You are tribal and poor villagers living in the Narmada Valley in India.Since the 80′s State and Federal Governments have been implementing a huge project "development to construct several dams along Narmada Valley to generate hydro- electricity. The dams have and will continue to displace hundreds of thousands of indigenous people and poor communities from their land. Governmental promises to provide housing and livelihood for displaces villager have often stop the Narmada project has grown. the movement employs non- violent ( ahimsa) strategies including rallies , hunger strike refusing to leave villagers being flooded by raising waters.
question:
1) Identify some key values and principles that are found in your faith and spiritually traditions which help in this understanding of your situation
- education
- reconciliation
- gathering information
- peaceful dialogue
- interfaith groups and organizations
- meetings and exchanges with all community leaders
- meetings between groups, individual families, stakeholders, and other participants
- sharing of knowledge
- emphasis on mutual strengths rather than on differences and disagreements
- community workshops
- self-help groups
- empowerment of the poor
- special care and protection of children, students, the elderly, and the disabled
- establishing rapport with local leaders and representatives
- sharing goals and experiences
You are tribal and poor villagers living in the Narmada Valley in India.Since the 80′s State and Federal Governments have been implementing a huge project "development to construct several dams along Narmada Valley to generate hydro- electricity. The dams have and will continue to displace hundreds of thousands of indigenous people and poor communities from their land. Governmental promises to provide housing and livelihood for displaces villager have often stop the Narmada project has grown. the movement employs non- violent ( ahimsa) strategies including rallies , hunger strike refusing to leave villagers being flooded by raising waters.
QUESTION:
1) From you faith perspective, suggest strategies that support the worldview that "ANOTHER WORLD IS POSSIBLE"
2) Discuss "AHIMSA"
3) if you were in the shoes of the villagers , being ( community leader) or an( ordinary citizen) what will you do to resolve conflict?
5) what was the federal gov’t doing to resolve the conflict?
Okay i just this its freaky how this is all happening b4 2012 not saying its going to happen i just skimed though the article
GENEVA (AFP) – The UN warned on Monday that "massive" loss in life-sustaining natural environments was likely to deepen to the point of being irreversible after global targets to cut the decline by this year were missed.
As a result of the degradation, the world is moving closer to several "tipping points" beyond which some ecosystems that play a part in natural processes such as climate or the food chain may be permanently damaged, a United Nations report said.
The third "Global Biodiversity Outlook" found that deforestation, pollution or overexploitation were damaging the productive capacity of the most vulnerable environments, including the Amazon rainforest, lakes and coral reefs.
"This report is saying that we are reaching the tipping point where the irreversible damage to the planet is going to be done unless we act urgently," Ahmed Djoghlaf, executive secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, told journalists.
Djoghlaf argued that extinction rates for some animal or plant species were at a historic high, up to 1,000 times those seen before, even affecting crops and livestock.
The UN report was partly based on 110 national reports on steps taken to meet a 2002 pledge to "significantly reduce" or reverse the loss in biodiversity.
Djoghlaf told journalists: "There is not a single country in the world that has achieved these targets, we continue to lose biodioversity at unprecedented rate."
Three potential tipping points were identified.
Global climate, regional rainfall and loss of plant and animal species were harmed by continued deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, the report said.
Many freshwater lakes and rivers were becoming contaminated by algae, starving them of oxygen and killing off fish, affecting local livelihoods and recreation for local populations.
And coral reefs were collapsing due to the combined blow of more acid and warming oceans, as well as overfishing, the UN found.
UN Environment Programme (UNEP) director general Achim Steiner underlined the economic value and returns of "natural capital" and its role in ensuring the health of soil, oceans and the atmosphere.
"Humanity has fabricated the illusion that somehow we can get by without biodiversity or that it is somehow peripheral to the contemporary world," Steiner said.
"The truth is we need it more than ever on a planet of six billion heading to over nine billion people by 2050."
The report argued that biodiversity was a core concern for society that would help tackle poverty and improve health, meriting as much attention as the economic crisis for only a fraction of the cost of recent financial bailouts.
It advocated a new strategy to tackle the loss alongside more traditional steps such as the expansion of protected natural areas and pollution control.
They included attempts to regulate land consumption, fishing, increased trade and population growth or shifts, partly through a halt to "harmful" or "perverse" subsidies.
Globel warming !!!!!
