Occupy Toronto Eviction...

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1090158--city-can-dismantle-occupy-camp-judge-rules?bn=1The

Just because something is a law does not make it right.
A couple days ago Occupy Toronto protesters were legally given an eviction notice from St. James Park on the grounds that it was a public space and thus they were trespassing by turning it into a tent city and forbidding other residence from using it. City Councilors and the mayor issued concern about "the protesters leaving peacefully", how Toronto could not "handle more violence after the G20". Statements were even made saying the homeless protesters and other would be provided with needed resources, once they evicted. Some even said that it was valuable that the protesters had put the question of resource inequality on the national dialogue. It all sounds, reasonable, level-headed, and Canadian. In my mind it is all a patronizing response to a real problem. Politicians hope that if the protesters go quietly into the night, everyone will forget their lives were ever unsettled. Sending kind thoughts doesn't help the 3,200,000 Canadian's who currently live in poverty. Allowing people who live near St. James Park to go to and from work without the sight of protesters disturbing their daily lives doesn't help improve the lives of our aboriginal people. Make Poverty History states that "while Canada officially ranks an impressive 4th on the UN Human Development Index, the statistics measuring poverty in Canada's Aboriginal communities would place us 78th" (http://www.makepovertyhistory.ca/learn/issues/end-poverty-in-canada).

The judge in the case ruled that by not asking the surrounding residence or their civil representatives permission to set up camp in St. James Park, the protesters were defying their own message of greater direct participation in the democratic process. Again, this sounds very nice and reasonable. But if you believe the system is flawed, then you don't believe you have real "representation" in government, so why ask civil representatives permission? The thought of asking residents, although it is a nice, Canadian one, does not reflect any version of protest meant to evoke change I have ever read about. Most protests that were successful, and many that were not, engaged in civil disobedience, because they believed the current system was wrong and ought to be changed, removing the option of acting within the existing system.

When you believe you have a message that is important enough, you must do everything within your power in order to make it heard. Even if that amounts to limiting the use of park space for the surrounding community. On a grand scale, the importance of being able to walk your dog in a convenient location, as compared to a systemic change of existing financial structures which benefit the already well-off and continue to cycle of poverty for others, which do you think is more important?


Consider writing St. James Cathedral who own half the park:
"info@stjamescathedral.on.ca"

To Whom it May Concern,

I am greatly disappointed by the response of the church to the
protesters at Occupy Toronto. Christians are called to side on
rights of the poor and currently 3,200,000 Canadian's live in poverty.
Standing behind the protesters would make a statement that the Church
continues to practice the teachings of Jesus and is not irrelevant in
a current day context. Consider the following verse:
James 2: 15-17
Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If
one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but
does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same
way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
Nice sentiments are not going to make the difference.
With all due respect,

nov. 22 2011

Drip drip drip goes the Pain,
Ever resounding in my mind,
Always nudging, always begging to be heard,
Waiting for the moment when it may escape,
Seeping through the chinks in my carefully constructed fortress,
“You lie!” I scream, willing it to be so, “you lie” I choke out gasping for breath, choking on despair.
My soul curls up to the Pain, finding it the only thing left of any comfort.
We wait for someone to help us, we brace ourselves against the world, waiting for someone to help us.
It claws at my eyes, the vision was too much, it hurt us, told us lies, drown us in hope.
We watch it happen again and again,
Our soul wasn’t strong enough to handle such despair.
We see the threads growing thin.
Nimble finger weave together the strands, and thin though they may be, they will not break.
And so we will wait, shroud in our blanket of pain.

October 15th 2011

Something has gone wrong with the capitalist system when corporations are no longer creating products that cater to the customers lifestyle and value systems, but creating a lifestyle and value system which the customer, themselves, is expected to integrate into. If you (the corporation) want to sell an image, a brand, a lifestyle, and be successful and enduring in the marketplace, promote one which people can be proud of, and feel good about belonging to. In this way you create a loyal customer, tied not to a brand but an ideal. It's time for electronic companies to start labeling the origins of their minerals used in cell phones, DVD players, computers, etc., proving that they aren't implicated in situations of violence and rape in countries such as the Congo. It's time for long term thinking, it's time for capitalism with a conscience.

