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May 21, 2006
Bush protest demands Anderson's extradition
On the 19th of May 2006, Friday, President George Bush visited the Northern Kentucky University (NKU), on the border of Ohio and Kentucky, to speak on the American Competitiveness Initiative, a plan to boost research and development, and educational progress. He also attended a fund-raising event for Republican Congressman Geoff Davis thereafter. The Cincinnati chapter of AID and SFB, based in the Univeristy of Cincinnati - just a couple of miles north of the NKU, took this oppurtunity to protest against the perfunctory attitude of the US government in bringing Warren Andersen and Union Carbide to justice at Indian courts for the Bhopal Gas Tragedy. For years the Indian goverment (CBI) has been trying, albeit half-heartedly, to get the FBI to help capture Mr. Andersen who had been procalimed a fugitive from justice in Indian courts for failure to show up at various criminal case proceedings. Armed with banners, poster boards and scary masks, five volunteers : Sandesh, Rupa, Gabriel, Moon and DC set out to make sure that our voice was heard and the cause noticed. And that we did!
President Bush was scheduled to speak at 3.40pm(EST) at Regent Hall, NKU. We, the SFB protesters donning scary masks, took position on a street corner at the main entrance to the NKU around 2.45pm waving banners and poster boards. We shared the stage with about 250 other protesters for various causes, but fortunately, our prime position and colorful demonstration made sure that we attracted attention. Although the presidential motorcade did not pass by us, the entire protesting group marched to a corridor pretty close to the venue of the talk and raised slogans , including " Justice for Bhopal, Justice for ALL ". Some believe that we got lucky and got much closer to Bush than to the comfort of a few SS agents! A lot of the local media was intrigued by the very new cause ( ours ) showing up at Bush protests. We spoke to a freelance journalist attached to Cincy Post about why we were there and managed to be covered by a videomen from CNN, MSNBC and FOXNEWS ( I dont think it was aired though ! ). We stayed in that corridor till about 4.15pm after which the crowd dispersed. On the whole this was a very strong experience for us and are encouraged by attention we received. A few lessons learnt on how to play in the circus called Media Attention!
Posted by zinda at 10:43 PM | Comments (0)
May 17, 2006
Centre Pompidou: Plasticiens du web: Carte blanche à Incident.net, 2nd partie
Jeudi 18 mai 2006
Cinéma 2
19h
5,5 € / 3,5 €
Plasticiens du web invitent, le troisième jeudi du mois à 19 h, plusieurs artistes à présenter et à confronter leur travail. Les séances sont à la fois des présentations et des débats autour du travail de chacun et se terminent par de courtes performances.
INCIDENT.NET est un collectif d'artistes qui travaille sur le net à partir de sujets libres ou de thématiques.
http://incident.net
Marika Dermineur travaille sur les questions liées au réseau, sur les possibilités d'un programme à produire du langage, des structures de récits, des images et des sons. Diplômée de la Sorbonne, de Paris 8, de l'ENSAD et du CNAM, spécialisée dans la création artistique sur internet.
http://marika.incident.net
Numeriscausa, représenté pour cette conférence par Stéphane Maguet, a pour mission d'aider les artistes à produire leurs oeuvres et à les diffuser sur le marché de l'art contemporain, en France et sur la scène internationale.
numeriscausa est une société de production d'expositions dédiées aux arts numériques. Ce projet est né de la conviction que les arts numériques, jusqu'alors balbutiants et souvent tentés par la fascination de l'avant-garde ou de la technologie, devaient se confronter de manière significative à l'art contemporain ; tant du point de vue de la critique que des publics, des institutions que des collectionneurs et du marché. L'enjeu de cette confrontation est double : élargir la diffusion des oeuvres et convaincre que ces arts dits numériques parviennent à une certaine maturité.
