Free Republic

Current payments an 'insult' to developing countries says OxfamRich countries have paid only $67m into a UN fund to help the world's poorest countries adapt to climate change which is less than what Americans spend on suntan lotion each month, according to a new report published today by international agency Oxfam. "This figure represents quite an insult, to be frank, given that the least developed countries will need at least $1-2 billion to meet just their most urgent adaptation needs," said report author Charlotte Sterrett. Oxfam calls on rich countries gathering in Bali for the 13th UN conference on climate...

LONDON (AFP) - More than four times the number of natural disasters are occurring now than did two decades ago, British charity Oxfam said in a study Sunday that largely blamed global warming. "Oxfam... says that rising green house gas emissions are the major cause of weather-related disasters and must be tackled," the organisation said, adding that the world's poorest people were being hit the hardest. The world suffered about 120 natural disasters per year in the early 1980s, which compared with the current figure of about 500 per year, according to the report. "This year we have seen floods...

Rich must pay bulk of climate change bill: Oxfam By Jeremy Lovell 37 minutes ago Coping with the ravages of global warming will cost $50 billion a year, and the rich nations who caused most of the pollution must pay most of the bill, aid agency Oxfam said on Tuesday. The call, barely 10 days before a crucial Group of Eight (G8) summit in Germany which has climate change at its core, is likely to make already tense negotiations even tougher. The United States, which Oxfam says must foot 44 percent of the annual $50 billion bill, is rejecting attempts...

Something extraordinary is happening in global development circles. For the first time since the 19th century, progressive activists are embracing trade as positive tool for change. The global NGO Oxfam is the latest progressive interest group to change its tune. It has launched a campaign to end agricultural subsidies in the developed world. This could represent a fundamental turning of the tide from a world based on nationalism and violence to a world based on commerce and peace. Oxfam has a new section on its website devoted to "the private sector's role in development," where they acknowledge that "Oxfam GB...

Loathing, lies and liberation theology By Paul Driessen April 10, 2006 LA OROYA, Peru – Pitched battles over ideology and public policy certainly are not confined to classrooms or legislative chambers. They are also fought in poor communities of Africa, Asia and Latin America, often pitting multinational corporations against multinational activist groups. The corporations seek to extract energy and minerals, provide much-needed jobs and capital, and serve investors and consumers – without harming human health or the environment. They often collide with well-connected global activists who loathe foreign investment, free enterprise, and especially extractive industries – and want to influence...

Many argue that communism will never be possible because of "human nature". The essence of this false argument is the belief that a communist society would consist of an all-powerful central government that would tell everybody what to do--and would therefore undermine the creative initiative of individuals and the search for happiness. • This argument is based on two false assumptions: (1) It assumes that a communist society will look like the former Soviet Union, or the current China, North Korea, etc (ie: corrupt police states with a feudal-style ruling class) (2) It assumes that people will only work in...

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/cmp/20050715/tc_cmp/165702500 UN Panel: No Single Nation Should Control Internet Addresses Aoife White Thu Jul 14, 9:38 PM ET BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP)--A U.N. panel created to recommend how the Internet should be run in the future has failed to reach consensus but did agree that no single country should dominate. The United States stated two weeks ago that it intended to maintain control over the computers that serve as the Internet's principal traffic cops. In a report released Thursday, the U.N. panel outlined four possible options for the future of Internet governance for world leaders to consider at a November "Information...

Here is the list so far for sponcers to this hate America fest: ANSWER Code Pink UFPJ NION Al Awda World Workers Party Ruckas Revolutionary Communist party Moveon.org ACORN Campus Antiwar Network International Socialist Org Greens Party Muslim Student Association CPUSA

WASHINGTON — Megan Watson, leader of Mainstream Moms, is so angry at military recruiters for invading schools to sign up unwary youth for combat in Iraq that she and her group launched an online movement, “LeaveMyChildAlone.org.” “They offer these trinkets to lure our children to enlist,” Watson said in a phone interview from her home in Bolinas, Calif. “This is very aggressive, demographic targeting to have conversations with our kids that should not be happening.” All branches of the military are falling short of recruiting goals as parents say, in effect, “Hell no! My kids won’t go!” Watson blasted the...

A.N.S .W.E.R.'s response to Bush:Hit the Streets September 24!Recognizing that the people of the United States have turned dramat ically against the war and occupation of Iraq, Bush went on national televi sion tonight to defend his imperial foreign policy. He repea tedly invoked September 11 as a pretext for the criminal and illegal war ag ainst Iraq. Bush took to the airwaves tonight because the antiwar m ovement is growing in strength. Our power poses a major poli tical obstacle to the continuation of the war and occupation. Now Bush has taken on the additional role of Recruiter-in-Chi ef, urging young people to sign up for military...