Consider sending messages or writing on the facebook walls of Cannon, Dell and Rim in support of the Dodd-Frank Act. The following campaign is one example of such advocacy.
http://www.facebook.com/StepUpfor1502?sk=info
Step Up for 1502 is an effort lead by Enough Project's Raise Hope for Congo campaign. We are fighting to get electronics companies to STEP UP for the conflict minerals provisions (1502) in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

Electronics companies must stop participating in the deadly conflict minerals trade in Congo.

When our electronics companies stand behind the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, they stand for child labor and rape in eastern Congo. We implore them to free their supply chain of Congo conflict minerals.

September 19th

Too beautiful for words,
Diminished to a sound,
Destroyed, Disparaged,
Dripping into a pool of a million of the same,
Electric shocks reach the pond of forgetfulness.
A single thought ignited,
Ripples through the pool,
Turn into a whirlwind,
Caught up in the moment,
Recklessly consuming,
Openly defying,
Wordlessly retreating,
Hands open in supplication,
Swept up in the sound and carried away.

Long Term Thinking

In the world of economics, having perspective beyond the present is difficult. No longer do we have factories hoarding ample supplies of equipment, making one item at a time, but since the creation of the assembly line and advancement of transportation technologies, it is possible to have items shipped around the world overnight. The creation of just-in-time production has left the world operating on a 24-hour clock. This same immediacy has crept into almost every area of business.

Such is the case with the controversy surrounding the Dodd-Frank legislation. An article recently released in the New York Times claimed that the actions of NGOs and the US congress to instate regulations requiring business to monitor the origins of their minerals is essentially creating a boycott of minerals deriving from the Congo. (The article can be read here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/08/opinion/how-congress-devastated-congo.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss)

The article continues on to say that the Dodd-Frank Act is doing nothing but hurting individual miners and improving the lives of corrupt warlords. Ignoring the fact that the Dodd-Frank Act has not been enforced as of yet, what is the alternative? To do nothing? To ignore the 5 million+ that have died thus far and accept the status quo as less damaging? Undermining 15 years of violent conflict will take time, it will take time for the Congolese government to create a stable mining sector. As well, many corporations are interested in investing in the Congolese mining sector under these new regulations (http://congosiasa.blogspot.com/2011/08/thoughts-about-conflict-minerals.html). The key, along with providing alternative sources of work, is to look at the big picture. North America was once teeming with sweatshops, but through the actions of individuals and unions, minimum wage, child labour law and equal (in theory) pay for women were created. Change is possible...and an economically thriving economy is better for business (and the people of the Congo) in the long run, then a war ridden economy.

Enough Project's response to article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sasha-lezhnev/what-conflict-minerals-le_b_922566.html
More info on conflict minerals:
http://www.globalwitness.org/campaigns/conflict/conflict-minerals

When the rubber meets the road...

We have once again returned to a topic that is near and dear to my heart - the plight of those living near or within conflict mineral zones.

Since the creation in July 2010 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, there has been some level of hope. There has been the hope that, some form of mineral regulation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo could be instated and that this momentum could be built upon to one day create a stable society.

The Dodd-Frank Act requires companies to conduct "due diligence" and disclose annually if they use the minerals cassiterite, columbite-tantalite, gold, wolframite or their derivatives (tin, tanatalum or tungsten) in products that originate from the DRC or adjoining countries. But now, as implementation comes under way, questions such as what constitutes "due diligence" have arisen.
As well, some retailers, such as Wal-Mart and AT&T, have been trying to exempt themselves from the Act, arguing that they have minimal contact with the manufacturing process. Theodore Kingsley, the general attorney for AT&T states that, “AT&T believes that retailers who merely place their marks on goods or who do no more than order goods with particular features should not be subject to the rules,” However large corporations, such as AT&T and Walmart, as well as being able to afford to bring such suits against the Act, are those who could afford to monitor the origins of the minerals they use in electronic products. This is as opposed to smaller companies who, it is hypothesized, could suffer financially. David Johnson a corporate lawyer in New York states that, “No one in the United States condones what’s happening in the Congo, but the requirements are so expensive compared to the effect it might actually have in the Congo.”

In opposition to such claims of non-responsibility on the part of corporations, the "Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the 'Protect, Respect and Remedy' Framework" (Endorsed by the UN Human Rights Council as of June 2011), state that "Business enterprises should respect human rights, which means to avoid infringing on the human rights of others and to address adverse human rights impacts they may cause or contribute to. The responsibility to respect human rights applies across a business enterprise’s activities and through its relationships with third parties associated with those activities". Corporations are thus answerable for the actions of any manufactures they are employing.

