Real life examples of Subjugation - and how to help

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ANTIcarrot
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Real life examples of Subjugation - and how to help

Post by ANTIcarrot »

In one of Fel's most well known stories, aliens invade earth and treat humanity like garbage. They get away with it because the rest of the alien empire sits back and does nothing, ignoring all evidence of wrong doing. Until a long lost king comes along...

This kind of thing does not just happen in fiction.

Given this knowledge, we can either act like the Faey (and pretend to be blind deaf and dumb) or we can try and do something about it. Which should really the least we can do, after being entertained by the idea.

Please use this topic to draw attention to the various situations around the world where situations like Subjugation are horribly real (and the western world acts horribly like the Faey do in Fel's story) and charities or organisations that try to fight them. Please also remember that not everyone is American, and don't stop at 'write to your representative' links. Try to find others as well.

PLEASE DO NOT:
* Use the topic for endless "Me too!" statements
* Use the topic for expressions of sympathy
* Ignore the topic

Prior to this research, I did have a vague notion that various appalling situation in Africa and East Asia (female circumsision, etc) might have distracted the Imperium, as a justifacation for why the Marines fucked up so badly in their watchkeeper role, but after I started reading, the idea kinda left a bad taste in my mouth. Only added one so far. Will add more later, but right now I feel the need for mouthwash.
Last edited by ANTIcarrot on Sun Feb 07, 2010 3:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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ANTIcarrot
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Re: Real life examples of Subjugation - and how to help

Post by ANTIcarrot »

War in congo has killed 5.4 million - and is fueled in part by modern electronics.

Modern electronics like the computer I'm using the write, this, and the computer you're using to read it. And the mobile phone you use, and the tower it connects to... etc.

The problem here is Conflict Metals. Tin, Tungston, Tantalium, and Gold are all used by Colombian warlords to buy guns and help sustain their power. These rare metals are smuggled out of the country and taken to smelting plants in the south east and mixed in with the metals that come from everywhere else, and then sold on to major manufacturers via various middlemen. The only safeguard is when companies like Apple, Intel and Nokia ask the suppliers, "Do you promise on a stack of dollar bills that none of this metal comes from war zones?" The middlemen lie of course, and the manufacturers never bother to check.

http://www.raisehopeforcongo.org/ - Principle charity advancing this cause
http://www2.americanprogress.org/t/1659 ... n_KEY=6265 - Standard letter asking companies to improve their ethical sourcing
http://anadder.com/does-anybody-actually-give-a-shit - NSFW pictures and information
http://www2.americanprogress.org/t/1659 ... n_KEY=6281 - Congressional letter asking for support for legislation that could curtail this for all electronics companies trading in america (EG: all of them)
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Mad Monk
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Re: Real life examples of Subjugation - and how to help

Post by Mad Monk »

Are you looking for current examples, like Zimbabwe, Myanmar (Burma) or North Korea, or historic examples like the West African / American slave trade and its consequences, or possibly failed states, like Somalia and Haiti?

Or groups that export or support terrorism now or in the recent past, like ETA in Spain, Al Quaida, or NORAID in the USA?

Or groups like Oxfam, who are aid charities in famine areas, but refuse to provide condoms or family planning advice because of their religious background, so ensuring that there will be another famine along in a few more years? Or groups like Hamas, who actually do a great deal of charity work, like running hospitals and orphanages in the Muslim world, but are classed as a terrorist group. (Yes they are, but the West often forgets the charity aspect). To be honest, Hamas supporters tend to eliminate any competing charities.

If you look around, you can find a hell of a lot of misery in the world. :evil:

I put some money towards the Disasters Emergency Committee http://www.dec.org.uk/index.html sometimes, but tend to donate to local charities more.

One thing people can do, is travel. If tourists are visiting remote places, a lot of abuses are less likely to happen, because if they do, then there are witnesses. It certainly helped several tribes retain their dignity in Indonesia during the Suharto era.

Something else you can do - Don't buy jade or rubies (Mostly mined in Burma), don't buy jewelery set with shell fragments. The manufacture of this type of jewelery involves dust. It tends to kill the workers in about 18 months to a year from lung disease, but the factories in the far east can always replace them.

I should also stress that I do not think that this is a suitable forum to discuss this sort of thing on. By all means write a story based on what the Faey do and find, and post links to current abuses relating to it, but political discussions tend to get too heated.
Rational people have supported the worst dictators of history - Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, etc.

I'm mad - at least I have an excuse for what I do.
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