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News You Might Have Missed * Vol. 6, No. 1

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Important but overlooked news from around the world. THIS WEEK:
The Bush Administration is hiring lawyers, Dubai takes heat over fears of terror exports, gays in Turkey face a new censorship battle, cigarette smokers and aluminum smelters alike are mired in a battle of the bans, and fast-food is fingered for a surge in childhood kidney stones and ballooning baby fat. QUOTED:
“As fishermen and residents of the area, we will be ready to die for this cause.” — A Trinidad Fishermen’s Association spokesman says plans for a huge aluminum smelter will destroy the local fishing economy (see “Alcoa’s Woes,” below). TOP STORIES
The Bush Investigations
Ahead of an expected surge in Democratic subpoenas, the White House is hiring at least four new attorneys, the Baltimore Sun reports, including specialists in white collar and securities investigations.

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The Waters of Lebanon

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Layers of sludge “as much as two meters thick” drift offshore of Lebanon’s capital, and citizens say decades of backed-up raw sewage have made the Beirut River smell “unbearable.” Critics blame government apathy and incompetence, the Daily Star reports, and complain that new treatment plants are years from completion. One conservationist said U.S. funding for 42 wastewater facilities has produced only a handful that are even “partially” functional. Source:
“Untreated waste fouls Lebanese waterways”
Lebanon Daily Star, December 29, 2006

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Palestine by the Numbers

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The human rights group B’Tselem has tallied up the human cost of Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 2006. Israeli deaths by terrorism dropped to 17, including one minor and six soldiers. In Gaza and the West Bank, the Palestinian death rate tripled to 660, of which 141 were minors, and 322 “noncombatants.” Source:
“Palestinian death toll triples this year”
Independent (U.K.), December 30, 2006

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The Bush Investigations

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Ahead of an expected surge in Democratic subpoenas, the White House is hiring at least four new attorneys, the Baltimore Sun reports, including specialists in white collar and securities investigations. The Sun notes that this is a far cry from the “hiring spree” that preceded President Bill Clinton’s impeachment. Republican are also launching a new PR firm to support any other officials and corporations caught up in the probe. Bush spokesman Tony Snow said the agency is “certainly independent of the White House.” Source:
“Bush is bracing for new scrutiny”
Baltimore Sun, December 26, 2006

Newsdesk News

The End of News You Might Have Missed

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Last week marked the end of our first five-year run, and the final edition of News You Might Have Missed … as we know it. But fear not! On January 3, NYMHM returns in a new format that will better serve our readers, and open up new ways for us to bring you the important but overlooked news of our times. This relaunch is vital for our survival as a free public service, and will not sacrifice any of the qualities that have made NYMHM so uniquely valuable.

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The Arab Christians

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News Analysis by Newsdesk.org
Your comments welcome
Chaldeans, Maronites, Coptics and Orthodox Catholics: Once the dominant peoples of the Middle East, Arab Christians today number less than six percent of the total population. In 1923, at the time of the Ottoman Empire’s collapse, that number was closer to 33 percent, as Christians and Muslims worked together for nationalist goals that trumped religious differences. But the Middle Eastern states drawn up by Western powers after World War I have proved unstable or dictatorial. According to the Middle East Quarterly, sectarianism and political unrest are driving Arab Christians to emigrate at a rate that will bring their numbers to less than six million by 2025. These hardships are not exclusive to Arab Christians, but their struggle for tolerance is one felt between all cultures of the Middle East.

