DOW CONFIDENTIAL:Bhopal Monitoring Report Friday,November 11

DOW CONFIDENTIAL: Bhopal Monitoring Report Friday, November 18, 2011
Email-ID 	407784
Date 	2011-11-19 00:39:50
From 	asigsby@allisinfo.com
To 	mongoven@stratfor.com
Contact AIM for more Information
Significant Activist Activity
11/14 Bhopal, Chennai press events announce ICJB petition to LOCOG signed by 22 Indian ex-Olympians
11/15 BMA/Amnesty/Labour Friends of India press event in London opposed Dow sponsorship
11/16-17 BMA: Heavily tweeted link to Guardian poll "Should Olympic chiefs dump Dow?"
PAN Int'l "people's tribunal" 12/3-6 to "indict" agrichemical companies for "gross violations of human rights"
Media
Olympics sponsorship media summary
11/14 AP, India media: Bhopal, Chennai press conferences by ex-Olympians opposing Dow sponsorship
11/15-18 Global media: London Olympics - Coe defends LOCOG, Dow; BMA et al press event opposes sponsorship
11/15-18 Local media: MDN, MLive, WNEM; UK local letters and columns
11/14 Saginaw News: Reporter questions whether Bhopal "shadow" affects Dow
11/12 Hindustan Times: GoI cancelled registrations for four Dow Agrosciences products
11/15 Ummid: Pervez Bari article on Olympics and standing activist allegations against Dow
11/18 IANS, Telegraph: Greenpeace, "Bhopal survivors" object to new nuclear civil liabilities rules
11/14 Asian Voice: Keith Vaz interview of Colin Toogood on Bhopal and BMA
11/14-11/17 Independent, Socialist Party UK: BMHRC drug trials commentary
11/17 Hard News: activist RTI requests GoI documents on Anderson extradition
11/18 Derby Evening Telegraph: Animal's People review
Activist Activity
Bhopali film: Screenings scheduled in Amsterdam, Toronto, London, NYC, Pittsburgh, Boston
ICJB website: new front page layout; Rail Roko information/justification
BMA website: media items on Dow's Olympic sponsorship; play day for Chingari Trust children
Amnesty: Bhopal presentation slides for Group 133; Annual Write-A-Thon on Dec. 11
Change.org petition now over 1,000 signatures
Activist email: Dhingra, Edwards send media items to Remember-Bhopal list
AID: new chapter at George Washington Univ.
Message boards: Games Monitor; Chennai and Delhi enviro groups
Blogs: BMA volunteer Ian Jarvis updates on life at clinic
Social media: BMA Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube; anti-Dow Olympics Facebook
Yes Men: Yes Lab actions at APEC in Hawai'i; Bonanno to conduct Yes Lab in Sweden 12/14-16; Mark Rudd at Yes Lab 11/17

11/14 Bhopal, Chennai press events announce ICJB petition to LOCOG signed by 22 Indian ex-Olympians

The International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal and former Indian Olympic hockey players coordinated press conferences in Bhopal and Chennai to announce at least 22 athletes had signed the ICJB's petition to Olympics
officials and PM Singh calling for Dow's Olympic sponsorship to be dropped, or for India to boycott the London Games.
The ICJB press statement quoted representatives of the five Bhopal activist groups & NGOs - Safreen Khan, Rachna Dhingra, Rashida Bee, Balkrishna Namdeo and Nawab Khan.
The Olympians statement recommended: "national and international Olympians should oppose the unholy alliance with the poisoner of Bhopal." The Olympians who participated in the press conferences were:
- In Bhopal: Inam - Ur - Rehman, B P Govinda, Syed Ali and Jalaluddin Rizvi.
- In Chennai: Vasudevan Baskaran and Charles Cornelius
The AP and Indian media reported on the press conferences, as indicated in the media section below.
The ICJB's press statement, the petition addressed to Olympic officials, and the list of athletes who have signed it are attached.

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11/15 BMA/Amnesty/Labour Friends of India press event in London opposed Dow sponsorship

