This week's featured articles:

TOP STORY: “Dressing homeless might look good” – Vivienne Westwood (The Big Issue in Scotland)
Staff Writer
The Big Issue in Scotland - Making headlines around the world, Vivienne Westwood’s recent menswear show in Milan shocked at least as many people as it delighted. Proving she can still be every bit as provocative as when she exploded onto the scene by spearheading punk alongside her then partner Malcolm McLaren, the veteran designer decided to “style it homeless”. Some models carried bedrolls, another emerged from a cardboard box and many had silver in their hair that was supposed to look “like they were sleeping rough and they’d got frost in their hair”. Granting a rare in-depth interview to The Big Issue in Scotland, Westwood defends her show. In the week when an Edinburgh hotelier attempted to have the streets cleared of beggars, Westwood insists she was trying to give homeless people importance. She also warns of an upcoming global apocalypse brought on by climate change and comes out against jeans. (1,557 words, English + pictures)

TOP STORY: Stories that save us (The Big Issue South Africa)
Paula Kingwill
The Big Issue South Africa - Bonfire is quite different from your average theatre group. Rather than acting out well-known plays, they opt instead to play back the real stories of real people’s lives. Paula Kingwill, a member of the company for four years, shares the story of Ernest Mudzara’s difficult upbringing, abandoned by his mother and brought up by his grandmother. The project is helping to provide a creative outlet and build a sense of community within the township of Masiphumelele, divided following the xenophobic attacks of May 2008. As the actors take to the stage, they say: “This is the story of a man who survives extraordinary difficulties. It’s a story about the discovery of self worth. A story of grace and inspiration.” (1,420 words, English + picture)

TOP STORY: Where Are Canada’s Role Models? (Victoria Street Newz, Canada)
Inge Bolin
Victoria Street Newz (Canada) – For many years, up to 350,000 baby seals were cruelly killed every spring in front of their desperate mothers in Canada, all in the name of making money. Thousands of pictures and videos show how these beautiful babies are clubbed or shot, then their skins are torn from their bodies while, according to veterinarians, at least 42 percent of these innocent animals are still alive. As a consequence, Canada’s public image has become tainted, as the rest of the world look on in horror at this vicious act. Inge Bolin of Victoria Street Newz reports on Canada’s feelings on the industry and the shocking reality of seal clubbing. (1,182 words, English + 2 pictures)

An interview with Terre di Mezzo’s Sabina Eleonori (Petali Rossi)
Eleonora Terrile
Petali Rossi - Sabina Eleonori is Italian street paper Terre di Mezzo’s Editore consultant and she is working in the Terre Eventi staff. In the past she collaborated on a lot of intercultural projects, such as “Intermundia” (Rome) and “Indies” (Inclusion and Diversity in Education), which is promoted by the British Council. Currently she is the manager of the cultural and educational projects of the sustainable economy annual fair Fa’ la Cosa Giusta! (Milan) and of a Terre di Mezzo “Workshop of creative writing for children”. (880 words, English, Italian)

Sabina Eleonori (Petali Rossi)
Eleonora Terrile
Petali Rossi - Sabina Eleonori è consulente presso Terre di Mezzo Editore, nello staff di Terre Eventi. Nel suo percorso professionale ha collaborato alla realizzazione di numerose iniziative e progetti nel campo dell’intercultura, fra cui “Intermundia” a Roma e il progetto internazionale INDIE (Inclusion and Diversity in Education) promosso dal British Council. Attualmente è responsabile del progetto culturale ed educativo dell’annuale fiera dell’ economia sostenibile/Fa’ la Cosa Giusta! (Milano) e curatrice del “Laboratorio di scrittura creativa per bambini”. (874 words, Italian, English)

