From nymhm at lists.artsandmedia.net Wed Jun 6 11:56:16 2007 From: nymhm at lists.artsandmedia.net (nymhm@lists.artsandmedia.net) Date: Wed Jun 6 11:58:03 2007 Subject: NYMHM: The poppies of Afghanistan; asylum judges; carbon trading Message-ID: ============================================================================= NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED * June 6, 2007 * Vol. 6, No. 23 Important but overlooked news from around the world. NYMHM is a free service of Newsdesk.org. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Online this week: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004292.html - RSS: http://newsdesk.org/news/atom.xml - Donations: http://artsandmedia.net/contribute/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- QUOTED: "It's a fledgling industry with high demand and yet there are no standards for the carbon credits themselves. There is no regulation in the business." -- EasyJet spokesman Toby Nicol, on rampant fraud among carbon- emissions trading schemes (see "Climate Change," below). CONTENTS: *Top Stories* Government, Taliban Let Afghan Poppies Blossom "Intemperate" Asylum Judges Under Fire Iran's Eyes on the Nose *IMMIGRATION* Migrants Face Dangerous Waters and a Cold Shoulder *EGYPT* When is an Islamist Not an Islamist? *ENVIRONMENT* Carbon Trading, Beset by Fraud and Doubt ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOP STORIES ............................................................................. > Government, Taliban Let Afghan Poppies Blossom Shopkeepers selling poppy paste at bazaars in Helmand pay "protection" at a price openly negotiated with police, who in return warn of impending NATO raids. Police officials deny any complicity. The government estimates that Helmand produced about 90,000 hectares of poppies, only 7,000 of which were destroyed in eradication campaigns. According to the Institute for War & Peace Reporting, both the government and the Taliban benefit from the trade, and even suspended their fighting in the spring to accommodate farmers. > "Intemperate" Asylum Judges Under Fire Lawyers say bias and an overwhelming caseload cause some immigration judges to deny appeals for asylum at much higher rates than others. One in Dallas denied an asylum seeker from Cameroon before the lawyer even finished making his case, the Dallas Morning News reports. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales acknowledged the "intemperate" and "abusive" conduct of some judges, and pledged reforms for a system that saw caseloads jump 39 percent between 2000 and 2005. > Iran's Eyes on the Nose An unprecedented number of young Iranians are getting nose jobs since the imposition of fundamentalist dress code, which prohibits exposing any body part except the face and even bans heavy makeup. "The beauty of Iranian women can only be seen in their faces," one patient told Reuters. SOURCES: "Everyone's a winner at Helmand's opium bazaars" Institute for War & Peace Reporting, June 1, 2007 http://www.iwpr.net/?p=arr&s=f&o=336012&apc_state=henh "Asylum-seekers at mercy of inconsistent courts" Dallas Morning News, June 1, 2007 http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/world/stories/060107dnintasylum.3ba274d.html "In Iran, the rich and trendy queue up for nose jobs" Reuters, June 6, 2007 http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Iran/10129317.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- IMMIGRATION ............................................................................. > Migrants Face Dangerous Waters and a Cold Shoulder If they survive the voyage, Africans fleeing to Europe on wooden boats do not always get a warm welcome. Malta took 25 shipwrecked Somalis ashore last week, but only after coming under fire in late May when a Maltese fishing boat refused to rescue a another group of ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004294.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- EGYPT ............................................................................. > When is an Islamist Not an Islamist? Neither the United States nor Egypt are square on how to treat the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamic group with terrorist origins that also happens to be Egypt's most powerful opposition party. The government of Hosni Mubarak arrested 87 party members in May and detained ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004295.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- CLIMATE CHANGE ............................................................................. > Carbon Trading Beset by Fraud and Doubt A new report finds the most common system for trading carbon emissions, which allows rich European countries to continue polluting while also investing in environmental projects in developing countries, has major flaws. The report finds that as many as a third of the "green" projects approved in India are actually ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004296.html ============================================================================= Editors: Julia Scott, Josh Wilson ............................................................................. SUPPORT PUBLIC-SERVICE MEDIA Newsdesk.org and News You Might Have Missed are commercial-free, and available at no charge. We welcome your tax-deductible contributions: https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?id=695 ............................................................................. MANAGE