[Xmca-l] Re: Rio Tinto Zinc

[Andy Blunden]

I'm with Marx on this one,

andy

------------------------------------------------------------
*Andy Blunden*
Hegel for Social Movements <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://brill.com/view/title/54574__;!!Mih3wA!TdywocTe4MSkN-NRqk2OyGtyDrQIWQoS3DPbLBdb4XFmAZMm8cQ8tyJwLNyOKH9l_K8d0A$ >
Home Page <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.ethicalpolitics.org/ablunden/index.htm__;!!Mih3wA!TdywocTe4MSkN-NRqk2OyGtyDrQIWQoS3DPbLBdb4XFmAZMm8cQ8tyJwLNyOKH9ryxE59w$ >
On 15/09/2020 12:57 pm, David Kellogg wrote:
> If you click on the link that Henry, and before him John, 
> offered, you get the pro-natural-capital side of a debate 
> in the pages of the Guardian on whether or not "nature" 
> can be valued as capital and whether it is good or bad for 
> nature for humans to do this. I think that in CHAT, we are 
> indebted to Marx for many things, but surely one debt we 
> would do well not to disavow is Marx's insistence (in 
> Critique of the Gotha programme and elsewhere) that nature 
> is NOT capital: on the contrary, humans and all of their 
> various property forms from communism to capitalism must 
> be considered peculiar forms of nature. This is a 
> discussion that CHAT needs to have if we are going to 
> retain the AT in CHAT. I disagree with Peter Jones on many 
> many things, but one thing I heartily agree with him on is 
> the idea that Leontiev brings an intensely 
> anti-naturalistic view of activity into activity 
> theory--humans acting as subjects on passive environments 
> to produce beneficial outcomes.
>
> Marx had a better idea: in the Ethnological Notebooks, he 
> shows us that capitalism, and hence the idea of nature as 
> capital, is no universal stage (contrary to what Stalin 
> taught). Western capitalism, with its idea of nature as 
> capital, is really  just one extreme variant. In Marx's 
> columns on the Sepoy rebellion and the Taiping rebellion, 
> he even posits an "Asiantic mode of production" that had 
> virtually nothing to do with feudalism. So to say that 
> South Korea and Japan are equally capitalist societies is 
> really a little like saying that China and the USSR were 
> equally non-capitalist. Deus Sive Natura: and neither one 
> is capital.
>
> David Kellogg
> Sangmyung University
>
> New article in Mind, Culture, and Activity:
> Realizations: non-causal but real relationships in and 
> between Halliday, Hasan, and Vygotsky
>
> Some free e-prints today available at:
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/Y8YHS3SRW42VXPTVY2Z6/full?target=10.1080*10749039.2020.1806329__;Lw!!Mih3wA!TdywocTe4MSkN-NRqk2OyGtyDrQIWQoS3DPbLBdb4XFmAZMm8cQ8tyJwLNyOKH-halUcUQ$  
> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/Y8YHS3SRW42VXPTVY2Z6/full?target=10.1080*10749039.2020.1806329__;Lw!!Mih3wA!W-RPX1ECIuKav0e-i1es3roVHR0WUtjgmoG2iARQqbybBsxElYTIACu53v3cWm487oUiBw$>
>
> New Translation with Nikolai Veresov: L.S. Vygotsky's 
> Pedological Works Volume One: Foundations of Pedology"
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9789811505270__;!!Mih3wA!TdywocTe4MSkN-NRqk2OyGtyDrQIWQoS3DPbLBdb4XFmAZMm8cQ8tyJwLNyOKH9_lFGZCg$  
> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9789811505270__;!!Mih3wA!W-RPX1ECIuKav0e-i1es3roVHR0WUtjgmoG2iARQqbybBsxElYTIACu53v3cWm7NjX5sJQ$>
>
>
> On Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 3:43 AM HENRY SHONERD 
> <hshonerd@gmail.com <mailto:hshonerd@gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>     Martin, John and Andy
>     Thanks to Martin for kicking off this topic and John
>     and Andy for following up. I has amazed me to find,
>     for me, how the RTZ narrative resonates with both
>     Navajo and Pueblo narratives here in New Mexico. How
>     evil RTZ  is, but how wonderful the courage of our
>     native peoples!
