Democracy & Civics

Philippines: Activist Deaths Persist

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A human rights activist warned that the extrajudicial killing and disappearance of activists in the Philippines could spike again in 2008, following steep declines last year. Aurora Parong of Amnesty International said that poor witness protections, inadequate forensics and slow prosecution may threaten gains made against the killings, which claimed 33 lives last year, down from as many as 96 in 2006. Parong also said that extrajudicial killings should be a separate class of crime from murder, and that families of victims may not be aware of legal measures that could help their cases, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reports. She called for federal officials to be more responsive to communities, and blamed the lack of prosecutions on incompetance or “unwillingness” to pursue the cases. Source:
“Lack of due diligence denies justice in extrajudicial cases”
Philippine Daily Inquirer, June 18, 2008

World

German Zeppelins Target London, San Francisco

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More than 70 years after the fiery crash of the Hindenburg, that once-mighty invention — the airship — has been reduced to little more than a floating billboard. But London’s Guardian newspaper is reporting that a German company will soon send a new airship to London, where it will take sightseers high over the city. The Zeppelin NT, funded by German aviator Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, is now undergoing test flights and has already begun taking tourist reservations, the London Times reported. The airship’s operators, the Guardian reported, plan to eventually fly the 12-seat craft all the way to San Francisco for more sight-seeing trips. According to the Guardian, the NT is just one sign of resurgent interest in airship technology.

Public Health

U.K. Faces Diabetes "Explosion"

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A new report predicts a 46 percent increase in diabetes in the United Kingdom by 2025, driven primarily by eating habits and booming obesity rates. As many as 4.2 million people in England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are expected to have contracted type 2 diabetes by then, a result of junk-food diets and low rates of exercise. With this, experts foresee a parallel boom in related ailments — such as heart disease, kidney problems, amputations and blindness — as well as increased medical costs. In Scotland alone, the National Health Service is currently spending 10 percent of its budget on diabetes-related issues. Campaigners called for greater efforts by the government to encourage healthy dietary habits and lifestyles.

Economy

A Russian Bear is Bullish for Big Oil

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Climbing energy prices are a natural reaction to limited oil supplies, and are in fact necessary to “choke off demand,” the Financial Times of London reports. Gazprom, the Russian energy giant, predicts that current market trends will drive the price of oil over $250 per barrel by 2009. Even as costs increase, Gazprom is opening up new speculative fronts, particularly in the natural gas market. The company is gearing up to develop the huge Shtokman natural gas field in northern Russia, in cooperation with France’s Total corporation and StatoilHydro of Norway. Production is expected to start in 2014, and Gazprom might try to take over a U.S.-based energy company to give it an entry into the North American market.

Democracy & Civics

Food Crisis Renews Biotech Farming Debate

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As global food prices climb, the debate over genetically modified agriculture is once again heating up. The Christian Science Monitor reports that resistance to the use of modified crops is declining in some regions, as farmers contemplate increased profits, and governments feel the economic pressure. After the cost of non-genetically modified corn more than doubled, for example, Japan and Korea have “quietly” begun allowing modified corn in snacks and drinks. In France, following a contentious debate, a bill to allow gene-altered crops passed in parliament by one vote — but can’t be enacted until the European Union lifts its ban. The Monitor reports that Europe’s farmers and agribusiness — such as Germany’s BASF corporation, which is pushing a genetically modified potato to market — are even pondering legal action to open up continental markets to their biotech food products.

Nation

Will Pond Scum Save the Planet?

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With corn-based fuels being blamed for the global food crisis, biofuel supporters are looking for non-food crops to be the next energy source. This includes algae, a plant that few people would rather see on their plates instead of in their gas tanks. According to Biomass magazine, a commercial wild algae harvesting operation is now under way in New Zealand ponds, with the slimy stuff going toward the production of so-called biocrude. Barrie Leay, one of the founders of Aquaflow Bionomic Corp. Ltd., would not give the magazine details of his company’s technology, but said, “The processes we have worked through are evolutionary — not revolutionary — to get to this scale over the past two-and-a-half years.

Democracy & Civics

Less than Virginal, a French-Muslim Marriage Goes Awry

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France has been rocked in the past week by news that a court allowed a Muslim groom to annul his marriage because he found out on his wedding night that his bride was not a virgin. The wedding took place two years ago and the annulment was granted last month, but once the story was revealed in a legal journal it caught fire with the media. Many French politicians and activists have strongly condemned the state’s recognition of the annulment. The Socialist Party’s Segolene Royal called the decision by a high court in the northern city of Lille “a step backwards for the emancipation of women and the right that they won to dispose freely of their bodies,” according to the Times of London. Dounia Bouzar, an anthropologist and expert on Muslims in Europe, told the International Herald Tribune, “It’s a victory for fundamentalists and a victory for those who look at Islam as an archaic religion that treats women badly.”

Democracy & Civics

Earthquake Parents Protest China Schools Collapse

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About 100 parents of children killed in schools by China’s recent earthquake have been turned back from a protest at a court in the Sichuan province. Approximately 7,000 classrooms collapsed in the 7.9 magnitude temblor, The Guardian reports, and in some cases were the only buildings to crumble in a given district. Some of the protesting parents called for a lawsuit, and angry questions about inadequate construction and corruption persist. Chinese officials, however, ordered news media to soften any criticism of school construction. Journalists were “dragged away” from the protest, and Zao Ming, an official in China’s foreign affairs office, told The Guardian: “This is not a good place to do interviews.

Economy

A Merrie Olde Credit Crisis

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Aftershocks from the mortgage and credit crises are rattling nerves around the world — particularly in England’s banking and lending sector. The Telegraph reports that investors have pulled more than 2.77 billion pounds (approximately $5 billion) from the British lender Bradford & Bingly, following the revelation of a cash crunch resulting from declines in its mortgage business. Faced with a shortfall from low-rate mortgages, the bank had apparently been hoping — in vain — for an upturn in mortgage lending at higher prices. Other banks may face a similar threat, one analyst said, describing the situation as a “mortgage market contagion” that could spread throughout the system. Source:
“U.K. bank shares fall as investors bail out”
The Telegraph (U.K), June 3, 2008

Nation

Olympic Stadium Mobile Home

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The Olympic Torch makes a world tour, why not an Olympic stadium? The Guardian is reporting that organizers of the London 2012 Olympics are planning to build a so-called flatpack stadium, which could be partly dismantled and shipped to another location. According to the Guardian, London organizers have spoken about the proposal with planners for Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Olympics. The paper quoted Chicago organizer Doug Arnott as saying: “If we could box it up and ship it to the next games, that’s something that could benefit the Olympic movement. This is to do with the responsible use of materials and trying to avoid leaving infrastructure that will burden a city.”