StraightGoods.ca

Former military official says poverty and anger in indigenous communities mean conditions for an "insurgency" are ripe.

from Al Jazeera

Living standards for indigenous people on par with "third world" countries, buttressed by a large population of unemployed young men in a 'warrior cohort', and easy-to-target economic infrastructure, all mean Canada has conditions for a potential indigenous "insurgency".

That's according to a new report penned by a former Canadian military officer for the MacDonald Laurier Institute, a think-tank supported by corporate executives.

'For many Aboriginal people in Canada, but especially for First Nations women and children, life on-reserve is dreary, dark and dangerous,' wrote Douglas Bland in the report, Canada and the first Nations: Cooperation or Conflict? 'Social fractionalization significantly increases the risk of social conflict. The phenomenon provides motives for an insurgency,' read the report, issued in May. …"

Full story

Residents of targeted areas say increasing number of strikes has greatly affected their lives.

from Arab News

"'Mrs Michele Obama: Tell us can your husband sleep after so many innocent people were killed by his drones?' read a banner held by a Yemeni activist at a recent rally to protest increasing American drone strikes in Yemen.

"The rally reflected the growing anti-American feeling among Yemenis, who strongly oppose increasing drone strikes that sometimes result in the killing of innocent civilians, including women and children.

"So while American forces are succeeding in hitting gunmen in Al-Qaeda, the drone strikes have also fueled anger against the US, especially in areas regularly vulnerable to the attacks.

"'The negative aspects of drones greatly outweigh their gains,” Saeed Obaid, a Yemeni analyst and expert on anti-terrorism and chairman of the Al-Jahmi Center for Studies, said. …"

Full story

Practice routine in US prisons, since only three states ban it.

from truthout

"The fact that force feedings are being discussed in the context of Guantánamo is dangerously misleading; it obscures the routine use of feeding tubes in American prisons. Other recent feeding tube cases have taken place in Washington state, Utah, Illinois and Wisconsin — all prisoners who had the resources to contest their treatment in court. No sweeping study of force-feeding has been done, so statistics on usage don’t exist. Only three states have laws against force-feeding prisoners: Florida, Georgia and California, where a hunger strike in 2011 at a facility in Pelican Bay effectively caused a court examination of prison conditions. Just this week Leroy Dorsey, who sued New York state to have his force-feedings stopped, lost his case. 'Force-feeding order did not violate inmate’s rights,' the Reuters headline reads.

"No matter where force-feedings take place, whether in Guantánamo or Connecticut, they are considered torture by most of the world’s medical and governing bodies. As U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Rupert Coville said this week about tube usage, 'If it’s perceived as torture or inhuman treatment — and it’s the case, it’s painful — then it is prohibited by international law.' At The Daily Beast, Kent Sepkowitz, a doctor, writes, 'Without question, [force-feeding] is the most painful procedure doctors routinely inflict on conscious patients,' and calls it 'barbaric.' …"

Full story

Carbon dioxide levels indicate rise in temperatures that could lead agriculture to fail on entire continents.

from the Guardian

"It is increasingly likely that hundreds of millions of people will be displaced from their homelands in the near future as a result of global warming. That is the stark warning of economist and climate change expert Lord Stern following the news last week that concentrations of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere had reached a level of 400 parts per million (ppm). …

"Massive movements of people are likely to occur over the rest of the century because global temperatures are likely to rise to by up to 5C because carbon dioxide levels have risen unabated for 50 years, said Stern, who is head of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change. …"

Full story

As non-profits divest from fossil fuel companies, green groups need to examine their institutional donors.

by Naomi Klein

The movement demanding that public interest institutions divest their holdings from fossil fuels is on a serious roll. Chapters have opened up in more than 100 US cities and states as well as on more than 300 campuses, where students are holding protests, debates and sit-ins to pressure their to rid their endowments of oil, gas and coal holdings. And under the "Fossil Free UK" banner, the movement is now crossing the Atlantic, with a major push planned by People & Planet for this summer. Some schools, including University College London, have decided not to wait and already have active divestment campaigns.

Though officially launched just six months ago, the movement can already claim some provisional victories: four US colleges have announced their intention to divest their endowments from fossil fuel stocks and bonds and, in late April, 10 US cities made similar commitments, including San Francisco (Seattle came on board months ago).

There are still all kinds of details to work out to toughen up these pledges, but the speed with which this idea has spread makes it clear that there was some serious pent-up demand. To quote the mission statement of the Fossil Free movement: "If it is wrong to wreck the climate, then it is wrong to profit from that wreckage. We believe that educational and religious institutions, city and state governments, and other institutions that serve the public good should divest from fossil fuels." I am proud to have been part of the group at 350.org that worked with students and other partners to develop the Fossil Free campaign. But I now realise that an important target is missing from the list: the environmental organisations themselves….

Full story