http://www.numeriscausa.com
Posted by bhola at 02:34 PM | Comments (0)
Fax campaign forces Harold Shapiro, Dow board member, to resign
On May 11, 2006, Harold Shapiro, a member of the Dow Board of Directors, tendered his resignation. The obvious question is why: after all, Mr. Shapiro had served on the Dow Board longer than any other Board member, since 1985. Nor was Shapiro any wilting flower; rather he served as President of prestigious institutions such as the University of Michigan and Princeton University, and cultivated exceptional reputations in such fields as economics and bioethics. Nor does Dow compensate its Board members lightly for their troubles, particularly those who, like Mr. Shapiro, chaired Board committees and played leading roles within the corporation.
So we’re left with a bit of a mystery. Could it be that Mr. Shapiro had an attack of conscience after so long, and suddenly began applying the ethical pedigree he’s so well known for to his own behavior? Unlikely. Students and other Bhopal supporters have been visiting Mr. Shapiro regularly since the year 2000; in every instance they’ve found him desperately unwilling to discuss the subject, learn more about the issue, or take any ethical stand.
On May 6, Students for Bhopal launched an international fax campaign demanding that Shapiro renounce his hypocrisy and end his role in the contamination, suffering, and deaths of thousands. Within days more than 400 faxes flooded his office; five days after the action began, he abruptly resigned.
Nor was Shapiro’s resignation the first Dow executive SfB had contributed to toppling. On December 1, 2005, several Bhopal supporters surprised William Stavropoulos, Chairman of the Dow Board, at home. He appeared agitated, refused to speak with the small group of students, and desperately dialed both his private security service and the Midland police for help. According to some accounts, Stavropoulos was so frightened that he urinated in his clothes. A mere twelve days later, on December 13, Stavropoulos announced his intention to resign as chairman of the Dow Board.
The first time students visited the home of a Dow executive was in 2002, when about a dozen students and Bhopal supporters from the University of Michigan traveled to Dow’s hometown of Midland to confront Michael Parker, the CEO. They were surprised to find him hosting a lavish party on the anniversary of Bhopal; 15 minutes of persistent student questioning soon found him exasperated, angry, and finally yelling. A videotape of the encounter was posted on the Greenpeace website; nine days later – on December 12, 2002 – Parker was fired by the Dow Board, which cited “financial reasons”.
Posted by zinda at 12:51 AM | Comments (0)
May 12, 2006
Bhopal protests overshadow Dow's special day
REPORT BY RYAN BODANYI, ORGANIZER, STUDENTS FOR BHOPAL
BHOPAL RESOLUTION WINS BACKING OF MAJOR DOW SHAREHOLDERS AND CAPTURES 6.3% OF THE VOTE
Today, May 11, we pissed all over Dow on their special, special day: the Dow Shareholder's Meeting. About 20 protestors from Michigan State University and the University of Michigan made the journey to Midland, representing chapters of Amnesty International, the Association for India's Development, Physicians for Human Rights, and Students for Bhopal. We were met there with a cold, driving rain: lashing us, drenching our skin, and making our signs bleed. Despite the nasty weather we put up a strong presence, screaming out our chants with a single voice:
-- What do we want? JUSTICE!! When do we want it? NOW!!
-- Mommy always said! …CLEAN UP YOUR MESS!!!
-- DOW SHALT NOT KILL!! DOW SHALT NOT KILL!!
-- What do we want? CLEAN WATER!! When do we want it? NOW!!
-- Justice for Bhopal! JUSTICE FOR ALL!!!
