Canada may contribute to Dutch-led international abortion fund | World news | The Guardian
Canada is considering contributing to a Dutch-led international fund to support abortion services in developing countries, set up in response to Donald Trump’s order to halt financing of NGOs that support the practice.
A spokesman for Canada’s international development minister, Marie-Claude Bibeau, told AFP the minister had spoken with her Dutch counterpart about the fund, and was considering donating an unspecified sum to it or a similar measure that would support “sexual reproductive rights, including abortion” abroad.
“Sexual health and reproductive rights will be at the heart of Canada’s new international assistance policy,” spokesman Louis Belanger said in an email.
“We will continue to explore opportunities to work together to advance women’s empowerment by expanding access to sexual and reproductive health services including abortion,” he said.
Canada is set to unveil its new foreign aid strategy in the coming weeks. A decision on the fund would either be included or follow soon after that announcement.
SO - WRITE YOUR MP!!!
Wednesday
FEATURE-Home-grown Kenyan solar farm powers computers - and powers computers and protects girls
FEATURE-Home-grown Kenyan solar farm powers computers - and ...
OLOSHO-OIBOR, Kenya, Jan 25 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - When the first few residents of this village in the Ngong hills installed solar panels, nearly a decade ago, the only aim was to power their own homes, as their town had no connection to the national power grid.
But today the community, south of Nairobi in the Rift Valley, is buzzing with solar and wind energy, which powers everything from the dispensary and church to shops, homes and even a rescue centre for girls fleeing child marriage and the threat of female genital mutilation.
Residents say they banded together to buy the shared energy system themselves, recognising that the substantial upfront cost would create benefits for years to come. Those now include everything from vaccines that can now be kept cold at the dispensary to solar-powered pumping of water.
"Before we started this solar farm, people from this village used to travel to Ngong town, which is 17 kilometers away, to get basic services and goods such as a photocopy or a haircut. This used to inconvenience us greatly since you had to part with a tidy sum," said Simon Parkesian, the manager of the community's solar farm.
In 2009, some residents of Olosho-Oibor, impressed with a first couple of private solar panels installed in the community, decided they wanted panels of their own - but many people could not afford them.
So a group of community members began contributing cash - 10 dollars a month - until they had enough to buy a set of larger solar panels that could serve many nearby homes.
They then approached the U.N. Industrial Development Organization for technical help in installing their system. Today the 125-member energy cooperative has raised $4,900 for panels - installed on poles around the community and on rooftops - and installed two small wind turbines as well.
The community also has a 10-kilowatt diesel generator as a backup in periods when both sunshine and wind fall short, but that is used only occasionally, Parkesian said.
OLOSHO-OIBOR, Kenya, Jan 25 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - When the first few residents of this village in the Ngong hills installed solar panels, nearly a decade ago, the only aim was to power their own homes, as their town had no connection to the national power grid.
But today the community, south of Nairobi in the Rift Valley, is buzzing with solar and wind energy, which powers everything from the dispensary and church to shops, homes and even a rescue centre for girls fleeing child marriage and the threat of female genital mutilation.
Residents say they banded together to buy the shared energy system themselves, recognising that the substantial upfront cost would create benefits for years to come. Those now include everything from vaccines that can now be kept cold at the dispensary to solar-powered pumping of water.
"Before we started this solar farm, people from this village used to travel to Ngong town, which is 17 kilometers away, to get basic services and goods such as a photocopy or a haircut. This used to inconvenience us greatly since you had to part with a tidy sum," said Simon Parkesian, the manager of the community's solar farm.
In 2009, some residents of Olosho-Oibor, impressed with a first couple of private solar panels installed in the community, decided they wanted panels of their own - but many people could not afford them.
So a group of community members began contributing cash - 10 dollars a month - until they had enough to buy a set of larger solar panels that could serve many nearby homes.
They then approached the U.N. Industrial Development Organization for technical help in installing their system. Today the 125-member energy cooperative has raised $4,900 for panels - installed on poles around the community and on rooftops - and installed two small wind turbines as well.