I hate that there is there is a price to human life, and financially speaking, much of the world is not willing to shell out the cost. There are however exceptions, companies such as Intel, who have taken the issue seriously and are endeavoring to track the where abouts of the minerals they use to produce their electronics (source: enough project).

http://www.business-humanrights.org/SpecialRepPortal/Home/Protect-Respect-Remedy-Framework
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportID=93396
http://www.reports-and-materials.org/Ruggie-UN-draft-Guiding-Principles-22-Nov-2010.pdf
http://www2.americanprogress.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=154&link=2

Interference

The problem with humanitarian aid is that it is exactly what it implies, aid. It is not a solution, it is not sustainable, it is not permanent, it is not on-going. A friend once had a conversation with me about how the current market system under capitalism teach us the lassiez-faire philosophy, that if everyone is striving after their own self-interest, the market will balance itself out, everyone wins. I feel like this has to some extent translated into social dynamics as well, everyone strives to better themselves, leaving others to sort out their own problems, no one is willing to interfere in the name of privacy, tolerance and respect. However in situations of humanitarian crisis we try and halt this system. We tell less development countries that interference is necessary, sovereignty be damned. This is despite the fact that loans given by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank are often contingent on liberalisation of markets and an application of lassiez faire principles practiced in wealthier nations.

Information warning of the current drought in the Horn of Africa has been available for about a year, and could have been prevented or lessened in affect. However as world leaders are loath to act on predictions and loath to invest and interfere until absolutely necessary, it creates a cycle of emergency instead of sustainability. I don't pretend to know the answer, but I do know the solution starts when people become more then an economic figure and the concept of interfering in our neighbours business doesn't exist because we are always invovled in the lives of those around us.

More info on the drought in the Horn of Africa:
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/special-coverage-horn-of-africa-hunger-crisis/
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportID=93337
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/qa-the-headaches-of-getting-aid-to-famine-stricken-somalia/
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/12/us-ethiopia-drought-idUSTRE76B32N20110712
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportID=93331

The Ivory Coast, end to the violence?

Gbagbo surrenders! He will now hopefully be held accountable for the human rights atrocities committed in the Ivory Coast. However the likely hood of president Ouattara being held accountable for violence is slim.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/ivory-coasts-gbagbo-must-be-held-to-account-for-atrocities-rights-group/

A copy of my first facebook note in a long time:

Okay so my profile picture is not the best picture of me which has ever been taken, as I am yelling to someone off to the side of the photo, and I may not be one of these 'youth' who are voting, as our signs stipulate, BUT I believe in the message being portrayed. All over the world there are people currently fighting and dying for the right to democratic governance, the right to have a say in the rule of their nation. I heard a statistic the other day that today Canada is 69th in the world in terms of peacekeeping. We have denied UN requests to send peacekeepers to the Congo four times. As well, although Canada aided in instigating the Millennium Development Goals, we have ceased to make any attempt to fulfilled this commitment. This is not the Canada I feel like I live in, this tight-fisted, uncharitable, corporate run country. Something must change, I want to see the Canada I was taught to believe in.

There is one way we can change this, by starting to hold our government accountable for it's actions, by asserting our democratic right to vote. Currently, if the Canadian government does something citizens disapprove of, it is irrelevant, what are we going to do about it? In 2006, 64.7% of the population voted. In 2008, it was 59.1%.

Are you disillusioned by the Democratic process in North America? Do something about it. Are you sick of rhetoric? Do something about it. It doesn't have to be this way, change is possible, and the best way we can instigate change at this moment in history is to vote. I don't care how you vote, so long as you exercise this right.

The following is a quote from one of my hero's, Tony Benn:

"Keeping people hopeless and pessimistic - see I think there are two ways in which people are controlled - first of all frighten people and secondly demoralize them. An educated, healthy and confident nation is harder to govern...People in debt become hopeless and hopeless people don’t vote. They always say that that everyone should vote but I think that if the poor in Britain or the United States turned out and voted for people that represented their interests there would be a real democratic revolution"

April 4th

No longer is Ouattara a victim in the conflict between his party and incumbent presidential candidate Gbagbo, but has begun inflicting extreme violence in an effort to oust Gbagbo. Massacres in the West of the Ivory Coast have left up to 1000 people dead, sparking the UN to call on the warring factions not to attack civilians. Although the UN has removed non-essential staff from regions where they have been targeted, "France has ordered more troops into Ivory Coast to protect civilians as forces backing presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara prepared a "lightning" assault to remove Laurent Gbagbo from power". About 250 children have been displaced and are living in the forests.