Our chants reverberated against the building and across the broad parking lot, where well-dressed Dow Shareholders – mostly former or current Dow employees – cast furtive glances at us as they slinked into the meeting. However some of them were bold enough to approach the grassy knoll (where we encamped) and pass along the line of signs, reading them carefully before entering the meeting. The media was there too, and both Neil Sardana (a former Michigan State student and Corporate Action Network coordinator for Amnesty in Michigan) and I spoke with a reporter from the Midland Daily News and a television crew from WJRT Channel 12 (ABC affiliate). Their questions (at least of me) were strangely synchronic: “You've been coming here for several years,” they said. “Do you really feel like you're making any progress? Why do you continue to come?” “It's very simple,” I answered: “because people continue to die.” And I courteously went on to explain that tens of thousands are still wallowing in toxic filth – still today – and drinking poisoned water because Dow refuses to accept their legal and moral responsibilities.
Inside the meeting, out of the rain and away from our chants, Neil Sardana formally presented the Bhopal resolution before the CEO Andrew Liveris and the assembled body of Dow Board members. The resolution, which calls on Dow to write a report for the benefit of their shareholders, explaining their initiatives to address the concerns of Bhopal survivors (given the reputational damage the ongoing campaign presents to the company, and shareholder value) was sponsored this year by New York City Fire Department (NYCFD) Pension Fund, the New York State Common Retirement Fund (NYSCRF) and Amnesty International USA along with Boston Common Asset Management and Sisters of Mercy Regional Community of Detroit Charitable Trust. Shareholder proponents hold over 4.5 million shares worth over $190 million.
This was the second year the resolution was voted on by shareholders, and it garnered 6.3% of the vote. That may not sound like much at first, but it's worth keeping two things in mind:
1. The Securities and Exchange Commission rules allow for resolutions to be reintroduced if they attain at least 3% of the vote the first year; 6% the second, and 10% the third. So we've passed the threshold for re-introduction next year: an important milestone.
2. Six percent is a very respectable showing for resolutions that, like ours, make mostly moral arguments concerning the responsibilities of the company. Given that the number of shares you own is the number of votes you can cast, major institutional (often conservative) shareholders (such as banks, mutual funds, and the like) have a huge voice on resolutions such as this. Many institutions also often cast their vote as the company management recommends (guess what Dow recommended) and votes that are not cast are automatically counted in favor of the company. So the process is stacked against us.
The vote we received is an embarrassing slap in the face of the company. Major institutional shareholders backed us, and that's a humiliating rebuke. Our task is to ensure the humiliation grows next year by pushing the vote tally above the 10% threshold set by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Both prior to Neil's introduction of the resolution, and in direct response to it, Dow CEO Liveris reiterated the same tired trash they trot out every year: 'We don't feel this is our responsibility, which properly belongs to the Indian Government;' 'Dow is not liable;' 'This is not an issue of concern for Dow Shareholders;' 'Any cleanup is the responsibility of the Indian Government;' etc. Listen: we've heard it all before, and sheer repetition cannot turn dirty lies into gleaming truth.
But Dow's very insistence upon these long-overused public relations lines – their feverish, sweaty, desperate insistence upon them – is one of the reasons why they find these protests and visits of ours so nettlesome. During the question and answer session, Neil offered Dow CEO Liveris a sample of poisoned drinking water. 'This is offered to you from the citizens of Bhopal, who are forced to drink and live with this water everyday,' he said. Liveris brusquely refused to accept it: 'I reject your sample of water,' Neil quoted him as saying. Clearly, the gesture had him rankled.
All in all, we did what we came to do. In the face of nasty weather and soulless people, we told the truth, told it loudly, and told it to those who wanted to hear it least: Dow's CEO and Board of Directors. The fact is, as much as it may confuse the local media reporters, we won't give up and we won't give in. We will continue to insist, louder and stronger, that Dow do what it must in Bhopal. Why? It's very simple: because people continue to die. Dow may not care, but those of us with souls do.
