tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41638762349691754462024-03-13T15:39:43.422+02:00Land and PeopleA source on food, farming and rural societyRami Zuraykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644937988631864952noreply@blogger.comBlogger3363125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4163876234969175446.post-58582710080396899942013-02-04T13:52:00.001+02:002013-02-04T13:52:08.753+02:00sajda part 5 and end سجدة الجزء الخامس و الأخير<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Rami Zuraykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644937988631864952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4163876234969175446.post-36594632862384290872013-01-31T15:02:00.005+02:002013-01-31T15:02:57.509+02:00Sajda part 4 سجدة الجزء الرابع<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wUa2VcUnF0Y/UQpq0WF3YWI/AAAAAAAABfc/l_itGgekJR8/s1600/sajda+pt4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wUa2VcUnF0Y/UQpq0WF3YWI/AAAAAAAABfc/l_itGgekJR8/s320/sajda+pt4.png" width="248" /></a></div>
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Rami Zuraykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644937988631864952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4163876234969175446.post-28858223363892973592013-01-31T14:48:00.000+02:002013-01-31T14:48:03.463+02:00Opaque<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: #eff1f1; color: #444444; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.390625px;">'The general problem of rapid resource depletion that occurs in the poor countries of the world is frequently a result of foreign exploitation and not because of a country’s growing population. The exploitation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s natural resources by shady means—“opaque deals to acquire prime mining assets”—organized through shell companies by British and Israeli capital is an example of what can happen." (Thanks Safia)</span><span style="background-color: #eff1f1; color: #444444; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.390625px;"> </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #eff1f1; line-height: 22.390625px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Lucida Grande, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://monthlyreview.org/2013/01/01/global-resource-depletion">http://monthlyreview.org/2013/01/01/global-resource-depletion</a></span></span></div>
Rami Zuraykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644937988631864952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4163876234969175446.post-7573990122800910192013-01-30T13:16:00.001+02:002013-01-30T13:16:12.864+02:00Sajda part 3 سجدة الجزء الثالث<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Rami Zuraykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644937988631864952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4163876234969175446.post-11373595837170481792013-01-28T15:25:00.000+02:002013-01-28T15:25:00.256+02:00The agrarian crisis <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<strong>'London :</strong> India has the largest number of smallholder farmers in the World, 600 million by some estimates. From this army of workers one impoverished desperate man, or indeed woman, with a noose of debt around their neck takes his or her own life on average every thirty minutes, A statistic barely comprehensible, representing the tidal wave of suicides that has swept through the farming community in the last 15 years.</div>
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The agrarian crisis of which farmer suicides are a tragic consequence is a mega calamity, <a href="" name="_GoBack">rooted in one fundamental cause,which P. Sainath </a>(i) <a href="http://www.countercurrents.org/peebles260113.htm#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="text-decoration: initial;"></a>,rural editor for The Hindu describes as ‘the drive towards corporate farming', predicated by the “predatory commercialization of the countryside”, that is forcing “the biggest displacement in Indian history”. Shocking and destructive it should be seen as part of a greater whole of interconnected issues facing India . Sainath makes this clear, “don't detach this crisis from the overall political, economic social direction of the country, he says.' (Thanks Martha)</div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="line-height: 28.796875px;"><a href="http://www.countercurrents.org/peebles260113.htm">http://www.countercurrents.org/peebles260113.htm</a></span></span></div>