The Unreality of Urban Plunges (The Contributer, USA)
Robert Funke
The Contributor (USA) – Voluntary homelessness has always been edgy and darkly chic—among those with the means to avoid it. When Robert Funke chose to be homeless, it wasn’t from listening to too many Sex Pistols albums, or from reading too much Kerouac. He participated in the Homeless Challenge as part of Washington D.C.’s Urban Plunge programme. Here, he shares his experience of life on the streets. (918 words, English)

Why we are marching on the streets (Augustin, Austria)
Dario Summer
Augustin (Austria) - You have to congratulate the makers of Morgen (Tomorrow), the weekly paper of the “Audimaxists”, as the occupants of the Audimax (central auditorium) of Vienna university call themselves, tongue firmly in cheek. Avoiding an academic, intellectual style of writing enables them to explain the objectives of the “sleeping bag revolution” to the non-student part of the general public. Just like Austrian street paper Augustin, Morgen isa second paper with the aim of “positive tabloid-journalism”. Dario Summer of the team behind Morgen speaks to Augustin about how the paper was set up and its possibilities after the end of student strike. (723 words, English and German)

Warum wir auf die Straße gehen (Augustin, Österreich)
Dario Summer
Augustin (Österreich) - Zum «Morgen», der Wochenzeitung der AudimaxistInnen, wie sich die BesetzerInnen des Audimax der Wiener Universität augenzwinkernd nennen, muss man den ZeitungsmacherInnen gratulieren. Der Verzicht auf akademisch-intellektuellen Schreibstil macht es möglich, das Anliegen der «Schlafsack-Revolution» auch der nichtstudentischen Bevölkerung zu erklären. Also neben der Straßenzeitung Augustin noch ein Blatt mit dem Anspruch, «positiven Boulevardjournalismus» zu betreiben. Wir baten Dario Summer vom «Morgen»-Team, über die Entstehungsgeschichte und über mögliche Perspektiven nach einem Ende des Unistreiks zu berichten. (607 wörten, Deutsch)

Single-payer advocate says keep the heat on those in power (Street Roots, USA)
Jay Thiemeyer
Street Roots (USA) - Peter Shapiro is a retired mail carrier, now deeply committed to universal access and single-payer health care for all US residents, including undocumented immigrants workers. He serves on the Portland Jobs with Justice Heath Care Committee, which has long endorsed John Conyers’ HR676 single payer legislation. Shapiro was among a group of demonstrators arrested Oct. 15 for gathering at Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield offices in Portland, Oregon, USA. Jay Thiemeyer speaks to him about his campaign. (925 words, English)

The ranger army (=Oslo, Norway)
Henrik Pryser Libell
=Oslo (Norway) - In Armenia, war veterans from the civil war have moved into a new line of work. They are now fighting for the forest. Armenian war veteran Ruben Mkrtchyan has gone from fighting for his country to protecting its wildlife, with funding from the World Wildlife Federation. Today he battles against illegal logging and hunting. “The poachers here hate me,” he says curtly. “They can be aggressive, but they are afraid of me. I once had to confiscate seventeen weapons in one day.” Henrik Pryser Libell reports for =Oslo. (1,151 words, English, Norwegian)

Skogvokterhæren (=Oslo, Norge)
Henrik Pryser Libell
=Oslo (Norge) - I Armenia har krigsveteraner fra borgerkrigen fått en ny jobb. Nå kjemper de for skogen. (968 words, Norwegian, English)

Deferring Portugal – a mistake we can’t keep making (Cais, Portugal)
Henrique Pinto
Cais (Portugal) - 2010! A year still to be written, no matter what wishes, predictions, prophesies, horoscopes or expectations each of us has. A year which will be, at the end, whatever letters such as these dare to tell on a fictitious white paper background. Portuguese street paper Cais’s Henrique Pinto looks at how Portugal can make the most if this New Year. (911 words, English + Portuguese)

Adiar Portugal - Um erro que não podemos continuar a cometer (Cais, Portugal)
Henrique Pinto
Cais (Portugal) - 2010! Um ano ainda por escrever, qualquer que sejam os desejos, os prognósticos, as profecias, os horóscopos ou as expectativas de cada um. Um ano que será, no final, o que letras como estas ousarem contar, sobre um fictício fundo branco de papel. (953 words, Portuguese + English)