YOUR SUBSCRIPTION Subscribe, unsubscribe, etc: http://lists.artsandmedia.net/mailman/listinfo/nymhm/ ............................................................................. News You Might Have Missed and Newsdesk.org are free services of Independent Arts & Media: http://artsandmedia.net/ ............................................................................. E-mail list powered by Group D Communications: http://www.groupd.com/ ............................................................................. DISCLAIMER: All external links are provided as informational resources only, consistent with the nonprofit, public-interest mission of Independent Arts & Media. Independent Arts & Media does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations and does not have a copyright on any of the content located at these sites. ============================================================================= From nymhm at lists.artsandmedia.net Wed Jun 13 16:05:35 2007 From: nymhm at lists.artsandmedia.net (nymhm@lists.artsandmedia.net) Date: Wed Jun 13 16:09:55 2007 Subject: NYMHM: Congo mines shut down; an Islamist finds religion; Bangladesh and democracy Message-ID: ============================================================================= NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED * June 13, 2007 * Vol. 6, No. 24 Important but overlooked news from around the world. NYMHM is a free service of Newsdesk.org. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Online this week: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004298.html - RSS: http://newsdesk.org/news/atom.xml - Donations: http://artsandmedia.net/contribute/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- QUOTED: "They gonna keep moving us on, moving us on. They doing it again Sunday 'cause they got some soccer game they gonna charge people to park here for. They gonna make $500 at $20 bucks a space. We ain't worth $500 to them." -- Mark, a 40-year-old homeless man in Cleveland who lives in a tent city below an overpass (see "The Slums," below). CONTENTS: *Top Stories* An Islamist finds religion Congo shuts down mines over looting fears "Honk for peace" teacher seeks Supreme Court hearing *The Slums* A boom in urban poor defies solutions *South Asia* Democracy, too, slides in Bangladesh *Intolerance* Homophobia, as a policy gets personal ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOP STORIES ............................................................................. > An Islamist Finds Religion Hassan al-Turabi, a renowned Sudanese Islamic scholar who once offered refuge to Osama bin Laden, is raising eyebrows with his support for the right of women to wear their hair uncovered and marry non-muslim men, and his opposition to the ongoing violence in Darfur. A former supporter of Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, al- Turabi was jailed in 2005 for allegedly backing a coup plot. Critics say he's an opportunist trying to curry favor with a liberalizing Sudanese society, but the mercurial cleric says his calls for democracy and openness are entirely Islamic. > Congo Shuts Down Mines Over Looting Fears At least 60 mining deals have been suspended in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as the newly elected government looks into complaints of "foreign looters" who exploit the nation's vast mineral wealth with no benefit for Congolese citizens. The BBC reports that decades of civil war were driven by huge reserves of copper, cobalt, gold and diamonds, and that current mining contracts lack transparency and lacked competitive bids. > "Honk For Peace" Teacher Seeks Supreme Court Hearing A Indiana teacher who says she was fired for telling students she blew her car horn in support of anti-war marchers has filed an appeal with the Supreme Court over a January ruling that affirmed limits on free speech by public school teachers. The ruling against Deborah Mayer, who now works in Florida, is far from the first to limit speech by teachers or public employees. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that such cases usually affirm limits, and that the Supreme Court, while addressing student speech in the recent "bong hits for Jesus" case, has never ruled on teacher's rights. Sources: "Sudan's legendary Islamist takes a moderate view" Christian Science Monitor, June 13, 2007 http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0613/p01s03-woaf.html "DR Congo reviews 60 mining deals" BBC News, June 11, 2007 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6739999.stm "Bloomington teacher takes free speech fight to Supreme Court" WTHR (Indianapolis), June 11, 2007 http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=6641945&nav=9Tai "'Honk for peace' case tests limits on free speech" San Francisco Chronicle, May 14, 2007 http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/05/14/MNG9PPQGVV1.DTL ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE SLUMS ............................................................................. > A Boom in Urban Poor Defies Solutions Experts predict that by 2030 two billion people will live in urban squatter and slum communities with no services, sanitation or running water. The growth of slums and economic disparaties are spurring poitical debate and legal crackdowns, even as new social movements emerge within the communities themselves ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004300.