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UK Student Union Votes Against Commemorating Holocaust

The student union at Goldsmiths College in London voted against commemorating the Holocaust this week by a margin of 60 to 1. Education officer Sarah El-Alfy...

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ON WORLD DAY OF FOOD SOVEREIGNTY, STRUGGLING FOR LAND IN BRAZI

Posted by Deepa Panchang on October 15, 2014 

Families in a Landless Workers Movement squatter encampment, hoping to win legal le to the land. Photo: Andy Lin.

October 14, 2014

By Beverly Bell

October 16 is World Food Day. To ensure that there is food for the world, and that it is not controlled by corporations, small farmers and allies across the globe have also named October 16 the Day of Action for Food Sovereignty and against Transnational Organi.... A posting by La Via Campesina, the coalition of more than 160 peasants and small-farmer movements across continents, says that it “organizes this day of solidarity, resistance, and mobilisation in order to make citizens aware of the current threats to peoples’ food sovereignty.” (To find out about U.S. actions for this day, click here.)

Food sovereignty is the concept that every people has the right to make decisions about, produce, and consume its own local, healthy, culturally appropriate food. Food sovereignty is based in an expansive set of ecological and agricultural practices, international trade laws, and domestic governmental policies.

A prerequisite of food sovereignty is comprehensive land reform, through which small farmers can control their own land and production, and have access to credit, marketing assistance, and other government support on which their livelihood often depends. For the 2014 international mobilization, La Via Campesina says, “We will raise our voices in order to express our resistance to landgrabbing… and to call for comprehensive agrarian  reform and food sovereignty, which together imply a radical transformation towards a fair and decent food system for the world’s peoples.”

No group has done more promote this “radical transformation” than Brazil’s Landless Workers’ Movement, or MST by its Portuguese acronym. The MST is addressing an urgent need in a country with one of the highest levels of unequal land distribution anywhere. Fifty-six percent of agricultural land is owned by just 3.5% of landowners.[1] In 2000, multinational companies controlled roughly 50% to 90% of most premier export crops.[2] Unable to compete, an estimated 90,000 small and family farms disappear each year.[3]

The MST’s solution to ending the loss of land and livelihood for rural people, and for ending the country’s poverty and hunger, is to put agriculturally rich land back into the hands of small farmers. In Brazil, people can challenge ownership of large properties in two ways: by going after the title’s authenticity or by claiming that the land is not fulfilling its “social function.” Codified in the country’s l988 constitution, social function means that 80% of the land is used effectively, environmental and labor standards are respected, and both owners and workers benefit.

Rita Zanotto, a 25-year member of the MST, tells about the strong social organization that is required to successfully challenge the unlawful landholdings of the elite, and how the redistribution process works. Zanotto is a member of the MST's education and training sector and its international relations sector.

“We’ve had to establish strategies for our struggle as if this were a war. Of course, not in the most literal sense, but this is a clear struggle for land in which we have to establish strategies for resistance. While feeling a lot of solidarity towards each other, we also think about how to not be overtaken by the enemy.

“We organize collectively. There is no director or head of the MST. If you hear someone say there is, they probably don’t understand the movement. We all work in teams, coordinating together. And we’ve been sharing our experiences and building this movement together, constructing the roads that we can walk forward on.

“I got involved in the MST in 1989 in the same way as most other people: as a person who went to live in an encampment to struggle for land. I started with the MST on March 3. By March 7, we were already occupying a plantation to pressure the government and show them that there is plenty of land that is lying fallow, that is not being used and that needs to be given over to other people. This was a moment of great struggle, with of a lot of repression. In that particular encampment, 22 people were arrested as a result.

“Right now, we have 100,000 families living in these encampments [where usually about 100 families live under tarps or huts on the land they are struggling politically to gain, backed up by MST lawyers who try to win it legally], and 350,000 families involved with the MST. It’s a very complex political moment for Brazil. In the past few years, we haven’t obtained much land. The government hasn’t made much progress in the agrarian reform that we need.