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Rami Zuraykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644937988631864952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4163876234969175446.post-18361282712944854142013-01-28T15:15:00.001+02:002013-01-28T15:15:16.752+02:00sajda part 2 سجدة الجزء الثاني<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Rami Zuraykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644937988631864952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4163876234969175446.post-52575908459215664282013-01-28T14:07:00.000+02:002013-01-28T14:07:54.893+02:00Co-opting women in the "value chain": forget about power, the market will liberate you<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 14.703125px;">"One approach to enhancing women’s power, supported by Oxfam, is to position women ever more ‘strategically’ into the ‘value chain’ of globalized production, on the assumption that if only they had the opportunity to earn the equivalent of their male peers, they might earn an equivalence of power and influence. In so doing, a fundamentally flawed food system is being further ‘propagated’, in effect out-casting other food systems. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 14.703125px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 14.703125px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 14.703125px;">Women are generally solid about their pivotal role in securing daily food and water. But when they join global supply chains, women, like men, become complicit in a livelihood system that keeps the family in a state of permanent impoverishment." (Thanks Daniel)</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.703125px;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/86046">http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/86046</a></span></span></div>
Rami Zuraykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644937988631864952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4163876234969175446.post-30040045059643598962013-01-28T13:55:00.002+02:002013-01-28T13:55:54.804+02:00Obba Saida Style!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Rami Zuraykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644937988631864952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4163876234969175446.post-66924411646945637692013-01-25T12:39:00.000+02:002013-01-25T12:43:11.222+02:00Remember Maroun al Ras? Part 1 of Sajda my comic strip inspired by the March of Return قصة مسيرة العودة سجدة: الجزء الاول<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Rami Zuraykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644937988631864952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4163876234969175446.post-74440106521020780342013-01-25T12:32:00.002+02:002013-01-25T12:32:20.529+02:00What went wrong in Malawi? power again.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 14.703125px;">"Once again Malawi finds itself in a tight spot. A food crisis set off by erratic rains, rising food prices and economic hardships is slowly unfolding. For the first time in several years, the country’s ability to feed its citizens is at risk. Sadly and unexpectedly, Malawi has lost its hard-earned status as an agricultural success story — it used to produce enough maize for its people to eat and still provide a surplus to neighbours. Many are now wondering what went wrong and whether there could be lessons for other African countries." (Thanks Daniel)</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.703125px;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/85977">http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/85977</a></span></span></div>
Rami Zuraykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644937988631864952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4163876234969175446.post-80137590598533019192013-01-25T12:27:00.002+02:002013-01-25T12:27:36.741+02:00Guess who said that: the land monopolist renders no service to the community, contributes nothing to the general welfare<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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"In 1909 a dangerous subversive <a href="http://www.progress.org/banneker/chur.html" style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-collapse: collapse; color: #005689; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" title="">explained the issue thus</a>. "Roads are made, streets are made, services are improved, electric light turns night into day, water is brought from reservoirs a hundred miles off in the mountains – and all the while the landlord sits still. Every one of those improvements is effected by the labour and cost of other people and the taxpayers. To not one of those improvements does the land monopolist, as a land monopolist, contribute, and yet by every one of them the value of his land is enhanced. He renders no service to the community, he contributes nothing to the general welfare, he contributes nothing to the process from which his own enrichment is derived ... the unearned increment on the land is reaped by the land monopolist in exact proportion, not to the service, but to the disservice done."</div>
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Who was this firebrand? Winston Churchill. As Churchill, Adam Smith and many others have pointed out, those who own the land skim wealth from everyone else, without exertion or enterprise. They "levy a toll upon all other forms of wealth and every form of industry". A land value tax would recoup this toll." (Thanks Laila)</div>
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Monbiot excellent as ever</div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/21/i-agree-with-churchill-shirkers-tax">http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/21/i-agree-with-churchill-shirkers-tax</a></span></span></div>