The community also has a 10-kilowatt diesel generator as a backup in periods when both sunshine and wind fall short, but that is used only occasionally, Parkesian said.
Dutch to set up global abortion support fund to counter Trumps Cuts
Dutch to set up global abortion support fund to counter ... trumps cuts
AMSTERDAM, Jan 25 (Reuters) - The Netherlands is launching a global fund to help women access abortion services to compensate for U.S. President Donald Trump's ban on U.S. federal funding for foreign groups providing abortions or abortion support for family planning abroad.
The Dutch government has held preliminary discussions on the initiative with other European Union members who have responded positively, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Wednesday. Governments outside the EU, companies and social institutions will also be approached to participate.
Trump on Monday reinstated a policy that requires foreign NGOs who receive U.S. global family planning funds to certify that they do not perform abortions or provide abortion advice as a method of family planning.
Dutch officials estimate that Trump's restrictions will cause a funding shortfall of $600 million over the next four years. Women's rights and health campaigners have reacted with anger at Trump's move. They say restrictions on abortion endanger women's lives. Trump has also pledged to withdraw funding from U.S. domestic abortion services.
The policy was announced on Tuesday by Liliane Ploumen, minister for international development cooperation, whose Labour Party - the junior coalition partner in the government - is traditionally staunchly in favour of abortion rights.
The Netherlands's laws on reproduction and reproductive health are among the world's most liberal. The Dutch vote in parliamentary elections in March.
Foreign ministry spokesman Herman van Gelderen said he was confident relations with the new U.S. administration would not be damaged by the measure.
"Where decisions are taken that are bad for women in developing countries we should help those women," he said. "It's not about the politics, it's about those women."
AMSTERDAM, Jan 25 (Reuters) - The Netherlands is launching a global fund to help women access abortion services to compensate for U.S. President Donald Trump's ban on U.S. federal funding for foreign groups providing abortions or abortion support for family planning abroad.
The Dutch government has held preliminary discussions on the initiative with other European Union members who have responded positively, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Wednesday. Governments outside the EU, companies and social institutions will also be approached to participate.
Trump on Monday reinstated a policy that requires foreign NGOs who receive U.S. global family planning funds to certify that they do not perform abortions or provide abortion advice as a method of family planning.
Dutch officials estimate that Trump's restrictions will cause a funding shortfall of $600 million over the next four years. Women's rights and health campaigners have reacted with anger at Trump's move. They say restrictions on abortion endanger women's lives. Trump has also pledged to withdraw funding from U.S. domestic abortion services.
The policy was announced on Tuesday by Liliane Ploumen, minister for international development cooperation, whose Labour Party - the junior coalition partner in the government - is traditionally staunchly in favour of abortion rights.
The Netherlands's laws on reproduction and reproductive health are among the world's most liberal. The Dutch vote in parliamentary elections in March.
Foreign ministry spokesman Herman van Gelderen said he was confident relations with the new U.S. administration would not be damaged by the measure.
"Where decisions are taken that are bad for women in developing countries we should help those women," he said. "It's not about the politics, it's about those women."
Philippines to review all mines as environmentalist takes helm
Philippines to review all mines as environmentalist takes ...
MANILA, July 1 (Reuters) - The Philippines will review all mines operating in the country, the new mining minister said on Friday, as the committed environmentalist vowed to determine whether the industry is hurting the Southeast Asian nation.
Regina Lopez's appointment to head the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, has sent shockwaves through the mining sector, which fears a nationwide crackdown.
"I'm not against the mining industry but I'm against suffering," Lopez told reporters on her first day in office as part of the administration of Rodrigo Duterte.
"I do want to evaluate if the country is safe from mining," she told a briefing where videos were aired showing environmental harm from mining along with testimonies from farmers and fishermen opposed to the industry. The minister said the review would take a month.
Her stance suggests a tough regulatory road ahead for Philippine miners, whose nickel ore producers are the biggest suppliers to China.
President Duterte has warned that he could cancel projects causing environmental harm, though he told business leaders last week that he was not against mining per se.
