Category: RT Newswire

—– Forwarded Message —-
From: Jess at Witness for Peace <jess@witnessforpeace.org>
To: tahirih_alia@yahoo.com
Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2008 7:50:45 PM
Subject: Take Action Now–Indigenous Protesters and Striking Workers are Under Attack

Witness for Peace Updates 
   
Repression of Colombian indigenous protest.
Dear Tahirih,

Take Action Now–Indigenous Protesters and Striking Workers are Under Attack by the
Colombian Government
Reports indicate 19 indigenous people killed in the past two weeks while striking
sugarcane workers face repression. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe declares a
“State of Internal Commotion” to deal with protests and strikes.

Indigenous communities in northern Cauca and the sugarcane workers on strike in the
neighboring province of Valle de Cauca are asking for an honest dialogue with the
Colombian government to address the serious social problems they face. Rather than
listening to the concerns of these marginalized communities, the Colombian
government-backed by U.S. military funding-responds with repressive force.

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Climate change linked to Indian tiger attacks
Mon Oct 20, 2008 8:09am EDT   
By Sujoy Dhar

KOLKATA, India (Reuters) – The number of tiger attacks on people is growing in
India’s Sundarban islands as habitat loss and dwindling prey caused by climate
change drives them to prowl into villages for food, experts said Monday.

Wildlife experts say endangered tigers in the world’s largest reserve are turning on
humans because rising sea levels and coastal erosion are steadily shrinking the
tigers’ natural habitat.

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——————————
“Natural carbon sinks, such as forests and
oceans, are losing their ability to absorb CO2
from the atmosphere faster than expected.”

The report has been endorsed by Professor
Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, the newly elected Vice
Chair of the IPCC, who said: “It is clear that
climate change is already having a greater impact
than most scientists had anticipated, so it’s
vital that international mitigation and
adaptation responses become swifter and more
ambitious.”
————————

The Telegraph/UK
October 20, 2008

Climate Change Is Faster and More Extreme’ Than Feared
Climate change is happening much faster than the
world’s best scientists predicted and will wreak
havoc unless action is taken on a global scale, a
new report warns.

by Paul Eccleston

‘Extreme weather events’ such as the hot summer
of 2003, which caused an extra 35,000 deaths
across southern Europe from heat stress and poor
air quality, will happen more frequently.

Britain and the North Sea area will be hit more
often by violent cyclones and the predicted rise
in sea level will double to more than a metre,
putting vast coastal areas at risk from flooding.

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Published on Friday, October 17, 2008 by The Guardian/UK

In Echo of Kingsnorth Six, US Climate Change Activists Go On Trial Eleven face
criminal charges after blockading $1.8bn plant • James Hansen offers to lend support
by Elana Schor

WASHINGTON – Eleven climate change activists are due in court today on criminal
charges after they blockaded a planned $1.8bn coal-fired power plant, providing an
American echo of the Kingsnorth Six trial.

The blockade lasted for about four hours and resulted in the arrest of the ten
activists who locked down and one other activist who was acting as a police liason.
Charged with unlawful assembly and obstruction of justice, the group has been dubbed
the Dominion 11 in homage to Kingsnorth. Dr James Hansen, the leading US climate
change scientist, has followed his testimony on behalf of the Kingsnorth protesters
with an offer of help to the Virginia activists. (Photo: mountainjustice.org)The
activists were arrested last month in rural Wise County, Virginia, at the gates of a
power plant being built by Dominion, the No 2 utility in the US. The 11 chained
themselves to steel barrels that held aloft a banner, lit by solar panels,
challenging the utility to provide cleaner energy for a region ravaged by abusive
coal mining.

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