Bhopal Medical Appeal, Amnesty Int'l and the Labour Friends of India held a press event in London to publicize their opposition to Dow's Olympic stadium wrap sponsorship.
A preview of the press release was posted on Google Docs and distributed a few days prior via Twitter to several media and activist contacts.
BMA tweeted the link to 11 other Twitter users: NDTV; Olympics watchdog blog Games Monitor and its administrator Julian Cheyne; anti-corporate activists Adbusters; environmental and legal activists EarthRights
International; environmental/anti-pesticide contacts: This Is Ecocide; Shift Soil; No Mo Pesticides; Pesty Pesticides; and AntiDrifters; and the London Olympics Information account (The announcement tweet not displayed
on that page).
The press release was phrased in quite inflammatory terms, including the title of "Growing scandal over Olympic stadium sponsor" and that Dow "having been recently found guilty of SERIOUS MALPRACTICE [emphasis
theirs]...cannot be considered an appropriate sponsor of the London Olympics stadium."
Representatives of the "cross-party" coalition appearing at the event were MP and Labour Friends of India leader Barry Gardiner, and Tim and Farah Edwards of BMA. The press release promised "the great-great-granddaughter
of the last "Begum of Bhopal (the Bhopal Royal Family) and herself a survivor of the Bhopal disaster." This is presumably Mrs. Edwards.
Considerable global media coverage of the press conference ensued, much of it folded into reports on Lord Coe's testimony before Parliament's Culture, Media and Sports Committee, as indicated in the media reporting
below.
The activist coalition press statement is attached.

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11/16-17 BMA: Heavily tweeted link to Guardian poll "Should Olympic chiefs dump Dow?"

UK media the Guardian posted an online poll in its sports section asking "Should Olympic chiefs dump Dow?"
BMA sent numerous tweets urging recipients to "Vote to dump Dow" on the poll, sending more than 50 messages in a few hours, and several more before the poll closed.
Final poll results: 91.6% thought Dow should be removed as a sponsor.

Three comments were also posted on the poll page, all critical of Dow. One of the comments was from Pesticide Action Network UK (PAN-UK), which named EDF as another Olympic sponsor considered "dodgy."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/poll/2011/nov/15/olympics-2012-dow?fb=native

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PAN Int'l "people's tribunal" 12/3-6 to "indict" agrichemical companies for "gross violations of human rights"

11/16 The Ecologist, a member of the UK's Guardian media network, reported Pesticide Action Network Int'l announced a "Permanent People's Tribunal" (PPT) session will be held from Dec. 3-6 "to indict Agrochemical
Transnationals for gross violations of human rights."
The targeted companies and organizations are:
Dow, Monsanto, DuPont, Bayer CropSciences, Syngenta, BASF, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization.
PAN has a website dedicated to the PPT session, with a case summary and a petition to sign with a goal of 10,000 signatures by Dec. 3. The petition currently has about 430 signatures.
This refers visitors to PAN Asia Pacific contact and social media resources. The case summary is attached.
http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/1122020/monsanto_bayer_and_dow_face_trial_for_systematic_human_rights_abuses.html

11/17 PAN UK posted similar documents with a few more details, including giving Bangalore, India as the location for the PPT session, and identifying some "legal experts" and scientists who are named to the "jury."
These are Gurdial Singh Nijjar, Director of the Centre of Excellence for Biodiversity Law at the University Malaya; Pananchand Jain, retired Rajasthan High Court Justice; and Upendra Baxi, former President of the Indian
Society of International Law.[and] scientists and experts such as Dr. Ricarda A. Steinbrecher, a biologist and geneticist with the German Federation of Scientists."

11/18 PAN North America (PANNA) also posted an announcement and executive summary of the planned PPT. The executive summary is closest in format and content to the PAN UK version, with the main exception of offering
U.S.-based individuals as available for interviews:
- Kathyrn Gilje, PANNA co-director
- Jeannie Economos, Farmworker Association of Florida
- Paige Tomaselli, Center for Food Safety
- Viola Waghiyi, Alaska Community Action on Toxics
- Ana Duncan Pardo, Toxic Free NC

Any or all of the remaining documents are available on request.

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Olympics sponsorship media summary

Global media reporting on Dow's sponsorship of the London Olympic stadium wrap ran heavily from Monday, 11/14, through Wednesday, 11/16. Reports began with the Indian activist and athletes press events in Bhopal and
Chennai, then moved to London with reports first on Lord Coe's testimony before Parliament's Culture, Media and Sport committee, and followed by the "cross-party" activist coalition press event.
- Associated Press reports led the rmedia all three days, with global pickups each time. Washington Post, Boston Globe, NBC Sports and FOX Sports were the main U.S. major media outlets to use the piece. Regional leading
media pickups include Detroit News, San Francisco Chronicle, along with numerous U.S. and Canadian broadcast and media websites. The initial report from London contained an error, stating Dow had purchased the Union
Carbide plant in Bhopal in 2001. An updated version of the story corrected the statement.
- UK major media the Independent, Guardian, BBC and Channel 4 reported on the London events, as did wire services UK Press Association, PTI, IANS and ANI, and UK communist media Morning Star.
- Agence France Presse issued a wire story, but received limited pickup.
- The Hindu was the only Indian major media to publish a print report on the London events.
- Several video reports on the London events were broadcast, including Channel 4, Al Jazeera, and NewsXLive. These invariably began with the activist coalition event at the Olympic stadium, and included on-camera
comments from Barry Gardiner, Farah or Tim Edwards.
- IOC news website Around The Rings has published updates on the events, as well.
- Local pickups included Midland Daily News, MLive.com and WNEM television.

