Calendar Archives: 2005
The Cafés Diplomatiques (Café Diplo)
Cumulative Archive of Cafe Topics for the year 2005
Entrance fee: £3
(£2 concessions) FREE TO MEMBERS
Sat 22 Jan: POLITICS AND ETHICS IN UZBEKISTAN
- with CRAIG MURRAY
The human rights record of the former Soviet Republic hit the headlines in 2003. Former UK Ambassador Craig Murray discusses the situation in Uzbekistan and the implications of Western government collusion with the current regime.
Sat 5 Feb: TETRA PHONE MASTS: PROFITEERING FROM PUBLIC HEALTH RISK - with DR. GERARD HYLAND
Dr Gerard Hyland has studied the effects of microwave radiation on living organisms since 1985. TETRA is a mobile microwave communication technology intended for use by the emergency services. Its use by the British police has already led to officer deaths and to the serious illness of hundreds of officers. The Home Office has been criticised by the National Audit Committee and by the European Parliament, for insisting on the exclusive use of Tetra by the police force, and is planning to set up 3200 of them despite adverse effect to the local population and to officers.
Dr Hyland is Honorary Fellow of the University of Warwick, and Exectutive Member of the International Institute of Biophysics in Germany. He is also a Trustee of UK EM (Electromagnetic) Radiation Trust.
Sat 19 Feb: IRAN - THE GEO-POLITICS OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC
with DR. ZHAND SHAKIBI
Dr Zhand Shakibi, Fellow in Comparative Politics at the London School of Economics will discuss the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its place in the geo-politics and security of the Middle East. Dr Shakibi has studied in Tehran, St Petersburg and Europe and his areas of expertise include Iran, Russia, Central Asia, politics of identity, and the political concept of Empire.
Sat 5 March: NO RULES FOR THE RICH - HOW TAX AVOIDANCE IS WRECKING THE GLOBAL ECONOMY - with JOHN CHRISTENSEN
Hidden from public scrutiny, businesses and banking systems have been reconfigured to bypass nationally-based tax and regulatory regimes. Using around 65 global tax havens, wealthy individuals and businesses employ aggressive tax avoidance strategies and force governments to engage in harmful tax competition to attract investment. These practices distort trade patterns, undermine economic growth, increase wealth inequality, and cause endemic poverty, social instability and failed states, whilst poorer countries lose an estimated US$50 billion annually to dirty money flows. John Christensen, International Coordinator of the Tax Justice Network and former economic adviser to the States of Jersey (a tax haven) outlines the problem and the steps needed to mobilise against it.
12 March, 2005 - MEDIA CONFERENCE 2005
"NEWS FOR SALE Information in the age of Market-Driven Journalism" Click for more information
In May 2005, State Parties will gather in New York to review the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). The decision to shift US policy away from multi-lateralism, a weakening of the political will among the nuclear states to pursue non-proliferation and disarmament goals, together with serious doubts about the efficacy of the NPT, threaten the very existence of the treaty. Nigel Chamberlain, an analyst at the British-American Security Information Council, discusses how international non-proliferation consensus can be strengthened.
Sat 30th April: CHINA AND ITS BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY SECTORS with PETER NOLAN
The West has watched China's development with growing apprehension. Emerging inequalities, rural poverty, pollution and other 'side-effects' of rapid industrialisation have yet to be fully examined. Central planning has now given way to a proliferation of neo-liberal strategies and it is time to count its true contribution, within China and to the world, as well as the costs. Author of several books on China, including 'China at the Crossroads' (2003) and 'Transforming China: Globalisation', 'Transition and Development' (2004).
Peter Nolan is Sinyi Professor of Chinese Management and Chair of the University of Cambridge's Development Studies Committee. The Financial Times commented in a 2000 report: "Peter Nolan knows more about Chinese companies and their international competition than anyone else on earth, including in China".
Sat 14th May: BRITISH 'NO' and FRENCH 'NON' - EUROPE's GREATEST THREAT? with RICHARD GOWAN
Richard Gowan will be speaking about the new European Constitution in relation to the forthcoming referenda - a crucial period in the development of the European Union. Richard is Director of the Europe Programme at the Foreign Policy Centre and an expert on European Security Strategy and the politics of the EU in Britain. He studied History and International Relations at Cambridge University where he gained an MPhil and published on the political philosophy on Raymond Aron. Richard has authored and co-authored a number of essays, pamphlets and articles on European issues. He makes regular media appearances as a commentator on European and UK politics, including on CNN, BBC News and BBC World Service.
The Foreign Policy Centre is a leading European think tank launched to develop a vision of a fair and rule-based world order. Its programme on the European Constitution uses independent research and analysis to explore the implications for Europe and Britain of the proposed Constitution Treaty and of the forthcoming referenda. In September 2004 it published 'The Referendum Battle' in association with MORI, the first competitive study and analysis of British attitudes towards the Constitution.
Sat 28th May: INSIDE NORTH KOREA - with Dr JIM HOARE
North Korea's isolation and nuclear capabilities have become a prominent focus of international attention and US foreign policy, but information about the country remains very limited in the West. Dr Jim Hoare, who retired from the Diplomatic Service in January 2003, was in a unique position to learn about the country, since he established the British Embassy there in 2001. He has also served in South Korea (1981-1985) and in China (1988- 1991). He is now a consultant, and regularly broadcasts and writes about East Asia. He and his wife, Susan Pares, have just published 'A Political and Economic Dictionary of East Asia' (Routledge: 2005), and 'North Korea in the 21st Century: A Critical Guide', is due to
be published by Global Oriental shortly. He is the current President of the British Association for Korean Studies, and is an Honorary Research Associate at The School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London and of the School of East Asian Studies, University of Sheffield.