At the very least I find it encouraging that the number of French troops will be increased, although UN troops being removed from certain locations is eerily reminiscent of the way violence was allowed to continue in Rwanda right before the infamous genocide. Why is violence labelled as genocide particularly heinous compared to other forms of violence? What makes it more evil and worthy of action or at least horror then the 5 million dead in the Congo? How far does violence need to escalate in the Ivory Coast before intervention is acceptable? And what form does that intervention take?


http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/dont-target-civilians-un-tells-ivory-coasts-warring-sides/
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/un-evacuates-staff-after-attacks-in-ivory-coast/

March 26th, survey results

https://www.surveymonkey.com/sr.aspx?sm=MbIA1qFbkOL2SGQldJnkGFMBpVC3qX48GRX1cVCoQr4_3d

Click the link above to view the results of my survey on conflict minerals and whether students at McMaster University would pay more for items produced conflict mineral free.
Unsurprisingly, most say they would, but cite price as their biggest consideration when purchasing electronics. These two factors are at odds with each other.

Consider writing your representative on a regular basis

Mr. Harper,

I ask that you and Canada would take a firmer stance on the issue of
Darfur. Violence continues to be perpetuated while the world watches.
The Enough Project, an advocacy group in the US, has confirmed that
satellites have taken images of villages which have been burned to the
ground. It is unacceptable for Canada to maintain a passive stance on
the issues in that region, in the DRC and in the Ivory Coast.
Please consider renewing Canada's image as an international peace
keeper, and add legitimacy to ideas like Responsibility to Protect.
images of villages in Darfur:
http://satsentinel.org/sites/default/files/SSP2-Final.pdf

Respectfully,

Natasha Hovey

For Canada:
pm@pm.gc.ca

March 8th - the situation becomes more alarming

"Ivory Coast rebels have seized a third town in the country's west, forces loyal to incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo said, while at least six people have died in violence around the main city Abidjan. U.S. President Barack Obama said he has authorized up to $12.6 million in aid to assist refugees from unrest in the Ivory Coast. An 8,000-strong United Nations force is trying to keep a stand-off between Ivory Coast's rival presidential claimants, Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara, from tipping into a civil war". The Human Rights Commission has formally opposed the extreme violence in the Ivory Coast.

http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/pro-gbagbo-forces-say-rebels-take-ivory-coast-town/
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/us-sets-126-mln-in-aid-for-ivory-coast-refugees/
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=92130

March 3rd

Seven women have been killed in peaceful protests against Gbagbo, incumbent leader of the Ivory Coast. This brings the total to 365 dead since the elections in November, which were meant to unify the country. Some believe this number is much higher. 70,000 have crossed into Liberia, with approximately 200,000 displaced. Although Gbagbo has retained the loyalty of much of the security forces, Ouattara has the support of the international community and is protected by U.N. troops. Thus both sides are at an impasse, with neither willing to relent.

http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/ivorian-forces-kill-six-women-at-pro-ouattara-rally/

February 28th

In the Congo, MSF (Doctors Without Borders) report that there have been mass rapes in South Kivu, with 200 men, women and children having been raped since January. Normally violence is not centralized to one area as it has been in this case. Victims state that those responsible are members of the Forces Démocratiques pour la Libération de Rwanda (FDLR), which is made up of former persons responsible for the Rwandan Genocide. Amid the continuing unrest, states, international organization, and NGOs are preparing for the predicted global food shortage which is bound to effect those persons already in crisis due to violence and poverty. This crisis is currently impinging on Libya. France said that humanitarian aid must be the priority rather than military action to oust Muammar Gaddafi, one day after the United States said it was moving warships and air forces closer to Libya.

