Important but underreported news from around the world.
“Their work is excellent, and they’ve been able to do everything we’ve ever asked them to do. And lately, we’ve asked them to do a lot.”
— Army radio contractor James Bowden, on the booming Pentagon demand for cheap prison labor (story #15, below).
TOP STORIES
[o1] “Rise of far right leads to fear and mistrust for Japan’s neighbors”
[o2] “Zimbabwe: “New Farmers” fail to deliver”
[o3] “Soldiers say army ignores, punishes mental anguish”
WORLD
[o4] “Corpses contaminate Nile after Sudan clashes”
[o5] “‘Pesticides are what is killing our kids'”
[o6] “Bread shortage grips Turkmenistan”
[o7] “Pentecostals vs. paleoanthropologists”
ISRAEL
[o8] “17 illegal houses demolished in Negev; Bedouins furious”
[o9] “Olmert backs Tamir’s proposal to include Green Line in textbook maps”
[10] “Al Aksa operative: Rockets will resume”
HEALTH & ETHNICITY
[11] “Ethnic divide for diabetes”
[12] “Obesity and implications for American Muslims”
[13] “Suicide rate among NY’s ethnic women population alarming”
U.S. PRISONS
[14] “Governor’s panel urges tripling state’s faith-based prisons”
[15] “Prison industry’s war jobs come under fire”
[o1]
“Zimbabwe: “New Farmers” fail to deliver”
Institute for War and Peace Reporting, December 8, 2006
Corruption and cronyism have sparked a food crisis, as peasants are driven from farms they seized with the president’s support.
[o2]
“Rise of far right leads to fear and mistrust for Japan’s neighbors”
Independent (U.K.), December 8, 2006
Japan plans to change its constitution to acquire nuclear technology and train troops for the first time since 1945.
[o3]
“Soldiers say army ignores, punishes mental anguish”
National Public Radio, December 4, 2006
Iraq vets with depression and PTSD are hazed or expelled rather than treated or paid mental-health benefits.
[o4]
“Corpses contaminate Nile after Sudan clashes”
Reuters, December 3, 2006
Government and rebel forces traded blame for bloody clashes that have led to cholera outbreaks in the south.
[o5]
“‘Pesticides are what is killing our kids'”
Globe and Mail, December 6, 2006
Chemicals from Prince Edward Island potato farms are blamed for Canada’s highest local rate of childhood cancer.
[o6]
“Bread shortage grips Turkmenistan”
EurasiaNet (NY), December 5, 2006
The government purged more agricultural ministers after its winter wheat crop failed, but observers say such moves worsen the crisis.
[o7]
“Pentecostals vs. paleoanthropologists”
ABC News, December 10, 2006
A museum in Kenya that displays the oldest known hominid fossils has been asked by to move them to a back room.
[o8]
“17 illegal houses demolished in Negev; Bedouins furious”
Ynetnews (Israel), December 6, 2006
Israel left 80 Bedouins homeless after demolishing an “unrecognized” village. Critics say the move was racist.
[o9]
“Olmert backs Tamir’s proposal to include Green Line in textbook maps”
Haiaretz (Israel), December 6, 2006
Rabbis have banned school history books showing the pre-1967 boundary, and called its proponents “enemies of Israel.”
10]
“Al Aksa operative: Rockets will resume”
Jerusalem Post, Dec. 6, 2006
A Fatah militia broke ranks by claiming an official cease-fire no longer applied, as Israel arrested 20 West Bank residents.
[11]
“Ethnic divide for diabetes”
Chicago Tribune, December 7, 2006
A Puerto Rican neighborhood in Chicago has the highest rate of fatal diabetes in the United States; doctors blame poor nutrition.
“Obesity and implications for American Muslims”
InFocus (CA), December 8, 2006
Fast food and lack of exercise are blamed for obesity among the children of Muslim immigrants living in Western societies.
[13]
“Suicide rate among NY’s ethnic women population alarming”
Indo-Asian News Service, December 9, 2006
Spiking depression among Hispanic teen girls and older Asian women is blamed on language problems and poor mental health care.
“Governor’s panel urges tripling state’s faith-based prisons”
Palm Beach Post, December 3, 2006
Analysts say it’s hard to tell whether Florida’s faith based prison programs are working since participants are self-selected.
[15]
“Prison industry’s war jobs come under fire”
Newhouse News Service, December 6, 2006
Critics say Pentagon reliance on cheap prison labor is uncompetitive; others claim it boosts the war effort.
Editor: Julia Scott | Intern: Scott Domini Ehlert
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