The other side of ‘Aunt Tiwo’ (The Big Issue Malawi)
Davison Makhole
The Big Issue Malawi – The controversial story sent many minds in Malawi into a quandary, failing to figure out what two Blantyre-based men were up to when they went through the traditional Malawian engagement ceremony. Steven Monjeza Soko 26 and his partner Tiwonge Chimbalanga 20 were reported to have become engaged on Saturday 26, December, 2009 at a place called Mankhoma Lodge in Chileka. Gay marriage is illegal in the conservative southern African country, and the men were later arrested and charged with “gross indecency”. The Big Issue Malawi’s reporter Davison Makhole went to the lodge where Tiwonge was working to find out more about the man behind the headlines. (476 words, English + picture)

"St Nicholas is here!" (BISS, Germany)
Christine Auerbach
BISS (Germany) - As he goes from one house to the next, he doesn’t forget those who don’t have a house: homeless fellow human beings. The white beard is real as is the raucous laughter – Anton Weber just has to get changed quickly and he turns into St. Nicholas on the 6th of December. Then he walks again through the streets of Munich, Germany, and distributes apples and mandarins as well as nuts and sweets to homeless people. Christine Auerbach, from German street paper BISS, speaks to ‘Vicar Toni’ about his crusade to help the homeless community in Munich. (638 words, English, German + picture)

„Der Nikolaus ist da!“ (BISS, Deutchland)
Christine Auerbach
Der weiße Bart ist echt, das dröhnende Lachen auch – Anton Weber muss sich nur schnell die Kutte überziehen, und schon wird er am 6. Dezember zum Nikolaus. Dann geht er wieder durch Münchens Straßen und verteilt Äpfel und Mandarinen an die Obdachlosen, dazu Nüsse und Süßigkeiten. Schwer zu sagen, wem diese Touren mehr Spaß machen. Wenn Anton Weber jedenfalls von den Rundgängen erzählt und vormacht, wie ein Schlafender aus seinem Schlafsack sprang: „Der Nikolaus, der Nikolaus ist da!“, dann kann man dessen freudigen Schrecken auf halbem Weg zwischen Traum und Realität auf der Parkbank am Südfriedhof nur zu gut verstehen. (607 wörten, Deutsch + bilde)

In the Dog House (Megaphone, Canada)
Kevin Hollett
Megaphone (Canada) – When Megaphone’s Kevin Hollett moved to the Canadian city of Vancouver, he made sure to do his utmost when it came to locating a new apartment, checking every possible listing to find the right place, in the right part of town, at the right price. Not an impossible task, despite the fact that the city’s residential vacancy rate is 0.3 per cent. However, there was just one problem: he has a dog. The Canadian province of British Columbia makes renting rather difficult for pet owners. Here, Hollett reports on his experience, and calls for a change in the law in B.C. (966 words, English + picture)

“Please Cut Emissions and Help Us Adapt” (InDepth News)
InDepth News
Africa is profoundly vulnerable to climate change though the entire continent produces only four per cent of the global total carbon dioxide emissions, says Dr. Ramadjita Tabo, an eminent agronomist from the Chad and a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. In an interview with InDepth News correspondent Tatjana Baumann during a visit to Germany in January, Dr. Tabo -- who is Deputy Executive Director of FARA -- said that a continent which is hardly contributing to global warming should not be asked to take “more or less the same level of measures as the developed countries”. Following are excepts from the interview with Dr. Tabo, who is one of the lead authors of the chapter on Africa in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report published in 2007. (1,402 words, English)