“When your encampment occupies the land and works it and plants crops, is when the most suffering takes place. People don’t have land and are living with food supplies by the government - barely enough to survive. People are just coming into the movement wanting to get involved, they’re excited, but then they realize how hard it is to obtain land. So this is when organizing as a collective becomes very important. Getting involved in these collectives is when the community organizes itself into what we call ‘constructed fellowship.’ People organize what is called a ‘base nucleus,’ with each nucleus made up of 10 to 15 families. Each nucleus has its own coordination team, and we all get organized to delegate tasks. We have a health nucleus, an education nucleus, a hygiene nucleus. This is a temporary moment in the life of the community, but it’s also one of the most special moments in the training and mobilization of the people involved. A lot of solidarity is developed here.

“The ultimate goal is concrete: to obtain land. But struggling for land is just the first step. Once you win it, then it’s about working the land, living in the land reform settlement, being productive, having broader political objectives, and staying organized. Organizing the means of production means organizing production on the land, and also organizing people into groups and collectives. That second part involves a wholly different kind of organization: reorganizing the grassroots base, establishing permanent political spaces, and establishing schools on the land we’ve won. Our schools belong to the Landless People movement, they’re ours. We’re very passionate about education, which is what makes the difference for our movement.

“I’d like to say that I am so proud to be part of an organization that sees its members as holistic, entire human beings. That doesn’t just think about production; rather, we think about every element of the person and the collective.

“We are also an internationalist movement. We don’t just see the MST as a movement for Brazil, but rather as part of global movement.”

Translation by David Schmidt.

Footnotes:

[1]Fabíola Ortiz, “Brazil at Risk of Agrarian Counter-Reform,” Inter Press Service website, April 27, 2011,http://ipsnews.net/ news.asp?idnews=55414.

[2]Sue Branford and Jan Rocha, Cutting the Wire: The Story of the Landless Movement in Brazil (London: Latin American Bureau, 2002), 175. Four and a half million Brazilians have no land or tenure rights.

[3]Miriam Nobre, “Quand la libération des femmes rencontre la libération des semences” [“When the liberation of women meets the liberation of seeds”], La Découverte, September-October, 2005, http://www.cairn.info/revue-mouvements-2005-4-page-70.htm.

Beverly Bell has worked for more than three decades as an advocate, organizer, and writer in collaboration with social movements in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and the U.S. Her focus areas are just economies, democratic participation, and gender justice. Beverly currently serves as associate fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies and coordinator of Other Worlds. She is author of Walking on Fire: Haitian Women Stories of Survival and Resistance, Fault Lines: Views Across Haiti’s Divide, and Harvesting Justice: Transforming Food, Land, and Agricultural Syste....

Copyleft Beverly Bell. You may reprint this article in whole or in part. Please credit any text or original research you use to Beverly Bell, Other Worlds.

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Tags: agriculture, brazil, food, justice, land, rights,social, sovereignty

Note Edge launched by Samsung

Roger M. Christian shared a link.

 

Galaxy Note 4, Note Edge launched by Samsung

The Note 4 will be available at stores across the UAE at Dh2,799 from October 16 while the Note Edge will come to the market in early December.

KHALEEJTIMES.COM

The 2015 CES January 6-9, 2015, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Arlington, VA – 09/03/2014 – 

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)® today announced its official Press Day schedule for the 2015 International CES®. Open exclusively to registered CES media, Press Day will showcase 2015 CES exhibitor press conferences with major product and company news from 8 AM-5 PM on Monday, January 5, at Mandalay Bay. Owned and produced by CEA, the International CES is the world’s gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technologies. The 2015 CES is scheduled to run January 6-9, 2015, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
 

“Every year, we are energized by the innovative  product unveilings at Press Day that reveal the trends we’ll see on the CES show floor and the technologies that will fuel our industry and excite consumers in the year ahead,” said Karen Chupka, senior vice president, International CES and corporate business strategy, CEA. “We’ve got a terrific group of companies that are part of the dynamic 2015 Press Day lineup, including first-timer ZTE, all of whom will announce the next generation of breakthrough innovations in consumer technology.”

