Thursday, June 5, 2008

Top 10 Activist Groups:



If it weren’t for concerned, motivated and active groups of people taking a stand and taking action all the gains in human, environmental, and animal rights would not have been made. As Margaret Mead famously said;

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

So here is a compilation of 10 of the best activist organizations from around the globe in no particular order.

1. (IFAT) International Fair Trade Association

www.ifat.org

The stated mission of IFAT is to improve the livelihoods and well being of disadvantaged producers by linking and promoting Fair Trade Organizations, and speaking out for greater justice in world trade.

IFAT highlights fair trading practices and shows how a successful business can also put people first. They are actively engaged in dialogues with political decision makers on making international trade fairer and mainstream businesses more aware of their social responsibility.

Those businesses contributing to sustainable development can be recognised by the FTO Mark.

2. (PETA) People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

www.peta.org

PETA, founded in 1980, is an international non-profit charitable organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, with affiliates in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, India, and the Asia-Pacific Region. With more than 1.8 million members and supporters, it is the largest animal rights organization in the world.

PETA is dedicated to defending the rights of animals by focusing its attention on the four areas in which the largest numbers of animals suffer the most: on factory farms, in laboratories, in the clothing trade, and in the entertainment industry.

Through investigative work, congressional involvement, consumer boycotts, and international media coverage, PETA operate under the ethos that animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, or use for entertainment.

3. Greenpeace

www.greenpeace.org

“Greenpeace exists because this fragile Earth deserves a voice. It needs solutions. It needs change. It needs action.”

Greenpeace has been campaigning against environmental degradation since 1971 and is an independent organization present in 40 countries across Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific whose core mission is to change attitudes and seeks solutions to protect and conserve the environment.

To maintain its independence, Greenpeace does not accept donations from governments or corporations but relies on contributions from individual supporters and foundation grants.

4. (NOW) National Organization for Women

www.now.org

Founded in 1966, NOW is the largest organization of feminist activists in the United States, with over 500,000 contributing members.

The goal of the organization is to campaign for equality and justice for all women in areas such as reproductive rights, workplace discrimination and harassment, violence against women, homophobia, racism and all other forms of discrimination against women.

5. American Atheists

www.atheists.org

Founded in 1963, by Madalyn Murray O'Hair, American Atheists has been the premier organization dedicated to the civil liberties of Atheists, and the total, absolute separation of church and state.

The organization defends the rights of intellectuals such as writer Salman Rushdie, protests the use of government funds to support public religious displays, publishes books about Atheism and preserves Atheist literature and history in the nation's largest archive of its kind.

6. Adbusters

www.adbusters.org

Adbusters describes itself as “…a global network of artists, activists, writers, pranksters, students, educators and entrepreneurs who want to advance the new social activist movement of the information age. Our aim is to topple existing power structures and forge a major shift in the way we will live in the 21st century.”

Founded in 1989 and based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Adbusters is a not-for-profit, reader-supported, 120,000-circulation magazine and culture jamming movement. Culture jamming is a form of non-violent protest, public activism and a resistance to commercialism, using guerrilla communication to subvert mass media.

7. (SSCS) Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

www.seashepherd.org

SSCS was established in 1977 in Vancouver BC, Canada, whose mission is to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world’s oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species.

It is an international non-profit, marine wildlife conservation organization with members who call themselves eco-pirates. Their direct-action methods are used to expose and confront illegal activities on the high seas to safeguard the ocean biodiversity.


8. (AWID) Association for Women’s Rights in Development

www.awid.org

AWID was founded in 1982 and is an international membership organization connecting, informing and mobilizing people and organizations committed to achieving gender equality, sustainable development and women's human rights.

In an attempt to improve the lives of women AWID facilitates debates and builds the capacities of organizations working for women’s empowerment and social justice. They aim to cause policy, institutional and individual change.

9. (HRC) Human Rights Campaign

www.hrc.org

Founded in 1980, by Steve Endean, HRC is the largest national gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, representing more than 700,000 members and supporters nationwide. As the largest national gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, HRC works to create a fair environment for the glbt community where people are ensured of their basic equal rights, and can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community.

10. (WWF) World Wide Fund for Nature

wwf.org

Founded in 1961, WWF is one of the largest environmental organizations in the world. Their mission statement is:
To stop the degradation of the planet's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by:
· conserving the world's biological diversity
· ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable
· promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Are faith based schools divisive, discriminatory and dangerous?


A generous funding arrangement both state and federal, implemented under the Howard government in Australia has seen a growth in independent faith based schools, a rise that is nothing short of revolutionary.

However it is not exemplary academic records that are luring parents to enrol, it is strong religious values and low fees that are the key draw cards. But are these schools beneficial to society as a whole or are they serving a small minority whilst eroding social cohesion, and are the rest of us paying for it?

