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News You Might Have Missed

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Important but underreported news from around the world — and your own backyard
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QUOTED: “[H]ow do you do that for an entire hour with kids? You can’t just go in and say that’s what we’re talking about. They’ll be totally turned off.” –School board member Teresa Cornette of Boyd County, Kentucky, reacting to a court ruling on mandated gay tolerance classes. (Story #12, below.)
 – – – – – – – – – –
TOP STORIES
[o1] “CNN tours Gitmo prison camp”
[o2] “Ocean temperatures highest in 50 years”
[o3] “West turns blind eye as police put Saddam’s torturers to work”
LONDON ATTACKS: BACKLASH
[o4] “Plea for calm after mosque attacks”
[o5] “Plea for calm after mosque attacks”
[o6] “Six Auckland mosques vandalized”
[o7] “London blasts reopen Spanish divide over Madrid attack”
POLITICS & EDUCATION
[o8] “BIA’s education programs lagging behind nation”
[o9] “Teachers group goes after Bush’s No Child Left Behind law”
GAY RIGHTS
[10] “Green Bay joins fight against benefits for gay partners”
[11] “AMA begins to tackle LGBT issues”
[12] “ACLU asks to reopen Boyd schools gay-rights suit”
ENVIRONMENT
[13] “Bush urges less global oil use, as U.S. guzzles it”
[14] “Md.

Featured

News You Might Have Missed

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Important but underreported news from around the world — and your own backyard
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QUOTED: “He says to me, ‘Your government in Mexico.’ I’m thinking, where on my face does it say I come from Mexico? I’m from Peru.” –Tony Yapias, former director of Utah’s Office of Hispanic Affairs,
on racism among the Utah Minutemen. (Story #11, below.)
 – – – – – – – – – –
TOP STORIES
[o1] “U.N. specialists seek U.S. detention spots”
[o2] “Andijan: A policeman’s account”
[o3] “Police disperse opposition demonstration”
WORLD
[o4] “Sakhalin indigenous people blockade oil development”
[o5] “U.N. highlights Brazil gun crisis”
[o6] “Rwanda in court over Congo claims”
[o7] “Air quality an overlooked casualty of war”
[o8] “Top court upholds press freedom”
NATION
[O9] “N.J. city criticized for homeless lawsuit”
[10] “Bloggers fight for ‘shield’ law”
[11] “Minuteman organizing to ‘protect’ borders well off the Mexico line”
[12] “Senate rejects Sununu logging road amendment”
[13] “Farmers evade cow testing, critic says”
ENVIRONMENT
[14] “Explosive issue a dud along the coast of Texas”
[15] “U.S. allows building of Fall River LNG facility”
[16] “N.J. to its neighbor: See you in court”
VIEWPOINT
[17] “Mugabe’s rivals fail to protect the people”
[18] “U.S. attack on Iran may be in the cards”

 – – – – – – – – – –
TOP STORIES
Top
[o1]
“U.N. specialists seek U.S. detention spots”
Associated Press, June 30, 2005
The United Nations will investigate claims of secret detentions on U.S. Navy warships in international waters.

Culture

The Future of File Sharing

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By Martin Leatherman, Newsdesk.org
People reading last week’s headlines regarding MGM’s victory over Grokster and Streamcast in the U.S. Supreme Court may have thought that file-sharing services were doomed. Not so fast, some say. An article in Computer World said the coverage of the Supreme Court ruling was off-base. The ruling wasn’t against file sharing software, or even file-sharers themselves. Grokster and Streamcast lost the lawsuit because they openly supported piracy.

Culture

The Patriot Act

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By Martin Leatherman, Newsdesk.org staff
This Fourth of July weekend, Americans will descend on their local parks and fire up the barbecues for a celebration of independence and liberty packed with fireworks and patriotic zeal. The Patriot Act, just four years old, has asked Americans to relinquish some of those hard-earned liberties in exchange for greater security. Passed by Congress in the emotional aftermath of the September 11 attacks, the controversial bill expanded the federal government’s investigative and intelligence-gathering powers to fight terrorism. Among other things, it allows secret searches of private property, defines terrorism broadly, expands the government’s ability to watch people, and opens Internet use and personal reading habits to federal scrutiny. Now, with portions of the bill due to “sunset” or expire, Congress has begun debating its reauthorization — and critics are targeting provisions they say are too easily abused.