Food Shortage in Libya:
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/east-libya-could-face-food-shortages-soon-source/
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/france-urges-aid-not-military-action-for-libya/
The Congo:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=92062
On the global food shortage:
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/oxfam-calls-for-radical-shake-up-of-food-aid/
Britain threatens to leave UN Food Agency due to ineffectiveness:
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/britain-threatens-to-quit-un-food-agency/

Feburary 15th

In the wake of various international incidents in Sudan and Egypt, the ongoing chaos in the Ivory Coast has been forgotten. However the conflict continues. Gbagbo's lawyers are now filing to have election results declaring Ouattara president overturned by a Nigerian court. They are seeking to sue ECOWAS, the Nigerian court of law, to achieve this ends. ECOWAS has been vocal in its condemnation of Gbagbo. Meanwhile two international banks have suspended operations in the Ivory Coast, one of which cites security concerns. Gbagbo is also seeking legal action against these banks, specifically the BNP Paribas, which a spokesperson for Gbagbo stated: "has illustrated in the recent past a willingness to stifle the Ivorian economy". In my opinion this is simply a tactic to shift blame for the current economic conditions away from the conflict on Gbagbo's part. The two leaders have yet to meet face to face since the November 28th elections.

http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/ivory-coasts-gbagbo-threatens-legal-action-on-banks/
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/ivory-coasts-gbagbo-seeks-to-sue-ecowas-over-polls/
Http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=91924

A report on the roles of the US and France:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=91921

Why Certification of Conflict Minerals is Important...

"The mass rape of over 300 women in Walikale this past summer was a shocking reminder of the humanitarian implications of the unregulated minerals trade in Congo and the failure of the state to protect its citizens," Enough Co-Founder John Prendergast

http://www.enoughproject.org/publications/view-north-kivu?link=1
http://enoughproject.org/files/view_from_kivu.pdf

January 26

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the worst place in the world for females to live: "Statistics reveal that an average of 40 women are raped every day in just two provinces. Of these, 13 per cent are under 14 years of age, 3 per cent die as a result of rape and 10-12 per cent contract HIV and AIDS"(http://www.worldvision.ca/Education-and-Justice/Policy-and-Analysis/Pages/Rape-in-the-Congo.aspx). In a recently released report, UN officials found that the number of Congolese women raped New Years eve in an organized attack is exponentially larger then previously thought. One of the senior army commanders who coordinated the attack has been arrested, 10 other soldiers are in detention. 200,000 women are reported to have been raped in the Congo over the past 12 years of conflict. Those committing the attacks are not just Congolese, but members of the Rwandan Hutu militia have also previously been arrested. It is for this reason that extreme measures must be taken to end the conflict in the Congo. As I have written before, conflict minerals, such as coltan, fuel and fund this conflict and many others across Africa (Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi), and for that reason alone it may be time to pay more for our electronics, so minerals can be monitored and measures can be put in place to ensure they are arriving from a legitimate source.

http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/un-finds-many-more-congolese-new-year-rape-victims/
http://www.raisehopeforcongo.org/content/why/why-congo

Pray for an end to violence

Violence worsens in Cote D'ivoire. Gbagbo (incumbent president) supporters are killing, raping and causing the disappearances of Ouattara supporters. Persons who look to be of an ethic group which typically supports Ouattara (immigrants from other parts of West Africa and Muslims)are routinely the targets. Last week a report was released which stated Cote d'Ivoire media could be brought up for crimes against humanity by the ICC because of the hatred and violence the air waves were inciting.

Quote from Ouattara's UN ambassador:
"Unfortunately, as things stand, the worst is yet to come," Bamba said, adding that "all member states of the United Nations collectively, and the regional powers in Africa ... should act immediately to put an end to that shame."

http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/ivory-coasts-gbagbo-forces-kill-torture-watchdog/

In a situation such as this, is intervention the right solution? Would the North deciding a victor in this conflict bring stability? Or would those people inciting violence find some other cause for doing so, further destabilising the country?

Civil society in Cote d'Ivoire: http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=91733

January 23

Impartiality lets you off the hook. Not believing one thing or the other makes inaction acceptable. In myself, I call this cowardly behavior. If I refuse to make up my mind on a subject and thus am inactive, and allow potentially harmful things to happen as a result, I am guilty by omission. It is a refusal to take responsibility for the lives of anyone but yourself. Which is selfish. To a point, tolerance is another word for impartiality. As a side note, in a meeting held this past week, Canada MP David Sweet confirmed that in an effort to balance the budget Canada is cutting its funding to the Millennium Development Goals.

