Andy and Jim discuss social justice and inequality

We here at econnexus.org.uk rather fortuitously found ourselves filming events on Exeter Cathedral Green on the afternoon of Sunday 27th November 2011. After filming a conversation with photographer "Stone" Naylor we then listened to Nicci Wonnacott from the International Women's Arts Group explain why she had helped organise the Women Occupy Exeter "happening".

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According to the Miami Herald:

Former singer Michel ‘Sweet Micky’ Martelly is expected to be the next president of Haiti, observers say, defeating former first lady Mirlande Manigat.

After many months of intimidation, fraud allegations, reruns, recounts, and other delays it appears that later today Michel Martelly will be formally proclaimed as the new President of Haiti.  If that is confirmed the musician will  have a mountain of problems to deal with, but here is the one that concerns us most. According to the official statistics 4766 people have already died in the outbreak of cholera in Haiti. Things seem to be much improved, and only one of those deaths was on March 28th, currently the most recently reported date. However just as it was this time last year the Haitian rainy season is on the way. Unlike last year people in Haiti are already dying from cholera, and the program to improve supplies of clean drinking water and better sanitation is way behind schedule.

More on Michel Martelly "Reportedly" Wins Haiti Presidential Election

According to Reuters today the United Nations' top humanitarian official thinks that:

Haiti needs a surge of foreign nurses and doctors to stem deaths from a raging cholera epidemic that an international aid operation is struggling to control. Around 1,000 trained nurses and at least 100 more doctors were urgently needed to control the epidemic.

The official statistics are now four days old, but according to those 1415 people have now died from cholera in Haiti, 98 of them under 5 years of age.

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The Haitian Ministry of Public Health official statistics for November 14th reveal that the death toll from cholera had already passed 1000 two days ago. 42 deaths on the day, and 1034 in total.  According to the BBC this evening:

More on Haiti Cholera Death Toll Passes 1000. Two More Die From Gunshots.

This week's issue of New Scientist includes a special section entitled "7 Reasons Why People Hate Reason", plus a couple of other interesting articles.

I urge you to read the special section in it's entirety. It contains articles by nine distinguished figures – linguist Noam Chomsky, neuroscientist Chris Frith, philosopher A.C. Grayling, philosopher Mary Midgeley, sociologist David Miller, mathematical physicist Roger Penrose, bioethicist Tom Shakespeare, artist Keith Tyson, and the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, together with an editorial overview of their contributions that gives the raison d'etre for the articles:

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