Letter to the Irish Times 'Harsh Realities in Colombia'
http://www.irishtimes.com/debate/letters/harsh-realities-in-colombia-1.1616908
A chara, - The article by Deirdre McQuillan on Colombian coffee production ("The journey from bean to cup", Magazine, November 16th) would appear to have been written from only one point of view. Nestlé, the company that invited Ms McQuillan to Colombia, is a large multinational whose human rights record in that country has been questioned on many occasions.
Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore addresses the murder of agrarian leader and environmental activist in Colombia
Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore addresses the murder of agrarian leader and environmental activist in Colombia, as Free Trade Agreement goes full-speed ahead (full title)
On November 19th the Tánaiste (Vice-Prime Minister in Ireland) Eamon Gilmore, addressed the parliamentary questions raised by TDs Maureen O'Sullivan, Clare Daly and Seán Crowe, in relation to growing concerns about the escalation of political repression in Colombia. In recent months, scores of left-wing activists, trade union organisers, protesters and human rights' defenders have been murdered. Many more have been imprisoned, injured and harassed.
LASC e:bulletin "just a minute" survey
As LASC members and supporters will know, we produce a weekly e:bulletin which currently has a distribution list of over 750 people. In order to improve our services to our readers we ask you to spare a minute of your time to take a quick survey on the e:bulletin. Click here to complete survey, which we reckon will take you just 57 secs!
TNT Conga, Perú: Megamining and resistance from the local community
A skype-conference with Irish activist living in Peru Lynda Sullivan. When: Thursday 28th November, 18:30. Where: LASC offices, 5 Merrion Row, Dublin 2
TNT: Report on Sustainable Development Project in Guatemala
On December 3rd Elaine Doyle will give a talk about her experience living and working in Guatemala this summer. Elaine was one of the awardees of the EIL Global Awareness Programme and she will present details of the sustainable development projects she worked on in Guatemala.
Video footage of forced displacement in Pitalito
For video footage from Enlacha Films about the forced displacement in Pitalito, Cesar, Colombia click here.
Next TNT - YASUNI ITT: The End of the Green Dream in Ecuador? Nov 21 @ 6.30pm
Where: LASC offices
YASUNI ITT: The End of the Green Dream in Ecuador?
When announced in 2007, the Yasuni ITT Initiative was hailed as a triumph for the environmental movement, provided newly elected President Rafael Correa with global attention and credibility, and was thought by some to represent the beginning of a new and alternative mode of global economics. The scheme appeared disarmingly simple: in return for donations of around half the value of the crude oil thought to be under the surface of this incredibly bio-diverse region, Ecuador would refrain from drilling, thereby protecting the park for all of humanity.
The Pope says No to Fracking and that “Water is worth more than gold”
Pope Francisco welcomed a group of Argentineans, including an EJOLT member, Antonio Gustavo Gomez, an Attorney General from Argentina, yesterday on November 11th, 2013, in the Vatican. The meeting lasted an hour, with the participation of the film director Pino Solanas, well known for his film "Dirty Gold", about mega-mining. They spoke about water contamination and the Pope mentioned that he is preparing an encyclical about nature, humans and environmental pollution.
Sorry, Venezuela haters: this economy is not the Greece of Latin America
SOURCE: Guardian
Predicting a Venezuelan apocalypse won't make it happen: in this oil-rich country the only thing imploding is poverty
For more than a decade people opposed to the government of Venezuela have argued that its economy would implode. Like communists in the 1930s rooting for the final crisis of capitalism, they saw economic collapse just around the corner. How frustrating it has been for them to witness only two recessions: one directly caused by the opposition's oil strike (December 2002-May 2003) and one brought on by the world recession (2009 and the first half of 2010). However, the government got control of the national oil company in 2003, and the whole decade's economic performance turned out quite well,, with average annual growth of real income per person of 2.7% and poverty reduced by over half, and large gains for the majority in employment, access to health care, pensions and education.
Progressive Film Club Sat 30th November
Our next screening, which will be the last of 2013 is on the 30th November in the New Theatre, 43, East Essex Street, Dublin 2. The year in which we celebrated the centenary of the Lockout. We started the year with two films about the occupation of factories by the workers and we finish with a film about the Lockout. We are also screening, on the same show a movie about about the plight of refugees and migrant workers in Greece.
Looking forward to seeing you there;-