The Media Freedom Foundation » independent media center http://www.mediafreedominternational.org Media Democracy in Action Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:30:06 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Strong Initiative needed most in stopping Nuclear Power in Germany. http://www.mediafreedominternational.org/2011/01/29/strong-initiative-needed-most-in-stopping-nuclear-power-in-germany/ http://www.mediafreedominternational.org/2011/01/29/strong-initiative-needed-most-in-stopping-nuclear-power-in-germany/#comments Sun, 30 Jan 2011 01:42:41 +0000 admin http://www.mediafreedominternational.org/?p=1331 The German government passed an extension for operation periods for German Nuclear Power Stations, against the will of the people. North Korea is not the only location of recent nuclear power protests; Germany has also been a hotspot for some time, particularly around Gorleben – a location of nuclear resistance for over 30 years. Recent protests are against the usage of routes and railroads for the transport of nuclear. A train carrying 11 caskets for the transportation and storage of nuclear waste (CASTOR) hauled back from France used fuel from German power stations. Each CASTOR is estimated to hold 9-10 times as much radioactivity as that released by the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. The CASTOR Schottern campaign calls for a mass of people to remove stones from the railway tracks to prevent the train from getting through. Some 3,000 activists sat on the train tracks outside Dannenberg to further delay the convoy, until forcibly removed by police. Early in the protest, violence erupted after 250 activists tried to damage the track near the waste dump. When engaged by policed, activists responded used flare guns and chemical spray; riot police responded with truncheons, teargas, and a water cannon. The train was repeatedly stopped in its journey. The act of violence on the behalf of the protesters has shown strength in Germany’s anti-nuclear desires.

Sources: n.a. (2010, Nov 10). “Hands-on action needed more than ever to stop nuclear power in Germany,” Independent Media Center http://www.indymedia.org/en/2010/11/942874.shtml

n.a. (2010 Nov 9 2010). “Successful CASTOR blockade at Franco-German border,” Cine Rebelde http://www.cinerebelde.org/successful-castor-blockade-at-francogerman-border-p-102.html?language=en

n.a. (2010 Nov) “Cold sit-in-night on the castorrailway,” Cine Rebelde http://www.cinerebelde.org/cold-sitinnight-on-the-castorrailway-p-104.html

Breidthardt, Annika (2010, Nov 7). “German police clash with anti-nuclear activists,” Reuters http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE6A621Q20101107

Student Researcher: Don La Barge

Faculty Evaluator: Christina Knopf, Ph. D. Communications Professor, Potsdam State University of New York.

photo from BreidhardtSimilar Posts:

]]> http://www.mediafreedominternational.org/2011/01/29/strong-initiative-needed-most-in-stopping-nuclear-power-in-germany/feed/ 3 2010 Strike in University of Puerto Rico http://www.mediafreedominternational.org/2011/01/29/2010-strike-in-university-of-puerto-rico/ http://www.mediafreedominternational.org/2011/01/29/2010-strike-in-university-of-puerto-rico/#comments Sun, 30 Jan 2011 01:23:32 +0000 admin http://www.mediafreedominternational.org/?p=1307 Between April 21-23, students from the University of Puerto Rico held an indefinite strike that went on for months. The strike was held because of disagreements in issues with the school’s administration and the board of directors. Some of the were recommendations to solve the budget deficit problems, guarantees of stopping tuition hikes, and guarantees that campuses will not be privatized. After negotiations failed, the students began their 48 hour indefinite strike around 3 Am on April 21. Negotiations failed again and the students continued to strike and by May 4 all of the university’s campuses joined the movement. The University of Puerto Rico (UPR) is a state university system of Puerto Rico. The University consists of 11 campuses and has about 65,000 students and over 5,000 faculty members. UPR has the largest and most diverse academic offerings in Puerto Rico. It is also the largest and most diverse in the Caribbean with almost 500 academic programs and over 32 doctoral programs. Even though the strike reached media and government attention, it accomplished very little in goals.

Source: n.a. (2010, Apr 30). “UPR: Indefinite Strike, CMI- Puerto Rico,” Independent Media Center http://www.indymedia.org/en/2010/04/937186.shtml

Background Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Puerto_Rico_at_R%C3%ADo_Piedras

Student Researcher: Paul Craig

Faculty Evaluator: Dr. Christina M. Knopf Department of English & Communication, SUNY Potsdam

photo from indymediaSimilar Posts:

]]> http://www.mediafreedominternational.org/2011/01/29/2010-strike-in-university-of-puerto-rico/feed/ 2 Afro-Brazilians Face Discrimination and Poverty http://www.mediafreedominternational.org/2010/01/11/afro-brazilians-face-discrimination-and-poverty/ http://www.mediafreedominternational.org/2010/01/11/afro-brazilians-face-discrimination-and-poverty/#comments Mon, 11 Jan 2010 06:38:55 +0000 admin http://www.mediafreedominternational.org/?p=435 Millions of Afro-Brazilians, who in some states like Bahia account for 75 per cent of the population, are mired in poverty, lack access to basic services and employment opportunities, and face serious discrimination, injustice and violence. These are some of the key conclusions that UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has reached after a just ended weeklong visit to the biggest country in South America, where ingenious people face similar sufferings as the Afro-Brazilians. “While Brazil has an impressive set of laws and policies to promote human rights and improve socio-economic well-being, indigenous groups and Afro-Brazilians face serious discrimination, injustice and violence”, Pillay told reporters on Nov. 13, 2009.