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News You Might Have Missed * Vol. 5, No. 51

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Important but underreported news from around the world. QUOTED: “Their daughters have asthma. Their nieces have autism.” — Real estate heir Trammell S. Crow explains why the Texas business elite derailed a plan for new coal-fired power plants (story #o9, below). TOP STORIES
[o1] “Droughts may set off exodus”
[o2] “Ahmadinejad stifles student dissent with star rating system”
[o3] “U.S. troops raid hospital again”
WORLD
[o4] “Chinese exposed to cadmium sue firm”
[o5] “Cleric blasts Mugabe for shielding Mengistu”
[o6] “Stem cell baby deaths probe ‘too close to the truth'”
NATION
[o7] “Bush move to reduce toxic data faces battle”
[o8] “Some hospitals violate emergency contraception law, survey says”
COAL
[o9] “How a generation exerts power”
[10] “State limits coal-burning power plants”
[11] “Kansas coal power plant brings far-flung protest”
MEDIA
[12] “Profanity: NBC says FCC is violating its own indecency standard”
[13] “Report: Big radio is fewer formats, smaller audience”
GUN LAWS
[14] “Gun veto, city ban both tossed”
[15] “Office shooting has some calling for more weapons”
NEWS & COMMENTARY
[16] “Israelis kill Palestinian child–or do they?

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News You Might Have Missed * Vol. 5, No. 50

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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.

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News You Might Have Missed * Vol. 5, No. 49

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Important but underreported news from around the world. QUOTED: “The only way not to be toxic would be living in a bubble.” — Texas resident Lamar Calvert, who participated in a study that found 39
toxic chemicals in his blood (story #12, below). TOP STORIES
[o1] “U.S. hearts and minds cash goes to Taliban”
[o2] “U.N. troops face child abuse claims”
[o3] “FBI taps cell phone mic as eavesdropping tool”
NATION
[o4] “Arpaio’s lawyer: Jail can refuse rides for abortions”
[o5] “Flog is my co-pilot”
[o6] “FW Diocese concealed abuse”
INDIA
[o7] “Children of Bhopal gas victims suffer from deformity”
[o8] “Coke’s PR offensive in India pays off”
[o9] “India: three killed in caste protests”
GREAT LAKES
[10] “Great Lakes treated like giant ‘toilet'”
[11] “Lake Superior near record-low levels”
EVERYDAY TOXINS
[12] “Toxic trade-off”
[13] “Asbestos dangers remained hidden for decades”
NEWS & COMMENTARY
[14] “Lawless Baghdad descends into chaos”
[15] “Raiding your inbox”

TOP STORIES | top
[o1]
“U.S. hearts and minds cash goes to Taliban”
Institute for War and Peace Reporting, November 28, 2006
Spurred by local mullahs who oppose the occupation, Afghani elders voluntarily give U.S. aid money to the Taliban. [o2]
“U.N. troops face child abuse claims”
BBC (U.K.), December 3, 2006
Peacekeepers in Haiti and Liberia are accused of “rampant” sexual predation in return for food, despite a “zero tolerance” policy.

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News You Might Have Missed * Vol. 5, No. 48

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Important but underreported news from around the world. QUOTED: “We just move it.” — China’s 2008 Olympics organizer Sun Weijia says Beijing’s pollution
will be cleared up by relocating factories (story #14, below). TOP STORIES
[o1] “Tiny indigenous groups agree on ‘death pact’ protest”
[o2] “Afghan drug boom fuels child addiction rates”
[o3] “Dolphins in distress”
MUSLIM ASSIMILATION
[o4] “European minorities torn between worlds”
[o5] “Blending Muslim tradition with American reality”
TRIBAL URANIUM
[o6] “Aboriginal cancer doubles near uranium mine”
[o7] “Mining firms again eyeing Navajo land”
DRUG TREATMENT
[o8] “Give addicts heroin, says officer”
[o9] “Small town big on heroin troubles”
[10] “Tories looking for more opinions on safe-injection site”
KATRINA CONTRACTS
[11] “Katrina spending target of audit”
[12] “FEMA contract reveals hurricane costs”
CHINA’S ENVIRONMENT
[13] “More Chinese cities facing water scarcity”
[14] “Air apparent”
NEWS & COMMENTARY
[15] “Conformity not enough for Muslims”
TOP STORIES | top
[o1]
“Tiny indigenous groups agree on ‘death pact’ protest”
El Universal (Mexico), November 27, 2006
Facing exctinction and government neglect, the tribes have agreed to stop breeding. Critics say it’s a publicity stunt..