I don’t concern myself with old predictions about 2012 etc…not worth it. I do worry about the intransigence of vested interests preventing timely intervention to move past the current hurdles facing life on the planet.
AGW is very real and very understated by the IPPC. They have taken the most conservative estimates, reality is already overtaking them. Loss of biodiversity hs happening now at increasing rates, we could prevent most of that cheaply and relatively easily if we wanted to. There is no political will to do so.
We are trapped by humanities selfish greed to make life for the next generation extremely difficult.
History will look back at this time and they will say "What selfish ignorant bastards" "They knew the damage and danger, they had the means to avert it and they chose not to lift a finger" "Worse yet that advocated to hasten it"
We are all going to die, its the human condition, no one gets to live forever. But we will not all die soon. We will get to see the beginnings of the misery we are sowing. The deaths will be slow and painful.
January 2004
The introduction of sweeping land reforms in Namibia is threatening the livelihoods of hundreds of white farmers. Emmanuel Ismael’s home is a small farm in the heart of Duerreland, Namibia. Yet he fears that all might soon be lost in the face of President Sam Nujoma’s land reclamation programme. With black farmers desperate for land, the Namibian government has adopted a strategy designed to win them votes — evicting white farmers. 192 foreigners have already lost their farms. But European farmers are worried that only the politicians will profit from the changes. “They are not battling against poverty but are simply changing the colour of the skin of the owners.” In fact, the first victims of the land expropriation will be the black workers. Farmers believe that foreign investment is the real key to agricultural development.
Ajegunle.org, a Paradigm Initiative Nigeria project, is a model that we have designed to create better livelihoods through ICT opportunities, entrepreneurship training and short-term internships for young people in Nigerias underserved areas. The project website is www.ajegunle.org and we are glad to have been able to commence pre-project work on other areas. We also invite you to view the project video (as captured by Nigeria International and screened in various countries) on CNNs iReport at www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-14359. Famous, like many other young people in Nigeria’s most popular slum, was not sure of what tomorrow held for him. Now, he works at the Visa Section of the British High Commission in Abuja thanks to his participation in the Ajegunle.org project. Funke, another project participant, grew her business of N2,000 by over 2,000% after the training. The project is also helping to change the perception of the Ajegunle community, as shown through the inclusion of the projects details on the popular Wikipedia website or search results through internet search engines.
We are working towards the replication of the idea beyond Ajegunle, and are also keen on establishing the Ajegunle Innovation Centre (AJIC). The AJIC will serve as a knowledge hub where more youth from the community can be empowered for the world of work. It will serve the purposes of training, incubation and service provision:
(a) Training: Providing a space for the Ajegunle.org training program and a centre for the advancement of workplace preparedness for Ajegunle’s youth;
(b) Incubation: We will provide workspaces for the entrepreneurs that we train so that they can overcome the infrastructure barrier and have a place where they can walk into and work to provide their services towards income generation and wealth creation. The incubator will be designed to encourage productivity within a specified period of time;
(c) Services: The centre will also be a place where community members can get services such as photocopy, fax, etc, as a form of income generation strategy to sustain the centre. The centre will be served by our graduates so they can also benefit from immediate employment opportunities while they in turn provide the centre with low-cost manpower. Our ultimate goal is for the centre to become a major outsourcing hotspot in Africa!
On September 26, 2008 the New America Foundations American Strategy Program hosted Hooman Majd to discuss his recent book, The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: The Paradox of Modern Iran.
The book is a critical, but affectionate portrayal of Iranian society pointing out similarities and differences between Iranians and Americans. Iranians are like Americans in that they are concerned about their economy, their livelihoods, and their politics. They do not wake up every morning thinking they are living under tyranny. What the Iranians are looking for is respect. Respect for them as a people and for them as an Islamic Republic. When the U.S. claims that they will talk with the Iranians on our terms at a place and time of our choosing those statements are disrespectful to Iran as a sovereign nation.
It is important to note that current sanctions against Iran are affecting that nation. Majd said China continually uses Iran as a market for its low-cost substandard goods. The housing market in Iran has typically been the primary economic sector of stability, but that is showing a slight downturn. However, that downturn is not the same as the housing crisis facing the U.S. Majd noted any sanctions against the Iranian central bank would be severely detrimental to the country.