Posted by bhola at 07:04 AM | Comments (0)
May 08, 2006
Bhopal re-enacted on US city streets
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, MONDAY, MAY 8, 2006
PHOTOS at: http://bhopal.shutterfly.com
CONTACT: Aquene Freechild, 617-378-2579, aquene@gmail.com
Nirveek Bhattacharjee, 410-627-7679, Nirveek@bme.jhu.edu
Saturday, May 6th – International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal members in 4 cities hosted events and re-enactments of the 1984 Union Carbide Chemical Disaster in Bhopal, India at noon this past Saturday. In Seattle, Boston and Cincinnati, professionals and students lay under shrouds to raise awareness about Dow Chemical Company’s role in the 22,000+ deaths in Bhopal, parallel education events were held in Portland, OR. The members of the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal (ICJB) want Dow to take responsibility for the toxic clean up in Bhopal and face criminal charges.
The names of those killed in the 1984 Disaster, and those who died as recently as 2004, were perched atop the veiled bodies, much the way unidentified bodies were numbered after the gas leak. In Boston, the Dow Grim Reaper passed among the victims symbolizing Dow Chemical’s role in the ongoing poisoning of 20,000 Bhopal residents forced to drink contaminated water. Dry ice haze mimicked the methyl isocyanate gas that leaked from the Union Carbide plant 21 years ago after midnight, causing over 8,000 people to drown in their own fluids within days of the gas leak.
"I have family in Bhopal and feel that while I am in the US, it is my responsibility to use my privilege in the interests of justice for the victims," said Suvrat Raju, a Physics Ph.D candidate at Harvard at the Boston event.
Dow, which bought Union Carbide (UCC) in 2001, refuses to clean up the abandoned factory site and resulting heavy metal and pesticide contaminated ground water. After Dow purchased Union Carbide, it put aside $2.2 billion dollars to deal with Union Carbide’s asbestos liabilities, but refused to accept any responsibility for Carbide’s Bhopal liabilities.
Dow’s Annual General Shareholder Meeting will be held in Midland, Michigan at 10am Thursday, May 11th. A shareholder resolution on Bhopal asks Dow to report on any new initiatives to address concerns of Bhopal survivors. See www.proxyinformation.com.
“Members of the public present are outraged that Dow Chemical refuses to acknowledge its liabilities. They have pledged that they will not work for Dow or any of its subsidiaries until the company addresses its responsibilities in Bhopal,” commented Association for India’s Development organizer Priya Raghav at the Seattle event.
“Dow Chemical’s behavior in Bhopal is symbolic of the behavior of much of the Chemical Industry. The industry has changed little since this tragedy – learned little from 22,000 deaths in Bhopal. We have poor chemical security laws here in the US, despite 110 facilities that could endanger more than a million people. We all live in Bhopal.” said Aquene Freechild, posing as the Dow Chemical Grim Reaper in Boston.
On April 17th, American supporters of the Bhopal hunger strike claimed victory along with Bhopali fasters as the Indian Government conceded to survivor demands for clean drinking water, establishing national commission for medical and economic rehabilitation, and declaring December 3rd a National Day of mourning for the victims of the 1984 Disaster. The hunger strike followed a month-long 500-mile march from Bhopal to New Delhi. Over 400 international supporters pledged to fast for at least a day in solidarity with the Bhopal hunger strikers and bombarded the Prime Ministers office with over 2700 faxes.
While the Prime Minister agreed to demands to address the contamination and to provide water to the community, he did not agree to exclude Dow Chemical to force it to appear in Indian Criminal Court and pay for site clean up. Instead he agreed to explore what options exist within the law to hold Dow/Carbide accountable. What remains is an array of serious issues that continue to be raised by survivors and human rights groups around Dow/Carbide's liabilities associated with the disaster. A US District Court case asking for injunctive relief for the land and water contamination in Bhopal and damages, is on appeal. In India, criminal charges of culpable homicide against Union Carbide have yet to be faced by the US Corporation.
