(October 17, 2009) Exiled Chinese authors attending the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany disagreed amongst themselves Wednesday about whether the invitation of China to the event as guest of honour was a good or a bad thing. This year’s fair has been unusually controversial after China tried to prevent critical authors attending, breaking an unwritten rule that free speech reigns at the annual book-publishing show.
Some reflections on Bob Woodruff’s China white wash
(October 17, 2009) “So near to the truth, yet so far.” That’s the feeling I came away with after watching Bob Woodruff’s recent China Inside Out documentary for ABC news. It’s regrettable that a journalist of such a high caliber as Woodruff can get so close to a story and not really see it — while helping to perpetuate a number of dangerous myths about China.
Environmentalists ask Belize Supreme Court for injunction to stop pollution from Canadian dam
(October 16, 2009) Belize Institute of Environmental Law and Policy (BELPO) has filed an application to Belize Supreme Court for an injunction to stop the sediment discharges from the Canadian owned Chalillo dam on the Macal River.
Throwing the book at China
(October 16, 2009) Every October, the German city of Frankfurt hosts the world’s biggest book fair. The event is no stranger to local controversy. Yet the storm brewing between the fair’s organizers and China is of global importance, because it will expose the limits of Beijing’s tolerance for free speech.
Why all the “Howling” about Sudan’s debt?
(October 16, 2009) Mr. Badawi in his recent post “Indebted to the Save Darfur Coalition?” plays loose with the numbers and the definition of Sudan’s “odious” debt. In addition, he mischaracterizes the objectives of the Save Darfur Coalition’s position related to how the international community should deal with Sudan’s debt crisis and ignores the coalition’s support thus far of the Obama Administration’s engagement strategy with Khartoum.
Dambisa Moyo on the CBC
(October 15, 2009) Dambisa Moyo, author of Dead Aid, talks to the CBC about finding new and more innovative ways to help residents in the developing world. Moyo argues that the aid model of institutions such as the World Bank have helped to stifle economic growth in the developing world.
Satellite data look behind the scenes of deadly earthquake
(October 15, 2009) Using satellite radar data and GPS measurements, Chinese researchers have explained the exceptional geological events leading to the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake that killed nearly 90 000 people in China’s Sichuan Province.
Frankfurt Book Fair Opens Today With China as Major Focus
(October 14, 2009) Berlin – Organizers of the Frankfurt Book Fair worked for 15 years to secure China as the guest of honor at their five-day showcase of global trends and best sellers that opens to industry delegates Wednesday. Organizers are steeling themselves for lively discussions and the possibility of protests at the fair, which boasts about 6,900 exhibitors from more than 100 countries.
Three Gorges Dam is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions
(October 14, 2009) The operators of the Three Gorges dam may soon have to answer to criticisms over its environmental credentials, as a recent study in the Journal of Geophysical Research says the marshlands created during the draining of the dam’s reservoir may be major a emitter of greenhouse gas emissions.
A shortage of capital flows
(October 9, 2008) Probe International‘s latest report is cited in an Economist article that describes how officials planned to divert water from Hebei province to Beijing for use during the Olympics, but instead waited until September 18th to begin the transfer.
Scaling legal barriers
(October 9, 2009) Review of “Environmental Public-Interest Litigation: A China-US Comparison”
A Chinese reporter’s journal of the Frankfurt book fair
(October 9, 2009) My plane landed in Frankfurt at 5:00 a.m. I was tired and jet lagged. I had spent the whole eight-hour trip reading about China’s publishing industry. I was assigned by a U.S.-based publishing magazine to cover the 2009 Frankfurt Book Fair, the world’s largest trade fair on books. China had been made the Guest of Honor this year.
Save Darfur Coalition wants US to fight debt relief to Sudan
(October 7, 2009) The US-based Save Darfur Coalition is making a new push to deny debt relief to Sudan. The activists are aiming to counter lobbying by Sudan at the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank held this past week in Istanbul, Turkey.
Carbon credit scams add to the growing list of alleged fraud cases
(October 6, 2009) Officials in at least five European countries are investigating an international carbon credit scam considered to be worth more than $1.5 billion. According to a recent report for the Guardian, the scam was originally coordinated by gangs in Britain and Spain who bought and sold emissions allowances across borders in order to avoid paying Value Added Tax (VAT).
Earning money from air by harvesting carbon
(October 6, 2009) There are signs that nascent Redd projects are already leading to social conflict, possible fraud and worsening land disputes.
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
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