Democracy & Civics

Koran in Hand, She Wins Over Mullahs

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Fiery and not yet out of her 20s, Wazhma Frogh has been making waves in Afghanistan by using the Koran to undermine oppression of women and boost her literacy and education programs.
The Christian Science Monitor reports that Frogh’s work is part of a trend among liberal-minded Muslims to use sacred texts to advance women’s issues where secular approaches have failed. Now an employee of a Canadian international development agency, Frogh works at both the policy level and on the street. Her greatest task — to win over the men who predominate both in Afghan government and village life — has been surprisingly successful, given the country’s struggles with the fundamentalist Taliban. Her boosters say among Frogh’s great strengths are her encyclopedic knowledge of the Koran, and her facility with Arabic, both of which often exceed the capacities of local mullahs. Source:
“Inside Islam, a woman’s roar”
Christian Science Monitor, March 5, 2008

Democracy & Civics

Short-Changed by the Labels? Musicians Dispute Napster Settlement

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The recording industry may have netted hundreds of millions of dollars in settlement money from lawsuits targeting Napster, Kazaa and other music-sharing services — but a group of “prominent” artist managers say their clients have not shared in the bounty. The New York Post reports that EMI, Universal and Warner are still calculating payouts and the “level of copyright infringement” for each artist. Yet even if there is money owed, industry insiders told the Post that legal fees have drastically cut into what would have been passed along to the artists. Now, artist managers for performers such as Jewel, the Eagles, Don Henley, Korn and others are threatening to sue. Representatives of the labels told the Post that they have already distributed settlement funds to their artists, or are beginning to do so.

Democracy & Civics

"Enviropig": Less Pollution, More Questions

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A little bit of genetic editing is all that’s required to slash the environmental damage caused by sewage from industrial pig farms, researchers in Canada say. Salon.com reports that scientists in Guelph, Canada, have combined an E.Coli gene with a mouse protein, and spliced it into pigs to improve their ability to breakdown phytase, a natural substance rich in phosphorous. In industrial conditions, phosphorous from superabundant pig sewage leaches into water supplies, causing algae blooms, fish kills, and similar ecological mayhem. Now, advocates fear FDA approval of cloned meat for American consumption will open the door for the genetically modified “Enviropig,” as it’s been dubbed, to enter the marketplace and the ecosystem without proper testing. In fact, that already happened in Canada, where a simple error saw 11 stillborn Enviropigs turned into poultry feed for a farm in Ontario, rather than incinerated as required by Canadian law.

Democracy & Civics

Infants and International Incidents

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With regulations tightening in China, Western couples are increasingly looking to Vietnam for overseas adoptions. But the trend is creating new complications, including illegal baby smuggling and diplomatic struggles between governments. Vietnamese police said last week they had busted a baby-smuggling gang who were taking two infants — a one-month-old and a one-week-old — to sell in China. Also detained was a woman in her eighth month of pregnancy who told police she had agreed to sell her unborn child to the group for the equivalent of about $500. “This is the first time we have caught a human trafficking syndicate in a case where the baby was still in the womb,” a police officer told Agence France-Presse.

Democracy & Civics

Radiation on the Reservation

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As the market booms for uranium mining in the American West, a Seattle newspaper took a new look at what can happen when industry ignores the potential risks of the practice. The Seattle Times reported on the toxic mess left behind by uranium mines on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington: toxic pools, radioactive homes and very high rates of cancer. Former workers say the mines had very lax safety controls when they were in operation, and left behind little help with cleanup. Residents tell of driveways paved with radioactive rock from the mines and of children playing with rubber balls used in processing the radioactive ore. Many tell of relatives dying of cancer, and National Book Award-winning author Sherman Alexie, who grew up on the reservation, told the Times “I have very little doubt that I’m going to get cancer.”

Democracy & Civics

A "Complicated Truth" About Obama Donations

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Although Barack Obama has publicly disavowed campaign donations from lobbyists, the candidate, along with his rival Hillary Clinton, has received millions of dollars in donations from special-interest groups linked to the legal, pharmaceutical and health-care industries. The Columbia Journalism Review notes that the Obama campaign did indeed take far less money from registered lobbyists — just $86,000 — through the end of December 2007 than either Clinton ($800,000) or Republican candidate John McCain ($400,000). However, money from industry-linked special interests can follow other routes into campaign coffers besides registered lobbyists. Citing data from the Center for Responsive Politics and Opensecrets.org, the Review notes that Obama has raised “grouped” donations in the amount of $9.5 million from lawyers and law firms (compared to Clinton’s $11.8 million). Obama and Clinton have also raised similar amounts from the healthcare products and pharmaceutical industries — $338,000 and $349,000, respectively — as well as $1.7 million and $2.3 million each from “health professionals,” including doctors, nurses and dentists.

Democracy & Civics

Friend of Hostages, or Friend of Hostage-Takers?

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Venezuela’s firebrand President Hugo Chavez has been deeply involved in recent months in trying to resolve the long-running standoff over hundreds of hostages held by Colombian rebels. He was credited last month for gaining the release of two hostages, and he spoke last week with French President Nicolas Sarkozy about working to attain the release of more. But new criticisms against Chavez say he is doing more harm than good — and a former hostage agrees. Geologist Jorge Andres Sierra, who spent two years as a captive of the National Liberation Army, or ELN, Colombia’s second-largest leftist rebel group, said the Venezuelan government has provided safe haven to the guerillas. Sierra’s remarks were reported by the Venezuelan newspaper El Universal, as well as Spain’s EFE news agency, and published in English by the Hindustan Times.

Democracy & Civics

Wikileaks Shutdown Thwarted

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Infoworld technology guru Robert X. Cringley said the attempted shutdown of the Wikileaks Web site by a U.S. judge at the request of a Swiss bank was a futile effort that only fueled greater interest in the bank’s financial practices. The move also caused the proliferation of “mirror” sites for Wikileaks around the world, he said, all carrying the leaked documents the bank wanted to keep from the public. Source:
“Look before you leak”
Infoworld, February 20, 2008

Democracy & Civics

Great Lakes Toxics Data Suppressed?

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Millions of people in the Great Lakes region may face health problems from toxic pollution, but a study on the risk is under wraps seven months after its conclusion, and the scientist who led the project has been demoted. The Center for Public Integrity reports that Dr. Christopher De Rosa, a federal toxicology researcher, told his superior that delaying the report has the “appearance of censorship of science … regarding the health status of vulnerable communities.” In a letter to De Rosa, Dr. Howard Frumkin of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wrote that the study’s quality is “well below expectations.” De Rosa has since been demoted, according to the CPI, in what he claims is illegal retaliation by Frumkin.

Democracy & Civics

New York Targets Nonprofit Fraud

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New York City investigators are looking into more than 30 cases of potential nonprofit fraud, the New York Post reports. The investigations follow a 2006 scandal at the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club, in which two executives confessed to misappropriating $1.2 million. The new inquiry will review $3.8 billion in 2007 city contracts with nonprofit health and human services organizations. Rose Gill Hearn, who spearheaded the new investigation, told the Post that fraud typically has involved executives asking their staff to create invoices for projects that didn’t take place, or to approve checks for home improvements and other personal expenses. She blamed lax oversight by nonprofit boards of directors, and said all the investigations could lead to criminal prosecutions both in New York City and at the state level.