[alternet-l] THE ALTERNET NEWS - ISSUE # 108

Thu Mar 11 14:54:24 GMT 2004

THE ALTERNET NEWS - ISSUE # 108

This issue:

HOT SITES/
PROPRIETARY SOFTWARE/
ELECTRONICS TRADE/
WIRELESS WONDERS/
DIGITAL BRAZIL/
GREEN COMPUTERS/
GM CROPS/
HAITI REFORMS/
QUOTE/UNQUOTE/
JOBS/
DIARY/

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Please don't send news to the AlterNet address.

Back issues are on-line at:
--> www.gn.apc.org/news/alternet/index.html

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HOT SITES

Announcing a new fringe feminist ezine of artwork, poetry, stories, 
articles & other unnameable genres that go against the grain...

--> www.fito.co.za

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PROPRIETARY SOFTWARE

Software costs more than a year's salary for many Africans
Alastair Otter

Buying proprietary software for many African users can cost them the 
equivalent of a year or more's income. This is according to Rishab Ghosh, 
programme leader at Infonomics at Maastricht University, who was speaking 
at the Idlelo Digital Commons conference in Cape Town, South Africa today.

Ghosh, a founder of the online Internet peer-review journal First Monday, 
said that a typical setup of Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office, costs 
around $560 in the US. In a country such as Kenya, where the annual income 
per person is $371, buying the same package would equate to 18 months worth 
of salary for many Kenyans. In Ghana this figure jumps to more than two 
years' income for the average Ghanaian.

Ghosh said that without free and open source software 'software that is 
free to access and ships with its source code for anyone to see', the broad 
socio-economic changes long promised by ICT (Information and Communications 
Technology) would largely be limited to a tiny elite.

Ghosh said another reason that African nations should be considering open 
source software is for the skills advantage it offers. "These are not just 
the user skills learned but also the skills learned by participating in the 
free and open source community. The barriers to entry to these communities 
are very low with open source software," he said.

Related stories:

A 2004 report by SIDA, 'Open Source in Developing Countries' looks at the 
open source phenomenon in general, and as it relates to developing 
countries in particular:

--> www.sida.se/content/1/c6/02/39/55/SIDA3460en_Open%20SourceWEB.pdf

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ELECTRONICS TRADE

The virus of exploitation
Harriet Paterson

Factories putting together computer components have spread across the
Third World  and with them poor working practices. This is the price
of our cheap laptops.

A report by the Catholic aid agency Cafod on working conditions on the
computer assembly lines, “Clean Up Your Computer”, does
not make for happy reading. It finds vast production lines in Third
World countries where workers on illegal contracts are paid below
what we would consider to be survival level for work in degrading and
sometimes dangerous conditions. In China a worker who makes a mistake
may be forced to wear a red coat in ritual humiliation. In Mexico or
Thailand a woman found to be pregnant is likely to be sacked. The
report looks at factories in all three countries.

How much of this is condoned by the companies whose brands are
stamped on the products? Electronics workers in developing countries
are seldom direct employees. This is true of IBM in Mexico, for
example, where only one in 14 of the workforce is employed directly
by IBM. The outsourcing system means that two layers shield the computer 
giants
from workers’ concerns. Yet by the standards of basic morality, the
company which receives the profits from the work is surely
responsible for the workers. A subcontractor or employment agency is
just an intermediary; the final product still carries the brand name.

Read the full article here:
--> www.thetablet.co.uk/cgi-bin/archive_db.cgi?tablet-00848

Download the CAFOD report and agenda for action at:
--> www.cafod.org.uk/var/storage/original/application/phpYyhizc.pdf

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WIRELESS WONDERS

Cambodian hybrid motorcycle/WiFi network

In Cambodia, WiFi-equipped motorcyclists pull up to schools, download
all the email, drive to the next village, and dump off copies of
locally-destined mail, picking up that community's load and delivering
it along to the next town.

It is a digital pony express: five Motomen ride their routes five days
a week, downloading and uploading e-mail. The system, developed by a
Boston company, First Mile Solutions, uses a receiver box powered by
the motorcycle's battery. The driver need only roll slowly past the
school to download all the village's outgoing e-mail and deliver
incoming e-mail. The school's computer system and antenna are powered
by solar panels. Newly collected data is stored for the day in a
computer strapped to the back of the motorcycle. At dusk, the
motorcycles converge on the provincial capital, Ban Lung, where an
advanced school is equipped with a satellite dish, allowing a bulk
e-mail exchange with the outside world.

