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The future of Aung San Suu Kyi and her amazing movement for democracy in Burma is hanging in the balance this week, and we could make the difference.

Suu Kyi has bravely called on the military regime to free the thousands of monks and peaceful activists still held in horrific prisons, some in cramped dog cages. Unprecedentedly, thousands of Burmese have risked their own safety to join her call for freedom through an online petition! Yesterday, the regime issued an ominous warning to Suu Kyi – and the Generals may be deciding right now between dialogue or another brutal crackdown.

This could come down to us. Activists in Burma have appealed to the world for help, saying that pressure from the international community is crucial to preventing violence and freeing political prisoners. Let’s stand with Suu Kyi and the brave Burmese, sign on to their petition, and send it to the EU, India and other key governments who can press the regime.

To sign the petition click here.

POSTED 03.07.11 BY: ianmobsby | Comments Off

The Standing Group of St Mary Aldermary have agreed to the need for a new voluntary co-opted position onto the Guild Council, to help us shape up our activities around economic, social and ecological justice.  This role will include the practical advice about assisting the community to reduce our carbon footprint, recycling and fairtrade at St Mary Aldermary.  The role will also promote justice as a part of our New Monastic Rhythm of Life and an important element of the spiritual practices.

We have drafted a role description to be discussed at the Community Council this Sunday.  Please see below.

justice-officer

POSTED 23.06.11 BY: ianmobsby | Comments Off

The Craftivist Collective are a group of people who campaign for Justice and aim to expose the scandal of poverty through the mode of craft.

Check out our latest campaign, “Don’t Blow It”, which encourages a positive approach to engaging with our MPs. MP’s have a great opportunity to make positive change in our society and we want to encourage them in what they’re doing and make sure they know that we’re counting on them to not blow it!

The project is easy: Get a handkerchief, sew on a personal message that is encouraging your MP, then give it to them when they arrive back after their summer break on the 6th September. If you don’t already know your MP this is a great way to get to know them, allowing you to go back and talk to them about issues like climate change or tax injustice!

For more information visit the craftiest collective website.

POSTED 16.06.11 BY: hannah | Comments Off

On Good Friday 2011, Ian Mobsby explores the meaning of Tridium, in the passion story of the death of Jesus Christ, recorded after the Westminster Churches Together Procession in Central London.

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POSTED 22.04.11 BY: ianmobsby | Comments Off

For many like me who have avoided watching the news regularly after the political elections, the policies of the current coalition government are becoming increasingly worrying. Many of us in Moot have understood that Christ had much to say through a political understanding of the Gospels around social, economic and ecological justice – and immigration and the free movement of peoples through this country is an important area of life that should be informed by justice principles.

I was shocked and horrified by David Cameron’s speech on immigration, and was very pleased to see that at least Vince Cable had the guts to stand up against this. As Christians, I think it is very important that we seek the common good, and that justice and the poor are of great concern to God. We need to be careful about an increasing hardness about the poor and the increasing divide between the privileged haves and those with very little opportunities – the have nots. It is true that you can judge the health of a country by the way we treat the mentally ill, the physically disabled, the sick, the elderly, families and hospitality to migrants and refugees. On all these counts, many like me, think this Government has used a smoke screen to bring in economic cuts and hardships that reflect the political rhetoric of the well off to the detriment of the poor and less privileged.

A good example of this madness is Meghan, member of this community, who is wanting to return to this country to do a PhD, which would bring investment and work to this country. So she now has to face an increased difficulty coming to study here because of Government policy for foreign students (utter madness when this brings work and money to the country) and also most universities involved in the humanities and the arts have had their budget cuts. In the area of sociology and post-colonial studies – central government has cut the total grant, making it almost impossible to study here. Many universities have cut their humanities departments, with theology being hit very hard. Many of us do believe this is yet another cynical ploy to privatise the universities to again over privilege the already over privileged.

Some of the language used by the Prime Minister around Immigration is shameful, and encourages unhelpful fear and ignorance and to be blunt – prejudice. So as Christians, we really do need to reflect on these things, as the UK is becoming an increasingly unequal and unjust society – where budget cuts have been used as an excuse to under fund welfare and health, and again withdraw from the important role of giving people from unprivileged backgrounds, a fair chance to play their part in our increasingly immoral market society.   One thing you can do is to see how some of the church are responding to this situation, and Ekklesia I think are a very good thing to get a balanced position – see here.