At the culmination of a gathering of global 'antiwar' groups in Istanbul to hold court on the liberation of Iraq led by the United States and the United Kingdom, the jurors who heard testimony against the liberators issued their findings which included a declaration of support for the terrorists in Iraq who are killing American, British and coalition soldiers and Iraqis.The World Tribunal on Iraq is endorsed by leading leftwing organizations from around the world including American-based groups like Not in Our Name Project, United for Peace and Justice, Code Pink and International ANSWER.The war on terror has reached a...

Last Updated: Saturday, 25 June, 2005, 02:48 GMT 03:48 UK   Tsunami aid 'went to the richest'   Thousands in Aceh have not been able to move out of camps Six months after the Asian tsunami, a leading international charity says the poorest victims have benefited the least from the massive relief effort.A survey by Oxfam found that aid had tended to go to businesses and landowners, exacerbating the divide between rich and poor. The poor were likely to spend much longer in refugee camps where it is harder to find work or rebuild lives. Oxfam has called for...

Oxfam pays $1m tsunami aid duty Oxfam says it abides by the laws of the countries it works in British charity Oxfam has had to pay the Sri Lankan government $1m in import duty for vehicles used in tsunami reconstruction work. Paperwork had kept the 25 four-wheel drive vehicles idle in the capital, Colombo, for a month. The Sri Lankan government told the BBC News website the aid had been duty-free until the end of April but was now needed to prevent "market distortions". Nearly 31,000 people died in Sri Lanka when the tsunami struck on 26 December. Half a...

<p>Six months after the Asian tsunami, a leading international charity says the poorest victims have benefited the least from the massive relief effort.</p>

Sri Lanka charges Oxfam £500,000 to allow in jeeps (Filed: 17/06/2005) Oxfam has had to pay £550,000 in customs duty to the Sri Lankan government for importing 25 four-wheel-drive vehicles to help victims of the tsunami, The Daily Telegraph has learned. The sum was levied by customs in Colombo which have refused to grant tax exemptions to non-governmental organisations working to repair damage caused by the giant Boxing Day wave. The Indian-made Mahindra vehicles, essential to negotiate damaged roads and rough tracks, remained stuck in port at Colombo for almost a month as officials completed the small mountain of paperwork...

A "Fair Trade not Free Trade" (The taste of justice) presentation is going to be held at my (I can't believe this is actually happening) church, which is fairly conservative. I have done a few hours research on the web and found some info on Oxfam, the parent organization. I'd like to ask the fine freeper folks to help me add to my ammunition to be able to counter with facts & figures that outline how the whole thing is not only counter-productive but a farm system for socialists, the democrats push into houses of worship and what is probably...

More than 1,300 college students will meet at University of California, Berkeley this weekend for a national conference for students involved in service, activism, politics and socially responsible work. The COOL Idealist National Conference is the largest national meeting of college students involved in activism. The event includes a dozen daylong forums and 165 workshops, as well as an opportunities fair and an awards conference. The conference is all day Friday through Sunday at various locations on campus. Visit www.idealist.org/ioc/conference for more information. Event highlights include an opportunities fair from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Friday and 12:30 to 2 p.m....

The World Trade Organization (news - web sites) on Thursday upheld a ruling condemning government help for cotton producers in the United States, saying that many U.S. programs include illegal export subsidies or domestic payments that are higher than WTO rules allow. The WTO appeals body rejected a U.S. attempt to overturn a September 2004 ruling by an independent panel of trade experts, which acted on a complaint from Brazil. Richard Mills, spokesman for Acting U.S. Trade Representative Peter Allgeier, called the decision disappointing. "Negotiation, not litigation, is the most effective way to address distortions in global agriculture," Mills said...

WASHINGTON: India has displayed maturity in its management of the ravages caused by last week's tsunami - helping other countries in the region and in helping itself - leading to a changed perception of the country in the eyes of the international community. "It's a new and confident India which also recognizes its responsibilities," asserted renowned economist Jagdish Bhagwati. In an interview, Bhagwati says in helping other countries around the world in its own time of crisis, "It's not just international power play but rather a display of maturity. It's not with a sense of pride but rather as an...

Oxfam Press Release - 28 December 2004 MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY Challenge to Tony Blair to sign global poverty pledge Today, MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY challenged Tony Blair to do much more to tackle global poverty by pledging to change damaging UK policies and press for international action that delivers a real breakthrough. The new report, Make History: A challenge to the British Prime Minister in 2005 was delivered to Downing Street, demanding that Tony Blair sign on the dotted line. "We are issuing this challenge to Tony Blair as we believe that he must do more to end global poverty. It is time for the...