Iranian attitudes toward the recent Russian invasion of Georgia showed Iranians supportive of Russia. Iranian leadership sees this as an opportunity. Iran is viewed as the only state standing in the way from Russia becoming a regional hegemonic power. It is in the U.S. interest to support Iran in order to prevent extension of Russian influence.
In the June 2009 election, there is an opportunity for the reformists to take control of the Iranian government. However, President Ahmadinejad is constantly showing himself as a world leader with trips to the UN, dinners with American scholars, and meetings with Iranian Americans. When Ahmadinejad recently spoke to the UN General embly he held a press conference after his speech where he only took questions from Arab and Iranian reporters so it would be easily accessible on news networks in the Middle East.
Finally, Majd discussed the issue of Iranian political activists. He noted that the worst measure the U.S. can take is to support reformists groups. Due to anti-American sentiment among parts of the Iranian population, when the U.S. supports something the Iranian people are less likely to follow.
Over 125 million people rely on coffee for their livelihood. What are Starbucks, the Fair Trade certification, and other nonprofit initiatives doing to help them out of the coffee crisis? This panel describes the mechanics of the global coffee crisis and explores strategies to address sustainability issues on the economic, social, and environmental levels.
Hernan Cortes de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marques del Valle de Oaxaca (Spanish pronunciation: [?r?nan kor?t?s]; 1485December 2, 1547) was a Spanish conquistador who led the expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the King of Castile, in the early 16th century. Cortes was part of the generation of Spanish colonizers that began the first phase of the Spanish colonization of the Americas.
Born in Medellin, Extremadura, Spain, to a family of lesser nobility, Cortes chose to pursue a livelihood in the New World. He went to Hispaniola and later to Cuba, where he received an encomienda and, for a short time, became alcalde (magistrate) of the second Spanish town founded on the island. In 1519, he was elected captain of the third expedition to the mainland, an expedition which he partly funded. His enmity with the governor of Cuba, Diego Velazquez de Cuellar, resulted in the later recalling the expedition at the last moment, an order which Cortes ignored. Arriving on the continent, Cortes executed a successful strategy of allying with some indigenous peoples against others. He also used a native woman, Dona Marina, as interpreter; she would later bear Cortes a son. When the Governor of Cuba sent emissaries to arrest Cortes, he fought them and won, using the extra troops as reinforcements. Cortes wrote letters directly to the king asking to be acknowledged for his successes instead of punished for mutiny. After he overthrew the Aztec empire, Cortes was awarded the title of Marques del Valle de Oaxaca, while the more prestigious title of Viceroy was given to a high-ranking nobleman, Antonio de Mendoza. Cortes returned to Spain in 1541 where he died peacefully but embittered.
Because of the controversial undertakings of Cortes and the scarcity of reliable sources of information about him, it has become difficult to ert anything definitive about his personality and motivations. Early lionizing of the conquistadors did not encourage deep examination of Cortes. Later reconsideration of the conquistadors’ character in the context of modern anti-colonial sentiment and greatly expanded concern for human rights, as typified by the Black Legend, also did little to expand our understanding of Cortes as an individual. As a result of these historical trends, descriptions of Cortes tend to be simplistic, and either ing or idealizing.
Hernan Cortes de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marques del Valle de Oaxaca (Spanish pronunciation: [?r?nan kor?t?s]; 1485December 2, 1547) was a Spanish conquistador who led the expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the King of Castile, in the early 16th century. Cortes was part of the generation of Spanish colonizers that began the first phase of the Spanish colonization of the Americas.
Born in Medellin, Extremadura, Spain, to a family of lesser nobility, Cortes chose to pursue a livelihood in the New World. He went to Hispaniola and later to Cuba, where he received an encomienda and, for a short time, became alcalde (magistrate) of the second Spanish town founded on the island. In 1519, he was elected captain of the third expedition to the mainland, an expedition which he partly funded. His enmity with the governor of Cuba, Diego Velazquez de Cuellar, resulted in the later recalling the expedition at the last moment, an order which Cortes ignored. Arriving on the continent, Cortes executed a successful strategy of allying with some indigenous peoples against others. He also used a native woman, Dona Marina, as interpreter; she would later bear Cortes a son. When the Governor of Cuba sent emissaries to arrest Cortes, he fought them and won, using the extra troops as reinforcements. Cortes wrote letters directly to the king asking to be acknowledged for his successes instead of punished for mutiny. After he overthrew the Aztec empire, Cortes was awarded the title of Marques del Valle de Oaxaca, while the more prestigious title of Viceroy was given to a high-ranking nobleman, Antonio de Mendoza. Cortes returned to Spain in 1541 where he died peacefully but embittered.
