Julian Assange
621 weeks of deprivation of liberty for telling the truth
621 weeks of deprivation of liberty for telling the truth
In this issue 7:
- An unpublished article by Bernard Legros, on Information and Communication Technologies (the famous Tic’e) in the classroom
- A dossier on the city: how to envisage other possibilities for the city. With illustrations by Luc Schuiten, Fabienne Loodts, Florence Vancappellen, Sophie Legrelle, Lucy Watts
- An overview of the evolution of the issues covered in previous issues
- The columns: « For a European Spring » (CEO, Martin Pigeon), « Après moi le déluge » (Gwenaël Breës), « A film » (Jean Pierre L. Collignon), « For a new protectionism » (Paul Lannoye). And the recipe for the Foire aux savoir-faire.
EDITO
Far from the astonishment of politicians and their media acolytes, who pretend to discover with the « Cazuhac affair » that political interests and private interests are most often confused, others are stubbornly busy making us pass bladders for lanterns. Thus Bayer and Syngenta, two behemoths of the agrochemical and pharmaceutical industries, which, faced with the massive and worrying disappearance of bees, » proposed today an action plan to unblock the situation in which the European Union finds itself regarding the health status of bees. These same two companies, one German and the other Swiss, produce phytosanitary products, therefore pesticides not to be named, including neonicotinoids which have a proven effect on the disappearance of bees.
John Atkin, Syngenta’s Chief Operating Officer, assures us that « Operation Pollinator » » will provide valuable insights into bee health, while a restriction on neonicotinoids will not solve the problem. Banning these products will not save a single hive and it is high time that we focus on the real causes of the problem of declining bee populations. This plan is based on our confidence in the safety of our products and our historical commitment to improving the environment for bees(1). »
» Absurd « you may say! No, logic! Logic of a system that has always devoted itself to present us the show without ever letting us see… its backstage. It was therefore necessary to do « as if » to continue to do « as before ». To create communication and advertising companies, to infiltrate the main media, to place a few thousand lobbyists in Brussels, to meet in the same places as those frequented by politicians, captains of industry and press professionals.
The Orwellian language has now reached its peak. The same people who foul the beaches will set up bird funds; the same people who defend nuclear power will set up organizations to support irradiated populations; the same people who sell soda will fight obesity; the same people who sell hamburgers will set up an action plan against heart risks. Closer to home, it will be NEO, a behemoth whose nonsense is matched only by its excessiveness, which will be used as an example for the nomination of Brussels as the European green capital(2).
You can’t change the « direction » of history like you can’t stop progress! NEO is a 70,000 m² shopping center, while City 2, located 5.8 km away, is 51,000 m². But we are not in the domain of doubt, but of necessity: » the area of the North of Brussels presents a significant deficit in commercial surfaces compared to the Belgian average, and even more compared to the European average « . Moreover, according to Professor Grimaud (geography-urban sociology ULB) » Brussels could accommodate an additional 233,000 m² to simply reach the average of the large Belgian cities(3) ». Come on, if that’s the way it is, let the shopping malls grow like trees and flowers, since all this is sustainable development.
Meanwhile, Kairos celebrates with this issue one year of existence and proves, more than ever, that it is not the time to give up.
A.P.