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOUTH ASIA ............................................................................. > Democracy, Too, Slides in Bangladesh Even as Bangladesh reels from lethal mudslides, the nation's political establishment is in an upheaval following the suspension of the legislature, and the arrest of thousands by the military as part of an ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004301.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- INTOLERANCE ............................................................................. > Homophobia, as a Policy, Gets Personal Intolerance of gays and lesbians worldwide seems to be digging in, as the public and private lives of homosexuals come under fire from Oregon to Russia and South-Central Asia. In Portland, two teenage girls who hugged and kissed on a bus were forced off the ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004302.html ============================================================================= Editor: Josh Wilson ............................................................................. SUPPORT PUBLIC-SERVICE MEDIA Newsdesk.org and News You Might Have Missed are commercial-free, and available at no charge. We welcome your tax-deductible contributions: https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?id=695 ............................................................................. MANAGE YOUR SUBSCRIPTION Subscribe, unsubscribe, etc: http://lists.artsandmedia.net/mailman/listinfo/nymhm/ ............................................................................. News You Might Have Missed and Newsdesk.org are free services of Independent Arts & Media: http://artsandmedia.net/ ............................................................................. E-mail list powered by Group D Communications: http://www.groupd.com/ ............................................................................. DISCLAIMER: All external links are provided as informational resources only, consistent with the nonprofit, public-interest mission of Independent Arts & Media. Independent Arts & Media does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations and does not have a copyright on any of the content located at these sites. ============================================================================= From nymhm at lists.artsandmedia.net Wed Jun 20 14:32:00 2007 From: nymhm at lists.artsandmedia.net (nymhm@lists.artsandmedia.net) Date: Wed Jun 20 14:33:31 2007 Subject: NYMHM: Agent Orange persists (in court); anti-gay protests fail; Burma junta digs in Message-ID: ============================================================================= NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED * June 20, 2007 * Vol. 6, No. 25 Important but overlooked news from around the world. NYMHM is a free service of Newsdesk.org. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Online this week: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004304.html - RSS: http://newsdesk.org/news/atom.xml - Donations: http://artsandmedia.net/contribute/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- QUOTED: "Fishing here is finished. We have boats, but we don't really use them anymore." -- Turkish fisherman Adem Vay, on the effects of the Baku- Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, which terminates near his Mediterranean fishing village (see "Resource Battles," below.) CONTENTS: *Top Stories* Anti-gay protests "fall flat" in Jerusalem Agent Orange persists -- in court Adam and Eve photos bring calls for death *Resource Battles* Natural resources spur pollution, indigenous rights disputes *Sudan* The promises and pitfalls of Darfur's salvation *Burma/Myanmar* Trade bolsters Myanmar junta ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOP STORIES ............................................................................. > Anti-Gay Protests "Fall Flat" in Jerusalem Fundamentalist, ultra-conservative -- the Haredi Jews of Israel may be all that, but their message of intolerance towards gays and lesbians has so far failed to bring out the Orthodox masses. Their protest last weekend against the upcoming Jerusalem gay pride parade fell far short of the hoped-for "100,000 strong" crowd, and Israel's Haaretz newspaper said their campaign to cancel the parade has failed. Even the most Orthodox non-Haredi Jews skipped the affair, primarily because they didn't want to expose their children to a lifestyle they disapprove of. > Agent Orange Persists -- in Court On the eve of Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet's trip to the United States -- the first such visit since the 1970s -- a federal court in New York City is hearing an appeal of a ruling that exonerated producers of the toxic Agent Orange herbicide for birth defects and disabilities among more than 3 million Vietnamese. The chemical, which was used to defoliate jungle cover used by guerrillas during the Vietnam War, was produced by 37 American companies, including Monsanto and Dow. A 2005 ruling found no evidence that Agent Orange causes birth defects, and its producers say they acted under wartime presidential orders. > Adam and Eve Photos Bring Calls for Death The publisher and editor of Octane, an Islamabad fashion magazine, have been condemned to death by a local cleric for publishing a suggestive image of the proverbial first family, Adam and Eve. The magazine's editor says