>
>     Chaco Canyon IS a tourist destination here in New
>     Mexico. Though there has been no destruction of the
>     site that, based on Native American narratives and the
>     efforts of archeologists, is architecturally
>     spectacular evidence of the pre-Colombian culture from
>     which the present-day Pueblos come. What parallels RTZ
>     activities on aboriginal lands in Australia is the
>     drilling for gas and oil on Navajo lands surrounding
>     Chaco and a rush to buy more rights while Trump is in
>     power. There have been protests, though nothing as
>     intense and effective as the Standing Rock protests to
>     protect water on native lands to our north and east
>     from gas and oil predation (the pipeline). Standing
>     Rock was LED by Native Americans, many from the
>     Navajo, Apache and Pueblo near me.
>
>     I just saw yesterday a 30-year-old film that is one of
>     the offerings of the Vision Maker Film Festival: Clear
>     Cut. I recommend it, or at least a look at the wiki
>     article about it. It couldn’t be more timely. It’s
>     messy, where contention between environmental and
>     logging interests and division WITHIN the native
>     community (traditon vs. jobs) leave one stunned. What
>     redeems a messy struggle is exactly what Andy says:
>     The aboriginal people of the world do it for us! In
>     the same way, when “our” Pueblos put on feasts and
>     invite us in to witness their dances, they do it for
>     us. Perhaps you recall the movie “Koyaniskaatsi”, la
>     Hopi word that has been translated as "life out of
>     balance". (The Hopis are a Puebloan people,
>     descendants of the Chacoan culture. The Navajos and
>     Apaches arrived here about the same time as the
>     European colonizers, based on linguistic and genetic
>     evidence.) If you live in New Mexico, you are around
>     Pueblo people. If you are really lucky, and many of us
>     are, you become friends with them and they invite you
>     to share their food at the feasts! How generous is
>     this? They do it for us.
>
>     The RTZ narrative is not only destructive to cultural
>     capital, it is implicated in natural capital
>     (https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/nov/23/monbiot-natural-capital-wrong-conservation__;!!Mih3wA!TdywocTe4MSkN-NRqk2OyGtyDrQIWQoS3DPbLBdb4XFmAZMm8cQ8tyJwLNyOKH_yziDUOg$ 
>     <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/nov/23/monbiot-natural-capital-wrong-conservation__;!!Mih3wA!SBdL369rv5LA2eUVglK7x1RO_gnzeKTtEL3aixjV1TAMOI-HkqMNbHUWvJAN5h7atm8Krw$>)
>     via climate change. (The link here, to a Guardian
>     article is available through the first link in John’s
>     post). Here again we should look to our native
>     peoples. There is credible research that concludes the
>     climate change lengthens fire seasons but wrong-headed
>     environmental policies make the fires more intense,
>     hence less controllable. Add to this the incursion of
>     housing into forested areas and the destruction is a
>     doubly self-inflicted wound. And hold on for this one
>     for the best CHAT connection: Native peoples of this
>     continent used to set controlled burns to remove the
>     kind of unburnt fuel to avoid such conflagrations.
>     Today some of  the best-trained and most effective
>     firefighters in this country are Native Americans.
>     Cultural capital. They do it for us, and their example
>     from the past can serve us now. Cultural capital.
>
>     I believe I have crowed before about New Mexico and
>     our Native Americans. Australia has crowing rights as
>     well. And, for standing proud, there’s nothing like an
>     anthem. The best anthem music I have EVER heard comes
>     from Australia: Yothu Yindi What a great project that
>     brings together white people and people of color. What
>     great creative collaboration. Andy, I am telling you
>     again, project is a great unit of analysis, precisely
>     because it brings together cognition and affect,
>     because it embodies active orientation. In my country,
>     it is pretty well agreed that the natives got screwed,
>     across the political divide. Black Lives Matter is
>     more complex, but there is hope that the question of
>     race is now where LGBTQ issues were at the time of the
>     AIDS crisis, in the last century. Back then we could
>     never have guessed we would be where we are with
>     non-gender-conforming acceptance now. Just saying, as
>     much for myself as for anybody else listening.
