World

Olympic Terror Fears Spur West China Crackdown

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China’s western Xinjiang province is still simmering with violence and repression, as the government cracks down on Uighur rebels seeking to capitalize on the Beijing Olympics. Critics, however, say that the threat has been exaggerated to justify harsher security measures. Last week, a coordinated series of bombings targeted a dozen public buildings, leaving as many as eight dead, and prompting a complete lockdown of Kuqa City, home to 400,000 people. Businesses have been shuttered there, and travel restricted. The week before, two Muslim jihadists drove a truck into a group of security forces out jogging, killing 16 people and injuring 16 more, the China Post reported.

Democracy & Civics

Immigrants Seek Assimilation under the Surgeon's Knife

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Plastic surgery that alters ethnic features to align with Western beauty conventions is on the rise, according to new reports. Madrid’s El Pais newspaper reports that more immigrants to Spain are undergoing cosmetic surgery than ever before. South Americans there show the most willingness to go under the knife and erase features common to their ethnic roots. Rhinoplasty is the most common procedures, although chin implants are also popular for Central American women with rounder faces. The newspaper also noted that specialized clinics in the United States and Australia are opening to meet demand by Chinese and Japanese immigrants for rounder eyes and creased lids.

Environment

Ain't no Other Fish in the Sea?

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Tuna may be the signature fish of Japan, the world’s foremost consumer of fish, but last week Japan’s largest organization of tuna fishermen agreed to suspend business because of sharply declining stocks of the fish. It was just one of many stories in recent weeks about how overfishing, pollution, habitat destruction and climate change are having serious effects on the world’s oceans. On the Atlantic coast of the United States, the Washington Times reported on the declining catch of blue crab, quoting crab fisherman Bob Rice as saying: “It’s been steadily going downhill every since the oyster fishery crashed and more and more watermen turned to crabbing.” Rice told the paper he blamed not just overfishing, but pollution, runoff and other human impacts. In Australia, the World Wildlife Foundation has warned that some of the Great Barrier Reef’s shark species are nearing endangered status because of overfishing, as well as government shark-abatement efforts.

Economy

Dreaming of a Zero-Carbon Economy

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Several nations around the world have launched national programs to increase energy efficiency, cut carbon emissions and build environmentally friendly buildings to slow the effects of global warming. Some question the importance — and motivation — of environmentally protective policies, but many countries remain undeterred in the face of occasional resistance. Spain, which has the highest dependency on fossil fuels of all European Union countries, recently introduced 31 measures that will help cut their oil imports by 10 percent. Some of the actions include cutting street lighting by half, slower speed limits, distributing low-energy lightbulbs, and strict thermostat regulation in public buildings, reports The Independent. Although Miguel Sebastian, Spain’s industry minister, told the newspaper that “the era of cheap energy has passed,” the proposals were ridiculed by some Spanish media as unworkable.

Environment

Chile: Dammed if They Do

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Critics of a hydroelectric dam just approved in Chile say building it in a national park is illegal and paves the way for further development on public lands, according to the Santiago Times. The site of the dam is the 620-square-mile Puyehue National Park in southern Chile, home to scenic landscapes and exotic animal species. A regional government narrowly approved plans by Italian utility Idroenergia to build two dams on the Pulelfu and Correntoso rivers. But Chilean legislator Patricio Vallespin said such plans violate a 1940 conservation treaty and existing forest protection laws, which trumps efforts to produce more renewable energy. He also believes that in quenching the nation’s thirst for energy, local and regional leaders are ignoring the parks’ ecological benefits and setting a bad legal precedent.

Democracy & Civics

Did U.S. Taxpayers pay for Burma Junta's Satellite?

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A U.S. government-backed satellite company tested its products in Burma, despite longstanding U.S. sanctions against doing business with that nation’s repressive military regime, a Thai court case reveals. The revelations grow out of one of several corruption cases under way against former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, according to the Hong Kong’s Asia Times newspaper. Thaksin’s wife, Pojaman, was sentenced on Thursday to three years in prison for tax evasion in a separate case. In the U.S.-Burma case, prosecutors say the former prime minister arranged for a Thai state loan to the Burmese junta of $119 million to purchase satellite services that were sold by his family’s company. Burma, dubbed Myanmar by its ruling junta, later allegedly used some of the loan money in a deal whereby it allowed a company called iPStar to test its satellite-phone services in the nation before launching the products throughout much of Asia.

Democracy & Civics

China sets up protests during Olympics

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In a bid to placate rights activists, China will set aside three protest zones in Beijing during the Olympics in August. According to the Los Angeles Times, protesters have to get permission from the government a week before demonstrating, giving the names of organizers, the topic of protest and number of participants. The protest areas, all located in public parks, are out of the view of sports venues. According to Olympic security director Liu Shaowu, “Chinese law guarantees the legal rights of demonstration and assembly.”
Human rights activists disagree, arguing that protests “harmful to national unity or social stability” will result in arrest. — Julia Hengst/Newsdesk.org
“China to allow limited protests during Olympics”
Los Angeles Times, July 24, 2008

Democracy & Civics

Low-caste Indian woman rising up through politics

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Kumari Mayawati, a low-caste Indian woman and chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, led an electoral charge in late July to topple India’s government and lost only by a handful of votes. According to The Age in Australia, Mayawati demonstrated considerable political clout in swaying votes against the Congress Party-led Parliament, and her actions resulted in the formation of a “third party” in the Indian political system. Her ambition has led many to believe Mayawati could be India’s first “untouchable” prime minister from the Dalit caste. Mayawati’s intentions are under scrutiny: She is chief minister of an enormous state that is home to 10 percent of the world’s poor, but her personal assets last year were valued at $12.3 million — gifts from her supporters, according to The Age. Nonetheless, the newspaper reports that her dalit constituency loves her, and her popularity seems to be growing beyond caste lines.

Democracy & Civics

Racial Profiling in the Great White North?

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Racial minorities in Canada are more likely to have a police record than their white counterparts even if they don’t get convicted, the Toronto Star reports. The Star examined the criminal histories of almost three million people in Canada’s national crime database. According to the Canadian Police Information Centre, minorities were less likely to be convicted of a crime, but spend longer periods in pre-trial detention. DNA sampling, required by Canadian law for violent crimes, also showed a skew. Almost twice as many minorities — 10.5 percent — gave samples for violent crimes, as compared to 6 percent of all Caucasian offenders.

Democracy & Civics

Court Dates and Coup Attempts for Turkey Secularists

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Political unrest and terrorism is causing problems for Turkey’s ruling party, which has staved off coup attempts as well as judicial efforts to remove it from power. Turkey’s highest court decided not to ban the government’s ruling party Wednesday for allegedly attempting to establish Islamist rule in country, the Turkish Press reported. The courts deliberations on the conduct of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) began Monday on the heels of a terrorist bombing in Istanbul that left 17 dead and hundreds more injured, al-Jazeera reported. The case highlights the schism between secular groups in Turkey and the ruling AKP, which draw support from devout Muslims with ties to the country’s Islamist movement. The party is accused of trying to introduce non-secular rule in Turkey while in power, a charge AKP officials denied.