The devout claim that parents have a right to have their children educated in a manner that integrates their faith and spiritual development. Whilst I respect the right and freedom of belief and the right and freedom of education it has never been the responsibility of publicly funded schools to instil religious faith and nor should it ever be. What you teach your children in your home is your business. Australia is a secular society and as such public funds should support secular education. Surely the responsibility of publicly funded schools is to do what they do best – improve teaching and learning for all students.

Because religious schools tend to draw students from singular ethnic communities almost entirely, they are in fact contributing to religious-racial segregation. This is not good preparation for life in a wider multi-cultural society. It enhances social exclusion, fragmentation and disrupts social cohesion.

In addition to funding from a secular-based taxation system for faith-based schools that fragment communities, the curriculum in these schools is also under scrutinised. What are students being taught and who are the educators employed to teach them?

Independent schools have been granted exemption from the state curriculum. Under Victorian law, it is not compulsory for private schools to teach evolution, though it is recommended and asks schools to teach it and explain the link between natural selection and evolution. However, as it is not compulsory for independent schools to teach this, it is widely accepted that creationism is taught in science classes.

The Accelerated Christian Education (or ACE) curriculum shows that in a primary school science class a statement such as: "God made many kinds of fish. He made them on day five.” is commonplace, with a comprehension test going along with the statement asking the children on which day God made fish.

Often evolution is not taught until senior high school years. It is obvious that the delay creates an illusion of choice of belief on behalf of the individual when in almost every instance children’s beliefs are long formed by this age. This has serious implications for further study. Increasing numbers of students are entering tertiary biology classes with creationist viewpoints that are irreconcilable.

One alternative to creationism and evolution that has also crept into the teachings at independent schools is Intelligent Design. This is also taught in science class. It boggles the mind. Intelligent Design is not based on facts and does not use any scientific reasoning. Intelligent Design is creationism relabelled. It has no place in a science classroom.

The scientific method is a set of techniques for the investigation and acquisition of new knowledge of the natural world. Therefore to qualify, a scientific a theory must be:

Consistent
Parsimonious
Useful (describes and explains observed phenomena, and can be used predictively)
Empirically testable and falsifiable
Based on multiple observations, often in the form of controlled, repeated experiments
Correctable and dynamic (modified in the light of observations that do not support it)
Progressive (refines previous theories)
Provisional or tentative (is open to experimental checking, and does not assert certainty)

Intelligent Design is at best anti-science and at worst blatant scientific fraud. Creationism in any form is just bad science. If religion and its theory of creationism has a place then surely it is in religious and philosophy classes, the home and in church, but never in a science class.

Moving on from unethical science education lets explore what is being taught in regards to sex education and homosexuality. What is being taught, and its broader effect on society, has been largely ignored. Government schools should be and are expected to deal with issues of safe sex, same-sex attraction, sexual harassment, homophobia and discrimination.

In direct conflict with government efforts to provide valuable and appropriate sex education to students, abstinence is instilled. Accompanied by a discriminatory assertion that sexual attraction should be expressed within the context of a monogamous, heterosexual marriage.

How is disparity in teaching even possible? Independent faith based schools are exempt from anti-discrimination laws. The exemption includes laws governing anti-discrimination pertaining to gender, religion and sexual orientation. So in addition to scientific fraud and an irresponsible sex education devoid of anything useful these schools can pay women less than men for doing the same teaching duties, expel homosexual students, sack teachers found to have different religious beliefs or those admitting to be homosexual themselves.

This at first glance appears undemocratic and on further investigation downright illegal. With increasing numbers of students being taught at these schools it will only take a generation for the equality gained by women, lesbians and homosexual men to unravel. This poses a serious threat to society as a whole.

Education must be a place where ideas are explored. Not where belief systems are indoctrinated. How will these students cope at university, in the job market and wider social environments where they will face, often for the first time, pluralism in religion, culture, ethnicity and sexual preference?

Our environment is at crisis point. Oil is running out. Drought is devastating agriculture. More and more people are starving in the world. The next few decades are crucial. We need critically thinking children who use evidence based reasoning to solve these problems, not faith based decisions. To suggest as some faith based schools do, that pollution is an effect of sin will do little to counteract it and its effect on our environment and health. What it will do is reinforce prejudice and intolerance.

Stephen O’Doherty, CEO Christian Schools Australia claims “Addressing inequality is about looking to the needs of the whole child and their social context. This commitment goes to the core mission of Christian schooling.”

This directly contradicts the anti-science teachings, discriminatory practices and irresponsible sex education. It is clear that the autonomy of children choosing their own beliefs and values is neither encouraged nor respected.

Independent faith based schools conflict with secular state education. A secular society and education offers children the opportunity to engage with people from diverse backgrounds where barriers to social inclusion are removed. An individual’s religious, cultural, and socio-economic circumstance does not limit their interaction. This has wider implications not just for the individual but also for society and the world as a whole.