Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Relocating

My older sister just sent me a text to say that she has finally booked her ticket to Dubai as she is relocating! Who does these things? just ups and leaves everyone and everything to work and live in a different continent because you fancy a change . Honestly this is what happens when parents give their children too much freedom.

Its only finally starting to register that i will be losing my older sister! We have always been incredibly close although there is a 5 year gap, she has always looked after me emotionally and financially am sure over half of the things i actually own she has paid for at one time or the other. I don't need her financially anymore but how do i replace the emotional support, there is nothing quiet liking discussing something with an older sister for a different respective!

I am finally going to have my own bedroom since ifrah has gone to university and muna is relocating. I can't believe i ever thought having my own room would be great! Who will listen to my nightly pondering, its going to be just me, my lamp and a book how sad

Subhanallah this is already difficult and emotional its going to be like when ifrah (my younger sister) went to university but at least we knew she would return every other weekend. I am going to have to book a ticket to Dubai for Easter now just so that i KNOW when i will see her again. Why do siblings grow up and decided to make their own way in life

Friday, October 19, 2007

Boycott list (there you go AYA)



Here is a list of the worst of the bunch (from ethicalconsumer.org)


3 Mobile
for being on Free Burma UK's list of companies with investments in Burma. Contact Burma Campaign UK for a full list or ring 020 7324 4710


Aeroplanes
Aviation is the fastest-growing source of climate change causing greenhouse gas emissions.
Contact Flight Pledge Union or send an email


Adidas
for using kangaroo skin to make some types of football boots.
Contact Viva tel 0117 944 1000

Altria (previously Philip Morris)
for giving the fifth largest donations to the Republican party in the period 2002-2006
See Boycott Bush campaign
Ethical Consumer magazine (issue 108, September/October 2007) has also called for a boycoptt of Altria becuase it has funded groups which claim that global warming is a "myth" or “uneconomic” to address.

Asda and Wal-Mart
for being on Ethical Consumer's list of top donors to the Republican Party. See BoycottBush for more information.

Bacardi
for continuing to use its Cuban origins in its marketing despite being active in anti-Cuba lobby groups in the US.
Contact: Rock around the Blockade on 020 7837 1688
Buy instead: Rum buyers' guide available online to Ethiscore subscribers. The report can also be found in issue 87 of the magazine, price £3.50.

Barclays
CorporateWatch has called for a boycott of Barclays due to its financing of the Narmada Dam in India (and the Trans Thai-Malaysia gas pipeline). The Narmada dam (or rather a series of 30 large dams) would flood one of India's most productive agricultural regions and forcibly displace two million people.
Buy instead: Bank buyers' guide available online to Ethiscore subscribers.

Body Shop
Since L'Oreal (26% owned by Nestlé) bought out the Body Shop earlier in the year, campaigns have brought together concerns about animal testing, relations with the Majority World, human rights, discrimination in the UK and the environment.
Contact: Boycott Body Shop or 01452 539 916
Naturewatch (01242 252 871) have a long-standing boycott of L'Oreal due to animal testing, and have extended this to cover the Body Shop.

Botswana
for forcing the Gana and Bwi Bushmen out of their land in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve
Contact: Survival International on 020 7687 8700


British Heart Foundation
for conducting animal testing in order to find out about a human condition.
Buy instead: The boycott is called by PETA whose British Heartless Foundation website contains a list of health charities which do not test on animals.
Contact: PETA on 020 7357 9229

Burma
is ruled by one of the world's most brutal regimes and has used forced labour to prepare the country for tourism. Burma Campaign UK has a list of companies operating in Burma.
Contact: Burma Campaign UK, 28 Charles Square, London N1 6HT,
Tel: 020 7324 4710 or email


Bush and the Republican party
Take a look at our Boycott Bush site for the main corporate donors to the Republican party.
Buy instead: see the Brand List on the Boycott Bush website.

