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Science Forum Index » Environment Forum » CORE Mocks Environmentalists in Cancun
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| David Naugler |
 Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2003 3:30 pm |
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From:
http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=14027
CORE Mocks Environmentalists in Cancun
Written By: Paul Driessen
Published In: Environment News
Publication Date: January 1, 2004
Publisher: The Heartland Institute
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Environmental activists are famous for using street theater to
embarrass opponents and draw attention to their platforms. But during
the recent World Trade Organization meetings in Cancun, it was the
eco-purists who found themselves on the receiving end of a pointed
theatrical event. They weren't used to it, and they didn't like it.
"And the winner is--Greenpeace! For leading million-dollar campaigns
against energy, pesticides, biotechnology, trade, and economic
development that could improve or save millions of lives," boomed
Niger Innis, national spokesman for the Congress of Racial Equality
(CORE), as he announced the first of three "Green Power - Black Death"
awards.
As black-garbed Grim Reapers looked on, Innis presented the first
prize--Academy Awards style--to a college co-ed representing
Greenpeace. "I want to thank the mosquitoes for bringing malaria to
less-developed countries," she bubbled. "But most of all, I'd like to
thank the millions of children who died to make this award possible."
The humor added a light touch to what was otherwise a deadly serious
affair that dramatized the lethal effects of policies championed by
eco-activists--and singled out those groups deemed most responsible
for bringing misery and death to developing countries. Large black
coffins and numerous signs further underscored the human toll exacted
by their policies.
Runners-up in the NGO (non-governmental organizations) category were
Friends of the Earth and Food First, a supposedly pro-Third World
special interest group headquartered in poverty-stricken Berkeley,
California. In the Governments and Foundations category, the European
Union narrowly edged out Oxfam International and the Pew Charitable
Trusts. "I want to thank our African, Asian, and Latin American
colonies," the EU stand-in beamed, "for allowing us to bully them into
submission--and letting us live in splendor, while they live in
squalor."
A special Uncle Tom Award went to Malaysia-based Pesticide Action
Network, "the developing world NGO most willing to sell out its own
people for a foundation grant." Close but no Cuban cigar honors in
that category went to Vandana Shiva's Third World Network.
Held in the "NGO center," the nucleus of eco-activist activities at
the WTO, the event was organized by CORE, one of the oldest and most
respected of U.S. civil rights groups, and the Committee For A
Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), a Washington DC think tank. "These
environmental policies are lethal eco-imperialism," Innis declared.
"Eco-activists know their Earth-First policies devastate families and
communities--and kill millions every year. And yet, they continue to
impose more and more layers of misguided laws, rules, and treaties on
people whose primary concern is simple survival," he stressed. "We
chose to present our awards in the NGO center, because they and the
media need to confront the reality of what these policies do to the
poorest people on our planet."
Some of these rules may be appropriate for wealthy developed countries
that have already conquered malaria, typhus, dysentery, and
malnutrition, which still plague poor nations, Innis continued. "But
for rich countries to tell poor nations they must adopt the most
stringent environmental rules, to address esoteric First World
concerns--and ignore real, immediate, life-or-death problems in
Africa, India, and Mexico--is worse than hypocritical."
Worldwide, 2 billion people still do not have electricity, he noted.
Malaria kills 2 million people a year, half of them children, mostly
in sub-Saharan Africa. Dysentery and diarrhea kill a million adults
and 3 million children a year in developing countries. Lung diseases
kill another million women and 4 million infants and children
annually. Millions more die from malnutrition and starvation. English
and Spanish flyers distributed at the event addressed those issues in
detail.
All those deaths are foreseeable, Innis noted, and many could be
prevented. "But these Green Power - Black Death organizations do all
they can to make sure the slaughter continues," Innis stated. "For
that, they deserve to be pilloried."
Most of the audience listened respectfully, but a few hissed their
annoyance, and two engaged in a shouting match with Innis and CORE's
international affairs director, Cyril Boynes Jr. Refusing to identify
themselves by name or organization, the two said Innis's points were
"outrageous lies" that Africans would strongly disagree with.
At that, James Shikwati, president of the Inter Region Economic
Network of Kenya, stepped forward and said: "I'm from Kenya, and I
agree with everything they said--and so do most of the people I talk
and work with every day." As a Mexican television crew interviewed
him, the strident duo became sullen and silent.
Innis noted that CORE--which has had Consultative Status with UN's
Economic and Social Council since 1972 and travels extensively
throughout Africa--was making its first appearance at the WTO. He
promised this would not be the last time; CORE would participate in
this international conference and challenge harmful policies promoted
by groups that "until now have monopolized debates on economic
development and the environment."
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Paul Driessen is a senior fellow for CFACT and the Atlas Economic
Research Foundation. His new book, Eco-Imperialism: Green Power -
Black Death, inspired the Cancun event and explores these issues in
depth. |
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| Vendicar Decarian |
| Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2003 12:52 am |
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"David Naugler" <dnaugler@sfu.ca> wrote in message
news:c6bcfffa.0312221230.308bcd07@posting.google.com...
Amusing bit of NeoCon Propaganda.
Affixing a banner to a boat is a "boatjacking" according to the Heartland
Institute.
If that is the case, then affixing a leafelet to a car windshield is a
"carjacking".
Thanx for posting yet another example of the perpetual stream of NeoCon lies
issuing from various Right Wing Hate groups David.
Also on the Heartland Institutes list of available articles.
Lies, Damned Lies, & 400,000 Smoking-Related Deaths
Written By: Robert A. Levy and Rosalind B. Marimont
Published In: Regulation
Publisher: Cato Institute
The oft-quoted statistic in the title of this article is the principal
justification for tobacco-related regulation and litigation. It is also
scientifically unfounded, typical of the "junk science" that the
Environmental Protection Agency and many habitual..... |
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