the image was an advertisement that has run previously, and is willing to apologize. But another religious leader has called for an additional charge of blasphemy be added to the obscenity complaint. Sources: "Ultra-Orthodox protests against gay pride parade fall flat" Haaretz (Israel), June 19, 2007 http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=872677&contrassID=1&subContrassID=7 "Agent Orange appeal in U.S. court" BBC, June 19, 2007 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6766139.stm "Pakistan bans sale of magazine" The Times of India, June 17, 2007 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Pakistan/Pakistan_bans_sale_of_magazine/rssarticleshow/2129565.cms ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- RESOURCE BATTLES ............................................................................. > Natural Resources Spur Pollution, Indigenous Rights Disputes From fossil fuels to "blue gold," from uranium to offshore biodiversity, natural resources around the world promise riches but often deepen social and economic disputes. In Turkey, the massive new Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline is expected to bring $1 billion into the national economy. But residents of the fishing vilage of ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004306.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- SUDAN ............................................................................. > The Promises and Pitfalls of Darfur's Salvation An international charity is pulling out even as Sudan grudgingly accepts a bolstered peacekeeping force in the Darfur region, home to mounting ethic violence and fears of genocide. But the new peacekeeping force comes too late for Oxfam, which has decided to permanently close its ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004307.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- BURMA/MYANMAR ............................................................................. > Trade Bolsters Myanmar Junta Another birthday of imprisoned dissident Daw Aung Sung Suu Kyi has come and gone, and the plight of Burma slips again to the back burners of the highest-profile international press. But dig into local and regional media, and you'll find a wealth of coverage of the repressive junta that took control ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004308.html ============================================================================= Editor: Josh Wilson ............................................................................. SUPPORT PUBLIC-SERVICE MEDIA Newsdesk.org and News You Might Have Missed are commercial-free, and available at no charge. We welcome your tax-deductible contributions: https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?id=695 ............................................................................. MANAGE YOUR SUBSCRIPTION Subscribe, unsubscribe, etc: http://lists.artsandmedia.net/mailman/listinfo/nymhm/ ............................................................................. News You Might Have Missed and Newsdesk.org are free services of Independent Arts & Media: http://artsandmedia.net/ ............................................................................. E-mail list powered by Group D Communications: http://www.groupd.com/ ............................................................................. DISCLAIMER: All external links are provided as informational resources only, consistent with the nonprofit, public-interest mission of Independent Arts & Media. Independent Arts & Media does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations and does not have a copyright on any of the content located at these sites. ============================================================================= From nymhm at lists.artsandmedia.net Wed Jun 27 17:18:00 2007 From: nymhm at lists.artsandmedia.net (nymhm@lists.artsandmedia.net) Date: Wed Jun 27 17:19:16 2007 Subject: NYMHM: Net neutrality, Afghan civilians, "hedonics" calm Bogota Message-ID: ============================================================================= NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED * June 27, 2007 * Vol. 6, No. 26 Important but overlooked news from around the world. NYMHM is a free service of Newsdesk.org. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Online this week: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004310.html - RSS: http://newsdesk.org/news/atom.xml - Donations: http://artsandmedia.net/contribute/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- QUOTED: "We think the procedures that we have in place are good. They work, they help us minimize the effects [on civilians]." -- Brig. Gen. Joseph Votel says the accidental killing of Afghan civilians by NATO forces does not require any rule changes (see "Afghanistan," below). CONTENTS: *Top Stories* "Hedonics leaves Bogota happy Charlotte's shelters operate in secret The Great Lakes' new enemy: ballast water *Media* Net Neutrality tempers flare, and cross borders *Women* Polygamy bans proliferate, but doubts persist *Afghanistan* Doubts assail NATO in Afghanistan and beyond ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOP STORIES ............................................................................. > "Hedonics" Leaves Bogota Happy Bogotans thank Enrique Penalosa for building parks, schools, and bike routes instead of freeways during his tenure as mayor in the late 1990s. At