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11/14 AP, India media: Bhopal, Chennai press conferences by ex-Olympians opposing Dow sponsorship

Associated Press reported "at least 21" Indian Olympians called for LOCOG to drop Dow's sponsorship, calling it "offensive to the spirit of the Olympic Games." The only person quoted by AP was Safreen Khan of Children
Against Dow-Carbide, who said "hundreds of children are being born disabled" and blamed Dow for the lack of remediation in Bhopal. LOCOG was noted as standing firm on the Dow sponsorship, and Dow's position on the Bhopal
issue was given. The article noted Dow's India office referred inquiries to the US headquarters.
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45284750

IBNS issued the closest iteration of the ICJB press release, as usual. Three Olympians appeared at the press conference in Bhopal: "Inam - Ur - Rehman, B P Govinda, Syed Ali and Jalaluddin Rizvi," and said, "national and
international Olympians should oppose the unholy alliance with the poisoner of Bhopal. "
Representatives of the five Bhopal activist groups & NGOs were quoted - Safreen Khan, Rachna Dhingra, Rashida Bee, Balkrishna Namdeo and Nawab Khan. Bee said neither PM Singh's office nor the Indian Olympic Association
have responded or acted on the ICJB's request that they contact LOCOG and demand Dow's sponsorship be dropped.
http://www.newkerala.com/news/2011/worldnews-106332.html

PTI reported from Chennai that Hockey Olympians Vasudevan Baskaran and Charles Cornelius held a press conference in conjunction with the ICJB's press event in Bhopal.
http://www.newkerala.com/news/2011/worldnews-106332.html

UNI quoted Bhopal activist leader Sarangi, saying it is "unfortunate" neither the GoI or "IOC" [mistake for IOA?] were taking any action, while UK MPs are protesting the sponsorship. He also said efforts are being made
to "rope in more Olympians - including from other countries - in the campaign to protest Dow's sponsorship."
http://news.webindia123.com/news/Articles/India/20111114/1871539.html

Yahoo! India News posted a video report by NBS News of the Bhopal press conference. The 1:45 minute clip showed several men sitting at a table in front of microphones while the reporter voice over explained the
situation. Sarangi and "sports person" Syed Ali were interviewed on camera but both spoke in Hindi. The clip is titled "Bhopal tragedy shadow over London Olympics."
http://in.news.yahoo.com/video/national-22564751/bhopal-tragedy-shadow-over-london-olympics-27248836.html#crsl=%252Fvideo%252Fnational-22564751%252Fbhopal-tragedy-shadow-over-london-olympics-27248836.html

Around the Rings posted a report on the press conferences.
http://www.aroundtherings.com/articles/view.aspx?id=38505

UK communist media Morning Star included the Indian Olympians petition information in a report on Olympics security concerns.
http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/news/content/view/full/111936

11/15 Four print editions of Indian papers had short articles, mainly sourced from PTI, on the press conferences, all located in the Sports sections and positioned below the fold: Hindustan Times' New Delhi and
Chandigarh editions, Asian Age New Delhi edition, and the Pioneer New Delhi edition.

11/15 ANI issued similar wire and video reports on the press conferences. Two former Olympic hockey players were interviewed, with English subtitles on their comments in Hindi, including if Dow has enough money for
Olympic sponsorships, they should compensate the Bhopal gas victims. A photo of Warren Anderson and others from the 1984 gas accident were at the end over audio stating Dow purchased UCC in 2001.
The statements from the two men were included in the ANI print report.
Text: http://in.news.yahoo.com/ex-indian-olympians-voice-anger-over-dow-chemicals-061826174.html
Video: http://www.indianexpress.com/video/sports/22/indian-olympians-slam-dow/6602

11/16 The Hindu and Times of India published reports on Monday's press conferences. The ToI article inferred the 1984 gas tragedy played a part in Bhopal producing fewer star hockey players than prior to the accident,
and quoted Salim Abassi about not recovering from the gas effects that "may have cut short" his athletic career.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/Hockey-stars-decry-DOW-move-to-sponsor-Olympics/articleshow/10749075.cms

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11/15-18 Global media: London Olympics - Coe defends LOCOG, Dow; BMA et al press event opposes sponsorship