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Rami Zuraykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644937988631864952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4163876234969175446.post-60549326139689424072013-01-25T12:23:00.003+02:002013-01-25T12:23:32.799+02:00Challenge power? not nearly enough. Fight it. <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: small;">To stop hunger, it's not enough to change policy; we must challenge power</span></h1>
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The If campaign has laudable aims, but real change will only come from tackling unfair trade and the financial sector's power</div>
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"<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Campaigning is a challenging business at the best of times. As campaigners, we need to be able to motivate the public to inspire political and personal action – this is true for everything from breast cancer awareness to action on climate change. And getting the message right is no small task. The If campaign emerges just a few years after Make Poverty History, a simplified message, which certainly inspired the public but failed to meet its objectives." (Thanks Anne)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2013/jan/24/hunger-change-policy-challenge-power">http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2013/jan/24/hunger-change-policy-challenge-power</a></span></span></div>
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Rami Zuraykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644937988631864952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4163876234969175446.post-26242627934843601922013-01-25T12:20:00.002+02:002013-01-25T12:20:28.480+02:00Back <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
After a looooong absence, I am blogging again. There is just too much stuff that needs to be disseminated. </div>
Rami Zuraykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644937988631864952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4163876234969175446.post-43980666125571255202012-08-25T11:25:00.003+03:002012-08-25T11:25:53.072+03:00حرب الغذاء <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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رامي زريق</div>
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تحتل الأزمة السورية الصدارة في الصحافة المحلية والعالمية. الجميع يتابع أعداد الضحايا والعمليات العسكرية والمقاتلين والمخطوفين. يتداولون الأرقام الصادرة عن ذلك المرصد أو تلك الدائرة الحكومية، ويمطروننا بوابل من المعلومات التي يصعب التأكد منها. ولكن، هناك بعض الأرقام التي قلّ ما نسمع بها، برغم أنها تنذر بكارثة عميقة. إليكم نموذجاً عنها، صادراً عن مسح قامت به أخيراً الأمم المتحدة. في سوريا، اليوم، مليون ونصف مليون مواطن في حاجة ملحّة إلى الإغاثة الغذائية العاجلة، يوجد أكثرهم في مناطق الصراع والتهجير، وقد يصعب الوصول إليهم. وهم، بشكل أساسي، سكان الأرياف والقرى النائية. ويضاف إلى ذلك العدد، مليون آخر هو أعداد المزارعين ومربي الماشية الذين تنقصهم المواد الأساسية لإتمام عمليات الزراعة وتربية الماشية هذا العام، الأمر الذي سيؤدي حتماً إلى تفاقم العجز الغذائي. وهنا، تقدر منظمة الفاو أن خسارة القطاع الزراعي السوري تقارب ملياري دولار، وأن هناك حاجة ملحة إلى ٣٨ مليون دولار لمساعدة المزارعين على غرس حقولهم، وإلا فسينهار القطاع ومعه الأمن الغذائي. أما برنامج الغذاء العالمي، الذي تبلغ موازنته في سوريا ١٠٣ ملايين دولار لهذا العام، فيعاني عجزاً يقدر بـ٦٢ مليون دولار. وما يفاقم المصيبة أن عدداً كبيراً من السوريين العاملين في لبنان عادوا إلى قراهم للاعتناء بعائلاتهم. وقد يبلغ هذا العدد ٧٠٪، كما في منطقة درعا مثلاً. يمثّل القطاع الزراعي العمود الفقري للأوطان، هذا ما فهمته الدول الغربية الغنية التي تدعم قطاعها بمليارات الدولارات. وهذا ما تعلمناه من العراق، حيث دمر الاحتلال قطاع الزراعة واستبدله ببرنامج «النفط مقابل الغذاء»، فعاد إنتاج الغذاء في العراق إلى ما قبل الثورة الصناعية. هناك اموال تتدفق على سوريا لشراء السلاح وتغذية الحرب. ولكن، هل من يهتم فعلاً <span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875);">بسوريا ويمنع زراعتها من الزوال؟</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);"><a href="http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/119741">http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/119741</a></span></div>
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Rami Zuraykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644937988631864952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4163876234969175446.post-71087511517778312692012-08-25T11:20:00.000+03:002012-08-25T11:20:09.974+03:00Just in case you were wondering what happened to abou el abed (written here abo labad)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/159426">http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/159426</a><div>
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Rami Zuraykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644937988631864952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4163876234969175446.post-13471704605671878912012-07-06T08:46:00.000+03:002012-07-06T08:46:17.339+03:00Announcing a new al-shabaka policy brief Farming Palestine for Freedom By Samer Abdelnour, Alaa Tartir, and Rami Zurayk<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #6d6e71; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 16px;">Announcing a new al-shabaka policy brief</span><br /><span style="color: #993333;">Farming Palestine for Freedom</span></h1>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">By Samer Abdelnour, Alaa Tartir, and Rami Zurayk</span><br style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;" /><div style="border-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'DejaVu Sans', sans-serif; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em; padding: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">