the time the city's streets were "a living hell," the Toronto Globe & Mail reports. Penalosa increased gas taxes, added buses and banned cars from driving at rush hour more than three days a week. The measures were controversial, but resulted in drops in traffic congestion and pollution, a 40 percent drop in the murder rate, and increased school enrollment. Penalosa, who is running for mayor again, attributes this success to "hedonics," which values happiness above ordinary economics, and prioritizes access to parks, spending time with friends and family -- and shorter commutes. The ideas are now attracting attention from cities such New York and Los Angeles. > Charlotte's Shelters Operate in Secret The Charlotte Observer reports that a dire shortage of beds for the homeless there has prompted the creation of 17 "safe houses" across the city. Many are run by evangelists, and provide shelter to abused women and their children, among other hard-hit clients. Now the shelters, which operate in secret, are being shut down by the city fire department over zoning violations -- but shelter owners say they're worried about registering their operations for fear of being shut down. > The Great Lakes' New Enemy: Ballast Water Shippers from around the world that pass through Great Lakes territory have stowaways in the ballast-water tanks used for ship stability. These include invasive species such as zebra mussels and a lethal hemorrhagic fish virus, both of which proliferate in the lakes' freshwater ecosystem Now, the Detroit Free Press reports that eight environmental organizations are suing six shippers to force compliance with the Clean Water Act, which requires ships to sanitize ballast water before docking. Ship operators say the $250,000 equipment cost is too prohibitive, and are suing to reverse a recent Michigan law requiring them install the equipment on all their vessels. Sources: "Bogota's urban happiness movement" Globe and Mail, June 25, 2007 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070622.whappyurbanmain0623/BNStory/lifeMain/home "Secret shelters a last resort for Charlotte's homeless?" Charlotte Observer, June 17, 2007 http://www.charlotte.com/local/story/162976.html "Eight environmental groups start ballast water lawsuit" Detroit Free Press, June 21, 2007 http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070621/NEWS06/70621029/1008 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- MEDIA ............................................................................. > Net Neutrality Tempers Flare, and Cross Borders Tensions and voices are rising over a push by Internet carriers such as AT&T to charge content providers -- such as Google -- for access to their networks. In San Francisco, a shouting match broke out after a Commerce Department official said that ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004312.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- WOMEN ............................................................................. > Polygamy Bans Proliferate, But Doubts Persist Utah reckons it's home to thousands of polygamists, all following their interpretation of Mormon religious teachings, but in contravention of current Mormon practices -- and the law. So, while governments in Uganda and Iraqi Kurdistan debate banning polygamous marriages altogether to protect women from abuse and exploitation, "fundamentalist" Mormons in the American Southwest are seeking ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004313.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFGHANISTAN ............................................................................. > Doubts Assail NATO in Afghanistan and Beyond NATO commanders insist that their mission in Afghanistan is one of reconstruction, but that combat is an inevitable byproduct. Now, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is under pressure from its Afghan hosts to reduce civilian deaths, even as member nations such as Canada face ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004314.html ============================================================================= Editors: Julia Scott, Josh Wilson ............................................................................. SUPPORT PUBLIC-SERVICE MEDIA Newsdesk.org and News You Might Have Missed are commercial-free, and available at no charge. We welcome your tax-deductible contributions: https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?id=695 ............................................................................. MANAGE YOUR SUBSCRIPTION Subscribe, unsubscribe, etc: http://lists.artsandmedia.net/mailman/listinfo/nymhm/ ............................................................................. News You Might Have Missed and Newsdesk.org are free services of Independent Arts & Media: http://artsandmedia.net/ ............................................................................. E-mail list powered by Group D Communications: http://www.groupd.com/ ............................................................................. DISCLAIMER: All external links are provided as informational resources only, consistent with the nonprofit, public-interest mission of Independent Arts & Media. Independent Arts & Media does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations and does not have a copyright on any of the content located at these sites. =============================================================================