MANILA, July 1 (Reuters) - The Philippines will review all mines operating in the country, the new mining minister said on Friday, as the committed environmentalist vowed to determine whether the industry is hurting the Southeast Asian nation.
Regina Lopez's appointment to head the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, has sent shockwaves through the mining sector, which fears a nationwide crackdown.
"I'm not against the mining industry but I'm against suffering," Lopez told reporters on her first day in office as part of the administration of Rodrigo Duterte.
"I do want to evaluate if the country is safe from mining," she told a briefing where videos were aired showing environmental harm from mining along with testimonies from farmers and fishermen opposed to the industry. The minister said the review would take a month.
Her stance suggests a tough regulatory road ahead for Philippine miners, whose nickel ore producers are the biggest suppliers to China.
President Duterte has warned that he could cancel projects causing environmental harm, though he told business leaders last week that he was not against mining per se.
Canada oil pipeline spills 200,000 liters on aboriginal land
Canada oil pipeline spills 200,000 liters on aboriginal land
CALGARY, Alberta/TORONTO, Jan 23 (Reuters) - A pipeline in the western Canadian province of Saskatchewan has leaked 200,000 liters (52,834 gallons) of oil in an aboriginal community, the provincial government said on Monday.
The government was notified late in the afternoon on Friday, and 170,000 liters have since been recovered, said Doug McKnight, assistant deputy minister in the Ministry of the Economy, which regulates pipelines in Saskatchewan.
Oil pipelines are viewed by the oil-rich provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan as a critical lifeline to move crude to the coast, but they have drawn fierce opposition from environmental and indigenous groups.
The spill came seven months after another major incident in Saskatchewan, in which a Husky Energy Inc pipeline leaked 225,000 liters into a major river and cut off the drinking water supply for two cities.
CALGARY, Alberta/TORONTO, Jan 23 (Reuters) - A pipeline in the western Canadian province of Saskatchewan has leaked 200,000 liters (52,834 gallons) of oil in an aboriginal community, the provincial government said on Monday.
The government was notified late in the afternoon on Friday, and 170,000 liters have since been recovered, said Doug McKnight, assistant deputy minister in the Ministry of the Economy, which regulates pipelines in Saskatchewan.
Oil pipelines are viewed by the oil-rich provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan as a critical lifeline to move crude to the coast, but they have drawn fierce opposition from environmental and indigenous groups.
The spill came seven months after another major incident in Saskatchewan, in which a Husky Energy Inc pipeline leaked 225,000 liters into a major river and cut off the drinking water supply for two cities.
Tuesday
Trump needs tech to achieve his vision. But Silicon Valley isn't having it | NEVER AGAIN
Trump needs tech to achieve his vision. But Silicon Valley isn't having it | Technology | The Guardian
The inaugural Tech Solidarity meeting in San Francisco helped produce the Never Again pledge, a public declaration by tech workers that they will refuse to build a database identifying people by race, religion, or national origin. The pledge went live on 13 December – the day before Silicon Valley’s top executives made the pilgrimage to Trump Tower to sit down for a summit with the president-elect.
The organizers of the pledge are keenly aware of their industry’s history. The Never Again site refers to IBM’s well-documented role in providing the punch-card machines that streamlined the Holocaust – a history the company has never fully acknowledged or apologized for. Which makes it all the more chilling that IBM has gone out of its way to court Trump since his victory.
NEVER AGAIN PLEDGE
http://neveragain.tech/
We, the undersigned, are employees of tech organizations and companies based in the United States.
We are engineers, designers, business executives, and others whose jobs include managing or processing data about people.
We are choosing to stand in solidarity with Muslim Americans, immigrants, and all people whose lives and livelihoods are threatened by the incoming administration’s proposed data collection policies.
We refuse to build a database of people based on their Constitutionally - protected religious beliefs.
We refuse to facilitate mass deportations of people the government believes to be undesirable.
We have educated ourselves on the history of threats like these, and on the roles that technology and technologists played in carrying them out.
We see how IBM collaborated to digitize and streamline the Holocaust, contributing to the deaths of six million Jews and millions of others.
