NYMHM: Libraries under the gun; a bad time to be a fish

Wed Mar 7 19:40:04 PST 2007

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 NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED * March 7, 2007 * Vol. 6, No. 10

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

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THIS WEEK: 

   Libraries are under the gun in Oregon, top secret documents
   blew the NSA's cover, the FCC payola payoff may be a mixed
   blessing, fish stocks decline as profits hit new heights, 
   Putin's popularity is unchecked by deaths, extremism gains
   new footholds worldwide ... and religious minorities are
   outnumbered but united in Germany and Pakistan.  

QUOTED: 

   "The Women's Protection Bill has focused attention on the issue. 
   Women have become the target because it's a victory for women."

   -- Kamila Hyat of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, on
   rising violence against women there. (See "Extremism," below.)

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TOP STORIES
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 > Closing the Books in Oregon

   All 15 of the public libraries serving Jackson County, Ore.,  
   are scheduled to close after Congress failed to reauthorize 
   a $400 million subsidy for rural economies. The libraries 
   were recently rebuilt or remodeled, and residents blame the
   pending closures on local mismanagement, the declining timber 
   industry, and indifference on Capitol Hill. 

 > Secret Wiretap Snafu Blew NSA's Cover

   Experts are watching a $1 million lawsuit against the government, 
   filed by an attorney who was accidentally given a top secret 
   document tracking his phone conversations with an Arab charity. 
   The suit is unique because it is the only one, out of more than 
   50, with proof of government spying on U.S. citizens. Wired News 
   reports that the Washington Post had been given a copy of the 
   document, but turned it over to the FBI without covering the story. 

 > Payola Payoff's Mixed Blessing For Indie Music

   A $12.5 million settlement for accusations of payola against
   CBS Radio, Clear Channel and others has independent music 
   producers hopeful for new exposure. But an agreement to ensure 
   thousands of hours of air time for small labels is strictly 
   voluntary, and not covered by the FCC settlement. 

Sources: 

"Largest library closure in U.S. looms / Federal funding dries up, leaving 15 branches in Oregon county on brink"
San Francisco Chronicle, March 4, 2007
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/03/04/MNGC7N6Q3M1.DTL

"Top secret: We're Wiretapping you"
Wired.com March 5, 2007
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,72811-0.html?tw=wn_index_1

"FCC payola probe boosts indie music"
Hollywood Reporter, March 6, 2007
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/music/news/e3i495a511f6d7e8199e3e87e60aac8b9b2

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THE OCEANS
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 > Record Earnings From Endangered Ocean Harvest

   The fishing industry brought in a record $71.5 billion last year, 
   most of it from ocean fisheries that lack ecological oversight. 

   Now, a new report from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization 
   finds that 25 percent of ocean fisheries are virtually depleted, 
   and 52 percent "fully exploited." 

   This comes on the heels of a study last year that predicted
   a complete collapse of ocean fisheries worldwide by 2050 without
   reform of fishing practices and curtailing pollution. 

   Fish Farmer Magazine reports that with the record harvest, 
   wild fisheries have "levelled off" even as aquaculture becomes
   the "world's fastest growing food production sector."

Sources: 

"Record high for global seafood trade"
Fish Farmer Magazine, March 5, 2007
http://www.fishfarmer-magazine.com/news/printpage.php/aid/939/Record_high_for_global_seafood_trade.html

"Ocean fisheries maxed out"
Inter Press Service, March 5, 2007
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=36811

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PUTIN
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 > A Good Time to Be President, But Not a Critic

   Russian President Vladimir Putin's approval ratings top 70 
   percent, and most citizens say that they'll vote for whomever 
   he chooses as a successor after his last constitutional term
   in office. 

   This, along with Putin's intolerance of dissent and the 
   ongoing, unsolved and usually fatal attacks on his critics, 
   have cemented fears of resurgent authoritarianism. 