AP reported Lord Coe testified at a Parliament hearing of the Culture, Media and Sport committee and stated LOCOG's commitment to and confidence in Dow as an Olympic sponsor and its ethics. This report did not mention
the planned activist protest in London. Global pickups trended through mid-day U.S. time to more than 100 pickups.
http://news.yahoo.com/london-olympic-organizers-wont-scrap-dow-deal-145242640.html
- An update was issued mid-afternoon to correct the third sentence stating Dow purchased the UCIL factory in Bhopal in 2001.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/11/15/sports/s065232S11.DTL&type=business
- A shorter version was also seen: http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/index.ssf/story/london-olympic-organizers-wont-scrap-dow-deal/e9f9eec28189496ba544ed04469c081f

Several other sources issued reports, including BBC, AFP, the UK Press Association (UKAP), Channel 4, Guardian, the Labour Party and Morning Star UK.
BBC issued two articles, one primarily on Coe's Parliamentary testimony to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, the other on the activist protest and press release.
- The Coe article included a brief background on Dow, the stadium wrap and Dow's purchase of UCC. Coe stated his satisfaction that Dow did not have any functional connection to the UCIL facility, and the Indian Supreme
Court "upheld on two previous occasions" the validity of UCC's settlement for the Bhopal gas accident. Keith Vaz and Tessa Jowell voicing their concerns to Coe was also noted. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15745449
- The protest article is longer and quoted Sarangi for the Bhopal Group for Information and Action (BGIA), former Olympic hockey player Aslam Sher Khan, and unidentified Dow and Games 2012 spokespersons. Sarangi called
Dow's sponsorship "an dance on the graves of Bhopal gas victims" and promised "protest rallies in Bhopal, Delhi and London if necessary." Khan said India should "lodge a strong protest," and he had written to the Indian
Olympic Association, PM Singh and the Sports ministry.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14443516

Agence France Presse reported Coe "defended" the Dow sponsorship, stated 15,000 as the death toll from the Bhopal gas tragedy, and that "Dow bought Union Carbide in 2001 and has ever since denied responsibility" for the
gas accident. The opposition by "several Indian athletes" and Jowell's "concern" preface a quote from Coe that he is "the grandson of an Indian so I am not completely unaware" of the Bhopal issue, but stands by the
sponsorship. Times of India is the only known pickup of this article at this time.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/events-tournaments/london-olympics/Olympics-Coe-defends-Dow-deal-in-face-of-Bhopal-protests/articleshow/10744820.cms
- UK Press Association's version was very similar to the AFP wire report.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5jbFhQthLXTmph8I12FZbBxBxBa-Q?docId=B35046781321366580A00

Channel 4 UK news provided background on the wrap deal, the Bhopal accident and Dow's position on Bhopal. It introduced the campaign by a "cross-party coalition of MPs, survivors and Indian Olympians" opposing Dow's
sponsorship, and mentioned the IOC's support of the sponsorship. MP Barry Gardiner, Chair of Labour Friends of India, and the leader of the activist coalition admitted LOCOG "had set high environmental, social and
ethical standards," but called the Dow contract decision "a mistake and it must be set right." This article tried to name the Dow spokesperson "Scott Walker" as the source of Dow's position statement.
http://www.channel4.com/news/row-over-olympic-sponsors-bhopal-links

The Guardian posted a report on the wrap sponsorship issue and an online sports poll asking "Should Olympic chiefs ditch Dow?" .
The article drew mainly from Coe's hearing testimony and questions from other MPs. Coe told the panel he had met with Vaz and Jowell, but "insisted he had not heard anything" from the Indian Olympic Committee about a
potential boycott by India's athletes. Conservative MP Louise Mensch called LOCOG's decision on the Dow sponsorship "very worrying," to which Coe responded LOCOG had "looked at the issue very carefully" and cited Dow's
IOC global partner status.
MP Steve Rotheram asked "whether Dow could be replaced if the company did the 'honourable thing' and withdrew from sponsoring the wrap, the Locog chief executive, Paul Deighton, said it was 'getting very late' to do so
and had no indication that the company would pull out."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/nov/15/olympic-dow-sponsorship-protests-mps http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/poll/2011/nov/15/olympics-2012-dow?newsfeed=true

The Labour Party reported just Tessa Jowell's three points of concern she says "Dow Chemical needs to urgently answer":
- Is Dow's conduct since the UCC acquisition "consistent with the Olympics' sustainability aims?"
- Did LOCOG seek input from other groups than Dow on the Bhopal issue?
- "...even if Dow win their legal battles against Bhopal survivors and the Indian Government, is there a reputational risk to London 2012 in their sponsorship of the Olympic Stadium wrap?""
http://www.labour.org.uk/dow-chemical-needs-to-answer-questions-regarding-bhopal,2011-11-15

UK communist media Morning Star posted a brief report on LOCOG's commitment to Dow's sponsorship, the "Indian athletes and rights organizations" letters to LOCOG, and Dow's position on the Bhopal issue.
http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/news/content/view/full/111989

11/16 The Guardian published a report on the activist coalition press statement, with a little more detail on the activist groups and the campaign itself. The groups described Coe as "stonewalling" questions about the
sponsorship. Coe's responses to the questions on the selection process and Dow's compliance with LOCOG requirements are also included. This article does not appear to be currently available online; full text available on
request.