Canada
for the government-subsidised slaughter of nearly one million seals over the last three years. Campaigners are also calling for a boycott of Canadian fish and seafood, as exports to the UK earn five times more for Canada than the landed seal hunt in Newfoundland.
Contact: Respect for Animals www.boycott-canada.com 0115 952 5440
Humane Society of the USA www.hsus.org/ace/19076
International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) www.ifaw.org 020 7587 6700

Caterpillar
for selling bulldozers to Israel in full knowledge that they will be armoured and used to destroy Palestinian homes, infrastructure and agriculture in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. These abuses are detailed in War on Want's alternative company report on Caterpillar.
Contact: War on Want, Fenner Brockway House, 37-39 Great Guildford Street London SE1 OES
Tel: 0845 193 1952

ChevronTexaco
For dumping billions of gallons of toxic waste in the Ecuadorian Amazon and failing to clean it up.
Contact: www.chevrontoxico.com


China
for its continued human rights abuses and for its occupation of Tibet
Contact: Boycottmadeinchina, email usa@boycottmadeinchina.org

Coca-Cola
for its repression of trade union activity in Colombia and its depletion of groundwater resources in India.
Contact: Colombia Solidarity Campaign, UK arm of campaign on 07743 743041 or email.
Websites: Colombia's Food and Drink Workers' Union SinalTrainal, who called the boycott on 22nd July 2003, Killer Coke, and Coke Watch
In India, Coca Cola has caused severe water shortages, polluted groundwater and soil around its bottling plant, distributed its toxic waste as "fertiliser" to local farmers and sold drinks with extremely high levels of pesticides.
Website: India Resource Centre

Colgate-Palmolive
as part of a boycott of the products of companies which still test on animals. The focus of the boycott is the testing of household goods and their ingredients.
Website: BUAV on 0207 700 4888

Daewoo International Corporation
for involvement in the development of gas projects off the coast of Arakan State in Western Burma. Contact SCHWE Gas Movement


De Beers
for supporting the Botswanan government’s efforts to forcibly remove Bushmen from their ancestral lands to resettlement camps.
Contact Survival International on 020 7687 8700

Dolce & Gabbana
for using a chimpanzee in an advert.
Contact: Animal Defenders International on 020 8846 9777.

Donna Karan
to hold the clothing company accountable for sweatshop conditions in its suppliers' factories. The Ain't I A Woman campaign is sponsored by National Mobilisation Against Sweatshops and the Chinese Staff and Workers Association.

Esso
for doing more than any other company to sabotage international action on climate change, and for being a top donor to George W. Bush. Find out why you should Boycott Bush or contact Greenpeace at 020 7865 8100.
Website: www.stopesso.com

Gecko's Adventures
for being on Free Burma UK's list of companies offering tours to Burma. Contact Burma Campaign UK for a full list or ring 020 7324 4710


Iams (owned by Procter & Gamble)
for unnecessary animal testing. It is estimated Procter & Gambles is responsible for the deaths of 50,000 animals each year.
Contact: Uncaged Campaigns, 9 Bailey Lane, Sheffield S1 4EG tel: 0114 272 2220, info@uncaged.co.uk
See also Procter & Gamble.

Israel
following 'decades of refusal to abide by UN resolutions, International Humanitarian law and the Fourth Geneva Convention.' Click here to find out more about the boycott of Israeli products.
Film-makers, musicians, performers and academics have also added their voices, and are calling on their colleagues not to visit, exhibit or perform in Israel.
Websites: Boycott Israeli Goods or Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Box BM PSA, London WC1N 3XX tel: 020 7700 6192. See the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel and the British Committee for Universities of Palestine (BRICUP) for information on cultural boycotts. BRICUP can be contacted on 0207 712 1709 and info@bricup.org.uk

Japan
due to whale hunting for "scientific" reasons in a protected whale sactuary around Antartica. This year, Japan may also start hunting endangered humpback whales. See Boycott Japan for more information.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) on 020 7587 6708 is also campaigning for the conservation and protection of whales and co-ordinates letter writing campaigns to the Icelandic, Norwegion and Japanese governments.

Joseph Ltd
for selling coats and other products made from animal fur.for selling boots made from rabbit fur. Contact the Campaign Against the Fur Trade Tel: 0845 330 7955

Junckers
due to selling Indonesian merbau flooring despite confirming that it is of unknown source. Without guarantees of the wood's origin, it's likely that merbau wood flooring could have come from Indonesia's last remaining rainforests.
Contact Environmental Investigation Agency for more information or ring 020 7324 4710.