Full story:

--> http://wifinetnews.com/archives/002839.html

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DIGITAL BRAZIL

GreenNet's umbrella network, the Association for Progressive Communications 
(APC) reports:

Carlos Afonso, director of planning at RITS -APC's Brazilian member 
organisation- outlines the digital inclusion opportunities and initiatives 
carried out in Brazil so far, from the successful ones to the dismal 
failures. According to Afonso, despite the flurry of acronyms being thrown 
around, Brazil still does not have a national strategy that will provide 
the majority of Brazilians with access to the internet. He believe it's 
crucial that the Brazilan government gets involved in the set-up of 
community telecentres and computers in schools and public libraries  the 
cheapest and most efficient way of democratising access to information and 
communication technologies.

Full story:
--> www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=17784

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GREEN COMPUTERS

Computers 'must be greener'
- Tim Hirsch, BBC environment correspondent

Worldwide efforts are needed to reduce the environmental damage caused by 
computer equipment, according to a United Nations research group. A study 
says making the average PC requires 10 times the weight of the product in 
chemicals and fossil fuels. Many of the chemicals are toxic, while the use 
of fossil fuels help contribute to global warming.

And the short lifetime of today's IT equipment leads to mountains of waste, 
the UN University report says.

HAZARDOUS WASTE
1: Lead in cathode ray tube and solder
2: Arsenic in older cathode ray tubes
5: Antimony trioxide as flame retardant
4: Polybrominated flame retardants in plastic casings, cables and circuit 
boards
3: Selenium in circuit boards as power supply rectifier
6: Cadmium in circuit boards and semiconductors
7: Chromium in steel as corrosion protection
8: Cobalt in steel for structure and magnetivity
9: Mercury in switches and housing

That waste is then dumped in landfill sites or recycled, often in poorly 
managed facilities in developing countries, leading to significant health 
risks. The authors say that both manufacturers and computer users across 
the world should be given greater incentives to upgrade or re-use computer 
hardware instead of discarding it.

Read the article online at:

--> http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/technology/3541623.stm

Related stories:

'Performance of BT Cotton in India: Data from the first commercial crop'
Sahai, S.; Rahman. S., Gene Campaign.

This paper presents data on the field study of the first genetically 
modified crop to be cultivated in India. Bt cotton was studied in selected 
locations in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, which are two of the six 
Indian states that have been granted permission to commercially cultivate 
Bt cotton.

The main conclusion reveals that the performance of Bt cotton in the areas 
studied in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, has been poor and the farmers 
have had to suffer losses. 98% of the farming families surveyed said they 
were not interested in growing Bt cotton again.

--> www.genecampaign.org/btcotton.html

Take action:
You are invited to join with others who have signed the Green Gloves 
Pledge. This is a pledge to take, or support others who take, non-violent 
action to prevent genetic pollution and its damage to life and livelihoods:
--> www.greengloves.org/

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HAITI REFORMS

The Haiti Support Group - a solidarity group founded in June 1992 to support
the Haitian people in their struggle for justice, human rights, equitable
development and participatory democracy - makes the following points:

There should be a comprehensive disarmament strategy which would entail:
·   a long-term project to provide alternative livelihoods to those
unemployed youth who have taken up arms;
·   effective police action to enforce the country's firearms possession
laws; and
·   the tight regulation and control of the Haitian elite's private security
structures.

- Rebuilding the Army is not a solution. Haiti needs a force to guarantee law
and order, in other words, a police force answerable to and controlled by the
Ministry of Justice.

- Both disarmament and reform of the police force can only succeed (with) a 
proper judicial reform

Further information from Charles Arthur,
email: haitisupport at gn.apc.org

Visit the Haiti Support Group website at:
--> www.haitisupport.gn.apc.org

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QUOTE/UNQUOTE

"The place God calls you is the place where your deep gladness and the 
world's deep hunger meet."

- Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC

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JOBS

ADMISTRATOR & FINANCE OFFICER

The British American Security Information Council (BASIC) is an independent 
non-profit organisation specialising in nuclear disarmament, biological 
weapons, the weapons trade, and transatlantic security and conflict 
prevention issues. BASIC seeks an individual who will provide 
administrative and financial support for the organisation as a whole.

This position would particularly suit a competent Green. London Office 
One-year appointment with potential of permanent position salary range of 
£18,000 - £22,000 per annum pro-rata

Deadline for applications: 15th March.

Further details at:
--> www.basicint.org/jobs/main.htm#02.