 

Media registered for the 2015 CES are encouraged to save the date for the following Press Day events on Monday, January 5, 2015: 

 

8-8:45 AM

• LG Electronics*

• Bosch

9-9:45 AM

• Sharp

• Monster

10-10:45 AM

• Panasonic

11-11:45 AM

• DISH Network

• VOXX

12-12:45 PM

• Qualcomm

1-1:45 PM

• Hisense

• Toyota

2-2:45 PM

• Samsung

3-3:45 PM

• Stream TV Networks

4-4:45 PM

• ZTE

5-5:45 PM

• Sony*

 

 

*Denotes Invitation-Only Event

 

Press Day also will feature a full line-up of exhibitor Power Sessions, 30-minute press conferences for companies looking to break their news quickly and directly to CES media. Beginning at 8:30 AM, Power Sessions will be located at Mandalay Bay, Level Three, South Seas Ballroom J. A full schedule of Power Sessions will be posted to the Press Events section of CESweb.org in the coming weeks.

 

A dedicated shuttle service, running from official CES hotels to Mandalay Bay and the LVCC, will run from 6:30 AM-7 PM on Press Day.  Lunch will be available to registered CES press and industry analysts beginning at 11:30 AM on Press Day in the Press Room, sponsored by AutoTrader.com, located at Mandalay Bay, Level Two, Lagoon J.

 

On Sunday, January 4, registered CES media are also encouraged to attend the following press events at Mandalay Bay: 

 

State of the Consumer Tech Industry and 2015 CES Trends to Watch

2-3 PM 

Level 2, Breakers Ballroom H

Before the doors open for the most important tech event in the country, get a glimpse into what everyone will be talking about in the year to come. Attend this presentation by Dr. Shawn DuBravac, CFA, chief economist and senior director of research, CEA to gain an understanding of the business trends, market forces and consumer dynamics behind the technology on display at the 2015 International CES.

 

State of the Global CE Industry

3-4 PM 

Level 2, Breakers Ballroom H

Countries with fast-growing economies and large emerging middle classes will lead the way in new CE revenue growth. This session, presented by Steve Koenig, director, industry analysis, provides a comprehensive look at global CE market trends and opportunities.

 

CES Unveiled Las Vegas

4-7 PM 

Level 3, South Seas Ballroom C

CES Unveiled Las Vegas is the official media event of the International CES, featuring boundary-breaking innovation from more than 90 exhibitors from around the globe. Be the first to see the new year’s products. This annual networking event will also feature the 2015 CES Innovation Awards Honorees. 

 

Exhibit halls for the 2015 CES will open 10 AM, Tuesday, January 6, 2015. For breaking technology news leading up to the show, head to Mandalay Bay. Last year’s preshow press events saw the launch of LG’s G Flex, a curved OLED display with the world’s first curved battery, and VOXX’s Myris, an iris identifying authenticator for increased online security. Formula E revealed and demoed the first electric racing car and Sony introduced the first in-home video download 4K service.

 

The 2015 CES press conference schedule will be updated regularly through the 2015 CES. All CES press conference opportunities are listed here. Companies interested in hosting a press conference during the 2015 CES can submit a 2015 CES Press Conference Reservation Request Form to schedule their event.

 

The 2015 CES will feature more than 3,500 exhibitors unveiling the latest consumer technology products and services across the entire ecosystem of consumer technologies. For more information on the 2015 CES, visit CESweb.org.

 

Note to Editors:  The official name of the global technology event is “International CES®.”  Subsequent references to the event can be shortened to “CES.”