Featured

News You Might Have Missed * June 23-29, 2005

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Important but underreported news from around the world — and your own backyard
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QUOTED: “You can’t even compare this to the 1930s. It’s more like the Middle Ages.” — Media activist Sergei Plotnikov on the conviction of a Russian journalist for slander in an unpublished article (story #15, below).  – – – – – – – – – –
TOP STORIES
[o1] “Firm of EPA nominee linked to Grace”
[o2] “Brownback committee reviews Roe v. Wade”
[o3] “Accusations hurled as officials brief residents on Agent Orange”
BIOENGINEERED FOODS
[o4] “GM corn stays on shelf, despite health concerns”
[o5] “GMO foods can bring benefits, vigilance needed — WHO”

CHARTER & VOUCHER SCHOOLS
[o6] “Arizona wants charter-school funds restored”
[o7] “Lessons from the voucher schools”
[o8] “Charter school owner accused”
ENVIRONMENT
[O9] “Study: Perchlorate contamination, cleanup not under federal watch”
[10] “Parking lots carry massive pollution threat”
[11] “Councilman wants to dump the dumps”

NATION
[12] “U-M demands an audit of Coke”
[13] “Tenn. probes ‘ex-gay’ camp”
[14] “Gallup: Those opposed to military draft hit record high”
WORLD MEDIA
[15] “Russian journalist jailed for unpublished article”
[16] “Editor defensive over discredited Iraq reports”
[17] “Iraq violence shifting Arab media”

VIEWPOINT
[18] “No democracy for you”

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TOP STORIES
Top
[o1]
“Firm of EPA nominee linked to Grace”
Baltimore Sun, June 25, 2005
Bush’s nominee for the EPA enforcement chief has defended polluters such as asbestos litigant W.R. Grace & co.

Culture

Third World Debt

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By Martin Leatherman & Josh Wilson, Newsdesk.org
On July 2 the world’s eight richest nations are expected to cancel $40 billion in debt owed by 18 of the world’s poorest nations. But critics from all corners claim this is a partial solution at best. The G8, which meets next week in Glasgow, will provide 100 percent relief from International Monetary Fund, World Bank and African Development Bank loans through the IMF’s Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Any money saved from debt relief is required to go to infrastructure, health care and education. Zambia, a nation of ten million people, almost one million of whom are said to have HIV, plans to use the extra funding to distribute free AIDS drugs, and to fight malaria.

Featured

News You Might Have Missed * June 16-22, 2005

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Important but underreported news from around the world — and your own backyard
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QUOTED: “If DU is so safe, why do American soldiers need to wear protective clothing in the first place?” — Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wa.) on the Pentagon’s lack of a depleted uranium health policy for returning Iraq veterans (story #14, below).  – – – – – – – – – –
TOP STORIES
[o1] “Uzbekistan: Andijan residents ‘tortured'”
[o2] “Peruvian region expands legal cultivation of coca”
[o3] “Parliament misled over firebomb use”
INTERNET POLICING
[o4] “Your ISP as Net watchdog”
[o5] “Government eyes policing of Internet”
[o6] “Beijing to hire thousands more Web police”

GAY POLITICS
[o7] “Youth’s blog stirs uproar over ‘ex-gay’ camp”
[o8] “Commission bans county from recognizing gay pride”
MULTINATIONAL LAWSUITS
[o9] “Farmers ‘terrified out of their homes’ to sue BP for #15m”
[10] “Villagers claim victory in Coca-Cola battle”
[11] “Group wants warning labels on potato chips”

NATION
[12] “USDA plants its own news”
[13] “Amtrak cuts would end Chicago-New Orleans service”
[14] “Collateral risk: DU research gap could impact Vermont troops”
ENVIRONMENT
[15] “Citizens often kept from public data”
[16] “Dismayed by the DNR”
[17] “Deserts set to expand”
[18] “Canada’s e-trash plagues China”

VIEWPOINT
[19] “Shacking up”

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TOP STORIES
Top
[o1]
“Uzbekistan: Andijan residents ‘tortured'”
Institute for War and Peace Reporting, June 21, 2005
Men detained by Uzbek police in connection with the May riots in Andijan say they were tortured and sexually assaulted. [o2]
“Peruvian region expands legal cultivation of coca”
Merco Press, June 22, 2005
“Traditional” coca farming will benefit impoverished residents of the Cuzco province, but opponents say it will boost the drug trade. [o3]
“Parliament misled over firebomb use”
Telegraph (U.K.), June 20, 2005
Britain’s Defense Secretary says U.S. officials lied to him about the use of a napalm-like firebomb in the Iraq war.

