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Friday, September 26, 2003 |
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trouble at sea-the state of the world's ocean i'm finally done with the ocean show! it will be released nationally starting october 8th, or you can listen on-line right now! Show description: While seemingly indestructible, the ocean is a fragile eco-system. It is increasingly under threat from over-fishing, coastal development and pollution. On this edition of "Making Contact," we'll take a look at the over-all health of the ocean today, along with a close-up of the impact of cruise ships and shrimp farming. 1:50:00 PM comment []  |
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amina lawal set free at long lost, amina lawal--the woman in Nigeria with a death sentence by stoning for adultery--is no longer in danger of execution! i'm very glad. over the past few months there have been a lot of misinformation about her case spread by email, saying that she was about to be stoned to death, asking for a letter writing campaigns, despite the fact that amnesty international usa & england, along with the local group working on amina's case were asking for the letter campaigns to stop. anyhooooo, here's an excerpt from the local group, baobab, defending her (sorry, no website link): Today (September 25, 2003) the Katsina State Sharia Court of Appeal has vindicated Ms. Amina Lawal's appeal against her conviction for adultery and sentence of stoning to death...The Sharia court held that pregnancy outside of marriage is not proof of adultery, that Ms. Lawal's alleged confession was no confession in law, and, that her rights of defense had not been properly recognized in the lower courts. This sweeping judgment of the state Sharia Court of Appeal thus indicates that Ms. Lawal should not have been charged, much less convicted. Ms. Lawal is now free to continue with her life, after eighteen months of appeals supported by a coalition of Nigerian women's and human rights groups.... [this judgment] has demonstrated that victims of rights abuses in sharia can successfully fight appeals in the sharia courts, which therefore strengthens the local cultures of respect for rights and resistance of potential abuses. The widespread attention given to this case means the judgment should also deter similar charges from being brought in the future. 12:24:41 PM comment [] |
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wto--the battle in seattle someone stuck this book in my mailbox at work. the wto--the battle in seattle (by janet thomas) is a wonderfully readable book on the topic. it not only covers the issues that are impacting the globe, but the stories behind the activists that are working against an unjust global economy. right now i'm reading about this guy who constructed 200 cardboard sea turtles for the 1999 protest. sea turtles are facing extinction, drowning in shrimp nets. the use of TEDs (turtle exclusion devises) allow turtles to escape from the net. in 1989, teds were required on u.s. shrimp boats, and foreign shrimpers were excluded from the u.s. market in 1991 unless they used teds (though, they did import non-ted shrimp thanks to a loophole). in 1998, the wto ruled that requiring countries to use teds was 'arbitrary and unjustifiable dscimination.' this is what happens when run the world based on the market instead of social or environmental impact. 11:42:26 AM comment [] |
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Whaling decimated ecosystem A new study at the University of Alaska's Institute of Marine Science in Fairbanks examines how commercial whaling techniques in the 1940s triggered an eco-system collapse in the North Pacific. Russian and Japanese fishers decimated at least half a million bowhead, sperm, humpback and other large whales, hunted until the 1970s. from the Los Angeles Times article: "...pods of orcas used to hunt the whales, and when whaling crews decimated those populations, the orcas were forced to turn to other prey. They then moved down Alaska's aquatic food web, devouring seals, sea lions and sea otters, which, in turn, led to dramatic shifts in life along the ocean floor." "The message is that overfishing and massive extraction can lead to food-web impacts that are unexpected and unintended."--oceanagrapher Alan Springer 11:08:47 AM comment [] |
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today i finally realized: i'm an artist, not a professional 9:29:32 AM comment [] |
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if you love listening to radio it's that time of year again! i've been going to the third coast festival in chicago since it began 2 years ago. it's a great way opportunity to listen to great radio and meet the producers (and visit my sister). i've been listening to their archives in advance. here are a few of my picks so far: Sound Guru Randy Thom created this piece from recordings of metal pressed against blocks of frozen carbon dioxide. Art or music? Who cares, it's cool. Invisible Ink is a local San Francisco show, on KALW. It's zine-like, with a This American Life feel, but thankfully, it's its own show. Roman Mars is the host. This half hour sample features these readings from A. H. Weatherman's Confessions of a Child Beauty Queen." Insightful, entertaining, twisted. Susan Stone, friend, mentor and most amazing radio producer produced this piece "Ruby." Description: "A deaf-mute, lovelorn waitress has written a friend, in fragments[~]as she perceives language itself[~]of her fractured heart. It's a garbled world where Ruby spins between love, lust, and a bus ticket to California. (2:56)" Jonathan Mitchell, an expert sound weaver put together this interesting 4 minute piece about a felon who gets into embroidering. more recommendations to come, or visit the archive yourself! 9:28:15 AM comment [] |
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