January 19th

The Kenyan President has reported that the African Unions mediation talks in the Ivory Coast have failed and that sanctions and force must now be used to end the conflict. There are now about 30,000 displaced persons in Liberia, 75 percent of which are women and children, and another 18,000 displaced internally in the Ivory coast. Aid agencies worry about the thousands of displaced children, many of which are separated from their parents, are in danger of sexual exploitation and recruitment into the violent conflict. Continue to pray for peace.

http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/displaced-ivory-coast-children-at-risk-of-sexual-exploitation/

January 18

Kenyan Prime Minister and mediator Prime Minister Raila Odinga hints that there may soon may be direct talks between the two leaders in Cote d`Ivoire. However a representative for recognized president Ouattara stated that: "If we're ready to talk face to face, that means Gbagbo must have said he's ready to step down," an act which has yet to occur. This however could be a positive step towards peace.

http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/ivory-coast-mediator-hints-at-talks/

January 16

Between 400 and 600 people are crossing the border of Cote dÌvoire into Liberia a day, fleeing from the two waring regimes. One is the democratically elected, UN recognized leader of the nation, Ouattara, the other is opposition leader Gbagbo, who has declared himself president. Approximately 25,000 people are now living in refugee camps in Liberia. Many males are being recruited on route to the refugee camps on behalf of both sides. Meanwhile Liberian ex-fighters are expected to engage in the conflict presently. Slowly social system such as education are breaking down as teachers refuse to work for political reasons. Another reminder that there are no innocent sides in armed conflict and it is always civilians who will pay the price. I will continue to update this alarming situation, in hope.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=91636
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=91635

Sign a petition advocating for the coco producers in Cote d`Ivoire not to support war:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/ivory_coast_chocolate/?vl

Because sticking up for the little guy is worth it

Members of the Presidents Office,

As a student and employee of McMaster University, I wish to express my
support for the demands of the hospitality workers on campus.
According to McMaster Universities mission and vision statements, the
university "value[s] integrity, quality, inclusiveness and teamwork in
everything we do... We serve the social, cultural, and economic needs
of our community and our society". These are simply empty words if
you choose to replace the full-time staff members with casual workers.
Having chosen to locate the university in a city with such differing
socio-economic backgrounds, which includes a large percentage of new
immigrants to the country, it is important take into account not
only the elite persons who are able to attend and teach at the
institution, but also the needs of the community at large. If the
university has the capacity to employ community members and improve
their livelihood, as well as continue to preform research whose said
goal is to improve the lives of society as a whole, then it is
preforming it's function and has not become, as some claim it to be,
an ivory town, removed from reality.
Please keep this in mind as you go back to the bargaining table.

Thank you,

Members of the presidents office:
presdnt@mcmaster.ca,
mcupido@mcmaster.ca,
marnold@mcmaster.ca,

January 13th

Continued fighting in Cote D`Ivoire as Gbagbo refuses to give up his illegitimate power. Elected leader, Ouattara, continues to operate out of a sealed hotel. Since the election 200 civilians have been killed in the fighting, and Gbagbo has ordered UN forces out of the country. UN forces have refuses and instead have requested 2000 more troops. Gbagbo`s supporters in retaliation have attacked UN vehicles and troops. I find it encouraging that the UN mission continues to refuse to leave the country. However, I doubt matters are cut and dry in terms of the assumed absolute innocence on the part of Ouattara`s supporters. It is my hope that the fact that the world is watching will stop mass violence on the part of the two parties from occurring.

http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/ivory-coast-army-seals-off-pro-ouattara-area/

January 12th

Formed in Northern Uganda in the late 1980s, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), head by mad-man Joseph Kony, who believes he is the re-incarnation of the messiah, has kidnapped children as recruits and killed civilians for over two decades. The movements of the LRA have since spread to Southern Sudan, Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, three nations with already existing internal problems without the military capacity to stop the destruction of the LRA. A new report by American President Barack Obama does not even offer peace-talks as an option for stopping the movements of the LRA. It suggests that disarming the military group and capturing it's leaders (wanted by the international criminal court) is the only option. But over such a vast expanse of terrain with limited personnel, and with the need to peacefully disarm the many children who part of this army, it will prove difficult.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=91612
(New plan by Obama to disarm the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda)

January 11

Haiti one year after the quake is still destitute, lacking infrastructure and basic items necessary for subsistence. At least a million people still live in tent cities, and violence such as looting and rape continue. Meanwhile cholera is still ravaging the country. Desperate people are bound to commit desperate acts.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2011/01/reporters-notebook-memories-from-haiti.html#