PHOTOS at: http://bhopal.shutterfly.com, higher resolution photos available upon request
CONTACT PEOPLE FOR EACH CITY ACTION:
Seattle: Priya Raghav, 425- 533-1178, priya.raghav@gmail.com, Location: Univ. of Washington,
Cincinnati: Sandesh Samandria, (513) 297-4822, Sandesh_sam@yahoo.com, Location: Univ. of Ohio- Cincinnati Campus Green
Portland: Sathish Sundaram, (513) 886-1996, sathish.sundaram@gmail.com, Location: Portland Farmer’s Market
Boston: Aquene Freechild, 617-378-2579, afreechild@environmentalhealthfund.org, Location: Copley Sq.
The US branch of the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal works as a coalition with groups such as Amnesty International, Association for India’s Development, and Sierra Student Coalition with 40 chapters among professionals and students. It uses education, grassroots organizing and non-violent direct action to pressure Dow Chemical and the Indian Government to uphold the Bhopalis' demand for justice, and their fundamental human right to live free of chemical poison.
Posted by bhola at 06:31 PM | Comments (0)
May 07, 2006
Doosra Aamir stuns cops, PM: ex TISS student Simprit Singh sneaks into convocation, raises protest against the dam
Doosra Aamir (a second Aamir) refers to the much publicised visit of film star Aamir Khan to the recent Bhopal and Narmada protests in Delhi
Manoj R Nair
A Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) graduate sneaked into the high security convocation hall on Saturday at the TISS campus at Deonar and raised a banner of protest, stunning Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, security staff and other dignitaries present, like Ratan Tata.
According to members of the audience, just as Manmohan Singh wound up his address, Simprit Singh, who graduated from TISS last year, stood up all of a sudden and unfurled a banner that read: "Development or destruction? A question from Narmada, Mumbai Slums, Kalinga Nagar, Bhopal, Plachmada, Kashmir."
Clearly this protest was so unexpected that even as the PM's security grew alert nobody uttered a word. Simprit Singh just stood on his seat, banner unfurled while the function continued. "He did not shout slogans or anything. He just stood up alone," said a faculty member of TISS who was present at the function. But when some members of the audience started cheering Simprit, the plain clothes policement got into action and escorted him out of the convocation hall.
According to his friends, Simprit, 23, is "passionate" about Narmada. For the last two years he has been working with the National Alliance of People's Movement (NAPM), an alliance of organisations like NBA and lives out of the NAPM office at Chembur. "He is sweet and gentle soul but an ardent opponent of the Narmada dam project," said Shashi Mehta of the NBA.
While Simprit himself remained unavailable for comment - even when journalists were clamouring for a quote as he was being escorted out - Simprit chose to remain mum.
"He has been training teachers to work in slums and he's been involved in various protest movements," disclosed Sanjay M G, co-cordinator of NAPM. Simprit apparently also endorsed Aamir Khan's recent protest. "We discussed Aamir's protest in detail and we approved because it was him (Aamir) — he's known to be a sensitive, aware person," he added.
Simprit has visited Narmada valley on several occasions and had often stayed in the villages that were flooded as Sardar Sarovar, the main dam had gone up. In Mumbai, he has been involved in protests against demolition of slums, particularly at Mandala village in Trombay.
According to Vijay Joshi, senior inspector of Trombay police station, Simprit was not detained and nor will any case be made against him. Simprit gained entry as a representative of NAPM which had been invited to the function. TISS had sent invitations to all the field work agencies and companies where its students undergo training during their course.
However, TISS director S Parasuraman, was miffed with his former pupil's action. "There is nothing wrong if someone wants to raise the issue (Narmada Dam). But a convocation ceremony is not an appropriate forum for such protest. We are an institution that teaches, researches and does policy advocacy. Field work agencies should do what they have to do and we want to do what we have to," he said.
Around 180 graduates passed out in the convocation ceremony on Saturday. The prime minister also inaugurated an institute for disaster management at TISS. However, his reaction to Simprit's protest is not known. Parasuraman who was with the PM said, "We did not discuss the incident. As Prime Minister, he looks at issues in a broader way."
