TWN Climate Info: Third World Resurgence, Dec 2010

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	Climate Change

	Third World Resurgence #244 December 2010 This issue’s contents   COVER: UN climate change talks take ominous turn in Cancun     Cancun texts adopted, overriding Bolivia's objections By Meena Raman Despite the strong dissenting vote of Bolivia, the 2010 United Nations climate change conference in Cancun adopted two draft documents (dubbed by the Mexican presidency of the conference as 'the Cancun Agreements') at its concluding session on 11 December. Meena Raman reports.   Why we said 'No' to the Cancun text – Bolivia In a courageous display of conviction and principles, the Bolivian delegation strenuously opposed the adoption of the Cancun text. The following press release by the Bolivian government explains why.   Cancun meeting used WTO-type methods to reach outcome By Martin Khor One disturbing feature of the Cancun conference was the use of questionable methods of work, more akin to those of WTO conferences rather than UN meetings, to secure 'consensus'. In this analysis of the conference, Martin Khor focuses on this ominous development.   Japan rejects Kyoto Protocol and calls for new Copenhagen-based accord By Lim Li Lin The shock announcement by Japan at Cancun that it was not prepared to negotiate further greenhouse gas emission reduction commitments under the Kyoto Protocol may in effect have sounded the death knell of the Protocol, says Lim Li Lin.   Copenhagen Accord failed to deliver, say LDC leaders By Hilary Chiew At a dialogue session organised on the sidelines of the main Cancun conference, some of the least developed countries most affected by climate change expressed their grave disappointment at the failure of the rich countries to honour the pledges made at last year's Copenhagen climate conference. Hilary Chiew reports.     ECOLOGY   Killing the mighty Mekong By Tom Fawthrop The Mekong River, the lifeblood of millions living in the riparian states of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and China, has in recent years been threatened by the construction of dams. China has already built four dams and Laos has just become the first of the Lower Mekong nations to push ahead with its own dam project. Tom Fawthrop discusses the threat.     ECONOMICS   G20 Summit: No accord on 'currency values' or imbalances By Chakravarthi Raghavan The Group of 20 concluded its summit in November in the South Korean capital with no real progress on the resolution of differences on key economic issues. Chakravarthi Raghavan analyses this failure.   US deficits: Real issue, phoney debates By Richard D Wolff The soaring US national debt has provoked debates on the nation's rising budget deficits. But as Richard D Wolff points out, these debates are off the mark as they ignore the central question: who pays for and who benefits from government spending?     WORLD AFFAIRS   WikiLeaks and the putrefaction of US power By Jeremy Seabrook The leaks of US diplomatic cables by the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks are a reflection of the sense of helplessness experienced by a fading superpower as it watches power slipping from its grasp, says Jeremy Seabrook.   UN rights chief concerned about 'cyber war' against WikiLeaks By Kanaga Raja While the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has expressed concern about the pressures and intimidation being used to close down credit and Internet facilities used by the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks, the UN Special Rapporteur on the protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression has expressed the view that there are no grounds for prosecuting the website's founder, Julian Assange.   Hunger and anger in Afghanistan By Kathy Kelly In the following article written before the December review by the US government of its troop presence in Afghanistan, Kathy Kelly conveys a picture of a populace convulsed by widespread hunger and seething with rage against US civilian aerial attacks - a vastly different portrait of Afghanistan from that presented by the mainstream media.     HUMAN RIGHTS   Argentina: 'Year of trials' culminates in life sentence for ex-military dictator By Marcela Valente At long last, Argentina has made significant progress in the trials of leading members of the military junta responsible for the country's 'dirty war' (1976-83) which resulted in the death or disappearance of an estimated 30,000 people. The recent conviction of Jorge Rafael Videla, the leader of the junta, will help to bring some measure of closure to the victims' families who have so tenaciously clamoured for justice.                     WOMEN   Reflections on Colombia's treatment of female prisoners A glimpse from a woman on the inside By Liliany Obando Colombian sociologist, independent filmmaker and unionist Liliany Obando was arrested in 2008 by the former Uribe administration in the very week she released a report on the assassination of more than 1,500 members of FENSUAGRO, the largest organisation of farmers and farm workers in Colombia. As a political prisoner and mother of two, she has used her continued incarceration in a Bogota prison (punctuated by lengthy court trials) to expose the brutal prison conditions. The following essay was written in April 2009.     VIEWPOINT   The prophetic vision of Zionism's Jewish critics By Allan C Brownfeld The editor of Issues, the quarterly journal of the American Council for Judaism, explains why an increasing number of Jews consider the idea of Zionism as wholly alien to their belief in a universal Judaism.     BOOK REVIEW   An overview of the Great Recession Review by T Rajamoorthy Nowhere to Hide: The Great Financial Crisis and Challenges for Asia by Michael Lim Mah-Hui and Lim Chin (Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, 2010) THE number of books on the US financial crisis which erupted in 2007 and plunged the world into an economic recession just keeps growing.     For subscription and enquiries:   THIRD WORLD NETWORK, 131 Jalan Macalister, 10400 Penang, Malaysia Tel: 60-4-2266728/2266159; Fax: 60-4-2264505 Email: tw...@po.jaring.my; Website: www.twnside.org.sg   Direct link to website page of Third World Resurgence: www.twnside.org.sg/twr.htm     Tell a friend

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