January 10.5

They walked out of their dark cozy home.
The old man held the hand of the tiny girl with wide, bright eyes.
The first beams of light started to peek from beyond the warm grassy hill, lighting their path, the sun stretching itself towards them as if also newly awakened.
They lift their faces to the sky, and raising their arms, greet the day.
The nearby plant life trembles in an unseen wind, as if returning the greeting.
The girl lets out a laugh, sounding like bubbling water flowing over a creek bed.
The sun now bursts forth, revealing itself entirely.
The land is washed in light.
The old man and little girl share a knowing smile.
The old man kneels down.
Eye level, he smiles again and warmly says to her, "close your eyes. What do you see?"
Again she lifts her face to the sun, eyes closed, she tilts her head to the side as if listening.
"I see them all here."
She opens her eyes and excitedly looks back at the old man.
He looks at her kindly and says, "And what would you like to do?"
"Let's go find them!" She replies eagerly, pulling the old man forward.
He laughs and together, hand in hand, they move forward.

January 10th

Rape as a weapon of war destroys communities through the demoralization and immobilization of its (for the most part) women. According to the report below, 15,000 women are raped a year in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). I believe it is one of the most cruel devices of war, which keeps civilians trapped in a state of fear. They are thus controllable and less likely to oppose their attackers. The war in the DRC is continuous in large part because it is funded through the sale of electronics which contain items found in the mineral rich country. These minerals are fought over by gorilla groups, government militia,warlords, as well as armed forces hired by Rwanda, Uganda, and Burundi, who siphon the minerals through their countries and on to Australia, where they are mix and become untraceable from other minerals.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/gunmen-carry-out-new-year-gang-rape-in-congo-msf

Want to know what your favorite electronic companies are doing to combat the use of conflict minerals in their products (computers, ipods, dvd players, cell phones, ect.)?
Read the below company ratings:
http://www.enoughproject.org/publications/getting-conflict-free?elq=9fa1e70026d847cb87d7e1d4cec6fc99

Make sure that the regulation of conflict minerals is strong, sign the petition to aid in ending violence in the Congo!
http://www2.americanprogress.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=113

January 8

Never Again. This is what world leaders continue to say about genocide. They said it about the Holocaust, they said it about Rwanda, they said it about Bosnia. Darfur is on-going, forgotten. Before the Sudanese government signed a peace agreement, the Janjaweed (a government backed armed group) killed as many non-Arab Sudanese as possible. They then signed the peace deal to pacify the international community. The eradication of non-Arab Sudanese has been called "the final solution". The same term used by Hitler for the eradication of the Jews. The conflict began in 2003.

I understand what people mean when they talk about the North interfering in Africa as colonial and why they would say such a solution lacks sustainability. I understand that the West has in the past destroyed culture and altered facts, in order to achieve its own ends.

If it were my family being killed and raped, I wouldn't care who intervened, or why.

Indifference is not an option. Apathy inhuman. Ignorance self-destructive.
I am sick of a lack of action being coated in the guise of enlightenment, as committees of the educated and privileged discuss; the screams of the dying are muffled by the shuffling of paper. We must stop destroying ourselves.

http://www.sudanreeves.org/

January 7

Reminiscent of Rwanda and Darfur...
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/gbagbo-tied-forces-back-icoast-ethnic-killings-un/

It's terrifying that such actions are still permitted in a world which has experienced atrocities such as the Holocaust, the genocides in Yugoslavia, Rwanda and the ongoing killings in Darfur, not to mention the over 500 million who have been killed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo over resources and ethic conflict, the greatest number killed in war since World War 2. At least UN troops are insisting on staying in the Cote d'Ivoire, despite Laurent Gbagbo, the man who has declared himself president after elections did not go in his favour, insisting they leave. Let us hope that this is not history repeating itself as UN troops stayed in Rwanda until ten Belgium peace keepers were killed, leaving the country, and the Tutsi people to their fate. The most concerning part, to me, is the sanctioning of ethic killings by would-be-government forces. With the UN unwilling to intervene in the sovereignty of another state, except in an instance of genocide, and with the UN being unwilling to label any war as 'genocide', what is to be done?
The only answer I know of is public awareness, which increases media attention, which in turn puts pressure on international governments, which hopefully pressures the offending government(Gbagbo of Cote d'Ivoire) to reform. The only problem in this case is that the offending government is illegitimate. Perhaps Gbagbo's need for power will be satisfied by the international attention...