POSTED 15.04.11 BY: ianmobsby | Comments (2)

The United Kingdom used to be a place of balance – a mixed economy of the market matched with forms of social ownership. It seems now we have become purely a market society, where nothing now is protected to maintain the common good or sustained to protect our humanity. It seems that many of the things that took centuries to build such as the welfare state, the NHS and State protection of the Environment and much else are all being eroded. We were never a fair society, and we seem to becoming an increasingly divided and unjust society. I am sick of negative stereotypes of the poor as scroungers. It seems to me that this current coalition government has knocked us back from any sense of ecological, social or economic justice. Many of us suspect that many of the cuts are just an excuse to bring in unpopular changes because of rhetoric and the use of fear.  One of the toxic sins of being British is the combination of fear, anger and pride. The UK is now not a very nice place with the focus on dog eat dog, and with the super rich now living a greater sense of privilege over those who have seen their standard of living eroded – more than ever before.

Surely it is a Christian and spiritual response to want to see greater balance and what used to be the redistribution of income through a fair taxation system. Our market society has reduced our humanity to little more than a resource and commodity. As Leonardo Boff said – there is a deep connection between social injustice and a lack of ecological stewardship. This big society is little more than a smoke screen for greed as a mass sell off of much that is precious to the rich. I hope one day people will realise just how much has been lost.

POSTED 21.02.11 BY: ianmobsby | Comments (1)

In the first Sunday of Epiphany, Sarah Edwards, participant in the Moot Community and Head of Policy and Campaigns for the International Charity Health Poverty Action, explores the nature of Christ as the Prince of Peace and of Justice.  Further, Sarah explores the practical implications of living with a focus on justice.

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 Living with a focus on justice [12:24m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

POSTED 09.01.11 BY: ianmobsby | Comments Off

It’s a very long time since I heard such hard faced dispassionate plans as are now coming out of the current UK Government, and I think it is time to respond. You hear it said quite a lot that you can tell the health of a society by how it treats those who are most vulnerable, which I take to be the old, ill, mentally ill and unemployed. This Governments plans around Big Society is little more than a smoke screen for the absorption of the unrestrained market, to dehumanise and degrade to lift the affluent even higher. Enough is enough. Why not join the national protest in March 2011.

I will be joining my mum, uncles and aunts who are sickened by this betrayal of the heart of what was our benevolent society.

POSTED 12.11.10 BY: ianmobsby | Comments Off

!! SEND A MESSAGE !!

Tomorrow, Iran could execute Sakineh Ashtiani. The global outcry stopped her unjust stoning sentence in July. Now we have 24 hours to save her life.

Iran’s allies and key UN powers are our best hope — they could persuade Iran of the serious political cost of this high-profile killing. Click below to send them an urgent call to action and send this to everyone — it only takes three minutes and we are her last chance:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/24h_to_save_sakineh/?vl

Sakineh’s adultery case is a tragic sham stacked with human rights violations. First, she was to be stoned to death. But the Iranian government had to revoke the sentence after her children generated a worldwide outcry against the farcical trial — she could not speak the language used in court, and the alleged incidents of adultery took place after her husband’s death.

Then her lawyer was forced into exile, and the prosecution conjured up a new trumped-up charge for which she would be executed — the murder of her husband. Despite this being double jeopardy, as she is already serving time for alleged complicity in this crime, Sakineh was tortured and paraded on national television to ‘confess’, and was found guilty. Since then the regime has arrested two German journalists, her lawyer and her son, who has bravely led the international campaign to save his mother. All remain in prison and Sakineh’s son and lawyer have been also tortured and have no access to lawyers.

Now Iranian human rights activists state an order has just been issued from Tehran to implement her killing immediately. She is on the list and tomorrow is execution day.

Our persistent campaigning led Iran to drop Sakineh’s stoning sentence and captured the attention of leaders in countries with influence on Iran, like Turkey and Brazil. Now let’s urgently raise our voices to stop her killing and inhumane treatment and free her, her lawyer, her son and the jailed German journalists. Send a message and share this emergency call with friends and family:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/24h_to_save_sakineh/?vl

A massive public outcry has the moral authority to stop heinous crimes. Let’s use these 24 hours to send a clear message — the world is watching and we all stand together today to save Sakineh’s life and against injustice everywhere.