   The Telegraph reports on two recent incidents: the shooting 
   of a "vocal" critic of Putin in Maryland in an apparent 
   robbery, and the death of a journalist in Russia after he 
   fell from the fourth floor of his apartment building. 

   The mayor of the Arkhangelsk, the sole contender so far in next 
   year's presidential elections, said that since declaring his
   candidacy he has come under police investigation, and expects 
   to be jailed despite testimony in his favor. 

   Bloomberg reports that pro-Kremlim parties are expected to 
   sweep regional elections later this month, since the reformist 
   Yablinko Party and the pro-business Union of Rightist Forces 
   have both been barred. 

   And in Moscow last weekend, one of the largest pro-democracy 
   rallies in years was violently broken up by riot police. 

Sources: 

"Are Putin's agents behind shooting?"
The Telegraph (U.K.), March 7, 2007 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/03/06/wputin06.xml

"I am victim of dirty tricks, says man who aims to replace Putin"
The Telegraph (U.K.), March 3, 2007 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/03/03/wrussia03.xml

"Putin Squeezes Opposition as 2008 Presidential Election Looms "
Bloomberg, March 8, 2007
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=aJcud5tqVFGU&refer=europe

"Kasparov says violently dispersed weekend protest showed Russians overcoming their fear"
Associated Press, March 5, 2007
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/03/05/europe/EU-GEN-Russia-Protest.php

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EXTREMISM
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 > Intolerance Seeks, and Gains, New Footholds 

   Extremists worldwide are harnessing unemployment, social unrest, 
   gender conflict and simple bigotry to advance their crusades. 

   In France, Jean-Marie Le Pen -- an accused racist who calls for 
   an end to immigration and tax cuts for native French only -- may 
   again be set to upset the presidential elections. Though he has 
   not yet declared his candidacy, his support in the polls is
   greater than ever. 

   Hungary, shocked by riots last year after its socialist president
   confirmed that he had lied during the election, faces renewed 
   violence with an attack on a police station, and mobilization
   of "skinheads and football hooligans" in advance of its March
   15 independence holiday, Inter Press Service reports. 

   In Pakistan, a woman social welfare minister was shot to death 
   in front of a crowd by an unrepentant religious fanatic. 
   According to the Christian Science Monitor, attacks on women, 
   particularly those working in government and education, 
   are on the rise there. 

   And the Associated Press reports that some officials in the
   western United States, afraid of being targeted by a growing
   white supremacist prison gang known for identity theft, are
   going to court to remove their names from public records. 

Sources: 

"Extremist Le Pen strikes chord in France, again"
Deutsche Welle, March 5, 2007
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,2373906,00.html?maca=en-rss-en-top-1022-rdf

"Something's Rotten in the State of Hungary"
Inter Press Service, February 27, 2007
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=36738

"Violent debate on women's rights in Pakistan"
Christian Science Monitor, March 6, 2007
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0306/p06s01-wosc.htm

"White Supremacist gang gains clout"
Associated Press, March 5, 2007
http://www.napavalleyregister.com/articles/2007/03/05/news/national/doc45ec28e9c6114049757362.txt

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RELIGIOUS MINORITIES
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 > Outnumbered, But United, in Germany and Pakistan 

   The more than three million Muslims living in Germany are on 
   the brink of overcoming ethnic and religious differences to 
   form a new advocacy group that would give them, for the first
   time ever, a "united voice," Deutsche Welle reports. 

   In Pakistan, one of the heartlands of Islam, Hindus are taking 
   similar steps, forming the Sindh Minority Alliance in the face
   of "growing incidents of kidnapping, extortion and other 
   torture cases," the Times of India reports. 

Sources: 

"German Muslims want unified voice"
Deutsche Welle, March 5, 2007
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2373643,00.html

"Pakistani Hindus form party in Sindh"
The Times of India, March 5, 2007
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-1724181,prtpage-1.cms

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Editor: Josh Wilson
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