11/16 Indian media reported on Tuesday's events in London events.
- IBNS posted a report calling Dow's sponsorship "tainted" and said "British MPs are up in arms" over the issue, despite Coe's commitment to the stadium wrap deal. The wire story covered the activist coalition press
statement and quoted from UK media on Coe describing Dow's selection. Dow's position statement is given at the end, and is unique in including the sentence regarding the MP state's control of the site and responsibility
for remediation.
http://www.indiablooms.com/SportsDetailsPage/2011/sportsDetails161111c.php
- ANI issued a short wire report on Coe's statements to the committee.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/lord-coe-defends-blood-bhopal-dows-sponsorship-london-064028359.html

11/17 The Hindu summarized this week's media on the Dow Olympic sponsorship, drawing mainly from the activist coalition statements. Dow's position on Bhopal and Lord Coe's statements on the matter were included. The
article appeared in the Delhi print edition.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2633719.ece

11/17 The Independent published a column by Diane Abbott, MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington and Shadow Public Health Minister, who complained the Games have "lost touch with reality," and that corporate
sponsorships have not helped the matter. She called Dow's sponsorship "distinctly unhealthy."
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/diane-abbott-the-games-that-lost-touch-with-reality-6263191.html

11/18 Around the Rings published a Sponsor Spotlight report with a brief report on Lord Coe's statements defending the Dow sponsorship.
http://www.aroundtherings.com/articles/view.aspx?id=38533

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11/15-18 Local media: MDN, MLive, WNEM; UK local letters and columns

11/15 Local MIchigan media picked up the AP report on events in London regarding Dow's Olympic sponsorship, including MLive.com (Saginaw News), WNEM TV-5 websites, and the print edition of the Midland Daily News - p2
across the fold on the left side.
http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/index.ssf/story/london-olympic-organizers-wont-scrap-dow-deal/e9f9eec28189496ba544ed04469c081f

11/17-18 Local UK media columns and letters addressed the Dow sponsorship and the Olympics in general.
- Wharf.uk reported on the activist coalition press event. http://www.wharf.co.uk/2011/11/mps-urge-locog-to-ditch-deal-w.html
- Scottish Daily Record columnist Joan Burnie used the Dow sponsorship controversy to complain about the Games overall as "becoming more farcical, as well as expensive, by the day."
http://blogs.dailyrecord.co.uk/joanburnie/2011/11/watching-our-money-go-up-in-olympic-flam.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheDailyRecord%2FJoanBurnie+%28The+Daily+Record+-+Joan+Burnie%29
- East End Advertiser published a letter by Agent Orange activist Len Aldis criticizing Dow's sponsorship and invoking the AO and napalm issues. Bhopal was not mentioned. Full text available on request.
- East End Advertiser also published a comment that Bethnal Green and Bow MP Rushanara Ali "has called upon" LOCOG to "rethink their use of the Dow Chemical Company as a stadium sponsor." Full text available on request.

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11/14 Saginaw News: Reporter questions whether Bhopal "shadow" affects Dow

Saginaw News posted an MLive.com article titled "Is the Bhopal disaster still casting a shadow on Dow Chemical?" by business and economic issues reporter Kathryn Lynch-Morin.
The context of the article is Liveris' possibly being "dropped from" the Indo-US CEO Forum and the company's connection, or lack thereof, to the Bhopal gas tragedy.
Morin cited Dow statements regarding the CEO Forum, the Bhopal gas tragedy, and Responsible Care.
After mentioning the press statements in India regarding the ICJB's Olympic athlete petition, Lynch-Morin closed with:
"Is the Bhopal disaster still unfairly casting a shadow on Dow Chemical?"
No comments were posted on this item.
http://www.mlive.com/business/mid-michigan/index.ssf/2011/11/is_the_bhopal_disaster_still_c.html

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11/12 Hindustan Times: GoI cancelled registrations for four Dow Agrosciences products

Hindustan Times reported the registrations for the four DAS India pesticides that have been at issue in the De-Nocil cases have been cancelled by the GoI.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Govt-bars-Dow-unit-from-selling-4-pesticides/Article1-768367.aspx

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11/15 Ummid: Pervez Bari article on Olympics and standing activist allegations against Dow

