Human Rights

Publisher to End Arms Affair

by Bob Burton — June 11, 2007 - 6:50pm

A display at a DSEI exhibition

Reed Elsevier, a major publishing company, has bowed to pressure from peace groups and academics, announcing that it will end its role in organizing arms fairs by the end of the year.

Main Source: 
Guardian (UK), June 1, 2007

Nike's Social Irresponsibility

by Diane Farsetta — June 8, 2007 - 2:58pm

Nike says that its corporate social responsibility (CSR) campaign is no longer just "a risk and reputation management tool," but a core "business objective." Labor rights activist Jeff Ballinger is skeptical.

Main Source: 
The Oregonian, June 3, 2007

Giving the (Purple) Finger to Democracy

by John Stauber — June 7, 2007 - 5:48am

In the U.S., fewer than half of eligible voters do vote, elections are determined by big money, sitting politicians almost always win re-election, and opinion surveys show a frightening willingness to sacrifice fundamental human rights for governmental promises of security. It's not surprising, then, that U.S.

Main Source: 
New York Times, June 7, 2007

Things Go Worse With Coke

by Bob Burton — June 7, 2007 - 3:38am

From the Killer Coke campaign

After the International Labor Organization included Australia on a list of 25 countries of concern, the Australian government lashed out.

Main Source: 
Sydney Morning Herald, June 6, 2007

Indonesia's Years of Lobbying Furiously

by Diane Farsetta — June 1, 2007 - 2:01pm

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, has had a complicated relationship with the U.S., especially during the Indonesian military's occupation of neighboring East Timor. After 9/11, however, the U.S. has increasingly dismissed human rights concerns to provide Indonesia with military aid.

Main Source: 
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, May 31, 2007

Australian Government Revokes Critic's Tax Status

by Bob Burton — May 30, 2007 - 3:49am

A watchdog group that criticized the social and environmental failings of the Australian government's overseas aid policies has been stripped of its charitable tax status.

Main Source: 
Sydney Morning Herald, May 30, 2007

The Not-So-Free Press, Worldwide

by Diane Farsetta — May 24, 2007 - 1:19pm

After giving an interview to Afghanistan's Tolo TV in which she called the Afghan parliament "worse than a stable or a zoo," because "at least there you have a donkey that carries a load and a cow that provides milk," Malalai Joya was suspended from Parliament.

Main Source: 
Associated Press, May 21, 2007

Has the Internet Changed the Propaganda Model?

by Sheldon Rampton — May 22, 2007 - 1:50pm
  • Topics: Activism, Internet, Iraq, Democracy, Human Rights, International, Media, Politics, Propaganda, U.S. Government

    • In their groundbreaking 1988 book, Manufacturing Consent, professors Ed Herman and Noam Chomsky not only explained, but documented with extensive case studies, how mass media and public opinion are shaped in a democracy. Twenty years later, can their "propaganda model" still be used to explain modern media distortions? That was one of the main questions discussed last week at a conference in Windsor, Ontario, titled "20 Years of Propaganda?" Organized by Dr. Paul Boin, the conference drew hundreds of scholars and activists including myself, and more than 1,000 people attended a closing speech by Chomsky on May 17.

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