>
>     La Era Está Pariendo Un Corazón
>     Henry
>
>
>
>
>
>>     On Sep 13, 2020, at 8:09 PM, Andy Blunden
>>     <andyb@marxists.org <mailto:andyb@marxists.org>> wrote:
>>
>>     Er. " *NO *physical markers"
>>
>>     ------------------------------------------------------------
>>     *Andy Blunden*
>>     Hegel for Social Movements
>>     <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://brill.com/view/title/54574__;!!Mih3wA!S5K6-3pAdjVKLQOipHOtp4mkhFhXR1sxkXKZDQnO0A7C1xQKXN0SUjkqI9KbXmCMTCf0iQ$>
>>     Home Page
>>     <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.ethicalpolitics.org/ablunden/index.htm__;!!Mih3wA!S5K6-3pAdjVKLQOipHOtp4mkhFhXR1sxkXKZDQnO0A7C1xQKXN0SUjkqI9KbXmDbUUpHdA$>
>>
>>     On 14/09/2020 11:43 am, Andy Blunden wrote:
>>>
>>>     Firstly, an apology. I replied on the list before
>>>     noticing that John had already responded, and John
>>>     is much better informed than me about these matters,
>>>     and yet I spoke as if he didn't exist. My apologies.
>>>
>>>     These caves are nothing for tourism. They are too
>>>     remote and there are others more accessible. I
>>>     believe the caves have been under Native Title as a
>>>     result of a bitter struggle to protect them by the
>>>     local people in the 1990s. This means that RTZ had
>>>     to get permission from the PKK people. The lawyers
>>>     swindled them.
>>>
>>>     In my view, all these sites which are not only part
>>>     of Aboriginal heritage (there are places which have
>>>     *NO *physical markers of their status but are sacred
>>>     to the local people) but self-evidently of *world*
>>>     heritage. But I don't think these caves were
>>>     registered as World Heritage. I have not heard the
>>>     discussion about this (John?). No-one wants to say
>>>     this, I think, because it implies that Indigenous
>>>     values are somehow less important than human values.
>>>     For example, under the law as it stands the PKK Land
>>>     Council would have a right to let RTZ destroy the
>>>     caves and maybe a million dollars or two in the bank
>>>     or a new school, would be enough. This is not a
>>>     hypothetical. One of the reasons that the Indigenous
>>>     people remain impoverished even where they have
>>>     Native Title over large areas of land, is that they
>>>     live, after all, in a capitalist country and Native
>>>     title cannot be sold. It is not a commodity.
>>>     Therefore it is not a form of wealth. You can't get
>>>     a mortgage to build a house on land you own by
>>>     Native title.  You can't sell a block to a farmer so
>>>     you can buy agricultural equipment to farm another
>>>     block. In short, by blocking the Indigenous people
>>>     from monetising their land rights we trap them in
>>>     poverty. In general, the indigenous people are happy
>>>     to forgo tourist income to protect their sacred
>>>     sites (e.g. Uluru) and I don't doubt for an instant,
>>>     that if they'd been properly consulted they never
>>>     would have agreed to the destruction of the caves.
>>>     Obviously. But they do have to have rights to trade
>>>     with their land. But also the world needs to keep
>>>     absolutely unique archaeological sites pristine and
>>>     the local people should be supported by governments
>>>     to do the work of protecting them on *our* behalf.
>>>     Recognising the great cost entailed.
>>>
>>>     Andy
>>>
>>>     ------------------------------------------------------------
>>>     *Andy Blunden*
>>>     Hegel for Social Movements
>>>     <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://brill.com/view/title/54574__;!!Mih3wA!XARa5o_f0_F8FwoOvEi2G83w7OupjEw0Qs4sAopd9iMJNxF19MT9A4BOkNVcEAAZnw4ahQ$>
>>>     Home Page
>>>     <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.ethicalpolitics.org/ablunden/index.htm__;!!Mih3wA!XARa5o_f0_F8FwoOvEi2G83w7OupjEw0Qs4sAopd9iMJNxF19MT9A4BOkNVcEABlTgxfKw$>
>>>
>>>     On 14/09/2020 4:53 am, Martin Packer wrote:
>>>>     Thanks, John and Andy,
>>>>
>>>>     I suppose that I am naive, for this event
>>>>     astonishes me in so many different ways. I would
>>>>     have assumed that the land title or native title
>>>>     granted to indigenous peoples over some territory
>>>>     in Australia would have included the Juuken Gorge
>>>>     caves. I would have assumed that these caves were a
>>>>     national cultural heritage site, or even a world
>>>>     cultural heritage site. I would have assumed that
>>>>     indigenous rights would have more importance to the
>>>>     Australian government, and indeed to the Australian
>>>>     people. I would have assumed that, while mining is
>>>>     apparently of great economic importance to the
>>>>     country, the government would have considered the
>>>>     economic value of this site for tourism, or simply
>>>>     the impact that destroying the caves would have on
>>>>     Australia’s reputation. And while I suppose that
>>>>     unbridled rapaciousness on the part of an
>>>>     international mining company is hardly a surprise,
>>>>     I would have thought that Rio Tinto would also have
>>>>     considered the negative publicity that their
>>>>     actions would create.