The impact of Israel’s occupation and colonization on Palestinian agriculture is well-known but little has been written about the effect of Palestinian Authority and donor policies. Guest author <a href="http://al-shabaka.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=59133793a39bb874611cff487&id=84848b65be&e=775d721da1" style="color: black;" target="_blank">Rami Zurayk</a> joins Al-Shabaka Policy Advisors <a href="http://al-shabaka.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=59133793a39bb874611cff487&id=f230273e2b&e=775d721da1" style="color: black;" target="_blank">Samer Abdelnour</a>and <a href="http://al-shabaka.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=59133793a39bb874611cff487&id=3412d07635&e=775d721da1" style="color: black;" target="_blank">Alaa Tartir</a> to assess the degradation of the sector and the ways to cultivate local livelihoods, reduce aid dependency, and exert the Palestinian right to the land, even under conditions of settler colonialism and prolonged occupation.<br /><br />For the full brief, read more or download by clicking the links below; for the executive summary, <a href="http://al-shabaka.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=59133793a39bb874611cff487&id=c19f8844f2&e=775d721da1" style="color: black;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #993333;">click here</span></a>.</div>
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<a href="http://al-shabaka.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=59133793a39bb874611cff487&id=2f519db05e&e=775d721da1" style="color: black;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #952c43;"><span style="color: #993333;">Read Online</span></span></a> | <a href="http://al-shabaka.us1.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=59133793a39bb874611cff487&id=7bd560a1a4&e=775d721da1" style="color: #952c43;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #993333;">Download PDF</span></a></div>
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<em>Al-Shabaka materials may be circulated with due attribution to <a href="http://al-shabaka.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=59133793a39bb874611cff487&id=8182b26428&e=775d721da1" style="color: black;" target="_blank">Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network</a>.</em></div>
</div>Rami Zuraykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644937988631864952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4163876234969175446.post-4749653948695182722012-06-23T13:46:00.001+03:002012-06-23T13:46:39.514+03:00جبل التحولات<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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جبل التحولات</h1>
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رامي زريق</div>
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دخلت الزراعة في جبل لبنان حالة الموت السريري. الأسباب كثيرة لهذا الواقع، ليس أقلها إهمال الدولة المزمن واعتناق سياسات اقتصادية تحفّز الاقتصاد الريعي وشريعة السوق وفتح الأبواب لاستيراد الغذاء بدلاً من إنتاجه. وبرغم أن جبل لبنان يتلقى كميات وافرة من الأمطار، ما يجعله خزان لبنان المائي، إلا أن البنى التحتية فيه لا تزال على حالتها البدائية، فهي لم تتطور فعلياً منذ أيام أخوت شاناي. وفي ما يخص الإنتاج الحيواني، وخصوصاً تربية الماعز، شهد هذا القطاع انحساراً أتى نتيجة صعوبة العمل وغياب المراقبة البيطرية وجميع أشكال المساعدة. هنا، يتحدث رعاة الماعز في الجبل عن انحسار الطلب على حليب الماعز ومشتقاته وعن التبدل في نمط الاستهلاك والانتقال من الغذاء المحلي إلى الأطعمة الجاهزة المستوردة، كلحم البقر وحليب «البودرة» والأجبان المعلبة. وقد أدت هذه العوامل إلى تغيير جهة استعمال الأراضي من الإنتاج إلى الريع، ومعها تحوّل الجبل بكامله إلى مساحة استثمار عقارية كامنة، ينتظر الجيل الجديد فرصة بيعها الذهبية لتدرّ عليه المال الوافر وتساعده على الانتقال للعيش في المدينة حيث توجد فرص العمل في قطاع الخدمات. وهذا الواقع سيسهم حتماً في تبدل طبيعة الأرض. على سبيل المثال، هناك كارثة حقيقية تصيب الأراضي الجبلية المدرّجة (المجللة) التي يعود بعضها إلى أكثر من 2000 سنة والتي بناها الفلاحون بأيديهم ليستصلحوا الأرض ويزرعوها. فها هي اليوم في حالة تدهور مبكية، وقد جرفتها الأمطار وحولتها إلى مساحات «سليخ» تنتظر أنياب الرفش الآلي ليحرثها مرة أخيرة ويزرع فيها فيلا أو مجمعاً سكنياً. وبين هذا وذاك، يتحسّر الجيل القديم على أيام العز، بينما يبحث الجيل الصاعد عن دواليب قديمة يعبّر فيها عن يأسه. يا له من زمن!</div>
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<a href="http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/95943">http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/95943</a>
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</div>Rami Zuraykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644937988631864952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4163876234969175446.post-46149402853690633782012-06-19T19:44:00.000+03:002012-06-19T19:44:08.713+03:00Monsanto may lose billions in GM soy royalties row<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://www.foodnavigator.com/Financial-Industry/Monsanto-may-lose-billions-in-GM-soy-royalties-row?utm_source=copyright&utm_medium=OnSite&utm_campaign=copyright" style="color: #2d578d; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; outline: none; position: static; text-decoration: none;">Monsanto may lose billions in GM soy royalties row</a></div>
