Standort: fm4.ORF.at / Meldung: "40 years of saving the world"

Kate Farmer

Cutting to the chase

15. 9. 2011 - 15:36

40 years of saving the world

Reality Check: Greenpeace at 40, prospects for UN recognition of Palestine, London's weapons exhibition, SOS Mitmensch initiative "Wir sind keine Fremden"

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It started as a handful of activists sailing to an island off Alaska to try to stop a US nuclear weapons test, and it grew into the world's largest environmental group - Greenpeace.

40 years on, Greenpeace is a long way from its revolutionary roots. Its passionate but generally disorganised and divided original membership has evolved into a highly professional, multinational NGO - the elder statesman of environmental groups.

For many years, Greenpeace was almost synonymous with its ship, the Rainbow Warrior. Although primarily involved in awareness raising and fundraising projects, Rainbow Warrior also took part in protest activities against seal hunting and whaling and became a symbol of the environmental movement, but it was its anti nuclear-testing activities that attracted the most attention - good and bad. After involvement in a number of campaigns against French nuclear testing in the Pacific, she was bombed and sunk by French secret service agents. There were 12 crew on board. One of them was Rien Achterberg, the ship's cook.

Rien joined Greenpeace as an experience campaigner, having already sailed on other protest ships in Pacific. He told Riem Higazi about his first experiences on board and his life as a "rainbow warrior", and how anyone, anywhere can help support the movement.

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But what of today's Greenpeace? Having started a pioneering movement, it continues to have its own unique place on the environmental stage, as Professor of Environmental Politics, Christopher Rootes, told Joanna Bostock.

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The pros and cons of a Palestinian State

The US and the EU are scrambling to talk them out of it, but the Palestinian Authority seem determined to pursue their plans to seek full United Nations membership for a Palestinian state.

The US and EU say Palestinian independence should result from successful peace talks, and while the US could veto full membership at Security Council level, there is a very real chance that the planned vote next week could upgrade Palestine from and "entity" to a "non-member state". Steve Crilley asked UN correspondent, Andreas Zumach, what these different levels of status really mean.

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London hosts huge weapons fair

The Defense and Security International Exhibition, generally considered to be the world's biggest arms fair, is not your usual expo. For a start, the vast majority of people are not eligible to go to it, and those that are have to justify why they want to go. However, if you can explain just why you might want to buy an invisible tank, a suit of body armour or the latest version of the AK47 - this is the place to go. Our London correspondent, Olly Barratt, told Riem Higazi what's hot and what's not in the world of military hardware.

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SOS Mitmensch: Wir sind keine Fremden

The latest initiative by SOS Mitmensch was launched today under the title "Wir sind keine Fremden". The idea is to fundamentally change the language of integration to dispel old prejudices. Chris Cummins has been finding out about the initiative and what it hopes to achieve.

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