Posted by bhola at 05:48 AM | Comments (0)
TISS toppers confront PM on Narmada, Bhopal
Aditya Ghosh
Sunday, May 07, 2006 00:28 IST
During the convocation ceremony at the Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS) presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday, many toppers marched to the podium in black badges and black ribbons to accept their certificates and awards. They were protesting
against the government's role in the Narmada Bachao Andolan and Bhopal gas tragedy.
Sampreet Singh, a former TISS topper, set the tone of the protest. The PM had just dwelt on the creation of an equal social justice system to ensure a meaningful democracy, when Sampreet stood up with a black banner that said "Development or Destruction —The question of Narmada, Mumbai Slums."
Special Branch police officers whisked him away for interrogation. Police Commissioner AN Roy said, "The person detained was released after five hours."
Later, Sampreet and other students spoke to DNA, confirming their aim was to attract the attention of the PM and public to the issue.
"TISS authorities told us not to wear black badges and ribbons. But this was our only chance to express our concerns directly to the Prime Minister," claimed Aruna Pandey, a student.
Earlier, the PM in his speech conceded that the government lacked professionally trained manpower in the social sector.
"Institutions like TISS can send forth to society motivated and hardworking personnel who could improve the human resource element of government programmes," the Prime Minister said.
Posted by bhola at 05:47 AM | Comments (0)
May 04, 2006
Bhopal justice campaigners to ‘die-in’ ahead of Dow Chemical AGM
Thursday, May 4th, 2006
CONTACT: Nirveek Bhattacharjee,
410-627-7679, nirveek@bme.jhu.edu
Aquene Freechild, 617-378-2579, aquene@gmail.com
Noon, Saturday, May 6th – Campaign for Justice in Bhopal supporters in 4 cities will host informational sessions and re-enactments of the 1984 Union Carbide Chemical Disaster in Bhopal, India - Saturday, May 6th at noon. In Seattle and Boston, professionals and students will lie under shrouds downtown at 12pm to raise awareness about Dow Chemical Company’s role in the 22,000+ deaths in Bhopal. Parallel education events will be held in Portland, OR and Cincinnati, OH.
The supporters want Dow to take responsibility for the toxic clean up in Bhopal and face criminal charges. Dow, which bought Union Carbide in 2001, refuses to clean up the abandoned factory site and resulting heavy metal and pesticide-contaminated drinking water.
Dow’s Annual General Shareholder meeting will be held in Midland, Michigan at 10am Thursday, May 11th. A shareholder resolution on Bhopal asks Dow to report on any new initiatives to address the concerns of Bhopal survivors. See www.proxyinformation.com
WHAT: Die-ins re-enacting the 1984 Bhopal Chemical Disaster, outreach events
WHEN: Noon, Saturday, May 6th
WHERE: Die-ins – Seattle, San Francisco, Boston, Ed events – Cincinnati, Portland * details below.
WHO: International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal supporters—
Boston: Aquene Freechild, 617-378-2579, aquene@gmail.com, Location: Copley Plaza, Boston
Seattle: Priya Raghav, 425- 533-1178, priya.raghav@gmail.com, Location: Univ. of Washington,
Cincinnati: Sandesh Samandria, (513) 297-4822, Sandesh_sam@yahoo.com, Location: Univ. of Ohio- Cincinnati Campus Green
Portland: Sathish Sundaram, (513) 886-1996, sathish.sundaram@gmail.com, Location: Portland State Univ., Smith & Cramer Hall
The US branch of the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal works as a coalition with groups such as Amnesty International, Association for India’s Development and Sierra Student Coalition with 40 chapters among professionals and students. It uses education, grassroots organizing and non-violent direct action to pressure Dow Chemical and the Indian Government to uphold the Bhopalis' demand for justice, and their fundamental human right to live free of chemical poison.
*Photos will be available upon request
Posted by bhola at 10:21 AM | Comments (0)