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Monsanto faces the loss of billions of euros in revenues from its genetically-modified (GM) soy in Brazil after the country’s Supreme Court ruled that any decision reached in a local court case should apply nationally.</div>
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<a href="http://www.foodnavigator.com/Financial-Industry/Monsanto-may-lose-billions-in-GM-soy-royalties-row?utm_source=copyright&utm_medium=OnSite&utm_campaign=copyright" style="color: #2d578d; font-size: 11px; outline: none; position: static; text-decoration: none;">http://www.foodnavigator.com/Financial-Industry/Monsanto-may-lose-billions-in-GM-soy-royalties-row</a></div>
</div>Rami Zuraykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644937988631864952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4163876234969175446.post-2876058761903569222012-06-17T07:32:00.001+03:002012-06-17T07:32:56.496+03:00Lebanon: A Country of Changes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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My Al Akhbar article translated by dear Laila</div>
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Recently a number of graduate students of environmental studies at the American University of Beirut (AUB) carried out a study on changes in livelihoods in four rural areas in Mount Lebanon.</div>
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They studied the environmental, economic, and social transformations that accompany these changes.</div>
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The results confirmed what we already knew, but they did reveal some new and interesting issues.</div>
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The study showed that there was a great deal of symmetry in the dynamic of the changes despite the differences in the areas studied, which covered from the Koura area in the North to the Chouf just south of Beirut.</div>
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Read the rest here: </div>
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</div>Rami Zuraykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644937988631864952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4163876234969175446.post-31299257981110100642012-06-17T07:30:00.000+03:002012-06-17T07:30:34.727+03:00بلد التحولات<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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رامي زريق</div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.6em;">قام أخيراً عدد من طلاب الماجستير في علوم البيئة في الجامعة الأميركية في بيروت بدراسة تحوّلات سبل العيش في 4 مناطق ريفية في جبل لبنان، وما يرافقها من تغيرات بيئية واقتصادية واجتماعية. جاءت نتائج البحث لتؤكد ما كنا نعلمه بديهياً، مع كشفها عن بعض الأمور الجديدة والمثيرة للاهتمام. أما البديهيات في الدراسة، فقد أظهرت أن هناك تشابهاً كبيراً في ديناميكية التحولات على رغم الاختلاف بين المناطق المدروسة، التي امتدت من الكورة إلى الشوف. كما كان للحرب في لبنان حيّز في الدراسة، إذ بينت أن لها أثراً كبيراً على صعيدين: الأول أنها دفعت الأهالي إلى الهجرة الطوعية أو القسرية، الأمر الذي أدى إلى انهيار الاقتصاد الريفي التقليدي. والثاني أن الحرب قضت على العقد الاجتماعي بين المواطن والدولة، الذي لم يكن يوماً قوياً واستبدلته بشريعة غاب تخدم مصلحة القوي وتُسهم في نشر الفساد.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.6em;">من جهة أخرى، أضاءت الدراسة على التحولات في النظم الزراعية التقليدية، وخصوصاً الاختفاء شبه التام للزراعات الموسمية البعلية كالحبوب وانتشار الزراعات المروية، ما أسهم في انحسار المساحات المزروعة نتيجة محدودية توافر مياه الري. ومن جهة أخرى، أشارت الدراسة إلى تفكك البنية المدنية التقليدية للقرى والبلدات المدروسة، التي كانت مبنية على التجمع حول مرافق البلدة (الساحة ودار العبادة وعين المياه). وما تغير هو أن مساكن هذه البلدات تنتشر اليوم على الأراضي الزراعية السابقة، الأمر الذي أسهم في تحول طابع الأرض وأريافنا تالياً إلى امتداد للمدينة. ومن الأمور التي بقيت ثابتة عبر السنين عدم التكافؤ في ملكية الأرض؛ إذ لا يزال عدد صغير من الملاكين يسيطر على مساحات واسعة، بينما تتنافس عامة الشعب على ما بقي له من فتات. هكذا، يبدو أن مصالح الأثرياء في لبنان قادرة على الصمود أمام تحولات التاريخ.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.6em;">يا له من وطن!</span></div>
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</div>Rami Zuraykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644937988631864952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4163876234969175446.post-66971849559256890472012-06-13T13:01:00.004+03:002012-06-13T13:01:56.964+03:00Israel in Nato: predictable delights for the NATO Revolutionaries<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/hr4133/text" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.govtrack.us/<wbr></wbr>congress/bills/112/hr4133/text</a><u></u><u></u></div>
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Passe<span style="color: #1f497d;">d</span> by HoR now at Senate As well as other predictable delights it includes:<u></u><u></u></div>
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(10) Encourage an expanded role for Israel within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), including an enhanced presence at NATO headquarters and exercises.<u></u><u></u></div>