Ummid published a long article by Indian Muslim reporter Pervez Bari, who folded together several topics regarding Bhopal.
He started with the information from the Bhopal and Chennai press conferences, listed the 21 former Olympians who signed the ICJB petition, and text from the ICJB press statement. He included expanded comments from
Dhingra saying the UK MPs actions are based on "initiative of the BGIA" (Bhopal Group for Information and Action).
Bari revisited the activist allegations regarding Dow, its relationship to and responsibilities for UCC, the polluter pays principle, UCC's lease obligation to return the factory site to the MP govt "in its original
condition," the GoI court petition for Dow to fund the site remediation, and the activist claim of double standards and racist policies regarding UCC business in the US and India.
http://ummid.com/news/2011/November/15.11.2011/olymipans_against_dow_chemicals.htm

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11/18 IANS, Telegraph: Greenpeace, "Bhopal survivors" object to new nuclear civil liabilities rules

India's Telegraph and IANS reported Greenpeace and "Bhopal survivors" reacted angrily at the terms of the GoI's Rules of the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damages Act that were issued on Thursday. "Campaigners...warned of
'another Bhopal'" in terms of compensation and environmental contamination, should a nuclear facility accident occur. Greenpeace member Karuna Raina alleged the GoI places "foreign interest...above the wellbeing of its
people."
Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/8896591/India-angers-Bhopal-survivors-over-nuclear-decision.html
IANS: http://www.inewsone.com/2011/11/17/india-caved-in-to-foreign-pressure-on-nuclear-liability/90944

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11/14 Asian Voice: Keith Vaz interview of Colin Toogood on Bhopal and BMA

Asian Voice, a UK tabloid newspaper, published an interview with BMA's Toogood done by Keith Vaz. Toogood talked a little about his life before BMA, what he does for BMA, and long term goals. Dow is not
mentioned. Toogood focuses on providing services for the gas victims "and hopefully the justice they deserve." He cited the "ongoing environmental contamination" and the "second disaster" of water contamination. He
acknowledged BMA is a "tiny charity," "there is so little awareness" of continuing issues in Bhopal, and people assume "the Bhopal disaster was all resolved many years ago." Full text available on request.

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11/14-11/17 Independent, Socialist Party UK: BMHRC drug trials commentary

UK Independent posted two articles on the Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Center drug trials:
- The first focused on pharmaceutical companies using impoverished Indian people as "guinea pigs," with one short paragraph on the drug trials. Full text available on request.
- The second article was specific to the BMHRC. Writer Nina Lakhani said the information sources were "secret reports" showing "drug trials funded by western pharmaceutical firms at the Indian hospital set up for
survivors of the Bhopal disaster violated international ethical standards and could have put patients at risk."The reports cited are likely documents accessed by ICJB leader Rachna Dhingra via RTI requests that have been
reported here previously. Dow is not mentioned, the article focuses on pharmaceutical companies including Theravance, Pfizer, GSK and Sanofi, and the drug trial practices at the hospital. Dhingra termed the conduct of
the trials "disgusting and appalling," and the Bhopal gas survivors who were subjected to the trials "doubly victimized." A case study of Ramadhar Shrivastave is included; he is the same patient highlighted in recent
media items about the drug trial controversy.
http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?rid=201028415&cat=hfu8sjsy4hjfjdha

- Daily News & Analysis published a commentary on Monday's broader Independent report on drug trials in India. Full text available on request.

- The Socialist Party UK media also included a brief report on the BMHRC drug trials controversy.
http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/issue/694/13161/16-11-2011/fast-news

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11/17 Hard News: activist RTI requests GoI documents on Anderson extradition

Indian media Hard News published a report on an activist's RTI requests to access GoI documents on the Warren Anderson extradition efforts. Afroz Alam Sahil was provided with CBI and Ministry of External Affairs
documents from 1992-94, which he said indicated the agencies did not try to expedite the process.
The lengthy article mentioned the curative petition on Bhopal victims compensation was originally scheduled to begin hearings on Oct. 17, "but it has been postponed."
http://www.hardnewsmedia.com/2011/11/4214

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11/18 Derby Evening Telegraph: Animal's People review

The UK's Derby Evening Telegraph published a local book group review of Indra Sinha's novel Animal's People. Full text available on request.

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Bhopali film: Screenings scheduled in Amsterdam, Toronto, London, NYC, Pittsburgh, Boston

Upcoming screenings scheduled for the Bhopali documentary include:
- 11/18-11/23, International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) - four screenings: 11/18, 19, 20, 23. No indication whether either Carlson or Payalan will attend.
- 11/25. Amnesty Int'l Film Festival - Toronto screening with Ellen Shifrin, ICJB North America advisory board member, also AI Toronto Business & Human Rights Team, and Aube Giroux, a Canadian activist filmmaker.
- 11/30 Frontier Club, London. Writer and BMA co-founder Indra Sinha will attend (host/present?)
- 12/1 The Indie Screen in Brooklyn, NY
- 12/1 Pittsburgh University, presented by AID Pittsburgh
- 12/2 Amnesty International Film Festival, Bloor Street United Church of Canada in Toronto
- 12/3 MIT campus at 6:30 p.m. "followed by a Q&A with members of ICJB.