About CES

The International CES is the world’s gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technologies. It has served as the proving ground for innovators and breakthrough technologies for more than 40 years—the global stage where next-generation innovations are introduced to the marketplace. As the largest hands-on event of its kind, CES features all aspects of the industry. And because it is owned and produced by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the technology trade association representing the $211 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry, it attracts the world’s business leaders and pioneering thinkers to a forum where the industry’s most relevant issues are addressed

Just added to my Love Blog http://thelovereport.wordpress.com/  This is needed while we fight ISIS. Roger Vietnam veteran.

02/05/14

THE 55TH CLIO AWARDS OPENS FOR ENTRIES Esteemed International Creativity Competition Now Taking Submissions for 2014 Awards Show

02/05/14

THE 55TH CLIO AWARDS OPENS FOR ENTRIES Esteemed International Creativity Competition Now Taking Submissions for 2014 Awards Show

For Immediate Release

---

For the First Time, Jury Achieves Historic 50-50 Gender Benchmark, As Set By 2013 Initiative
New York, NY--Feb. 4, 2014—The CLIO Awards, esteemed international advertising, design and communications competition, opens the field for entries for its 2014 awards show, taking place in New York City on October 1, 2014. Agencies from across the global creative landscape are invited to submit their best work from the past year, in eighteen media types, for review and selection by a panel of esteemed CLIO jurors. The period for entries lasts through April 11.
Also announced today are members of the 2014 jury, which fulfills the May 2013 industry-wide call to action for a gender-equal juror committee to more equally represent contributions of women to the industry, 50/50. In addition, there is an even broader diversity of international talent, with 75 percent of the jury representing countries such as Colombia, Lebanon, Israel, Philippines, Belgium, South Africa, Peru and Serbia. The judging will take place in Malta this summer.
“We are proud to uphold a long tradition of promoting excellence while also being one of the first international awards show to take substantial action on matters pressing the industry,” said Nicole Purcell, executive director, CLIO Awards. “We set out to achieve a very ambitious goal and this year’s jury is as impressive as ever, made up of some of the most accomplished men and women in advertising, design, branding, and content.”
In keeping with the spirit of the CLIO Awards, the 2014 jury members are widely recognized by their peers as constant innovators and leaders whose creativity and dedication have made lasting contributions to their respective fields. They include:
FILM

Anne De Maupeou	Chief Creative Officer, Marcel – Paris, France
Jon Flannery	EVP, Executive Creative Director, DraftFCB – Chicago, USA
Nick Gill	Partner, Executive Creative Director, BBH – London, UK
Mike Smith	Executive Creative Director, BBDO – New York, USA
Agnello Dias	Chief Creative Officer & Co-founder, TAPROOT – Mumbai, India
Anita Ríos	General Creative Director, JWT – Buenos Aires, Argentina
Raquel Martínez	Executive Creative Director, McCann – Madrid, Spain
Justine Armour	Creative Director, Wieden+Kennedy – Portland, USA
Kentaro Ichiki	Creative Director, Hakuhodo – Tokyo, Japan

The Choral Arts 2012-2013 Season

The Choral Arts 2012-2013 Season begins by celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month with two concerts dedicated to various musical styles from Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Spain, and featuring six acclaimed guest artists.

Friday, October 05, 2012

Choral Arts opens the 2012-2013 Season with La Música Latina on October 21, 2012, 7:00 pm at GW Lisner Auditorium, 730 21st Street NW, Washington, DC. Conductor and pianist Joseph Holt, a favorite Choral Arts guest artist, has planned an evening that fuses the musical and rhythmic styles of Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Spain, making it the ideal way to close the official celebrations of the National Hispanic Heritage Month. Read More

Choral Arts Hosts 32nd Anniversary Gala at the Kennedy Center, Washington's Signature Holiday Social Event of the Year

Monday, September 24, 2012

The Choral Arts Society of Washington announces George and Ashley Wilson will chair the 32nd Annual Holiday Concert & Gala, In the Moon of Wintertime. Ambassador Gary Doer of Canada to the United States will serve as honorary patron. With Maestro Scott Tucker conducting his first concert with Choral Arts and under Executive Director Debra L. Kraft and the Chair of the Board of Directors Barbara Rossotti, the gala will be held on Monday, December 17, 2012, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Read More