She added that millions of Afro-Brazilians and indigenous people are “mired in poverty” and lack access to basic services and employment opportunities.  Brazil has the largest population of black origin outside of Africa.  Pillay lauded Brazilian Constitution and legal framework, which “form an impressive foundation of human rights protection”.
Brazilian government has been taking a number of important measures “including this week’s passing by the Congress of a constitutional amendmentdesigned to provide free universal education to children aged 4 to 17”.

The UN High Commissioner noted a number of issues of concern, including the situation of the country’s indigenous people.  The fact that she had not seen a single indigenous person among all the many officials she had met during the visit was “very indicative of their continued marginalization”, she stated.  For the most part, Brazil’s indigenous people “are not benefiting from the country’s impressive economic progress, and are being held back by discrimination and indifference, chased out of their lands and into forced labor”.

Title: Millions of Afro-Brazilians Victims of Violence and Discrimination

Source: Independent Media Center, November 14, 2009www.indymedia.org/en/2009/11/931153.shtml

Author: Bob Narmer

Student researcher: Ariana White

Faculty Evaluator: Elizabeth Grayson-Slater

Sonoma State UniversitySimilar Posts:

]]> http://www.mediafreedominternational.org/2010/01/11/afro-brazilians-face-discrimination-and-poverty/feed/ 0 Another Salmon Disaster in the Making! http://www.mediafreedominternational.org/2009/11/04/another-salmon-disaster-in-the-making/ http://www.mediafreedominternational.org/2009/11/04/another-salmon-disaster-in-the-making/#comments Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:35:14 +0000 admin http://www.mediafreedominternational.org/?p=358 Irrigation in the Scott and Shasta river basins threaten salmon population. Water levels in these rivers are becoming so low that the fish cannot make it far enough up river to spawn.  The reason for the low levels of water is that much of the water is diverted away from the rivers for irrigation on local farms.  Farmers claim that the low levels of water are not because of irrigation but rather from too little rainfall.  Research, however, has shown this not to be the case and that the problem in fact is the irrigation.  Despite taxpayers spending 25 million dollars in an effort to restore the rivers and preserve the salmon, little has been done and the problem continues to get worse. This past August the water level was recorded at its second lowest level in history.

Title:  Another Salmon Disaster in the Making!

Source:  Rogue Valley Independent Media Center      6/9/2009

URL: http://rogueimc.org/en/2009/15347.shtml

Author:  Felice Pace

Student Researcher:  Anthony Sarganis

Faculty Evaluator: Erv Peterson

Sonoma State University: Sociology of Media, Fall 2009

Instructor: Peter Phillips,  #02Similar Posts:

]]> http://www.mediafreedominternational.org/2009/11/04/another-salmon-disaster-in-the-making/feed/ 1 Free the Atenco 13 http://www.mediafreedominternational.org/2009/10/23/free-the-atenco-13/ http://www.mediafreedominternational.org/2009/10/23/free-the-atenco-13/#comments Fri, 23 Oct 2009 23:55:44 +0000 admin http://www.mediafreedominternational.org/?p=327 Student Researcher: Rachel Jenack

Faculty Instructor: Christina Knopf, Ph.D.

Evaluator: Dr. John Schwaller, President, SUNY Potsdam

Over 200 men and women in Atenco, Mexico were arrested, and two young boys killed, in May of 2006 for resisting the police force that attempted to shut down flower vendors.  Citizens that supported the flower vendors of Atenco were met by a vicious police force that brutally beat, tortured, raped, and sexually abused them.  For many years there has been a struggle for human rights by the citizens of Mexico in which their opponent is the Mexican police force, known to be one of the most corrupt in the world. From this particular incident the Mexican government targeted the leaders and organizers of the street protests, and over a span of about one year they managed to incarcerate thirteen specific individuals.  Three prominent leaders of the Peoples’ Front were sentenced to 67.5 years in a maximum security prison, one of which was sentenced to an additional 45 years due to his involvement in the Atenco Resistance.  According to the article only one of the thirteen is out on bail – a flower vendor from Atenco, Patricia Romero.  The true issue behind this article is the unjust incarceration of Mexican citizens fighting for their human rights.

“Free the Atenco 13!” Abu-Jamal, Mumia Independent media center. 2008, November 14. http://www.indymedia.org/en/2008/11/916170.shtmlSimilar Posts:

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