Joel Lopes Da Silva on the Web!

Global consensus on cooling the planet looks maddeningly elusive—but individual states and regional blocks may be stepping into the breach

IMAGINE that some huge rocky projectile, big enough to destroy most forms of life, was hurtling towards the earth, and it seemed that deep international co-operation offered the only hope of deflecting the lethal object. Presumably, the nations of the world would set aside all jealousies and ideological hangups, knowing that failure to act together meant doom for all.

At least in theory, most of the world’s governments now accept that climate change, if left unchecked, could become the equivalent of a deadly asteroid. But to judge by the latest, tortuous moves in climate-change diplomacy—at a two-week gathering in western Poland, which ended on December 13th—there is little sign of any mind-concentrating effect. ...

They have nothing to lose but their web cameras

EVERY scholar of 20th-century history can tell you about the Communist International—usually called Comintern, and strictly speaking the third in a series of four global fraternities whose aim was to pursue the class struggle all over the world.

Is it possible to imagine an Anarchist International, a trans-national version of the inchoate but impassioned demonstrations that have ravaged Greece this month? (Perhaps because it is easier to say what Greece’s malcontents are against than what they are for, the word “anarchist” is an accepted catch-all term for the anti-establishment rebels who form the hard core of the Athenian protesters.) ...

America won’t sign a treaty banning cluster bombs. But can it use them now?

IMAGINE a new war involving NATO. At the combined air-operations centre, the Americans want to destroy a concentration of enemy forces, or a column of vehicles, with cluster bombs, which rain bomblets over a wide area. The tactic has often been used in American-led operations, including those in Afghanistan and Iraq.

This time, though, several European allies have signed a treaty banning the use of cluster bombs; they have vowed not to “assist” others in using cluster munitions and pledged to make their “best efforts to discourage” their use. What would happen in the heat of battle? Would allied commanders bicker over the legality of the weapons; would Europeans turn a blind eye to their use by America (through a separate American chain of command), accepting the political opprobrium that would follow; or would America yield to its allies’ qualms and choose a different weapon, perhaps a big bomb? ...

Instead of being carted off to The Hague, could Sudan’s president be tried at home?

EVER since July, when the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague sought the indictment of the Sudanese president, Omar al-Bashir, on charges of genocide and war crimes, foreign diplomats, regional leaders and many Sudanese, including much of the political opposition, have been scrambling for a way out of a seemingly impossible dilemma. Most support the idea of prosecuting Mr Bashir and others for the carnage they are alleged to have inflicted on Sudan’s western province of Darfur. But they also dread what could happen in Sudan as a result of the indictment of a serving president by an international court.

A vindictive Mr Bashir could stymie the national elections planned for next year, end a very fragile peace process in Darfur, expel UN troops from the region or retard the already slow implementation of a peace agreement between his government and the former rebels in south Sudan. He could do one of these things or all of them together. Surely there must be some better mechanism, many argue, for holding those responsible for the atrocities in Darfur to account without reversing some of the hard-fought and precarious political and humanitarian gains of the past few years? ...

A nice simple way of seeing how youngsters are doing

WHICH countries are healthiest and happiest for children (and hence for their parents too)? Very broadly, economically successful nations are better for the young than poor ones, but the correlation is imprecise. Plenty of countries have enough revenue from oil or minerals to make their balance of payments look good—and youngsters who do not get enough food or schooling.

So researchers from Save the Children UK, the British arm of an international charity, set out to find a simple way of measuring child welfare. They took three basic indicators: the mortality rate among under-fives; the percentage of under-fives who are moderately or badly underweight; and the proportion of primary-school-age children who are not enrolled in school. They also compared three periods: the years 1990-94; 1995-99; and 2000-2006. ...

Home to the auto industry—and American Islam

THE gym at Bridge Academy is full of children playing floor hockey. Boys and girls squeal as they chase the puck; a helpless teacher looks on. A homely American scene, except that most girls wear the hijab. This is Hamtramck, a town within the borders of Detroit, where the Muslim factor plays big in local politics.

In America as a whole, the fate of Muslims differs confusingly from the situation in Europe. American Muslims are in many ways better integrated and more successful. The constitutional right to freedom of religion protects their right to build mosques. But many report a recent rise in anti-Muslim prejudice, especially in parts of America where Islam is a little-known “other”. Greater Detroit is different; Islam is a formidable force in public affairs. Michigan’s first Muslim state legislator served in the 1960s. The first female Muslim legislator was elected last month. In Hamtramck, two out of six councillors are Muslim. ...

For many European municipalities and a few American ones (see article) accommodating Islam is a big dilemma—but not an insoluble one

IN CITIES all over Europe, mayors are fretting about the coming religious festivities. No, not just Christmas lights. They want to ensure hygiene and order in the slaughter of sheep for the feast of Eid al-Adha on December 8th. This remembers the readiness of Abraham—the patriarch revered by all three monotheistic faiths—to sacrifice his son. Muslims often sacrifice a lamb, whose meat is shared with family members and the poor.

In the Brussels suburb of Molenbeek, where the dominant culture is that of Morocco, a circular from the district authorities reminds residents not to kill animals at home. It invites them to a “temporary abattoir” that will function for 48 hours in a council garage. Molenbeek is one of four areas of Brussels which have set up makeshift slaughterhouses, each with a capacity of at least 500 sheep. In practice, home killing is hard to stop, despite vows by the city authorities to prosecute offenders. ...

Tobacco firms want the right to participate in global efforts to limit the lethal consequences of nicotine addiction—but 160 governments say no

SOME people would say it was tantamount to foxes asking to be consulted about the welfare of chickens. But the global tobacco industry, while no longer denying that its products do terrible damage, has long insisted that in any discussion about how to limit the medical effects of the weed, it is a legitimate partner.

That claim was emphatically rejected by health officials from 160 countries after a week’s deliberation in South Africa which concluded on November 22nd. In a statement that grew steadily tougher in the course of the meeting—to the dismay of cigarette firms and the delight of their adversaries—it was proclaimed that there is a “fundamental and irreconcilable conflict” between the interests of the tobacco industry and the cause of public health. ...

Preparations for a new global discussion on race start to go wobbly

THE United Nations has high hopes of combating racial intolerance, and the violence it causes, with giant talkfests. One such gathering—a World Conference against Racism—took place in Durban in 2001. Preparations for a follow-up, to be held in Geneva next April, are in trouble. Two countries, Israel and Canada, have left the process; several others (all in the West) are threatening to do so unless the new meeting avoids the anti-Israel excesses which in their view marred the first one.

“Had we thought there could be some real value to this conference, we would not have walked out,” said Aharon Leshno-Yaar, Israel’s envoy in Geneva. “Israel must be in the forefront of any combat against racism. But the whole process has been hijacked by a group of radical countries wanting to shield themselves against criticism by heaping blame on the West.” Israel feared a repeat of the “hatred and extremism” that marked the 2001 meeting. ...

New ways of sharing data and rallying support are a boon for eco-warriors

THINK of spectacular popular protests, of the kind that make clever use of technology to mobilise support, flummox the authorities and disseminate facts and images. In many countries, that sort of approach has been well used by political opposition movements, bent on overturning regimes or reversing electoral fraud.

But more recently, both lone dissidents and bigger campaigns have been employing the latest “people power” techniques in a different way: challenging bad environmental decisions, especially the sort that result from corrupt or non-existent governance. Eco-protest may lead, in time, to political change, but the focus is narrower. ...