Global Justice Oxford

Campaigning for justice for the world's poor in Oxfordshire

Meet the miners

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Have you ever heard of BHP Billiton? It’s the world’s biggest mining company, it’s the third largest company in the world, and it’s currently wreaking havoc in Colombia. WDM thinks it’s time to give a voice to the people affected by the actions of this huge corporation. So we’re working with London Mining Network (LMN) and other UK allies to organise events where Colombian residents affected by the Cerrejon coal mine can tell their story.

First up: a demonstration outside the BHP Billiton AGM on Thursday 23rd October. That will be in London. More relevant for Oxford people: there will be a meeting on Monday 3rd November where we will hear from one or more people affected by the Cerrejon coal mine, part-owned by BHP Billiton. This meeting will probably be introduced and chaired by someone from Oxford WDM. More details to follow!

 

 

 

One World Fair

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Oxford WDM will have a stall at this year’s One World Fair. We’ll be asking people to sign cards protesting against the seriously dodgy TTIP treaty and we’ll also have some materials about the corporate carve-up of Africa (which may or may not include cake). The One World Fair is usually a lovely event and a chance to get started on your (dare we say the word?) Christmas shopping. If you’re there, please do come along, say hello and perhaps sign a postcard.

One tiny thing you can do to stop TTIP

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At our July meeting, group treasurer Tina Everett gave a talk explaining in just five minutes why we need to fight TTIP. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is a deal being negotiated between the United States and the European Union. Sounds like business as usual – but this business is being conducted behind closed doors, so secretively that many people are only just hearing about TTIP, despite the fact that negotiations began in July 2013.

Perhaps the most scary part of the proposed deal is the Investor-to-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS). In plain English, that means that corporations will have the right to sue governments for acting against corporate interests. So when citizens’ interests and the interests of big business clash, governments will be afraid to stand up for their own citizens. For example, similar deals have been used to prevent governments bringing in plain cigarette packaging, because that’s good for public health but bad for the profits of the tobacco industry.

The good news is that people are waking up. The European consultation on TTIP got a record number of responses, despite barely being reported in the media anywhere. And there was a national day of action in July. Oxford WDM has been in touch with our political representatives in both the UK Parliament and the European Parliament and we’ve had some encouraging responses to our concerns.

Right now, there’s one tiny thing you can do to help stop TTIP: sign the 38 Degrees petition to Business Secretary Vince Cable. It should take just a few seconds, but it will help to show the depth of feeling against this terrible trade deal.

Naomi Klein book launch

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Bestselling author Naomi Klein will be speaking at the Sheldonian on Wednesday 8th October to launch her new book, This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs.The Climate. In the book she argues that climate change isn’t just another issue – it’s an alarm that should be alerting us to fundamentally broken aspects of our system. Tickets are £15 (£13 concessions). If you’re attending the talk you can also pre-order your copy of the book at a discounted price.

The Oxford event is from 7pm-9pm and is organised by COIN. Some members of Oxford WDM are making informal plans to attend the event together and perhaps go for drinks afterwards. If you would like to join us, please contact oxfordwdm@gmail.com.

Edit: Naomi Klein recently wrote a Guardian article explaining what inspired the book.

Come to our October meeting

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Join the group at Oxford Town Hall for our regular monthly meeting. We’ll be getting an update on the latest national campaigns and discussing ideas for future events. Tuesday 14th October, 7:30pm. As ever, non-members are very welcome to come along and find out more about us – and we may head to the pub afterwards!

Name change for WDM

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Some people will already know that WDM has been talking for a while about a possible name change. The”development” part of World Development Movement now has connotations many people aren’t happy with, and all those jokes about “WMD” aren’t exactly helping matters either. Luckily, we can now report that the proposed name change will become a reality!

As of 2015, World Development Movement (WDM) will be renamed Global Justice Now. Following a new naming pattern for local groups around the country, Oxford WDM will be renamed Global Justice Oxford.

The decision was officially made at WDM’s Annual General Meeting on Saturday 13th September. Support for the change was very strong, with 321 delegates voting in favour, 22 against and 14 abstaining. There will be a relaunch event in February, but for now, it’s time to start getting used to the new name!