Because of the controversial undertakings of Cortes and the scarcity of reliable sources of information about him, it has become difficult to ert anything definitive about his personality and motivations. Early lionizing of the conquistadors did not encourage deep examination of Cortes. Later reconsideration of the conquistadors’ character in the context of modern anti-colonial sentiment and greatly expanded concern for human rights, as typified by the Black Legend, also did little to expand our understanding of Cortes as an individual. As a result of these historical trends, descriptions of Cortes tend to be simplistic, and either ing or idealizing.
Francisco (‘Chico’) Whitaker Ferreira is a Roman Catholic activist, who has worked for democracy and against corruption throughout his life, both at home in Brazil and in exile. As Executive Secretary to the National Council of Brazilian Bishop’s (CNBB) Commission of Justice and Peace (CBJP) Whitaker has been instrumental in the conception, development, and implementation of an anti-corruption bill in Brazil. He is also co-founder of the burgeoning World Social Forum (WSF) a large conference event, parallel to the World Economic Forum in Davos, to share the various insights of those from around the world who are working for alternatives to “world domination by capital, within the parameters of neoliberalism”. The idea has been a great success and the annual Forums have become platforms for civil society organizations from all around the world to exchange views, form coalitions, work on concrete strategies and coordinate campaigns. He received the “Right Livelihood” Award in 2006.
January 2004
Ajegunle.org, a Paradigm Initiative Nigeria project, is a model that we have designed to create better livelihoods through ICT opportunities, entrepreneurship training and short-term internships for young people in Nigerias underserved areas. The project website is www.ajegunle.org and we are glad to have been able to commence pre-project work on other areas. We also invite you to view the project video (as captured by Nigeria International and screened in various countries) on CNNs iReport at www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-14359. Famous, like many other young people in Nigeria’s most popular slum, was not sure of what tomorrow held for him. Now, he works at the Visa Section of the British High Commission in Abuja thanks to his participation in the Ajegunle.org project. Funke, another project participant, grew her business of N2,000 by over 2,000% after the training. The project is also helping to change the perception of the Ajegunle community, as shown through the inclusion of the projects details on the popular Wikipedia website or search results through internet search engines.
On September 26, 2008 the New America Foundations American Strategy Program hosted Hooman Majd to discuss his recent book, The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: The Paradox of Modern Iran.
Over 125 million people rely on coffee for their livelihood. What are Starbucks, the Fair Trade certification, and other nonprofit initiatives doing to help them out of the coffee crisis? This panel describes the mechanics of the global coffee crisis and explores strategies to address sustainability issues on the economic, social, and environmental levels.
Hernan Cortes de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marques del Valle de Oaxaca (Spanish pronunciation: [?r?nan kor?t?s]; 1485December 2, 1547) was a Spanish conquistador who led the expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the King of Castile, in the early 16th century. Cortes was part of the generation of Spanish colonizers that began the first phase of the Spanish colonization of the Americas.
Hernan Cortes de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marques del Valle de Oaxaca (Spanish pronunciation: [?r?nan kor?t?s]; 1485December 2, 1547) was a Spanish conquistador who led the expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the King of Castile, in the early 16th century. Cortes was part of the generation of Spanish colonizers that began the first phase of the Spanish colonization of the Americas.
Francisco (‘Chico’) Whitaker Ferreira is a Roman Catholic activist, who has worked for democracy and against corruption throughout his life, both at home in Brazil and in exile. As Executive Secretary to the National Council of Brazilian Bishop’s (CNBB) Commission of Justice and Peace (CBJP) Whitaker has been instrumental in the conception, development, and implementation of an anti-corruption bill in Brazil. He is also co-founder of the burgeoning World Social Forum (WSF) a large conference event, parallel to the World Economic Forum in Davos, to share the various insights of those from around the world who are working for alternatives to “world domination by capital, within the parameters of neoliberalism”. The idea has been a great success and the annual Forums have become platforms for civil society organizations from all around the world to exchange views, form coalitions, work on concrete strategies and coordinate campaigns. He received the “Right Livelihood” Award in 2006.