Europe Encouraging Nuclear Energy ‘Renaissance’ (InDepth News)
Tatjana Baumann
Backed by energy-related corporations, the European Commission and individual European countries are backing nuclear power resurgence in Europe and beyond its borders. This is indicated by the launching of the European Nuclear Energy Leadership Academy (ENELA) and the signing of bilateral agreement between Spain and Jordan to cooperate in the field of the peaceful use of nuclear energy, including for power generation and water desalination. (1,528 words, English)

Vancouver in two minds about Winter Games (Reuters)
Allan Dowd
Vancouver, host of this month's Winter Olympics, prides itself on being one of the world's most liveable cities but residents seem unsure at times whether they really want the world on their doorstep. Though the Olympic buzz is building up for the February 12 start of the Games, surveys have shown that doubts about the wisdom of hosting the Olympics have been higher in Vancouver, on Canada's Pacific coast, than in the rest of the country. The Games have been at the centre of sometimes bitter political debates over issues such as free speech and spending public money on entertainment rather than social needs, such as the city’s problem with homelessness. Allan Dowd looks into the pros and cons of the location of this year’s Winter Olypmics. (826 words, English + picture)

South African President Zuma told 20th child harms safe sex drive (Reuters)
Peroshni Govender
South African opposition parties accused President Jacob Zuma on Monday of a cavalier attitude to safe sex that is hurting the HIV/AIDS campaign after news that a woman - not one of his wives - had had his 20th child. The main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, said Zuma, 68, was sending the wrong message to South Africans, among the world's worst sufferers from HIV/AIDS. At least 5.7 million South Africans are infected with HIV and AIDS kills an estimated 1,000 people a day. They argue that Zuma’s cavalier attitude towards procreation is counteracting the country’s safe sex drive. Peroshni Govender reports. (402 words, English + picture)

The History of Haiti is the History of Racism (Eduardo Galeano)
Eduardo Galeano
Esteemed Uruguayan journalist, writer and novelist Eduardo Galeano tackles the subject dominating the headlines at present – Haiti and its troubled past. Galeano looks into its history of racism and slavery within the poorest country in the Western hemisphere. (1,124 words, English, Portuguese)

A história do Haiti é a história do racismo (Eduardo Galeano)
Eduardo Galeano
A democracia haitiana nasceu há um instante. No seu breve tempo de vida, esta criatura faminta e doentia não recebeu senão bofetadas. Era uma recém-nascida, nos dias de festa de 1991, quando foi assassinada pela quartelada do general Raoul Cedras. Três anos mais tarde, ressuscitou. Depois de haver posto e retirado tantos ditadores militares, os Estados Unidos retiraram e puseram o presidente Jean-Bertrand Aristide, que havia sido o primeiro governante eleito por voto popular em toda a história do Haiti e que tivera a louca ideia de querer um país menos injusto. (1,116 words, English, Portuguese)

Street Kids Learn to Save in Times of Crisis (Inter Press Service)
Kara Santos
Since he dropped out of elementary school, 17-year old Cenen has been making a living for himself driving a borrowed motorised sidecar in the crowded streets of Binondo, a bustling business district in Manila, capital of the Philippines. The youngest of six kids, Cenen no longer lives with his parents. He has been financially independent for some time. He pays a "boundary" fee every day to the owner of the vehicle, pays for all his meals, and sets aside a portion of his earnings toward his goal of buying a motorcycle of his own. His friend JR, also 17, finished only second year of high school. He contributes some of his earnings to his parents while saving the rest. Both Cenen and JR, who declined to give their full names, are graduates of the non-profit organisation (NGO) Childhope’s financial education programme. It teaches children living on the streets the value of money and encourages them to save, an important safety net in times of hardship, says the NGO. They are just two of the hundreds of thousands of street children in the South-east Asian country trying to survive the economic crunch. Kara Santos reports from the Philippines. (1,464 words, English + picture)