We recall the internment of Japanese Americans during the Second World War.
We recognize that mass deportations precipitated the very atrocity the word genocide was created to describe: the murder of 1.5 million Armenians in Turkey.
We acknowledge that genocides are not merely a relic of the distant past —
Today we stand together to say: not on our watch, and never again.
We commit to the following actions:
The inaugural Tech Solidarity meeting in San Francisco helped produce the Never Again pledge, a public declaration by tech workers that they will refuse to build a database identifying people by race, religion, or national origin. The pledge went live on 13 December – the day before Silicon Valley’s top executives made the pilgrimage to Trump Tower to sit down for a summit with the president-elect.
The organizers of the pledge are keenly aware of their industry’s history. The Never Again site refers to IBM’s well-documented role in providing the punch-card machines that streamlined the Holocaust – a history the company has never fully acknowledged or apologized for. Which makes it all the more chilling that IBM has gone out of its way to court Trump since his victory.
NEVER AGAIN PLEDGE
http://neveragain.tech/
We, the undersigned, are employees of tech organizations and companies based in the United States.
We are engineers, designers, business executives, and others whose jobs include managing or processing data about people.
We are choosing to stand in solidarity with Muslim Americans, immigrants, and all people whose lives and livelihoods are threatened by the incoming administration’s proposed data collection policies.
We refuse to build a database of people based on their Constitutionally - protected religious beliefs.
We refuse to facilitate mass deportations of people the government believes to be undesirable.
We have educated ourselves on the history of threats like these, and on the roles that technology and technologists played in carrying them out.
We see how IBM collaborated to digitize and streamline the Holocaust, contributing to the deaths of six million Jews and millions of others.
We recall the internment of Japanese Americans during the Second World War.
We recognize that mass deportations precipitated the very atrocity the word genocide was created to describe: the murder of 1.5 million Armenians in Turkey.
We acknowledge that genocides are not merely a relic of the distant past —
Today we stand together to say: not on our watch, and never again.
We commit to the following actions:
- We refuse to participate in the creation of databases of identifying information for the United States government to target individuals based on race, religion, or national origin.
- We will advocate within our organizations:
- to minimize the collection and retention of data that would facilitate ethnic or religious targeting.
- to scale back existing datasets with unnecessary racial, ethnic, and national origin data.
- to responsibly destroy high-risk datasets and backups.
- to implement security and privacy best practices, in particular, for end-to-end encryption to be the default wherever possible.
- to demand appropriate legal process should the government request that we turn over
user data collected by our organization, even in small amounts.
- to minimize the collection and retention of data that would facilitate ethnic or religious targeting.
- If we discover misuse of data that we consider illegal or unethical in our organizations:
- We will work with our colleagues and leaders to correct it.
- If we cannot stop these practices,
we will exercise our rights and responsibilities to speak out publicly and engage in responsible whistleblowing without endangering users.
- If we have the authority to do so, we will use all available legal defenses to stop these practices.
- If we do not have such authority, and our organizations force us to engage in such misuse,
we will resign from our positions rather than comply.
- We will work with our colleagues and leaders to correct it.
- We will raise awareness and ask critical questions about the responsible and fair use of data and algorithms beyond our organization and our industry.
Monday
Reinstating 'Global Gag Rule,' Trump Attacks Women Worldwide
Reinstating 'Global Gag Rule,' Trump Attacks Women Worldwide | Common Dreams | Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community
President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order reinstating a policy critics call the Global Gag Rule, further cementing reproductive rights advocates' warning that 2017 would entail an uphill battle for women's healthcare.
Officially known as the Mexico City Policy, the rule, as Nonprofit Quarterly explained, "specifically prohibits international charities from promoting abortion as a method of family planning even if that 'promotion' simply entails a physician engaging in a conversation about the option of abortion with a patient." As such, Kiersten Gillette-Pierce and Jamila Taylor write at Center for American Progress, it "infringes upon women's fundamental right to make informed decisions about their bodies and their health."..