Kahrs
due to selling Indonesian merbau flooring despite confirming that it is of unknown source. Without guarantees of the wood's origin, it's likely that merbau wood flooring could have come from Indonesia's last remaining rainforests.
Contact Environmental Investigation Agency for more information or ring 020 7324 4710.

Kurt Geiger
for selling boots made from rabbit fur. Contact the Campaign Against the Fur Trade Tel: 0845 330 7955

Let's Go
for being on the Free Burma UK's list of companies publishing travel guide books with information on travel in Burma. Strong evidence exists that tourist facilities, roads and other constructino programmes in Burma have used forced labour and involved severe human rights abuses.
Contact Burma Campaign UK for a full list or ring 020 7324 4710.

Liberty Apparel
to hold the clothing company accountable for sweatshop conditions in its suppliers' factories. The Ain't I A Woman campaign is sponsored by National Mobilisation Against Sweatshops and the Chinese Staff and Workers Association.

Lonely Planet Guides
for being on the Free Burma UK's list of companies publishing travel guide books with information on travel in Burma. Strong evidence exists that tourist facilities, roads and other constructino programmes in Burma have used forced labour and involved severe human rights abuses.
Contact Burma Campaign UK for a full list (tel: 020 7324 4710)
or Tourism Concern on 020 7753 3330 or email info@tourismconcern.org.uk

L'Oreal
Naturewatch has a long-standing boycott of L'Oreal due to its continued use of animal testing for cosmetics. The French multinational uses ingredients that have been tested on animals, despite public statements to the contrary. It has also been criticised for lobbying against an EU ban on animal testing for cosmetics.
Contact: Naturewatch on 01242 252 871

Lucozade (owned by GlaxoSmithKline)
for being on Ethical Consumer's list of top donors to the Republican Party. See BoycottBush for more information.

MBNA
for being on Ethical Consumer's list of top donors to the Republican Party. See BoycottBush for more information.

Microsoft
for being on Ethical Consumer's list of top donors to the Republican Party. See BoycottBush for more information.

Nestlé
for its irresponsible marketing of baby milk formula which infringes the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes.
Contact: Baby Milk Action, 23 St Andrews St, Cambridge CB2 3AX, 01223 464420

Nouvelle recycled toilet paper
Boycott called by Ethical Consumer magazine, issue 108 (September/October 2007). Brand owners Koch Industries, also makes toilet tissue from virgin forests, was the main US importer of wood from Indonesia and came bottom in a recent World Wildlife Fund comparison of toilet tissue companies. It has also been part of a team advising George Bush on “conservative environmentalism,” or in short, deregulation. See toilet roll report in issue 107 for alternatives.

Pakistan International Airlines
The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) have launched a consumer boycott of PIA, acting on behalf of eight trade unions to pressurise the Pakistani government to stop the victimisation of aviation workers. For more information contact ITF +44(0)20 7940 9260.

Peugeot
for moving production from the UK to France and low-wage Slovakia. Contact Amicus and T&G unions for more information or ring 020 7611 2500

Procter and Gamble
for its continued use of animal testing for cosmetics, household products and pet food. Brands made by P&G include Always, Ariel, Bold, Camay, Clearasil, Crest, Daz, Dreft, Fairy, Flash, Head and Shoulders, Insignia, Milton, Napisan, Oil of Ulay, Old Spice, Pampers, Sinex, Tide, Viakal, Vidal Sassoon, Vortex and Zest.
Contact: BUAV, 16a Crane Grove, London N7 8LB (0207 700 4888)
and: Uncaged Campaigns, 9 Bailey Lane, Sheffield S1 4EG
tel: 0114 272 2220, info@uncaged.co.uk

Reckitt Benckiser
as part of a boycott of products of companies which still test household goods and their ingredients on animals.
Contact: BUAV on 0207 700 4888

Rolls-Royce
for being on Free Burma UK's list of companies with investments in Burma. Contact Burma Campaign UK for a full list or ring 020 7324 4710

SABMiller
Altria (formerly Philip Morris) has a substantial shareholding in SABMiller, which also owns Appletiser, Peroni Nastro Azzuro and Pilsner Urquell. See above for details of the Altria boycott
For alternative mainstream beer brands, Ethical Consumer magazine gives the best scores to Budvar (13.5) and Grolsch (12.5).