Saturday 11th June: IMMIGRATION, RACISM & HUMAN RIGHTS, with KEITH BEST
A recent audit revealed that asylum seekers, on average, have higher qualifications than the British population, and are able to make a strong contribution to the economy. Yet the worst human rights abuses in the UK are committed against refugees and asylum seekers. The government has denied them the right to work. A rising number are denied benefits, and end up on the streets. Former MP Keith Best is Chief Executive of Immigration Advisory Service, which provides free
legal advice and representation to people with immigration and asylum problems. Named in the Guardian as one of the 100 most influential people in public services in the UK, he will unravel the complicated immigration imbroglio
Mr Putin calls himself a democrat. However, recent decisions taken by the Russian President are testimony to his anti-democratic instincts. According to an increasing number of commentators, the Russian Federation is sliding into authoritarianism. Margot Light, Emeritus Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics, will discuss the future of democracy in Russia. She is an old Soviet hand, an expert on internal policy and foreign relations in Russia and the CIS, and author of numerous writings on Russian current affairs.
Saturday 24th September: CAN WE TRUST THE SECRET STATE? with David Shayler and Annie MachonAt a time when our country is taken to war on flawed intelligence information, UK citizens are imprisoned without trial on the word of the intelligence services, and fear of terrorist attack is high, we need to know that those responsible for Britains security are really doing all they can to protect us. David Shayler, who worked for M15's political and counter terrorism department in the 1990's, was so concerned by its questionable activities and incompetence that he left and went on the record about the service's failings. This courageous stand has led to a life on the run, exile in Paris, and two spells in jail. David will speak of his experiences at the heart of the secret state and on what happens when you stand up to it. His colleague, Annie Machon, who left for the same reasons, has recently written a book, 'Spies, Lies & Whistleblowers' which tells this fascinating and disturbing story.
Saturday 8th October: THE MYTH OF AL ZARQAWI & THE NEW JIHADIST GENERATION with Loretta NapoleoniLoretta Napoleoni is an economist and expert on the economics of terrorism. She has several books to her credit, including a remarkable study of Arabic finance, its connection to Islamic terrorism and interface with western economies (see Cafe Diplo 24th January 2004). Her book "Terror Inc." was published by Penguin, and "Made in America: Al Zarqawi & the Future of the Islamic Jihad" will be published in November by Constable & Robinson. This talk will cover the US creation of the myth of Al Zarqawi, his impact on the insurgency in Iraq and on the Jihadist movement in the West. Loretta was once consultant for US Homeland Security and was the Chair of the Countering Terrorism Financing Group for the Madrid Conference on Democracy, Terrorism and Security.
Saturday 22nd October: IRAQ & THE US OCCUPATION with Sami RamadaniThe US occupation is fragmenting Iraq and encouraging civil strife, with appalling consequences in terms of bloodshed and destruction. Sami Ramadani is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the London Metropolitan University, and a former exile from Saddam Hussein's regime. He campaigned for democracy in Iraq, but strongly opposed the US-led invasion, and has written on the subject in the Guardian. He will discuss the nature of the US-led occupation and the prospects for the future: is the US planning a disengagement from Iraq.
Saturday 5th November : EUROPEAN PROPERTY MARKETS - A THREAT TO URBAN SOCIETY? with Michael EdwardsInequalities are mounting in the modern world and in Europe. Michael Edwards, an urban economist and planner at Bartlett UCL, argues that private property markets, in the form we have them today, increase poverty. They also make Europe un-competitive, so they are dangerous for productive capital too. Edwards, who directs a masters programme in European
Planning & Property Development and is active in challenging the neo-liberal aspects of London, especially through the London Social Forum, challenges the way we think about housing, about saving and about income in retirement.
The recent surge in fuel prices caused by the beginnings of a dangerous race for oil and gas reserves between established powers and rapidly growing economies such as India and China, has led to opportunist lobbying by the nuclear industry to build more plants. At the same time, far from learning the lessons of the oil inspired Iraq war, Tony Blair has recently fallen into line behind Bush by asserting that no country is prepared to cut its growth or energy consumption. There is another solution, that of reducing energy consumption and gradually replacing nuclear power, oil and other fossil fuels with renewable energy. Prof.John Twidell is one of the pioneers in the UK of renewable energy application. He is Director of the AMSET Centre Ltd, Editor of the Journal 'Wind Engineering' , visiting Professor in Renewable Energy at Reading University, and has been an advisor to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Energy. He is the author of nine books on renewable energy including "Renewable Energy Resources", and the second edition is due to be published in December 2005.
Saturday December 3rd : LONDON INSIDE-OUT - POLITICS IN A WORLD CITY with Professor Doreen Massey
When the bombs went off on July 7th our response as Londoners was to confirm our defiant multicultural identity. It was in this guise that Ken Livingstone called the city 'the future of the world'. But London heralds the future world in other ways too. It is, for example, a command centre of neoliberal globalisation, and the effects of this reverberate around the world, often in problematical ways. Doreen Massey, Professor of Geography at the Open University, has written widely on globalisation, regional uneven development, and the reconceptualisation of place. She is co-founder and co-editor of 'Soundings: a journal of politics and culture' and her latest book 'For Space' was published this year by Sage. She will be discussing how we can build an 'outward looking' politics for our world city - a politics of place beyond place.
(March 2005 conference) 
