Colonialism of the Mind – Part I | ‘Colonizar as Mentes’ – Parte 1

By Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. Western journalists increasingly assume the voices of subjugated countries’ natives while muzzling them by denying them access to the press. In the United states, the more visible venues of the alternative press, such as online news sites Truthout, Common Dreams, and Huffington Post are essentially closed to native writers. More than this, the punditry promotes the neoliberal agenda and encapsulates it in reasonable-seeming and progressive-sounding language.

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Will Namibia’s Newfound Wealth of Groundwater Serve People or Mining?

By James Anderson, Alertnet. About 0.16 cubic mile of groundwater, at least 100 times the amount of renewable freshwater in Africa, lies below the continent’s driest country: Namibia. The battle is on for access to the newfound water by the population versus the water utilities and mining industry.

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Who Will Speak For Jeju Coral?

By Staff, Save Jeju Now. A South Korean naval-base project for U.S. missile defense warships on Jeju Island threatens to destroy one of Earth’s last great soft coral reefs, numerous endangered species, and centuries-old sustainable communities. The leadership of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress (WCC) taking place near Jeju has refused to criticize the naval base or grant the villagers access to an information display booth. In addition, WCC speaker Imok Cha, who supports the conservation of Jeju, was denied entry into Korea. (Videos)

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Cuba’s Cholera Outbreak Over in Two Months

Press Release from Cuban Ministry of Public Health, Granma, Cuba Debate. With epidemiological vigilance, public education, and appropriate treatment, Cuban public health workers completely ended in two months what might have become a major cholera epidemic and limited a cholera outbreak to three deaths and 417 cases. (English|Spanish)

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With MINUSTAH Up for Renewal, ‘Legal Bandits’ on Rampage

By Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. Dr. Serge L. Bernard, Professor and Vice-Chair of the board of directors of the University of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, was shot dead by five gunmen on motorcycles around midday on Friday August 31, 2012, within sight of police. Dr. Bernard is the latest victim of the traditional Spring-to-October insecurity that has preceded the renewal of MINUSTAH’s mandate every year since 2005.

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Isaac, Gener and Katrina: Climate Change in Action

By Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. Like a hulking giant, Isaac has stomped across the Caribbean at practically human speed, for days. Ten miles per hour, 14 mph, and Isaac continues its march northwest and west-northwest, for nearly one week, as if for a rendez-vous. Isaac appears set to revisit Katrina’s old haunts. The timing is identical: midweek, near the end of August.

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In the Heart of Hurricane Alley, Cubans Are Safe | Au cœur du passage des ouragans | En la autopista de los ciclones tropicales

By Patricia Grogg, IPS. Cuba’s national disaster prevention system has made it the country with the lowest number of storm-related fatalities in the area encompassing the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico (English | French | Spanish)

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Tropical Oceans: Beating Heart of Climate Change

By University of Plymouth Scientists, Phys.org. The tropical regions of the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans appear to act like a heart: accumulating heat and then pulsing it in bursts across the Earth.

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Landmark Sentence for Agrochemical Contamination in Cordoba | Dos condenas y una absolución en el primer juicio por el uso de agroquímicos en Córdoba

By Kate Beioley, Argentina Independent | Staff, Los Andes. Two men, rural producer Francisco Parra and chemical-application person Edgardo Pancello, were sentenced to three-year prison terms for use of the agrochemicals endosulphin and glyphosate in the barrio of Ituzaingó Anexo. So far, 200 cases of cancer have been discovered in the barrio, 100 of these fatal. (English | Spanish)

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Isaac Takes Boat from Haiti to Florida GOP Convention

By Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. Haitian government officials finally did something about Tropical Storm Isaac. They gathered 32 boats and 1250 temporary shelters as peace offerings to the storm gods. Then they gave a press conference at which they demanded that all those in charge of safety — whoever they might be — do their jobs, whatever these might be.

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Hurricanes and Climate Change

By Brenda Ekwurzel, Union of Concerned Scientists | NOAA | Haiti Chery. Scientific evidence links the destructive power of hurricanes to higher ocean temperatures driven by global warming.

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Haitian Government Does Nothing About Isaac | Le gouvernement haïtien ne fait rien pour Isaac

By Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Isaac should hit the island of Hispaniola the night of Thursday August 23-24 with rainfall of 8 to 12 inches, dangerous waves, and storm surges that might raise the coastal waters 3 to 5 feet above normal. With less than 24 hours left for preparations to save lives and property, the Haitian government had done nothing except issue general safety warnings. (English | French)

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Documentary Film Declares War on Belo Monte Dam

By Glen H. Shephard, Notes from the Ethnoground. Brazilian filmmaker André D’Elia has declared war on the controversial hydroelectric dam along the Xingu river in the new film Belo Monte: Anúncio de uma Guerra (Belo Monte: Declaration of War).

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Pearse Resurgence: Mythical River to the Underworld

By Staff, NIWA, New Zealand | Richard Harris and National Geographic, Vimeo. A diving expedition into New Zealand’s Pease Resurgence — one of the world’s deepest underwater caves, near the city of Nelson — discovered three new-to-science species: a worm, a small snail, a transparent amphipod.

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