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Mike coined the "predictable delight" description. Thanks. </div>
</div>Rami Zuraykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644937988631864952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4163876234969175446.post-6654199160970416412012-06-13T12:58:00.004+03:002012-06-13T12:58:41.122+03:00Thurayya on cultural colonialism<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">"Why do some American exchange students, for example, speak to me in a way that is different than the way they speak to each other? My experiences as a Lebanese person in America and a Lebanese person in Lebanon in the company of Americans has led me to notice subtle indicators of internalized superiority: enunciated words, truncated sentences, condescending tones, the way they suddenly change their manner of speaking and disposition simply by turning to a fellow American."</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://thurayyatellsitlikeitis.blogspot.com/2012/06/how-west-has-won-seduced-by-english.html">http://thurayyatellsitlikeitis.blogspot.com/2012/06/how-west-has-won-seduced-by-english.html</a></span></span></div>Rami Zuraykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644937988631864952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4163876234969175446.post-43131603317466322702012-06-12T08:01:00.001+03:002012-06-12T08:01:20.243+03:00Greece's 'potato movement' grows in power - Features - Al Jazeera English<a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/06/2012611102126662269.html#.T9bNAPZmXI8.blogger">Greece's 'potato movement' grows in power - Features - Al Jazeera English</a><br />
(thanks robert)Rami Zuraykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644937988631864952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4163876234969175446.post-24226165946305011882012-06-12T07:57:00.001+03:002012-06-12T07:57:15.392+03:00Migrant workers slavery<a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/slaverya21stcenturyevil/2011/10/201110108583163675.html#.T9bL6RZ8JIo.blogger">Food chain slaves - Slavery: A 21st Century Evil - Al Jazeera English</a>Rami Zuraykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644937988631864952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4163876234969175446.post-88386878822810862392012-06-08T08:32:00.003+03:002012-06-08T08:32:56.751+03:00Devastated Yemen<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Dear Laila kindly provided a translation of my al akhbar article</div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Yemen is facing famine. It is very clear according to the figures published by the UN World Food Programme. They show that since 2009 Yemen has seen a doubling of the number of people suffering from food insecurity. International media outlets have been reporting the horrific news of vast numbers of children suffering from severe hunger. It is reported that 300,000 children’s lives are in danger because of hunger. In Al-Hodeida city alone, 30% of children suffer from hunger at rates which directly affect their physical and psychological development. According to the Oxfam representative, this rate is double the number the UN usually adopts to declare a state of crisis. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">So what is happening in Yemen? How did it transform in less than a century from one of the biggest producers of coffee in the world to a country suffering from famine and importing its food? How can an Arab country which produces and exports oil suffer from famine? </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It is the same story, from one country to the next and one continent to another. Yemen had produced its own food alongside coffee since the fifteenth century. With the development of export investment agriculture, coffee became the basis of Yemen’s economy. However, when the colonialists arrived at the beginning of the twentieth century, the technology of coffee production was transferred to African and Latin american countries. This led to competition which in turn led to the collapse of the coffee sector in Yemen within a few decades. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Slowly, Yemen lost its footing. It witnessed revolutions, civil wars and dictatorships from the days of the Imams until today, experiencing division, unity, dictatorship under Ali Abdullah Saleh, uprisings and America’s war with Al-Qaeda. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">But the agricultural sector fared equally during all these phases, it was completely neglected. This provided investment opportunities for a handful of investors close to the regime and to food importers. Groundwater was pumped gratuitously and water levels dropped. Then, in the last few years, drought came to crown the disaster already begun by the rulers and those who benefitted from them. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">So today we find Yemen fighting to release its revolution from the claws of America and its Arab servants, its children calling out for help. Are any Arabs going to answer their call?</span></div>
</div>Rami Zuraykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644937988631864952noreply@blogger.com0