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ICJB website: new front page layout; Rail Roko information/justification

The front page of the ICJB website, Bhopal.net, front page has undergone a partial transition, with a new image of a Bhopal torch light rally and a reorganization of the information on the page. The site's interior pages
do not appear to have changed.

The site was also updated with five pages of information regarding the Rail Roko protest that is planned for Bhopal on Dec. 3.
The posts include:
- An appeal for readers to "change your reservations now" to avoid traveling by train on 12/3. The text includes an apology for the inconvenience, "but stopping the trains is the only effective way we can think of to get
our urgent and important message through to the prime minister & government."
- The posts are all about compensation for the gas victims - the UCC settlement amount, how it was calculated, the GoI's "promise to make amends for its betrayal in 1989" with the curative petition on compensation, and
the claimed inaccuracy of data submitted with the curative petition, as compared to ICMR data. Comparisons using charts and tables are made between settlements for the U.S. Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, the "Mangalore rail
crash," and "Uphaar cinema fire."
- A page on "the first betrayal" claims Warren Anderson met with the Indian ambassador in Washington early in 1985 and was told the GoI "had an open mind" but wanted UCC "to take the first step" in proposing a
settlement. A proposal was reportedly delivered at a subsequent "top secret meeting" between UCC, UCIL and GoI officials, followed by the formal proposal on March 4, 1985.
Full text attached.

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BMA website: media items on Dow's Olympic sponsorship; play day for Chingari Trust children

BMA posted four new items on its website, including three of the recent media items on Dow's Olympic sponsorship:
- An excerpt from the Independent's initial article on Tuesday, 11/15, with the title "Coe shrugs off Bhopal protest."
- The Guardian's poll on whether LOCOG should drop Dow's sponsorship.
- The Channel 4 article on the sponsorship issue.
- Photos and description of a picnic and play day for Chingari Trust children at a park in Bhopal.

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Amnesty: Bhopal presentation slides for Group 133; Annual Write-A-Thon on Dec. 11

The Amnesty Group 133 (Somerville, MA) message board posted the slides from Leonid Chindelevitch's ICJB presentation Nov. 8. The 28 slides do not contain much new information. The Olympics campaign plan is the same that
was posted on the AID Boston chapter minutes from 10/23. The new items are:
* Dates for local events - 12/3 Bhopali documentary screening at MIT; a workshop on 11/13 "on activism-life balance" - by Hillary Rettig.
* The 'Plan of Action" reiterated:
* "reach out - US Olympians, Dow victims from all 5 continents, Allies (Amnesty International, AID, Agent Orange, Greenpeace, BMA, etc)
* "Mobilize awareness on Dec 3rd and 10th
* "Hold parallel Olympics for Dow victims
* "Strategy via the Olympic organizing committee" (no further explanation of this)
* A victory over "Dow's hypocrisy" was claimed because 6 ICJB members "disrupted" the Live Earth Run in 2010 and "It was not held again in 2011!"
* Past events mentioned included the walks from Bhopal to Delhi and the "B'eau Pal Water" Yes Men/BMA prank
Due to the file size, the slides are available on request.

Amnesty Group 133 plans to hold its Annual Global Write-A-Thon on Sunday, Dec. 11 in the Center Court of Boston's Prudential Building. The ICJB Boston action plan regarding Dow's Olympics sponsorship includes Dec. 10,
World Human Rights Day, as an action date this year. Given Chindelevitch's recent presentation, the public event is a candidate for some type of ICJB activity.

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Change.org petition now over 1,000 signatures

As of Nov. 18, the Change.org petition addressed to Lord Coe currently has about 1,030 signatures.

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Activist email: Dhingra, Edwards send media items to Remember-Bhopal list

Rachna Dhingra emailed to the Remember-Bhopal distribution list the full text of Tuesday's Independent article claiming "secret reports" as the source material for reporting on the BMHRC drug trials.

Dhingra and Tim Edwards each emailed Wednesday's poll URL to the "Remember-Bhopal" distribution list and encouraged recipients to vote "Yes."
Edwards also emailed 8 URLs for a "selection of UK coverage" on Tuesday.

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AID: new chapter at George Washington Univ.

There is a new AID chapter at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. No details have been released about the group, other than it was founded "with the help of a few AID JHU (Johns Hopkins Univ) students."

