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.”

World

Beijing Olympics: It's the Water

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A senior Chinese official has sharply criticized a multi- billion-dollar government plan to divert water from the Hubei and Shaanxi provinces north to Beijing, the BBC reports. An Qiyuan, a former Community Party leader from Shaanxi province, said that the plan would endanger the livelihood of millions of residents, and that compensation is necessary to prevent what the BBC described as “social upheaval and environmental harm.” The plan — which will cost at least $60 billion, more than the Three Gorges Dam — will build a network of canals and dams to deliver water from southern rivers to the thirsty north, where the Beijing Olympics alone are expected to increase water needs by 30 percent. Drought is already affecting more than 12,000 square miles in Hubei Province, and a quarter-million people are “facing problems with drinking water,” according to the BBC. Source:
“Olympics ‘threat to water supply'”
BBC News, February 27, 2008
Previously on Newsdesk.org:
“Trouble at the Roof of the World”
Newsdesk.org, December 26, 2007
“Cracks at the Seams?

World

London Shifts Gears to Favor Bicycles

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Armed with a proposal to develop 12 major “superhighways” for bicyclists throughout the city, along with a daily “congestion charge” of almost $50 for polluting vehicles, England’s capital city is gearing up to become the world’s newest bicycle utopia. London’s mayor hopes the programs will result in a 400 percent increase in the number of cyclists in the city by 2025. The plan, which will cost approximately $780 million over ten years, will also develop cycling networks in outlying suburban areas, and link London neighborhoods with business and commercial districts. London will also take a cue from Paris, which recently began providing free bicycle rentals for short trips, by developing its own free rental service in the city center. Source:
“City’s Two-Wheeled Transformation”
The Guardian (U.K.), February 9, 2008

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.

Economy

Much Puffery About Air-Powered Car

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An automobile that runs on compressed air got a boost this week with an investment from India’s Tata Motors. MDI Industries, of Carros, France, designed the cars based on technology invented by Guy Negre, a former Formula One engineer. The project has been in development for 14 years, but no carmaker has yet put the car into production. Now, according to some reports, Tata is planning to manufacture and sell air cars in India later this year for the equivalent of about $5,000. But, in the Financial Times of London, Tata’s managing director downplayed expectations, saying: “It’s a very exciting concept, this way of running a car.

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