I received a link to a film that was going to be shown at the Goldcorp Center for the Arts, part of SFU's contemporary arts school...And this got me thinking. Had UBC received a similar lurid donation? So I looked around, and yep, sure enough, we at UBC have also received a similar donation. I went to the Goldcorp (http://www.goldcorp.com/corporate_responsibility/sponsorship/) website to see what they had to say, and it seems that they are sponsoring a number of initiatives at UBC. This all transpired after I watched the film, Cry of the Andes, in May. While that film may not deal specifically with Goldcorp, it displayed the wretched way in which Barrick Mining went about manipulating municipal elections, polluting mountain lakes and lands, and ignoring indigenous rights and pleas to leave their mountains intact. Has Goldcorp done similar things? Is UBC part of the plan to buy off people that may otherwise cause a ruckus protesting Goldcorp's involvement in Latin America? Then I came upon this Ubyssey article.
http://ubyssey.ca/opinion/goldcorp-raises-questions/
I agree with what Krissy has to say, and am feeling more and more shame daily, for what I used to take pride in: my university.
Friday, 23 September 2011
Really amazing art in some Brazilian favelas...
Here it is: http://jr-art.net/
Sunday, 18 September 2011
Woah...holy rights and fundamental freedoms, Batman!!?
Reading all of these rights, freedoms, conventions, amendments, declarations, charters etcetera made me think of a laminated poster I have, titled: How to Build Global Community. This poster has little quips that encourage us to think differently about the world in which we live. Things like, "Think of no one as 'us' nor 'them'," and "Question nationalism," and "Remember, there are three Americas; North, South and Central." I've always liked this poster because it made me rethink my place in the world, and the ways in which I engage. And I suppose that reading all these various charters and whatnot has done the same. But the difference here is that I came away feeling that despite this attempt to explain that there are intrinsic and basic human rights, some people can and will be denied these rights depending on where they are, when, and where they're from. For example. the European Union's Convention. Article 16: Nothing in Articles 10, 11 and 14 shall be regarded as preventing the High Contracting Parties from imposing restrictions on the political activity of aliens. So I read this as limited rights and freedoms, not fundamental, nor intrinsic nor basic. Sure these "aliens" are entitled to peaceful assembly, freedom of expression, and the right not to be discriminated against, but aside from that, the powers that be can still prevent them from political activities. Maybe I am misunderstanding...I think the term "alien" rubs me the wrong way.
All these documents strive to improve the world, prevent wrongs, empower people, and yet they all give me a strong sense of what I shouldn't do, or can't do, not necessarily a sense of hope. In fact, and Jon you may be right, what is the point of all of these documents. What power do they have, and what power do the institutions that back them have? Many of these documents were drafted, ratified and signed in response to and following major global abuses of rights and freedoms. However, major global abuses of rights and freedoms followed the creation of many of these documents. So what good to they do. Women still continue to receive clitorectomies, children are still trafficked like chattel, apartheid in South Africa existed until 1994, the worlds largest democracy still maintains and accepts a caste system, and here in Canada girls as young as 14 and 16 can be married to a man five or six times their age. What good at all are these rights and freedoms if abuses like those mentioned above are allowed to continue and seem almost acceptable to many governing bodies? Don't get me wrong I love the United Nations, the ideals we espouse in our charters, declarations and bills, but I am losing faith and hope in them. I don't really have a better alternative yet, and that doesn't help anything. But like Sara said last class. So many things are missing from these documents, and I think steps to have them be more inclusive, less exclusive and static would make them more effective. Giving power to remove rights to the government makes me fearful...Especially since we don't have the right to bear arms to protect ourselves from the very government that is meant to represent us...So much to digest. We need more superheroes in the world to make it a better place. That's the only thing I can suggest. Anybody have any better ideas?
All these documents strive to improve the world, prevent wrongs, empower people, and yet they all give me a strong sense of what I shouldn't do, or can't do, not necessarily a sense of hope. In fact, and Jon you may be right, what is the point of all of these documents. What power do they have, and what power do the institutions that back them have? Many of these documents were drafted, ratified and signed in response to and following major global abuses of rights and freedoms. However, major global abuses of rights and freedoms followed the creation of many of these documents. So what good to they do. Women still continue to receive clitorectomies, children are still trafficked like chattel, apartheid in South Africa existed until 1994, the worlds largest democracy still maintains and accepts a caste system, and here in Canada girls as young as 14 and 16 can be married to a man five or six times their age. What good at all are these rights and freedoms if abuses like those mentioned above are allowed to continue and seem almost acceptable to many governing bodies? Don't get me wrong I love the United Nations, the ideals we espouse in our charters, declarations and bills, but I am losing faith and hope in them. I don't really have a better alternative yet, and that doesn't help anything. But like Sara said last class. So many things are missing from these documents, and I think steps to have them be more inclusive, less exclusive and static would make them more effective. Giving power to remove rights to the government makes me fearful...Especially since we don't have the right to bear arms to protect ourselves from the very government that is meant to represent us...So much to digest. We need more superheroes in the world to make it a better place. That's the only thing I can suggest. Anybody have any better ideas?
Monday, 12 September 2011
me!
Hi everyone,
So I'm Jen Gebert, or Jenny too. This is my last semester of my Latin American Studies major...phewf. I love this major, and am so glad it exists. I've spent some time in Mexico, have a Mexican husband, and a half-mexican daughter. She already says "gracias." :) Any news related to Latin America seems to grab my attention, but I am most interested in gender issues, things to do with the borderlands of Mexico and the United states, and how we are all implicated in global issues and ideas. From previous classes, issues of human and civil rights have always been a source of contention, debate and interest in Latin America, and I'd like to learn a bit more about them in relation to that area.
So I'm Jen Gebert, or Jenny too. This is my last semester of my Latin American Studies major...phewf. I love this major, and am so glad it exists. I've spent some time in Mexico, have a Mexican husband, and a half-mexican daughter. She already says "gracias." :) Any news related to Latin America seems to grab my attention, but I am most interested in gender issues, things to do with the borderlands of Mexico and the United states, and how we are all implicated in global issues and ideas. From previous classes, issues of human and civil rights have always been a source of contention, debate and interest in Latin America, and I'd like to learn a bit more about them in relation to that area.
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