SC Johnson
as part of a boycott of products of companies which still test household goods and their ingredients on animals.
Contact: BUAV on 0207 700 4888

Shell
until the peoples of the Ogoni region in Nigeria receive a fair share of profits from oil extraction, and are able to live in better environmental conditions.
Contact: MOSOP-UK (Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People), Suite 3-4, Albion Place, Galena Rd, Hammersmith, London W6 0LT, 020 8563 8614


Starbucks
because for every cup of coffee that it sells, farmers in coffee-growing countries such as Ethiopia earn about 2p. It has also been accused by the Industrial Workers of the World union of 'retaliatory firing' of four union organisers in the US
Contact US Organic Consumer's Association for information on the campaign for fairer terms for Ethiopian coffee farmers. More information on how to support the union can be found on by visiting the National Lawyers Guild website or telephoning (001) 212 679 5100.

Singapore Airlines
in protest against threats of government repression during the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Annual Meeting. The Singapore Government had issued a warning that it was prepared to cane or imprison protestors who committed "violent crimes" during the meeting meetings, but Friends of the Earth International argued that it was very difficult to identify violent offenders in crowds.

Superdrug
for being on Free Burma UK's list of companies with investments in Burma. The connection is via Superdrug's parent company Cheung Kong Holdings.
Contact Burma Campaign UK for a full list or ring 020 7324 4710

Suzuki
for being on Free Burma UK's list of companies with investments in Burma.
Contact Burma Campaign UK for a full list or ring 020 7324 4710



Tarkett
due to refusing to provide evidence to prove the legal source of their merbau flooring. Without guarantees of the wood?s origin, it?s likely that merbau wood flooring could have come from Indonesia?s last remaining rainforests.
Contact Environmental Investigation Agency for more information or ring 020 7324 4710.

Tesco
due to its escalating use of Radio Frequency identification. The tiy computer chips embedded in products or packaging allow monitoring of items which consumers normally consider private, like clothing, wallets and backpacks. Contact CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering)
also due to the sale of live turtles, tortoises and frogs in their Chinese stores. China currently has no animal welfare laws. Contact Care for the Wild International Tel. 01306 627900


Unilever
as part of a boycott of the products of companies which still test on animals. The focus of the boycott is on the testing of household products and their ingredients.
Contact: BUAV on 0207 700 4888

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Going Green Ramadan and beyond


Now that we are at the end of Ramadan I have been looking for something that I can implement from now on. Allah loves that which is small but consistent we all know this but I am not sure I have been implementing it practically. Acts of worship are one things but Islam is comprehensive so I have decided a mix and match philosophy is needed! Something that is practical but inshallah has the sincere intentions of doing good, bettering the lives of others and generally making a stand against the things which I rage about but that I have not yet managed to do anything about.

Where is all this leading?.... well I walked into Shared Earth a fair trade shop in Manchester and I browsed brought a few things and in the process discovered a book entitled “do the right things!” a practical guide to ethical living. Finally I can do more then just have an emotional reaction to trade injustice or boycott an item or two. Now I can actually find out companies ethical or rather unethical labour polices and make a stand with my fellow “third worlders” ( how I loath that term)!!

So my after Ramadan resolution is to inshallah not only strive to worship my lord in acts of ibadah but to also make conscious choices about what I buy and to email and write to companies that immorally place profit over justice. The little Bleeeeps

As Benjamin Zephaniah puts it “The seas will rise, the rivers will flood, the air shall be heavy, darkness and famine shall be upon the land, and a man in a suit will genetically modify –if you let him.”

I am turning into a little hippie, person-centred counselling, fair-trade and ethical living now I need to move out of the city and grow my own vegetables as I live on a hill top (sounds rather appealing).