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Thatcher and Africa

Not surprisingly, South Africa's response to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's death was on the chilly side of the spectrumShe derided the idea that Nelson Mandela would one day be in power and strongly opposed sanctions against the apartheid regime. Husband Dennis had business interests in South Africa.In an obituary for allAfrica.com, Richard Dowden, director of the Royal Commonwealth Society in London, recalls a less known story about a visit to Nigeria: \"In Kano, during that visit, she was feted by a Durbar by the Emir. The Kano Durbar traditionally ends with a cavalry charge, with the horses rearing up in the front of the Emir and guests, who must greet the riders with a clenched fist salute. At that time the clenched fist was best known as the protest gesture of the radical Black \[...\]
by Daniel on Apr 9, 2013.

Acts of resistance

Do you know of examples of small acts of resistance performed by young people around the world? ice&fire Theatre is collecting them for a planned production which takes its inspiration from such actions. Like Martha Payne and her Never Seconds blog about school meals; and Chris Whitehead, who wore a skirt in protest at his school's policy of making boys wear long trousers in the summer.If you know of any inspiring stories like these, from around the world, the organisation would love to hear from you. Email admin@iceandfire.co.uk
from Daniel Nelson on Apr 4, 2013.

US Senate vote passed by $9.6m to $4.3m

Nice piece of research on last week's vote in the United States Senate on an amendment from Senator Roy Blunt to establish a “point of order” against any bill that would impose a tax or fee on carbon emissions, which would make it more difficult for any such bill to pass.The amendment received 53 votes in favor—accounting for more than half of the Senate—but was not approved for procedural reasons.A MapLight analysis of reported contributions to current members of the Senate from 7/1/2002 to 6/30/2012: shows thatSenator Roy Blunt, the amendment’s sponsor, has received $340,300 from interests supporting his amendment (including oil and gas, manufacturing, and airlines) and $0 from opposing interests (environmental policy).Current members of the Senate have \[...\]
by Daniel on Mar 27, 2013.

The Pope and the killings

Another slant on the Pope story: The Advocacy Project says that its director, Iain Guest, wrote a book on the disappearances in Peru \"and in recent days has been contacted by media outlets about the role of Pope Francis in Argentina's dirty war\" It says Guest says that the Catholic Church was complicit by its silence and that a forceful intervention from the Vatican might have slowed the killing. The military junta was sensitive to international opinion - one reason why it resorted to clandestine killings.
from Daniel Nelson on Mar 23, 2013.

Two nations divided by a common language

Asked about the differing responses of audiences in UK and various US cities to the Human Rights Watch Film Festival - currently running in London - director John Biaggi points to \"the American problem\".The choice of films varies a little from city to city and Biaggi told a London seminar at the weekend that \"in London we never show films on American topics because here people just don't want to see films on America - it simply doesn't sell here.\"Other than that,\" he added, \"London audiences are open to anything.\"He complimented his audience by saying that London audiences ask better questions at post-screening discussions, were more informed than viewers in the US and have a better sense of world politics.In the US, on the other hand, \"people do not delve deeper into politics or news ... Americans are \[...\]
from Daniel Nelson on Mar 18, 2013.

Live TV still rules, ok?

The latest figures on tv viewing from the industry marketing body, Thinkbox, show that the average tv viewer in the UK watches 4 hours and 4 minutes of tv a day.Mark galloway of the International Broadcasting Trust - which is now a fully-fledged charity - reminded members this week that the figure means it's the third year running that viewing has topped the four- hour mark:\"Despite the proliferation of catch up and mobile, most television is watched live by people sitting in front of an actual television: the current figure is 90%, a drop of less than 1 per cent compared with a year ago.\"   
from Daniel Nelson on Mar 4, 2013.

The great AIDS scandal

Fire In The Blood hopes to make a fire in the mind, to provoke audiences into mobilising to stop major pharmaceutical companies repeating the way they blocked access to medicine needed by poor people with HIV and AIDS – leading to an estimated 10 million deaths between 1996 and 2003. Genocide is one word that is suggested by a pundit in the film. That might put off some potential viewers, thinking they will be confronted by the cinematic equivalent of a baying mob. But that would be wrong: this is a historical account of “the most catastrophic emergency Africa and the world has ever seen”: partisan, yes, but not hysterical or dishonest.The quotation is from Peter Mugyenyi, a Ugandan doctor, who is among the array of activists, medical personnel, government officials, \[...\]
from Daniel Nelson on Feb 24, 2013.

Sri Lanka Killing Fields goes international

The Sri Lankan government will be annoyed to learn that the a British documentary film \"exposing some of the worst war crimes of the 21st century\" - at the end of the country's civil war - will be launched at the Geneva Human Rights Film Festival during the UN Human Rights Council meeting in March.The makers say that No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka \"is expected to renew international controversy over the issue of accountability in Sri Lanka\" ahead of the UN meeting. They desribe the film, which began life as TV documentary in 2011, as \"a devastating indictment of the men responsible for the crimes and an exposé of the failure of the international community to prevent this catastrophe.\"Since 2009 there has been no independent judicial investigation into what happened and the  Sri \[...\]
from Daniel Nelson on Feb 13, 2013.

Are we caught in another Great Dying?

Are we heading for another Great Dying, the period 250 million years ago when perhaps 95 per cent of species that have been found in fossils were wiped out? A new exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London, Extinction: Not The End of the World?, keeps us guessing – but the outlook is ominous. The normal extinction rate is about one species a year. A cataclysmic event, like the massive meteor strike that is believed to have accounted for the dinosaurs, can kill half of all species.Human expansion may be another cataclysm. We are wreaking havoc by settling around the world, destroying habitats, hunting and moving species from one area to another where they sometimes knock out local species that have no natural defences against the incomer. This process has been underway \[...\]
by Daniel on Feb 8, 2013.

£67.5bn and rising

The cost of decommissioning the Sellafield nuclear site has reached £67.5 billion and there’s no indication of when it will stop rising, reports Energy Live News.A new report by the Public Accounts Committee showed around £1.6 billion of public money is being spent at the site every year, it adds.£67.5 billion. That's just one aspect of the site's cost, not the full amount. But Britain's Environmebnt Secretary Owen Paterson says wind developers should “stand on their own two feet” instead of asking for money from the state, and other critics moan about the development costs of renewables.Every time one of these naysayers gets up to speak, just shout: £67.5 billion.+ Sellafield nuclear clean-up cost £67.5bn – and still rising
from Daniel Nelson on Feb 7, 2013.
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