Science

Plastics & Your Health

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By Martin Leatherman & Newsdesk.org staff
New studies of chemicals used in plastics reveal potential health problems, including miscarriages and abnormal fetus development. But regulation remains a tricky prospect. Legislators in California are developing bills targeting chemicals used in consumer products, including plastics, which may cause human health problems.
Cosmetics and chemical manufacturers say that such new legislation is unnecessary because a variety of state and federal laws already regulate the industry, according to the Christian Science Monitor. One chemical of concern, bisphenol-A, or BPA, is used in baby bottles, teething rings, packaging materials and wall and floor coverings. In a study published in the May 2005 edition of Endocrinology, mouse fetuses exposed to one percent of the amount of BPA deemed safe for humans developed significantly more tissue in their mammary glands.

Featured

News You Might Have Missed

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Important but underreported news from around the world — and your own backyard
 – – – – – – – – – –
QUOTED: “I will not allow those seeking to topple me to succeed, and I
will not allow them to undermine or weaken my ability to govern.” — Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, on allegations that she confessed to rigging elections in a wiretapped phone conversation (story #o7, below).  – – – – – – – – – –
TOP STORIES
[o1] “Iraqi reality-TV hit takes fear factor to another level”
[o2] “Revealed: how oil giant influenced Bush”
[o3] “Study: Illnesses linked to Gulf War combat zone”
WORLD MEDIA
[o4] “Freed Chinese dissident vows to resume Tiananmen Web site”
[o5] “Low marks on freedom of expression”
[o6] “Politicians and journalists slam arrest of columnist”
[o7] “DoJ cracks down on media outlets playing ‘Arroyo tape'”

PLASTIC CHEMICALS
[o8] “Link found between food packaging and miscarriages
[O9] “plastics linked to cancer and genital abnormalities”
NATION
[10] “Pentagon wasted supplies, GAO finds”
[11] “The age of autism: One in 15,000 Amish”
[12] “Texas groups demand apology for governor’s comment”
[13] “Senators slam deal for mineral rights in Florida cypress preserve”
[14] “Green Wall, code of silence are troubling state prison bosses”
ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS
[15] “Hazardous haulers”
[16] “Legal victory gives hope to victims of Russia’s smokestacks”
[17] “Nation to control pollution emissions”
[18] “Ill winds”

VIEWPOINT
[19] “In China, cigarettes are a kind of miracle drug”

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TOP STORIES
Top
[o1]
“Iraqi reality-TV hit takes fear factor to another level”
Christian Science Monitor, June 7, 2005
A Sunni group targeted a police chief known for his anti-insurgent interrogations on an Iraqi reality TV show about the war. “Suicide policeman hits Iraq’s Wolf Brigade HQ”
Reuters, June 11, 2005

[o2]
“Revealed: How oil giant influenced Bush”
Guardian (U.K.), June 8, 2005
The Bush administration withdrew from the Kyoto treaty based partly on pressure from ExxonMobil and other oil companies. [o3]
“Study: Illnesses linked to Gulf War combat zone”
St.

Featured

News You Might Have Missed

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Important but underreported news from around the world — and your own backyard
 – – – – – – – – – –
QUOTED: “This just stinks. There’s a bunch of people down there who
think they’re above the law.” — Toledo hot dog vendor Andrew Eklund on an Ohio embezzlement scandal
involving a coin collector and prominent politicians (story #11, below).  – – – – – – – – – –
TOP STORIES
[o1] “Fears over CIA ‘university spies'”
[o2] “Gene change alters sex orientation in fruit flies”
[o3] “Stricter rules for abortion clinics”
WORLD
[o4] “Ure calms dismay over G8 protests”
[o5] “Swiss vote to expand gay couples’ rights”
[o6] “Tens of thousands in Hong Kong honor Tiananmen Square protesters”
[o7] “Bolivia may call early elections”
[o8] “Children pay the price of war”

ELECTION POLITICS
[o9] “The Democrats’ class struggle”
[10] “Black caucus retreats on 527s”
[11] “‘Coingate’ rocks Ohio’s Republican Party”
PUBLIC HEALTH
[12] “Kids against candy”
[13] “Key study on safety of chemical disputed”
[14] “NH trades MtBE for ethanol”
ENVIRONMENT
[15] “Organic farming takes root in urbanized Puerto Rico”
[16] “Poison plant”
[17] “By order of the court: environmental cleanup”
VIEWPOINT
[18] “The foreign language of choice”
[19] “Nipple-negating technology declares war on female breasts”

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TOP STORIES
Top
[o1]
“Fears over CIA ‘university spies'”
BBC (U.K.), June 2, 2005
A CIA scholarship program founded after 9/11 sends college anthropology students to do “fieldwork” in other countries. [o2]
“Gene change alters sex orientation in fruit flies”
Reuters, June 3, 2005
Changing a single male or female gene attracts fruit flies to their own gender, implying sexual orientation is inherited.