incommunicado

Munene, Henry. "Why NGO Corruption in Africa is Unsettling." The New Times (24 Aug 20005).

The government of Kenya recently dissolved the NGO Council and replaced it with a caretaker committee that will, among other things, preside over elections within sixty days. The dissolution came hot on the heels of allegations of corruption within the ranks of Non-governmental organizations. Most unsettling were the claims that money from donors that was meant to go into helping HIV/Aids victims has over the years been plundered.

"Shantou govt cleans up e-waste sector." ChinaView/China Daily (24 Aug 2005).

BEIJING, Aug. 24 -- Lin Xiling still dismantles and processes electronic waste to make a living, but he no longer works from home. His business continues, but at a newly erected industrial park on the outskirts of the town of Guiyu.

But the middle-aged man and his fellow townspeople still suffer from the effects of environmental deterioration caused by the trade of dismantling and recycling electrical goods.

[via: commons Law ]

Monday, August 15, 2005
by: Mohamad Mova Al 'Afghani

One important matter contained within fatwas (edicts) recently issued
Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) is the judgment that Intellectual Property
(IP) violations are haram. This conclusion means that utilizing IP without a
right is a violation of God's prescribed law and thus a sinful thing to do

CEI's Gattuso is at it again, carefully pushing e-waste activism into the 'special-interest' corner. This is less about ecopolitics than about think-tanks claiming the high ground on the seemingly 'soft' issues of environmental policy, Soenke

Gattuso, Dana Joel. "Forum: Straight scoop on e-waste." Washington Times (21 Aug 2005).

Pastor, Manuel, Bill Gallegos and Michele Prichard. "Tainted 'justice' at the EPA." LA Times (18 August 2005).

Tainted 'justice' at the EPA: a proposed policy ignores pollution's effects on low-income and minority communities in deciding which areas need help.

THE ENVIRONMENTAL Protection Agency quietly released a draft plan in July on "environmental justice" — how to deal equitably with the effects of environmental problems on communities of people. But, in fact, the proposed policy ignores race and income — two main factors — in identifying areas that need help. The EPA instead takes a sort of "colorblind" approach. That might not be an issue if all communities were equally affected. But they are not.

Stiglitz, Joseph E. "Intellectual-property rights and wrongs." Daily Times (17 Aug 2005)

Last October, the General Assembly of the World Intellectual Property
Org-anization (WIPO) decided to consider what a development-oriented
intellectual property regime might look like. The move was little noticed,
but, in some ways, it was as important as the World Trade Organization’s

SVTC. "U.S. E-Waste Polluting Communities Abroad -
New Report Underscores Need for Legislative Solutions." (17 Aug 2005).

San Jose, CA -- A new report released today documents for the first time the extent of toxic contamination from obsolete computers, televisions, and other gadgets that have been shipped overseas by U.S. recyclers. This e-waste is a toxic threat to workers and the environment in communities in China and India. US experts on problems associated with toxic pollution are pointing to the research as further evidence of the need for state legislators to require manufactures to take responsibility for their products from “cradle-to-grave.”

Latif, A. "
">DEVELOPING COUNTRY COORDINATION IN INTERNATIONAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY STANDARD-SETTING." South Centre Working Papers #24 (2005)

This paper focuses on developing country co-ordination in international
intellectual property (IP) standard-setting. While international
rule-making on IP is becoming more complex and diversified, developing

Pelta-Heller, Zack. "E-Waste and iWoes." AlterNet (15 Aug 2005).

When Apple CEO Steve Jobs took the stage to deliver a candid commencement speech at Stanford this past June, a plane flew over the stadium with a banner that read: "Steve -- don't be a mini player -- recycle all e-waste."

This was the latest stunt by the Computer Take-Back Campaign (CTBC), an environmental crusade supported by activist groups who have criticized Apple for lagging behind the rest of the computer industry in its recycling efforts.

"E-waste treatment plant to debut in Beijing." China Daily (19 July 2005).

A treatment plant capable of handling 1.2 million disposed household electric appliances, will debut in Beijing later this year.

Supported by state-owned China Huaxing Group, the e-waste center has been located in Yizhuang, a major manufacturing base in the southeastern part of Beijing.