Science and conflicts of interest: Ties to industry revealed

Posted on September 24, 2013 by TPNS • Posted in From Pink to Prevention, What interests us • Tagged Breast Cancer, EDCs

Stéphane Horel and Brian Bienkowski, “Special report: Scientists critical of EU chemical policy have industry ties,” Environmental Health News, 23 September 2013

Seventeen scientists who have criticized plans in Europe to regulate endocrine-disrupting chemicals have past or current ties to regulated industries. An investigation by Environmental Health News reveals that of 18 toxicology journal editors who signed a controversial editorial, 17 have collaborated with the chemical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, tobacco, pesticide or biotechnology industries. Some have received research funds from industry associations, while some have served as industry consultants or advisors. The stakes are high in the controversy because it involves the European Union’s strategy to regulate hormone-altering chemicals – the first attempt in the world to do so. The new rules would have sweeping, global ramifications because all companies that sell a variety of products in Europe would have to comply.
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There is no population explosion on this planet

Posted on September 23, 2013 by TPNS • Posted in The 5% Campaign, What interests us • Tagged Land ownership, Population

Robert Newman, “There is no population explosion on this planet,” The Guardian, 22 September 2013

Let’s get one thing straight from the start. There is no population explosion. The rate of population growth has been slowing since the 1960s, and has fallen below replacement levels half the world over. But what about the other half? That’s where population is exploding, right? Well, actually, no. The UN Population Division’s world fertility patterns show that, worldwide, fertility per woman has fallen from 4.7 babies in 1970–75 to 2.6 in 2005-10. As Peoplequake author Fred Pearce puts it: “Today’s women have half as many babies as their mothers … That is not just in the rich world. It is the global average today.” …
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Defense Contractor: Climate Change Could Create “Business Opportunities”

Posted on September 23, 2013 by TPNS • Posted in The 5% Campaign, What interests us • Tagged Climate change, Defence contractors

Jeremy Schulman, “Defense Contractor: Climate Change Could Create ‘Business Opportunities‘,” Mother Jones, 14 August 2013

Of all the business opportunities presented by global warming, Raytheon Company may have found one of the most alarming. The Massachusetts-based defense contractor—which makes everything from communications systems to Tomahawk missiles—thinks that future “security concerns” caused by climate change could mean expanded sales of its military products. …
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Harry Belafonte remembers ‘I Have a Dream’

Posted on September 23, 2013 by TPNS • Posted in The 5% Campaign, What interests us • Tagged Martin Luther King

Harry Belafonte, “Martin Luther King: Harry Belafonte remembers ‘I Have a Dream’,” The Observer, 11 August 2013

There is one thing I have to say about the speech, though, and I say it when I am called on to speak about Dr King to students all over America. I tell them: you need to study the whole speech because the text before the “I Have a Dream” part is a deeper reflection of what he was striving for. The details and the passion of the struggle are spelt out in the preceding passages.

The spirit that Dr King called forth was a profoundly American spirit, as was his struggle. What made me feel so good about that struggle was that it was ordinary people who were becoming empowered through his words, to realise their own possibilities.
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The shocking truth

Posted on September 23, 2013 by TPNS • Posted in What interests us • Tagged TPFF

“The shocking truth,” The Economist, Aug 27th 2013

The numbers may be small but they are growing. In 2011 documentary films grossed £11m at the British box office. This was only 1% of the year’s total box-office takings but it was a six-fold increase on the year before. Moreover, while the budgets can be high they are still much cheaper to produce than studio features.

But why are audiences increasingly choosing fact over fiction? Perhaps the current dearth of realism (endless comic-book sequels and apocalyptic action movies) is forcing more discerning viewers to choose authentic storytelling over spectacular visuals and far-fetched plots. Documentaries such as “Blackfish” may also fill a gap in investigative journalism, as fewer newspapers and broadcasters invest in long-term projects.
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Solar Energy Perspectives

Posted on September 23, 2013 by TPNS • Posted in What interests us • Tagged Solar power

“Solar Energy Perspectives,” International Energy Agency‌, 2011

In 90 minutes, enough sunlight strikes the earth to provide the entire planet’s energy needs for one year. While solar energy is abundant, it represents a tiny fraction of the world’s current energy mix. But this is changing rapidly and is being driven by global action to improve energy access and supply security, and to mitigate climate change.

Download the report here.

MLK’s vehement condemnations of US militarism are more relevant than ever

Posted on September 23, 2013 by TPNS • Posted in The 5% Campaign, What interests us • Tagged Martin Luther King, Militarism, USA

Glenn Greenwald, “MLK’s vehement condemnations of US militarism are more relevant than ever,” The Guardian, 21 January 2013

The civil right achievements of Martin Luther King are quite justly the focus of the annual birthday commemoration of his legacy. But it is remarkable, as I’ve noted before on this holiday, how completely his vehement anti-war advocacy is ignored when commemorating his life (just as his economic views are). By King’s own description, his work against US violence and militarism, not only in Vietnam but generally, was central – indispensable – to his worldview and activism, yet it has been almost completely erased from how he is remembered.
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Operation Bethlehem at Cambridge

Posted on September 13, 2013 by TPNS • Posted in News

Cambridge Film Festival – Work In Progress Screening

Monday 23^rd September, 6.30pm

We are delighted that the Cambridge Film Festival 2013 are screening Leila Sansour’s ‘Operation Bethlehem’ as a work in progress

Leila will join the audience for a post-film discussion.

For more information, see link below.

http://www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk/films/2013/operation-bethlehem#sthash.5ghqnjqL.dpuf

CAMBRIDGE FILM FESTIVAL – OPERATION BETHLEHEM

A work in progress: Daughter to the late founder of Bethlehem University, Leila Sansour returned to the place she was so desperate to escape as teenager with the intention of making a film honouring her father and his relationship with the legendary town. Instead, she found herself compelled to document the wall being built around Bethlehem, transforming the city into an open-air prison patrolled by the Israeli military. Five years later, Sansour has created a touching personal record of her own re-assimilation into her ancestral home, but also an evocative archive of Bethlehem’s cultural and historical riches, and a crucial expose of the threats this history is facing. Allied with a campaign to resist this erasure and preserve the town’s identity as bastion of harmonious multifaith cohabitation in the Middle East, OPERATION BETHLEHEM is a hugely affecting and significant work.

See more at:

http://www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk/films/2013/operation-bethlehem#sthash.5ghqnjqL.dpuf