VOLUNTEER HUMAN RIGHTS OBSERVERS WANTED

Peace Brigades International Orientation Weekend -
Peace Brigades International UK section (PBI), a human rights
organisation working to promote non violence and defend human rights is
looking for human rights observers for our programmes in Mexico, Colombia,
Indonesia and Guatemala. To this end we have organised an orientation
weekend for prospective volunteers.

You must be over 25 years and speak the language of the country concerned.
The orientation weekend will take place from the 20th to the 23rd of May and
will explore issues such as the role of a non-partisan human rights
organisation implementing non violent alternatives in conflict areas, PBI's
mandate, principles and detailed information on our projects. For further
information please send an A4 SAE (74p) with your CV to PBI UK Section,
1b Waterlow Road, London N19 5NJ. Phone: (020) 7281 53 70
--> email: pbiuk at gn.apc.org

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DIARY DATES

MARCH

A new series of discussion groups are taking place at the Andrew Cohen 
centre in March and April. Visit this website for a good description of 
what these discussion groups are about:
--> www.andrewcohen.org/misc/enlightenedCommunication.asp

Thursday, 11th
Haiti Support Group is holding a public meeting on the crisis in Haiti
at The Friends Meeting House, Euston Road, London NW1 (Euston underground
station) at 7pm.
Further details via email: Tttnhm at aol.com

Friday 12th - 14th
GROW Anti-War Activists Conference. All details at their website:
--> www.grow.org.uk

Saturday, 13th
Charity showcase in aid of circus2iraq at The Circus Space
Tickets are selling fast, so please do book in advance. Tickets can be 
purchased on the phone on 08700 600 100 or online at:
--> www.ticketweb.co.uk

Saturday, 13th
Women and Hindutva - confronting the violence of fascism in India
Discussion Meeting in International Women's Week
SOAS, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1 at 2.30pm
Further details via email to: sasg at southasiasolidarity.org

Wednesday 17th - Thursday 25th
Human Rights Watch International Film Festival
View the entire film festival programme and information on all of the films:
--> http://hrw.org/iff/2004/london/schedule.html

Thursday, 18th
Spiked and Hill & Knowlton are organising an evening seminar 'BIG BROTHER 
AND ME'
@ 7.30pm - Hill and Knowlton, 20 Soho Square, London W1A 1PR
Tickets for this seminar cost £10 (individual) or £30 (corporate), and must
be booked in advance by calling 0207 269 9234.

Friday, 19th
IRAQ: STORIES OF INVASION AND OCCUPATION: A theatrical protest and tour of 
Whitehall to mark one year since the US/UK invasion of Iraq
For more information contact Voices on 0845 458 2564 (local rate call) or
email: voices at viwuk.freeserve.co.uk

Saturday, 20th
Join Greenpeace in a day of peaceful protest for a world without war:
--> http://act.greenpeace.org/ecs/s2?i=1303&sk=fxd&la=en

Monday, 22nd
The Law Society are organising a free debate on the Government's proposals 
for an identity card scheme
2pm - 6pm @ The Law Society
Further details via email to: kathleen.lowe at lawsociety.org.uk, or visit 
their website:
--> www.lawsociety.org.uk

APRIL
Saturday, 3rd
Friends of Le Monde Diplomatique Cafe Diplo at the French Institute, 17 
Queensberry Place SW7 @  10.45 am. £3, concessions £2, members free.
THE REFUGEE'S STORY: HOW UK FOREIGN INVESTMENT CREATES REFUGEES AND ASYLUM 
SEEKERS

and Saturday, 17th
THE TOBIN TAX REVITALISED with SONY KAPOOR
Further information for both events via email: 
Monde-Diplo-Friends at mondediplo.com

Saturday, 3rd
Minstry for Peace are holding an all-day event to mark the anniversary of 
the start of the war in Iraq. Tickets can be bought in advance at a 
discount on their website:
--> www.ministryforpeace.org.uk

Easter Friday 9th - 12th
STOP THE NEXT GENERATION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS
London to Aldermaston Easter March
For more detailed information about the event, and background information 
about the developments please see the website at:
--> www.aldermaston2004.net

More Diary Dates on GreenNet:
--> www.gn.apc.org/calendar/calindex.shtml

Please add your events to the calendar here:
--> www.gn.apc.org/calendar/add.shtml

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The AlterNet News is edited by Joanne Doyle for GreenNet:
---> www.gn.apc.org

Please note that opinions expressed in AlterNet are those of the
contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the GreenNet 
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