NYMHM: German "eco-mafia"; strides for women; Peru cocaine

Wed Jan 17 17:20:25 PST 2007

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 NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED * January 17, 2007 * Vol. 6, No. 3

 Important but overlooked news from around the world.
 NYMHM is a free service of Newsdesk.org.

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THIS WEEK: 

   A German "eco-mafia" is dumping toxics in Eastern Europe, Peru
   cocaine revives the Shining Path, Shiites and Sunnis are at odds 
   in Detroit, the Gates Foundation retreats on principle, women 
   take strides in Yemen and Zimbabwe, and a newspaper pushes a 
   peace plan for Iraq.    

QUOTED: 

   "[I]t is naive to suggest that an individual stockholder can stop
   that suffering. Changes in our investment practices would have 
   little or no impact on these issues."

   -- Patty Stonesifer, CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, 
   on oil investments linked to pollution and health problems in the 
   African nations it serves (see "Global Giving," below). 

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TOP STORIES
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 > "Eco-Mafia" Targets Eastern Europe

   Hungarian police say that 10 illegal toxic waste dumps are the 
   work of a German "eco-mafia" that offers a cheap but hazardous
   alternative to incineration. The Budapest Times reports that a 
   local mayor, his wife and several companies are suspects in a 
   dumping scheme that has also struck the Ukraine. 

 > Peru: The New Colombia

   Resurgent Shining Path militants protect Mexican drug cartels 
   that bypass Colombia to bring an efficient and ruthless cocaine 
   trade to Peru. Speaking to El Universal, some analysts blamed 
   prohibition for creating the cartels, and said coca eradication 
   isn't offsetting market growth worldwide. 

 > Canada Brainwash Lawsuit 

   Montreal resident Janine Huard won $66,000 from the CIA for 
   trauma from an electroshock and brainwashing program it 
   sponsored with Canada from 1950-1965. But the Montreal Gazette 
   reports that Canadian officials want to shut her and hundreds of
   others out of any further government settlements. 

"Illegal German waste dumps found"
Budapest Times (Hungary), January 15, 2007
http://www.budapesttimes.hu/?do=article&id=2190 

"Mexican cartels settling into Peru"
El Universal (Miami/Mexico), January 13, 2006
http://www.mexiconews.com.mx/miami/22944.html

"Class action sought in brainwashing case"
Montreal Gazette, January 11, 2006
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=25e1dfaa-f1ac-4253-94c9-90abc4009e22&k=71082

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RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM
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 > Hate Speech in England  

   British officials want a preacher "closed down" for using a 
   false name to post calls for violence against Ethiopian "infidels"
   and others. The messages appeared on a password-protected Web site
   that has about 700 members, and may have inspired other European-
   born extremists to smuggle weapons and fight alongside al Qaeda 
   in Somalia, the Times of London reports. 

 > Sectarian Detroit

   Iraq comes home to Detroit, where Sunnis angered by the hanging of
   Saddam Hussein are blamed for vandalism and threats against local
   Shiite businesses and mosques. 

   Community leaders say that the attacks were the work of a few 
   individuals only, and the FBI has promised to investigate any 
   civil-rights violations.   

"U.K. preacher in secret Web call for jihad"
Sunday Times (U.K.), January 14, 2007
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2546266,00.html

"Islamic group calls for federal probe into vandalism of buildings"
Associated Press, January 10, 2006
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070110/NEWS02/701100352/1001/news

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GLOBAL GIVING
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 > Questions for Gates Foundation, Nigeria Funds

   Although the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation spends millions
   on health and anti-poverty campaigns in Africa, the charity also
   derives almost half of its $35 billion endowment from investments
   in oil companies blamed for widespread pollution and health 
   problems there. 

   In a letter to the Los Angeles Times, CEO Patty Stonesifer 
   defended the investments, saying that it is "naive" to think that
   stockholders can affect corporate practices. 

   In Nigeria, presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar was indicted 
   for his alleged role in the disappearance of $125 million meant 
   to combat a "brain drain" of oil and gas industry experts; he
   claims outgoing president Olusegun Obasanjo spent it to illegally
   bankroll a third elected term. 

"Gates Foundation may shift billions into ethical stocks"
Guardian (U.K.), January 12, 2007
http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__international_news/&articleid=295555 

"Gates Foundation to keep its investment approach"
Los Angeles Times, January 14, 2007
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-gates14jan14,1,7694464.story?coll=la-news-a_section&ctrack=1&cset=true

"Science and technology millions missing in Nigeria"
SciDev.Net (U.K.), January 13, 2007
http://www.scidev.net/content/news/eng/science-and-technology-millions-missing-in-nigeria.cfm

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WOMEN: RIGHTS & SAFETY
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 > Progress in Yemen, Zimbabwe

   A Western-educated Yemeni woman said she would break a law 
   against women in politics by forming a party dedicated to 
   gender equality. 

   GulfNews.com reports that Sumaya Ali Raja, who was invited to 
   deliver her message to a traditionally all-male council, got a
   mixed reception from conservatives, but was welcomed by the 
   Socialist Party and others. 

   Legislators in Zimbabwe finally passed a bill protecting women from
   domestic abuse ... ten years after it was introduced. Activists say 
   that one in four women there are victims of abuse, and linked 
   domestic violence with high rates of murder and HIV infection. 

"'Good omen' for Yemeni women"
Gulfnews.com (UAE), January 13, 2007
http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Yemen/10096531.html

"Zimbabwe: New law hope for abused women"
Integrated Regional Information Networks (UN), January 11, 2007
http://www.kenyanewsnetwork.com/artman/publish/article_2239.shtml

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IRAQ: MOVING FORWARD
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  > A Peace Plan's Ambition 

   A "blueprint" for stability in Iraq, proposed by former defense 
   minister Ali Allawi, would replace American troops with an 
   international security force, negotiate security treaties, and 
   establish a "Middle Eastern Confederation of States" to bolster 
   civil society and establish a collective supreme court. 

   The Independent, which published Allawi's original proposal, 
   reports that the plan also calls for a decentralized Iraqi 
   government divided into regions, and a World Bank-funded 
   reconstruction council.

"The Iraqi proposals"
Independent (U.K), January 5, 2007
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article2129988.ece 

"From all corners, support grows for Iraq peace plan"
Independent (U.K), January 6, 2007
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article2129987.ece

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ALLEGATION & PERSPECTIVE
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 > Claims of Counterfeit Cover-Up

   A German newspaper alleges the United States is secretly printing
   the counterfeit bank notes the Bush administration has publicly 
   charged North Korea of forging, allegedly to finance its nuclear 
   weapons program. 

   The newspaper cites anonymous sources and does not suggest a 
   motive, according to a blog item on AlterNet. 

 > The Doctor of Haifa Street

   Speaking on a cell phone with a CBS correspondent, a famed Iraqi
   surgeon and one-time guest of President Bush describes hiding 
   with his family in a dark, bullet-scarred home along Haifa Street 
   in Baghdad as insurgents and U.S. troops battle outside. 

"Is the CIA counterfeiting dollars and blaming it on North Korea?"
AlterNet.org, January 9, 2007
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/46471/

"Trapped on Baghdad's deadliest street"
CBS News, January 12, 2006
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/12/eveningnews/main2357914.shtml 

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Editor: Julia Scott, Josh Wilson
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