>>>>
>>>>     How can we express our displeasure to the various
>>>>     parties involved? Are there petitions that one can
>>>>     sign? Or Twitter accounts to which one can tweet?
>>>>
>>>>     I wonder how much the salary is of (ex) CEO
>>>>     Jean-Sebastien Jacques, if his bonus this year
>>>>     would have been A$4.9 million. Perhaps he could
>>>>     donate a few years of his salary to establish a
>>>>     foundation that could work for indigenous peoples’
>>>>     rights.
>>>>
>>>>     sadly
>>>>
>>>>     Martin
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>     On Sep 12, 2020, at 8:59 PM, John Cripps Clark
>>>>>     <john.crippsclark@deakin.edu.au
>>>>>     <mailto:john.crippsclark@deakin.edu.au>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>     The destruction of the Juunken Gorge caves (which
>>>>>     I assume you are referring to) is a much more
>>>>>     villainous act than was originally portrayed and
>>>>>     reflects the venal racism not only of the company
>>>>>     but also of the State Government. For those not
>>>>>     familiar with this shocking crime, the $80b Anglo
>>>>>     Australian mining company which on Sunday 24th of
>>>>>     May blew up a site sacred to the Puutu Kunti
>>>>>     Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) traditional owners and
>>>>>     occupied for 46,000 years at least, to extend iron
>>>>>     ore mining. "“It’s one of the most sacred sites in
>>>>>     the Pilbara region … we wanted to have that area
>>>>>     protected,” PKKP director Burchell Hayes. The
>>>>>     traditional owners tried desperately to stop the
>>>>>     blast once they became aware it was impending.
>>>>>
>>>>>     At the time Rio Tinto claimed "Clearly there was a
>>>>>     misunderstanding" but and, after much outrage, the
>>>>>     three members of the executive had their multi
>>>>>     million dollar bonuses reduced. It has
>>>>>     subsequently emerged that Rio Tinto had contracted
>>>>>     lawyers to oppose any injunctions before the crime
>>>>>     was committed. The chief executive and two of his
>>>>>     underlings have resigned.
>>>>>
>>>>>     The crime was legal and was made possible by State
>>>>>     Government laws which are stacked in favour of
>>>>>     miners. Assessments of the cultural and
>>>>>     environmental significance are made with little
>>>>>     investigation and remain in place for decades and
>>>>>     have rarely been successfully be challenged. No
>>>>>     permission to destroy heritage sites in WA has
>>>>>     been refused (and there have been 463
>>>>>     applications).
>>>>>     https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-31/wa-heritage-destroyed-by-rio-tinto-example-of-national-trend/12305298__;!!Mih3wA!Q80d_k7DkHBzzs0yi4W5IfiSTlRupZ8XOxiOsNcARSHE8ZZrLW7G-oWoAnKstsuUT5a7UQ$
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>     It is not as if we didn’t know that this would
>>>>>     happen. Norway's pension fund divested their
>>>>>     holdings in Rio Tinto in 2008: "Exclusion of a
>>>>>     company from the Fund reflects our unwillingness
>>>>>     to run an unacceptable risk of contributing to
>>>>>     grossly unethical conduct. The Council on Ethics
>>>>>     has concluded that Rio Tinto is directly involved,
>>>>>     through its participation in the Grasberg mine in
>>>>>     Indonesia, in the severe environmental damage
>>>>>     caused by that mining operation."
>>>>>        — Kristin Halvorsen, Norwegian Minister of Finance
>>>>>
>>>>>     A useful background briefing of indigenous rights
>>>>>     in Australia:
>>>>>     https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/rearvision/features/in-the-shadow-of-terra-nullius/__;!!Mih3wA!Q80d_k7DkHBzzs0yi4W5IfiSTlRupZ8XOxiOsNcARSHE8ZZrLW7G-oWoAnKstssDCtcsSw$
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>     On 13/9/20, 12:26 am,
>>>>>     "xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu
>>>>>     <mailto:xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu> on behalf
>>>>>     of Martin Packer" <xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu
>>>>>     <mailto:xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu> on behalf
>>>>>     of mpacker@cantab.net <mailto:mpacker@cantab.net>>
>>>>>     wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>        Andy, what on earth has Rio Tinto Zinc been up to??
>>>>>
>>>>>        Martin
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>     Important Notice: The contents of this email are
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>>>>>
>>>>
>
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