Haiti: Displaced Women Face Double Jeopardy (Inter Press Service)
Marguerite A. Suozzi
Women's rights and development activists working in Haiti say that greater attention must be paid to the immediate needs of women and girls, as well as their role in the long-term reconstruction of the devastated country. Ninaj Raul, director of Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees (HWHR), an NGO based in Brooklyn, New York, is currently in Leogane, Haiti providing medical and nutritional aid for victims of the Jan. 12 earthquake at a grassroots level and trying to fill in the gaps larger organisations have failed to reach. Marguerite A. Suozzi reports. (810 words, English)

Early Diagnosis of HIV Still Elusive (Inter Press Service)
Evelyn Matsamura Kiapi
HIV-positive Justine Kirumira (not her real name) is a mother torn between doing what is right for her daughters and her own fear of HIV/AIDS. She suspects that her eight and 12-year-old daughters may also have the virus. But she may never know the truth of their status because she refuses have them tested. Kirumira is terrified to face the test results in case her daughters are HIV-positive. But hers is not an isolated case. Many parents in Uganda are still reluctant to test their children for HIV because of the fear and stigma that surrounds HIV/AIDS. This reluctance to test for HIV is a trend that is slowing down paediatric AIDS prevention, treatment and care efforts in the East African country, according to health organisations. Evelyn Matsamura Kiapi reports on this potentially life-threatening trend. (1,471 words, English)

Mit Brauchwasser Ernährung sichern – Stadt Bulawayo geht eigene Wege (IPS Europa)
Stephen Leahy
In Simbabwes zweitgrößter Stadt Bulawayo haben die Behörden ein Bewässerungsprojekt gestartet, das gleich mehrere Fliegen mit einer Klappe schlägt: den sparsamen Umgang mit der kostbaren Ressource Wasser, ein geregeltes Einkommen für die beteiligten Bauern und Ernährungssicherheit für die rund 700.000 Stadtbewohner (435 wörten, Deutsch + bilde)

EU der Biopiraterie bezichtigt – Globales Kontrollgremium angemahnt (IPS Europa)
Stephen Leahy
Umweltexperten haben den europäischen Industriestaaten vorgeworfen, seit Jahren die artenreichen Ökosysteme der armen Länder zu plündern. Um an preiswerte Nahrungsmittel, Rohstoffe und Arbeitskräfte zu kommen, schreckten sie nicht vor Biopiraterie zurück, hieß es auf einer Tagung in Paris. Angesichts dieser Missstände forderten die Teilnehmer die Schaffung eines internationalen Artenschutz-Gremiums nach dem Vorbild des Weltklimarats. (571 wörten, Deutsch)

Inklusive Hilfe für ausgeblutetes Land – Menschenrechtler mahnen (IPS Europa)
William Fisher
Nach dem verheerenden Erdbeben in Haiti fordern internationale Menschenrechtsgruppen, den Wiederaufbau des Landes inklusiv und fern aller Ideologien zu gestalten. Der karibische Inselstaat sei viel zu lange ein Spielball fremder Mächte gewesen und internationale Hilfe den Eliten zugeflossen. (529 wörten, Deutsch)

"Falta una voz más fuerte de la UE" (Inter Press Service)
David Cronin
La Unión Europea (UE) se muestra comprometida con la defensa de los derechos humanos, pero sacrifica sus principios cuando tiene en juego intereses económicos y geopolíticos, dijo a IPS el director ejecutivo de Human Rights Watch (HRW), Kenneth Roth. (1,521 palabras, español + fotografía)

Venta de armas a Taiwán agrava tensión (Inter Press Service)
Eli Clifton
Las relaciones comerciales entre Estados Unidos y China parecen pasar por su peor momento en los últimos años. Beijing públicamente amenazó con sanciones a las firmas estadounidenses que participen de un acuerdo sobre venta de armas a Taiwán. (667 palabras en español)

Las calles siguen calientes (Inter Press Service)
Humberto Márquez
Con la sorpresa como táctica, miles de estudiantes salieron a protestar en las principales ciudades de Venezuela desde que hace una semana desapareció la señal de la estación privada Radio Caracas Televisión (RCTV). (1,095 palabras en español)

 

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