With hope and determination,

Alice, Stephanie, Pascal, Giulia, Benjamin and the whole of the Avaaz team

Sources:

The Islamic regime of Iran plans to execute Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani immediately
http://stopstonningnow.com/wpress/4194

Sakineh hanging imminent
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/fears-that-alleged-adulterers-execution-by-hanging-is-imminent/story-e6frg6so-1225946610965

Iranian woman could be stoned Wednesday
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hipKgm5UqJOxciOi1f07BwbfRgFg?docId=CNG.6ef6de7af5f33847d19e690e61087c73.811

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani: A life in the Balance (Amnesty International)
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE13/089/2010/en/589bd56b-49ac-4028-8dc6-abd903ac9bac/mde130892010en.pdf

POSTED 03.11.10 BY: ianmobsby | Comments Off

Aspiring to ethical living is becoming less easy and more admin than I would really like. Turns out, everything I want needs looking into.

So, this week, I need a new duvet. I don’t own a winter duvet, and I’m geekily excited about getting one and turning my old, thinning summer one into a quilt. Plus, it’s September. The chill is in the air.

So I checked out Ikea’s website, and there’s one I like, not too pricey. And then, I think about cotton. And the ethics of cotton. And I got into a massive duvet labyrinth, that’s a lot less comfy than it sounds.

Because it turns out (John Lewis’ website brought this to light for me) feathers are an issue too – free range feathers had never occurred to me, let alone the industry evil I’ve learnt about now, that is plucking live poultry for their feathers …shudder. But I have no idea whether that’s where the feathers in my pillows has come from.

Erk. More faff and research at my end. But sure, for the poor ducks and geese, fair cop.

Meanwhile, cotton: major child labour industry, notably highlighted in Uzbekistan, the world’s third largest cotton exporter, according to some people called the Environmental Justice Foundation. Plus, non-organic involves pesticides that (may) damage the surrounding plantlife across the huge swathes of land cotton is farmed, and expensive GM cotton seeds that up production (if they yield a harvest, which like all seeds they sometimes don’t depending on the weather) often trap farmers in debt cycles.

All a bit mind boggling when all I wanted to do was buy a duvet. And organic usually means pricey, and all in all the consumerist bit of me wishes none of this was an issue and I could just buy my damn duvet. But it is an issue, and I’d rather sleep soundly at night.

I trawled Ikea’s substantial self-deprecating  ‘our responsibility’ > ’the never ending list’, which I’m finding is exactly what ethical consumer-ing is. But wanting it on paper that their ideals and lovely initiatives make it as far as their actual duvets, I emailed. What puzzled and still puzzles me is, shouldn’t it cost more to have these guarantees? John Lewis costs a lot, and they have these ethical banners everywhere. So I was figuring, there must be a catch. Ikea emailed me back, (This is not an advert for Ikea. I’m just telling a story. God knows the next installment might be an exposé). Should I take their word for it? This was their email:

Dear Ms Cowley,
 
I am in receipt of your email and I have contacted the relevant departments within IKEA in the UK who can specifically advise me in relation to your questions:
 
The range you detail adheresto the fair trade initiatives, IKEA globally disassociates itself from Child Labour and works actively against it and the comment in relation to free range and poultry is also correct.
 
I am hopeful that this will assist you, and that you enjoy the IKEA shopping experience,
 
Regards
a. n. employee—————-
IKEA UK and IE Customer Services Specialist

Would you trust a response like that? My ‘comment in relation to free range and poultry is also correct’? And, is that because they do or don’t meet your concern for these issues, (i.e. you’ve got some concern), or because they’ve said enough and I’ve gone into this more than enough for how much you’re bothered? Answers on a post (/comment) please…

or a postcard, if you’re that way inclined.

Environmental Justice Foundation on cotton: http://www.ejfoundation.org/page141.html

And GM cotton in India: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/episodes/the-dying-fields/global-cotton-industry/bt-cotton-farming/1949/

Better Cotton, interestingly, was set up by GAP, H&M, IKEA and Adidas, along with various others including Oxfam and WWF. Who knew. http://www.bettercotton.org

POSTED 27.09.10 BY: grace | Comments (1)