Choral Arts Society of Washington Prepares for Tour to Lyon, France

Tuesday, August 07, 2012

The Choral Arts Society of Washington travels to Lyon, France, to perform with the Orchestre National de Lyon and their Music Director Leonard Slatkin August 27-September 6. Read More

The Choral Arts Society of Washington Announces is 2012-2013 Season

Monday, July 16, 2012

For its 48th season – which introduces Artistic Director Scott Tucker – the Choral Arts Society moves in new directions with six concert programs at the Kennedy Center and other DC venues. During the early weeks of autumn, Maestro Tucker will be preparing the chorus for performances of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, considered one the composer’s most masterful achievements. Because of the technical demands placed on all the performing forces, the Missa is less frequently performed than other major works by Beethoven. The Choral Arts Chorus joins a stellar cast of soloists and the National Symphony Orchestra under the baton of NSO Music Director Christoph Eschenbach on November 1 and 3 for these concerts. Read More

Choral Arts Raises over $900,000 in Honor of Maestro Scribner

Friday, June 15, 2012

Choral Arts raises over $900,000 in honor of Maestro Scribner for artistic endeavors via the Legacy Campaign. The goal is to raise $1.2 million by August 31 as Scribner prepares to retire after 47 years as founder and artistic director. Read More

Choral Arts Pays Tribute to Norman Scribner’s Legacy

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

The Choral Arts Society of Washington brings its 2011-2012 season to a close with a grand evening of music honoring its Founder and Artistic Director Norman Scribner on Wednesday, June 13, 2012, at 7:30 p.m., at Washington National Cathedral. The program for “The Legacy Celebration” – a one-of-a-kind event this year – focuses on key moments in Scribner’s career and his extraordinary tenure at the helm of the organization that he created in 1965. Read More

Choral Arts Appoints Cornell’s Scott Tucker Artistic Director

Thursday, March 29, 2012

The Board of Directors of The Choral Arts Society of Washington is pleased to announce the appointment of Scott Tucker, current P.E. Browning Director of Choral Music at Cornell University, as its new artistic director, effective with the 2012-2013 season. Tucker was selected after a rigorous 12-month international search to replace retiring artistic director and founder Norman Scribner. The Board voted unanimously and enthusiastically to confirm Tucker’s appointment. Read More

Norman Scribner conducts Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

In the final concert of his 47-year career, retiring founder Norman Scribner conducts the Choral Arts Society of Washington and the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) in Johannes Brahms’ beloved favorite Ein Deutsches Requiem on April 22, 2012, at 4 p.m. at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Presented in partnership with the Washington Performing Arts Society (WPAS), the performance also features guest soloists, soprano Twyla Robinson and baritone Christòpheren Nomura. Read More

Choral Arts Society Founder Norman Scribner to Receive Humanitarian Award at His Final MLK Tribute Concert

Friday, January 06, 2012

The Choral Arts Society of Washington and the Washington Performing Arts Society (WPAS) Men, Women and Children of the Gospel Choirs will again join together to present the 24th annual “Living the Dream…Singing the Dream” choral tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall on January 22, 2012, at 7 p.m. This rich musical collaboration will commemorate the legacy of the great civil rights leader through music conducted by Norman Scribner, Stanley J. Thurston, and guest conductor/host Rev. Nolan Williams, Jr. The program includes a diverse selection of works, including classical music, gospel hymns and spirituals. Read More

Annual Family Christmas Concert Features Why the Chimes Rang

Thursday, December 01, 2011

The Choral Arts Society of Washington presents its annual beloved Family Christmas concert Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011, at 1 p.m. at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. This year’s performance of Why the Chimes Rang from internationally renowned playwright Mary Hall Surface and featuring guest conductor Joseph Holt offers a heart-warming tale of two children who learn what the Christmas spirit truly is with holiday music, audience sing-alongs, and appearances from Santa, Frosty and Rudolph. Read More