Billionaires To Give Away Their Fortunes:

40 American billionaires have agreed to give away at least half their wealth, in support of a pledge set up by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. The Giving Pledge is a “moral commitment”, not a legal contract, which says each member will donate at least half of their wealth to charity or philanthropic organisations during their lifetime or soon after their death.

Some have pledged well over half their fortunes, with some pledging close to 90%. Buffet, 79, has pledged over 99% of his fortune, estimated at $47 billion. George Lucas, the filmmaker behind Star Wars, stated he is “dedicating the majority of (his) wealth to improving education. It’s key to the survival of the human race”. Figures from the US Internal Revenue Service suggest that the 400 biggest taxpayers in 2007 gave only about 10% of their income to charity. The Giving Pledge can be viewed at GivingPledge.org.

Naomi Campbell Appears At War Crimes Trial:

Supermodel Naomi Campbell has appeared at the trial of former President of Liberia Charles Taylor, who is accused of mass murder, rape and the use of child soldiers in Sierra Leone. Last Thursday (August 5 2010), Naomi Campbell testified that she received several “blood diamonds” as an anonymous gift from Taylor in 1997.

A month before receiving the diamonds, Taylor had been elected as President of Liberia with the famous slogan “He killed my Ma, he killed my Pa, but I will vote for him”. Campbell said that, at the time, she “had never heard of Charles Taylor before, never heard of the country Liberia before, had never head the term ‘blood diamonds’ before”.

Campbell alleges she gave the diamonds to the director of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund and asked him to donate them to charity. Jeremy Ractliffe, the director of the fund, told ABC news that he had received the diamonds and has turned them over to the South African police. Campbell has repeatedly refused to discuss the trial with the media, and in April of this year, the supermodel stormed out of an ABC studio and punched a camera after being asked about her ownership of blood diamonds.

Oliver Courtney, a spokesperson for human rights NGO Global Witness, said: “Ms Campbell’s testimony reminds us of the damage that can be done by power-hungry individuals who would illegally exploit their country’s natural resource wealth to wage campaigns of violence and brutality against civilians.”
 

Wyclef To Run For Haiti Presidency:

Singer Wyclef Jean has announced that he will be running for the presidency of Haiti in the country’s election this year. Before he is officially accepted as a candidate, the Haitian-born singer has to prove he has lived in Haiti for five consecutive years.

CBC has reported that Wyclef has numerous financial issues unresolved in the US, even before he leads Haiti; a 2006 tax return for his charitable foundation showed that more than a third of its revenues went to covering miscellaneous expenses, and the US Internal Revenue Service is awaiting $2.1 million in back taxes from the Grammy award-winning singer.

Speaking to the Guardian, Wyclef said: “Singing about policy is not enough. I’ve seen musicians sing about it all their life. I’ve taken the position to not only exercise what we are singing about, but to see if we could take five years to move this country into a better direction… even if I lose, I do win.” Wyclef will be hoping his presidency doesn’t follow the lyrics to his song ‘If I Was President’: “If I was president, I’d get elected on Friday, assassinated on Saturday, and buried on Sunday.”

Road Protest In Russia:

More than 50 activists in Russia have been arrested during a demonstration in a centuries old forest threatened by a proposed road development. The arrests on Monday (August 2 2010) included liberal Yabloko party leader Sergei Mitrokhin, along with leaders from the Left Front opposition group. The arrests come a week after more than 100 masked activists separated from a march through Khimki to descend on a city hall where bottles, fireworks and Molotov cocktails were hurled at the building.

Mikhail Beketov, the editor in chief of Khimkinskaya Pravda, campaigned to save the forest two years ago before he was badly beaten by an unknown assailant - leading to severe brain damage and the amputation of his right leg.

Words: Richard Lemmer
Photos: Flickr users luckyjudy and Craig Grobler