Saturday 25 February 2012

HENTIKAN PEMBINAAN LOJI 'NADIR BUMI' LYNAS !


PENCEMARAN ALAM MENGANCAM KEHIDUPAN MANUSIA

Persekitaran yang selamat amat penting untuk kehidupan yang sihat. Tuntutan kumpulan Anti-Lynas dan masyarakat di Kuantan untuk menutup Loji nadir bumi (rare earth) amatlah wajar memandangkan projek tersebut yang berlandaskan keuntungan boleh membawa kesan-kesan radioaktif yang akan memberikan impak kepada kesihatan dan kesejahteraan rakyat di kawasan Kuantan. Pemprosesan nadir bumi (rare earth) terbesar di dunia bertapak di negara China di mana hampir 95% pemprosesan nadir bumi dunia dilakukan di sini.  Pemprosesan ini telah mendatangkan banyak kesan negatif kepada penduduk China, terutamanya kepada penduduk yang tinggal berhampiran kawasan pemprosesan ini.  Air yang terdapat di kawasan sekitaran didapati tercemar dengan bahan radioaktif dan tidak sesuai untuk diminum ataupun digunakan untuk penanaman.

Friday 24 February 2012

SRI LANKA: CIVIL WAR END BUT UNSETTLED SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC PROBLEMS FOR WORKING CLASS AND POOR

EXPERIENCE OF VISIT TO SRI LANKA...
Since the end of the civil war in Sri Lanka in 2009, the ruling party had claimed that the country is now heading towards a new era of sustainable political stability and economic growth. The victory of the Sri Lankan army over the LTTE has provided a venue for President Rajapakshe to regain control by winning the 2010 election for second term. While some claim Rajapakshe to be a Singhala hero who defeated the Tamil Tigers, others have accused the regime of brutal war crimes and violation of human rights against the Tamil people. However, the ruling party is constantly trying to shift the attention away from socio/economic issues. The government's claim is that the country had been torn apart by a long civil war and since now it is over, the focus should be in economic growth. They also further address that all humanitarian efforts are being undertaken to ensure the safe keeping of the thousands of injured, traumatised, displaced, starving victims of war who are in need of immediate help. Whatever the claims from the government, the truth is much harder to find out due to its abnormal secrecy and overwhelmingly conflicting evidence. Although Sri Lanka has emerged as one of the fastest growing nation in the world in 2010, it does not necessarily translate as better living condition for its citizens. Mega projects with China and India only shows the interest of alien power in gaining control over Sri Lanka's vastly untapped natural resources. My trip to Sri Lanka on the September last year had given me a chance to witness in person the actual living conditions of the people. I also had the chance to visit different communities in different regions of Sri Lanka and gained much awareness about many issues, including the civil war.

Wednesday 15 February 2012

KRISIS KAPITALISME DUNIA YANG SEMAKIN TENAT

 
2011 merupakan tahun bersejarah bagi perjuangan kelas pekerja dan anak muda. Ianya telah menyaksikan revolusi dan pergerakan massa di Timur Tengah dan Afrika Utara; krisis di dalam Kesatuan Eropah dan matawang Euro yang semakin meruncing; kebangkitan kelas pekerja di seluruh Eropah akibat serangan kerajaan pro-kapitalisme terhadap hak, demokrasi dan keperluan kelas pekerja dan anak muda; dan perkembangan gerakan ‘Occupy’ yang telah merebak ke seluruh dunia.

Thursday 2 February 2012

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT SOCIALISM

Answering Common Questions about Socialism

With the rise of the Occupy movement, opposition to the existing political and economic order has gone mainstream. It’s hard to imagine that the bandana-clad woman on the cover of Time magazine – representing “The Protestor,” Time’s “Person of the Year” – has many nice things to say about capitalism, and the ubiquity of the Guy Fawkes mask – popularized by “V for Vendetta” – further underscores how widespread the idea of revolution has become.

However, this growing support for system change has not yet been matched by a serious public dialogue about what an alternative might look like. A new Pew poll published 28/12/2011 in United States indicated that people who are under 30 or black are more likely to favor socialism than capitalism, but this does not correspond to clear ideas of what socialism is or how a socialist economic and political system would work. We offer up this FAQ as a contribution to the discussion.