Democracy & Civics

Sex on the Beach and Birds in Hand? Kenya's Tourist Trap

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Miles of shoreline, coastal forests, mountains, plains and the continent-spanning Great Rift Valley all make Kenya a world-class tourist destination. But the complications of this burgeoning trade are abundant. Kenya’s beach towns, notorious for an illicit sex industry involving thousands of regional girls and boys, now have a new wrinkle to consider — older caucasian women seeking uncomplicated dalliances with young African men. Critics say the practice revives a colonial past of white women “serviced” by “black minions,” reports the Mail & Guardian of South Africa, and also note the health risks of casual encounters in a nation with a high incidence of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. One British woman told the newspaper that the “social arrangement” is nothing more than a role reversal on older men wining and dining younger women, though a hotel manager said the liaisons, while legal, are “unwholesome.”

Democracy & Civics

Cracks at the Seams? China Bolsters Three Gorges

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Everything about the Three Gorges Dam seems larger than life. It was built at a cost of $15.6 billion, caused the relocation of 1.2 million people, and has 19 hydropower generators that are expected by 2009 to produce 84.7 million megawatt-hours of electricity each year. And now, with increasing reports of landslides and environmental problems around the dam, thoughts of a larger-than-life disaster have come to the fore. China’s project director for the dam, Wang Xiaofeng, said in a press conference that the current environmental problems caused by the dam have been anticipated and planned for. But concerns persist about a variety of issues, including water pollution, and the safety of the surrounding landscape
According to the International Herald Tribune, the latest press conference contrasts with a forum in the city of Wuhan in September in which state officials warned of “catastrophe” if environmental issues were not addressed.

Democracy & Civics

Tear Gas for Ethnic Protest in Malaysia

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Riot police greeted thousands of minority protesters in Malaysia’s capital of Kuala Lumpur, turning back their calls for increased social benefits with water cannons and tear gas. The protesters, primarily Tamils, seek business licenses, access to scholarships and “other privileges reserved exclusively for native Maylays,” reports Asia Times Online. Tamil activists also sought reparations from the United Kingdom for relocating their ancestors to Malaysia as indentured laborers 150 years ago, according to the Web site. The protestors represent a Hindu minority that makes up roughly eight percent of the population in the majority Muslim nation. Economic programs established in the 1970s have created a burgeoning middle class, but one that is limited to Malays.

Democracy & Civics

Japan to Expand Atomic Bomb Victim Definition

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More than 50 years after the nuclear destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a string of court losses has forced Japan’s government to create a new standard that will recognize 20,000 new victims of diseases and health problems related to the blasts. The Kyodo news wire notes that nine kinds of diseases, including cancer and leukemia, will be recognized among the 250,000 registered bomb survivors in Japan. Under current standards, roughly 2,200 are recognized as victims.
The new standards will open the door for anyone who was within four kilometers of the blasts, or visited ground zero within 100 hours of the attacks. Source:
“New standard aims to certify more people as A-bomb disease sufferers”
Kyodo/Associated Press, November 27, 2007

Democracy & Civics

Hizb-ut-Tahrir: Winning Hearts and Minds

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The Islamic group Hizb-ut-Tahrir is gaining a foothold across Central Asia and is making its presence felt in Britain and elsewhere. Governments have banned the group, with its alleged bent towards violence, and the appeal of its charismatic leaders and Islamic ideology. Founded in the Middle East, Hizb-ut-Tahrir spread to Muslim communities in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan in the 1990s. The group, which calls itself a political party even though it has no elected members, aims to replace all secular governments with a united front of Islamic governments. The group professes nonviolence, but is banned in many places and its members are arrested on a regular basis, according to the Institute for War & Peace Reporting.

Democracy & Civics

Outsourcing Motherhood

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Scores of impoverished Indian women are selling their services as childbearers to foreign couples who either cannot, or don’t want to, bear their own children, reports the Daily Mail. Using an Indian surrogate mother is less expensive and less complicated than paying a Western mother for the same services — and in some cases, the surrogate offers her own eggs as well. The number of surrogate mothers in India has nearly doubled in the past three years, while surrogacy agencies are springing up to handle the caseload. Indian doctors are helping make the arrangements, even setting up a bungalow for surrogate mothers with a cook, a cleaner and English classes, according to India’s Daily News and Analysis. They say becoming a surrogate for childless couples is a “noble deed.”

Democracy & Civics

Families Asunder over International Adoption Woes

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Several countries are tightening their adoption laws to avoid kidnapping scandals, such as the recent confrontation in Chad over a French charity group’s attempt to take 103 children out of the country. The new restrictions highlight the huge international demand for adoptions, and the lack of adequate safeguards, standards and corruption-prevention in many of the nations providing children for adoption. Another result of the changes, however, is thousands of disappointed American parents. The regulatory changes could affect as many as 4,000 children who were already bound for adoptive homes in other countries, reports the Lawrence Journal-World in Kansas. One prospective parent of a Nepalese child told the Journal-World that she feared for the health and development of children in overcrowded Nepalese orphanages.

Democracy & Civics

No Safe Haven: Oklahoma Shuts out Illegal Immigrants

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A new Oklahoma law targeting undocumented workers is among the most punitive in the nation, making it illegal to “hire, transport or house an illegal immigrant.” The law also authorizes police to help federal immigration officials enforce existing immigration laws. Employers found to have hired undocumented workers will be penalized, and the state will not provide any services to illegal residents beyond what is required by federal law. Proponents of the Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizens Act say it reduces a growing “national security threat,” reports the government-funded Voice of America news service. But opponents say the law is discriminatory — and has already had unintended consequences.

Democracy & Civics

Tribal Loyalty May Bridge Iraq's Sectarian Divide

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Iraqi tribal chiefs from the Sunni-dominated Anbar province held talks last week with counterparts in Shia-dominated Qadissiya Province. Their goal — to find a peaceful, government-backed solution to the current sectarian violence in both provinces, according to the Azzaman newspaper. Although divided by religion, Sunnis and Shia are often members of the same tribe. Tribal leaders want to leverage this loyalty to stop the violence, oust al Qaeda forces, and support a push for “national reconciliation.” Source:
“Sunni, Shiite tribes unite to fight Qaeda”
Azzaman (Iraq), November 7, 2007

Democracy & Civics

FCC Tries to Sneak Through Looser Media Rules, Protesters Say

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Among the 200 people who signed up to speak at an FCC hearing on media consolidation in Seattle last week were many who are convinced the Republican-controlled panel has already decided to loosen existing media ownership rules. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, who was greeted with catcalls and boos at the meeting, wants a vote on changing ownership rules next month, reports the Seattle Times. The FCC loosened some of those rules in 2003, enabling a company to own more than one type of media outlet in a local market. But the move was struck down by a federal appeals court. Proponents say restrictions on media ownership aren’t an issue anymore because the Internet has given people access to more diverse media.