"There is simply no excuse for this action when the evidence that it is both cruel and stupid is clear," adds Brian Dixon, senior vice president for media and government relations at Population Connection Action Fund. "It turns out that Trump is intent on punishing women around the world for experiencing unintended pregnancy."
The order comes a day after the 44th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision, which, as a new report shows, if overturned could put 37 million women in 33 states at-risk of being without abortion access.
Entitled What If Roe Fell, the Center for Reproductive Rights publication allows users to see if they live in a "high alert" state, where the right to abortion is at the highest risk of loss if the 1973 decision is undone.
"We cannot go back to the days before Roe, when some women put their lives on the line when they needed to end a pregnancy. Forcing women to travel thousands of miles across state lines for basic healthcare in 2017 is not only unconstitutional, it's unconscionable," said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights.
President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order reinstating a policy critics call the Global Gag Rule, further cementing reproductive rights advocates' warning that 2017 would entail an uphill battle for women's healthcare.
Officially known as the Mexico City Policy, the rule, as Nonprofit Quarterly explained, "specifically prohibits international charities from promoting abortion as a method of family planning even if that 'promotion' simply entails a physician engaging in a conversation about the option of abortion with a patient." As such, Kiersten Gillette-Pierce and Jamila Taylor write at Center for American Progress, it "infringes upon women's fundamental right to make informed decisions about their bodies and their health."..
"There is simply no excuse for this action when the evidence that it is both cruel and stupid is clear," adds Brian Dixon, senior vice president for media and government relations at Population Connection Action Fund. "It turns out that Trump is intent on punishing women around the world for experiencing unintended pregnancy."
The order comes a day after the 44th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision, which, as a new report shows, if overturned could put 37 million women in 33 states at-risk of being without abortion access.
Entitled What If Roe Fell, the Center for Reproductive Rights publication allows users to see if they live in a "high alert" state, where the right to abortion is at the highest risk of loss if the 1973 decision is undone.
"We cannot go back to the days before Roe, when some women put their lives on the line when they needed to end a pregnancy. Forcing women to travel thousands of miles across state lines for basic healthcare in 2017 is not only unconstitutional, it's unconscionable," said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights.
Tuesday
Women's March on Washington: Toronto, Jan 21, 12 noon
Women's March on Washington: Toronto
Across Turtle Island (North America) we have seen a rise in acts of hate coinciding with the American election. On Saturday, January 21, join us for a march to unite our communities in Toronto and to speak out.
We come together to say we will not be silent in the face of the hate that has threatened, demonized and insulted so many of us – Muslims, Jews, racialized people, Indigenous people, migrants and those with precarious or no legal status, members of the LGBTTQQ2SI communities, differently abled people and women.
In the spirit of saying no to hate and yes to justice, equity and social change, people around the world will be mobilizing and resisting as Trump is inaugurated. The lived experiences of colonialism and anti-black racism, xenophobia, homophobia and transphobia, sexism and oppression has existed long before Trump, but we worry that the recent US election has provided a new wave that normalizes and makes hate acceptable.
Now is a critical moment to come together to send a united message. We cannot afford to be silent or idle. Let us continue to push for justice for the most marginalized and oppressed among us.
All allies are welcome.
Across Turtle Island (North America) we have seen a rise in acts of hate coinciding with the American election. On Saturday, January 21, join us for a march to unite our communities in Toronto and to speak out.
We come together to say we will not be silent in the face of the hate that has threatened, demonized and insulted so many of us – Muslims, Jews, racialized people, Indigenous people, migrants and those with precarious or no legal status, members of the LGBTTQQ2SI communities, differently abled people and women.
In the spirit of saying no to hate and yes to justice, equity and social change, people around the world will be mobilizing and resisting as Trump is inaugurated. The lived experiences of colonialism and anti-black racism, xenophobia, homophobia and transphobia, sexism and oppression has existed long before Trump, but we worry that the recent US election has provided a new wave that normalizes and makes hate acceptable.
Now is a critical moment to come together to send a united message. We cannot afford to be silent or idle. Let us continue to push for justice for the most marginalized and oppressed among us.
All allies are welcome.
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