered at the national level. 14 suspects and accused have appeared before the judges to face accusations against them. The first trial is concluding soon, with closing arguments set to be heard next month.

I am delighted to see support for international criminal justice growing around the world. 114 nations have already joined the ICC, and Grenada from the Caribbean and Tunisia from North Africa will become the next two States Parties later this summer. Several other countries have announced their intention to follow in the near future. But many more countries have still to join if the ICC is to be seen as representing the will of the overwhelming majority of the world's peoples.

During the past year, I have met representatives of governments, civil society and regional organisations in the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe and most recently the Arab world. Time after time, I have found that the goals of the Rome Statute resonate everywhere, regardless of culture, language or nationality. People of all nations want peace, justice, rule of law and respect for human dignity. These are the very goals for which the ICC exists.

Let us cherish our spirit of solidarity while we commemorate 17 July. Let us show our compassion for all the innocent civilians who continue to fall victim to unimaginable crimes. Let us state loudly and clearly that mass crimes such as murder, rape, torture and the use of child soldiers cannot and will not be tolerated. The perpetrators of such crimes must be held accountable, regardless of their official position.

I call on states and people everywhere to join the international justice movement, as we work toward a more just, more peaceful future for children, women and men around the world. We must be united in our resolve to defeat impunity and the lawlessness, brutality and disdain for human dignity that it represents. We must persevere.

EconomicsUSA: Unemployment: 4.4 million Americans — no jobs for a year

Wall Street Journal video (July 22,2k11)
Job Search stretches past a year for Millions, by Sara Murray and Phil Izzo

PoliticsCanada: Church Leader: Canada has distinctive mode of relating faith and politics, says EFC's Clemenger

Faith Today (July/August, 2k11)
Faith Today is the official monthly publication of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada; the author is a doctoral graduate of the Institute for Christian Studies.  Dr Clemenger wrote his doctoral dissertation for ICS on the philosophy of Friedrich von Hayek, a political thinker regarded as a founder or precursor of contemporary libertarianism.  —  Politicarp

The Canadian Way

---

by Bruce J. Clemenger, Evangelical Fellowship of Canada


Canada handles the intersection of faith and politics differently than Britain, France or the United States.

The issue of religion rarely surfaced in the recent federal election [in Canada], a change from previous elections. When it did make news, it was usually prompted by media commentators raising the issue.

There were bright spots in the coverage. The National, the CBC TV evening news program, profiled the Elections Kit released by The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC). In this segment explaining how religious groups engage during elections, viewers learned that the EFC is not a single-issue organization, that we cover a breadth of issues and work across party lines.

Perhaps this is an indication of the media's willingness to explore what it means to be Canadian, to be religious and to be a voter or a citizen running for political office.

Party leaders and many other politicians regularly attend religious services and festivals of a variety of religions, but very few say much about their own religious beliefs.

Contrast this with American candidates for public office: for them not to speak about their own faith or not to have photo ops attending their preferred place of worship raises suspicion.

It is characteristically Canadian for our politicians not to wear their religion on their sleeves and instead to publicly reach out to a variety of religious expressions. It's a manifestation of a long-standing non-sectarian approach to religion that distinguishes Canada from Britain, France and the United States, the three countries with the greatest historical influence on our country.

Our Canadian ancestors did not presume faith should be privatized and kept out of the public square (France), nor did we have a state church (Britain), nor do we have a constitutional separation of church and state (United States).

A non-sectarian approach accepts that religions influence all aspects of life including the political - that religion does have political implications - and hence non-sectarianism seeks fairness in accommodating these expressions.

A secularist approach, by contrast, seeks to limit religious expression to the private sphere and asks people to check their specific religious beliefs at the door when entering the House of Commons or engaging in public dialogue about law or public policy. 

Canada's federation was forged in the political dynamics of the French Catholic and English Protestant reality that required anyone who would be prime minister, whatever their first language or denominational allegiance, to be seen as someone who could mediate between these “two solitudes” and be able to accommodate the aspirations of both.

Not only did Canada develop without a constitutional doctrine of the separation of church and state as in the United States, the Canadian constitution provided for the funding of minority religious schools: Catholic schools in predominately Protestant Ontario and Protestant schools in Catholic Quebec. Further, consider our social services sector, where Canada's largest provider besides our governments is The Salvation Army.

Canada's approach has been a robust non-sectarianism, where no single set of doctrines, religious or secularist, would be imposed.

At the same time, a non-sectarian approach does not presume religious neutrality or that the public square can be neutral. Rather, it recognizes that a plurality of worldviews shapes and guides the actions of citizens.

The political world and the broader public realm are shaped by this doctrinal diversity. The goal is not to sanitize statecraft from this plurality, but to accommodate diversity and its expression in the fairest ways possible. In such a context political leaders are expected to be even-handed, fair and just in their dealings with everyone.

What we need is more constructive exploration of the intersection of faith and politics in Canada, and more reflection on how Canada is distinctive from other countries in how this has been expressed.

When political leaders are reluctant to talk about their faith, it doesn't necessarily indicate a hidden agenda or prove they consider their faith to be a private matter with no public consequence.

It might simply mean they understand what previous Canadian leaders learned about giving leadership in a plural and non-sectarian Canada.

---

Bruce J. Clemenger is president of The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. Read more of his columns at theEFC.ca/clemenger.

PoliticsEgypt: Medicine: Muslim Brotherhood wins voters thru its clinics

BBC (July11,2k11)

 

11 July 2011 Last updated at 18:19 ETHelp

Elections have yet to be held in Egypt since the revolution that saw —President Mubarak deposed, leaving ordinary Egyptians in the dark about their future.

All eyes are now on the elections scheduled for September. Dozens of parties have been formed, including one linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Banned under President Mubarak, its years of charitable work have given it a head start.

George Alagiah reports.

EconomicsPakistan: Labor: Incipient Christian labor movement

Compass Direct via  Christian Post (July9,2k11)

Pakistan's 

Christian Sanitation Workers 

swept into societal gutter

'Sweeper' leader faces suspension, criminal charges; for others, disease, death – and murder.

LAHORE, Pakistan 

The often unseen or unrecognized abuses suffered by Christians at Pakistan’s lowest level of society – street sweepers – have come into sharp focus this year.

Related

• Slain Pakistani Christian Minister's Brother Says Probe 'Finally on Right Track'
• Cardinal Urges Pakistan to Amend Controversial Blasphemy Laws
• CIA Informants' Arrest Shows Pakistan's Duality, Expert Says
• Pakistani Families Flee After Another Bogus 'Blasphemy' Charge
• Christian Minister Stopped From Presenting Provincial Budget in Pakistan

While one Christian sanitation worker in Lahore has been suspended and criminal charges filed against him for objecting to discrimination against fellow workers, another was killed the same month for not tending to a shopkeeper’s command fast enough.

Anayat Masih Sahotra, who has worked as a street sweeper for Lahore’s Solid Waste Management (SWM) department for 24 years, said he is facing baseless charges of forgery and fraud from his employers because of his work as a labor leader for area sweepers, who are nearly all Christians. He was suspended and accused of the crimes on May 14 after he asked SWM Managing Director Wasim Ajmal Chaudhry to fulfill a promise to make 400 Christian workers regular employees with full benefits, he said.

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