Democracy & Civics

Agribusiness Gets Another Record Harvest — of Subsidies

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The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the latest federal farm bill would spend $280 billion on traditional subsidies for corn, cotton and wheat, but virtually ignores burgeoning organic and alternative farming centered in Northern California. The newspaper notes that California’s Fresno County produces more food than the entire state of South Dakota, but gets a fraction of the federal money sent to the Great Plains. Organic farmers and advocates say that the subsidies reinforce destructive farming practices — including over-reliance on chemicals and lack of crop diversity — and that if California was as heavily subsidized as other states, the development of farming alternatives might never have taken root. Source:
“Federal bill helps huge farmers, not California’s innovative ones”
San Francisco Chronicle, September 23, 2007

Democracy & Civics

The Burma Backstory: How Fossil Fuels Keep the Junta in Business

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Although most of the world’s political powers, including the United States, have condemned the Myanmar junta’s crackdown on reformist protesters, the military regime’s persistent grip on power there has only been strengthened by decades of economic cooperation with the West. Here’s a roundup of Newsdesk.org’s coverage of the issue, as well as the latest articles from other regional and international news sources. In 2002, Newsdesk.org reporter Jennifer Huang broke ground with an exclusive investigative article on a series of human rights lawsuits filed against international energy corporations working in developing nations with abusive regimes. The lawsuits — which targeted a number of American oil companies, including California’s UnoCal — were filed in federal court under the Alien Tort Claims Act, an 18th century law that gives U.S. courts jurisdiction over some offenses committed overseas. Unocal was sued for its partnership with the French oil giant Total in the construction of the Yadana Pipeline, which carries millions of cubic feet of natural gas every day along a 63 kilometers route through Burma’s southern Tenasserim region.

Democracy & Civics

Canada Ponders an Afghan Quagmire

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Canada faces renewed uncertainty in Afghanistan, with the death of more than 60 Canadian troops and new pressures on its humanitarian mission there. Under pressure from a dispirited public to withdraw troops, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that Canada would end its combat mission in February 2009 unless parliament votes otherwise. Harper is now seeking a consensus vote to extend the mission; the Canadian Press reports that “‘consensus’ means 50 percent plus one MP in a parliamentary vote.” Fearful of losing one of its greatest assets in Afghanistan (Canada has 2,500 troops in Kandahar alone) British and Polish NATO officials are calling for “strategic patience” at a crucial time for security there, reports the CanWest News Service. Canadians, however, seem to be out of patience.

Economy

Smuggler's Paradise for Iraqi Oil Runners

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After a revenue-sharing bill that would have opened Iraq’s oil fields to foreign investment failed in parliament, Iraq’s domestic oil industry has seen business as usual — theft, corruption and destruction of pipelines for political gain. With Basra’s oil fields and ports under the control of warring Shiite tribes, militias illegally export millions of barrels of crude to Iran by boat under the noses of Iraq’s maritime forces. On any given day, up to 300,000 barrels are smuggled into Iran, according to the Institute for War & Peace Reporting. The Iranian coast guards and the Iraqi Navy are said to be involved in the trade, but the main culprits are the main ruling parties and militias of Basra, as well as the most influential tribes. Iraqi maritime forces say they may arrest smaller smugglers but the government won’t allow them to arrest the larger gangs.

World

The Chemical Legacy Today

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A host of chemicals created for use in industrial and commercial processes are having unintended effects on populations. The Guardian reports that a study of Inuit communities above the Arctic Circle in Russia, Greenland and Canada found twice as many girls as boys are being born. The blame was placed on DDT, PCBs, and endocrine disrupters that enter a mother’s bloodstream and change her baby’s sex before birth. The chemicals are used in electronics like televisions and generators. The chemicals are absorbed by seals, whales and polar bears at 1 million times the normal rate, and the animals are then consumed by the Inuit, scientists say.

Democracy & Civics

Swiss Citizenship Hurdles Called Racist

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An official report released by Switzerland’s Federal Commission on Racial Discrimination says the Swiss citizenship system is racist because it allows community members, not elected professionals, to vote on whether someone is fit to be Swiss. The BBC reports that the system historically excludes Muslims, people from the Balkans, and Africans. Becoming Swiss is already tough; permanent residents must wait 12 years before applying, and a birth in Switzerland is no guarantee of naturalization, according to the BBC. The report recommended changes to the citizenship balloting process, which allows villages to hear arguments from the applicant and then vote based on their religion or any other criteria. Source:
“Swiss citizenship system ‘racist'”
BBC (U.K.), September 13, 2007

World

Experts Fear 'Another Darfur' in Ethiopia

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Fleeing refugees say that soldiers of the U.S.-backed Ethiopian government are suppressing a widely supported separatist movement with rape, beatings and murder. The government claims the Ogaden National Liberation Front insurgents have ties with Eritrea and Somali Islamists, and that its troops are “well-trained” and wouldn’t attack civilians, according to McClatchy. Aid groups are banned from Ogaden, an eastern desert region already isolated by years of neglect. While the Bush administration echoes Ethiopia’s claims that no civilian slaughter is afoot, experts are starting to worry that the conflict could become “another Darfur.” Source:
“Ethiopia starves, kills own people, its refugees say”
McClatchy, September 15, 2007

World

Taliban Weapons Traced to Iran and China

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A weapons cache found in Afghanistan’s Herat province was traced back to Iran and China, prompting U.S. and British concerns over weapons sales to the Taliban. Deputy U.S. Secretary of State John Negroponte said weapons sold by China to Iran have been found in Taliban hands, and that Iranian armor-piercing munitions are also a threat. Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Iran is “a helper” in the fight against extremists, and denied the possibility of any arms sales to Taliban forces, reports Agence France-Presse. Source:
“U.S. concerned about Iranian weapons going to Taliban”
Agence France-Presse, September 11, 2007

Economy

Labor Day Highlights Immigrant Dilemma

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This Labor Day, different corners of America were confronted with fallout from the debate over illegal immigration and the jobs immigrants do that support local economies. While some people call for greater restrictions on hiring, others say immigrants are a vital part of their communities. Bay Area row crop farmers are worried about losing their workers to a new policy that forces employers to fire employees if the government notifies them that their social security numbers don’t match existing records. Like other industries, farmers depend on immigrant labor to do the hard work they say no one else will do, reports the San Mateo County Times. Many workers use fraudulent Social Security numbers to collect wages, leaving farmers with a tough choice: fire their workers, some of whom have been with them for decades and live with their families, or risk federal prosecution for harboring illegal immigrants.

Economy

Slavery (and Emancipation) for the New Millennium

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Children and adults alike throughout the world are kidnapped and trafficked out of their home countries, or leave home in search of a better life only to be forced into conditions akin to slavery. In China, a major scandal erupted when the parents of 570 enslaved child workers started searching for their missing children, only to discover that they had been forced into heavy labor at brick kilns in Shanxi and Henan provinces. The culprits were more than 60 officials, including policemen and Communist Party members, reports Agence France-Presse. An op-ed in the Philippine Inquirer cites testimonial by an American medical technician working in Baghdad that he had witnessed the kidnapping and enslavement of 51 Filipinos. Roy Mayberry told a U.S. Congressional committee that the workers had been hired by the First Kuwaiti Company to work in Dubai, only to learn, once they were on the airplane, that they were going to Iraq.