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Message boards: Games Monitor; Chennai and Delhi enviro groups

The Games Monitor watchdog blog and message board posted Tuesday's BMA press announcement and Times of India's report on Coe's hearing testimony on the Dow sponsorship.

ICJB activist Shweta Nayaran shared the Guardian poll link on the message boards for the Chennai-based environmental group Lets Save Our Oceans and Reclaim Our Beaches, and the IITD4Bhopal IIT Delhi group.

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Blogs: BMA volunteer Ian Jarvis updates on life at clinic

Sambhavna Clinic volunteer therapist Ian Jarvis posted a Week 11 diary update about life at the clinic. His main topics are the Muslim Eid festival, and challenges of electrical power access at the clinic.

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Social media: BMA Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube; anti-Dow Olympics Facebook

BMA's Facebook page was updated with the same three posts as the website:
- An excerpt from the Independent's initial article on Tuesday, 11/15, with the title "Coe shrugs off Bhopal protest.
- The Guardian's poll on whether LOCOG should drop Dow's sponsorship.
- The Channel 4 article on the sponsorship issue.
The page also included a link to the Hindustan Times article from 11/12 about GoI cancelling registrations for the four DAS India products. Photojournalist Jack Laurenson posted several comments criticizing Dow's Olympic
sponsorship and remarks made by Lord Coe regarding the issue.

BMA's Twitter account tweeted the link to the Guardian's poll, announcing that 91.6% thought Dow should be removed as a sponsor. The account also posted several links to recent media, and a link to the Bhopali Facebook
announcement of the film screening at MIT on Dec. 1.

Al Jazeera's video report on the anti-Dow UK activists was "liked" by BMA on YouTube.

The anti-Dow Olympic sponsorship Facebook page has many of the same posts as the BMA page, and a few others.
- Rosalind Hardie posted a link to the KIM Foundation, with the comment "Dow were also manufacturers of Agent Orange and Napalm used against civilians in the Vietnam War."
- Lorraine Close posted the Ecologist article on the PAN people's tribunal session about the agrichemical companies
- Close also remarked her Change.org petition exceeded 1,000 signatures, and asked for continued sharing of the link to it.

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Yes Men: Yes Lab actions at APEC in Hawai'i; Bonanno to conduct Yes Lab in Sweden 12/14-16; Mark Rudd at Yes Lab 11/17

The Yes Men reported a Yes Lab action took place at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference in Honolulu, Hawai'i on 11/12, where Occupy Hawai'i activist and "renowned guitarist Makana" was to perform
instrumental music, but instead sang a protest song he called "We Are the Many" and displayed a shirt reading "Occupy With Aloha." The audience included heads of states from the U.S., China, Canada, Indonesia and
elsewhere.
The prank received local media coverage in the Honolulu Star Advertiser, as well as blog posts by the Yes Men.
http://www.staradvertiser.com/s?action=login&f=y (requires subscription or available on request)

Univ. of Hawai'i Manoa media Ka Leo had reported successively on Yes Man Mike Bonanno's appearances in the state at the "alterna* APEC's Forum(to)Festival" event Nov. 9-13. Bonanno encouraged forum participants to
respond creatively to "give APEC the attention it deserves." There was no mention of Makana as a forum participant.
http://www.kaleo.org/news/forum-encourages-creative-response-to-apec-1.2667628

Bonanno is scheduled to appear on Dec. 14 at Stockholm arts blog Sugarcube Gallery to lecture and "conduct a yeslab [sic] in various sites, including KKH, Sugarcube and Stockholm at large." Bonanno's visit is to be Dec.
14-16. The event is "part of the Budget Recalcitrance Program conceived by Amanda Newall at the Royal Institute of Art."

The Nov. 17 Occupy Wall Street day of action was promoted by the Yes Lab blog, which concurrently announced the week's "Revolutionaries Live!" speaker was Mark Rudd, who was a "national symbol of student revolt" as part
of the SDS faction the Weathermen in the 1960s..

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Attached Files
#	Filename	Size
35124	35124_Activist email 11-14-11 ICJB press release.pdf	45.7KiB
35125	35125_Activist info 11-14-11 ICJB Olympian Endorsements.pdf	9KiB
35128	35128_Activist info 11-14-11 ICJB athlete petition.pdf	48.4KiB
35551	35551_Activist info 11-17-11 ICJB - Rail Roko.pdf	644.8KiB
37070	37070_PAN_-_PPT_press_release_11-14-11.pdf	175KiB
37073	37073_Activist_info_11-12-11_BMA_press_statement.pdf	62.4KiB
37074	37074_PPT_AgChem_case_summary_11-16-11.pdf	729.9KiB