From nymhm at lists.artsandmedia.net Wed Sep 5 13:52:54 2007 From: nymhm at lists.artsandmedia.net (nymhm@lists.artsandmedia.net) Date: Wed Sep 5 13:57:01 2007 Subject: NYMHM: Slavery and emancipation; School is out in Iraq; Labor Day and immigration Message-ID: ============================================================================= NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED * September 5, 2007 * Vol. 6, No. 36 Important but overlooked news from around the world. NYMHM is a free service of Newsdesk.org. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Online this week: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004388.html - RSS: http://newsdesk.org/news/atom.xml - Donations: http://artsandmedia.net/contribute/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- QUOTED: "I believe these men were kidnapped by the First Kuwaiti Company to work on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad." -- Roy Mayberry, an American medical worker, in Congressional testimony about forced labor in Iraq (see "Labor," below). CONTENTS: *Top Stories* Thousands still sick from Cold War radiation Big Brother's just a mouseclick away In Iraq, school is out *Rwanda* Genocide inquiry stumbles on French Connection *Labor* Slavery (and emancipation) for the new millennium *Immigration* Labor Day highlights immigrant dilemma ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOP STORIES ............................................................................. > Thousands Still Sick from Cold War Radiation Government records show 36,500 Americans were sickened from exposure to uranium, plutonium and beryllium since 1945, most from building or transporting atomic weapons. At least 4,000 people have died from related illnesses, although an investigation by the Rocky Mountain News suggests many more were affected than the government is willing to ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004389.html > The FBI's Just a Mouseclick Away New details on the FBI's domestic wiretapping program reveal it to be far more technologically sophisticated than experts believed. FBI wiretapping rooms across the country, connected by a private network run by Sprint, gives officials direct access to ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004390.html > In Iraq, School is Out Iraq's school system, once one of the finest in the Middle East, is wracked with violence and disrepair following the sanctions imposed under Saddam Hussein's regime and the sectarian violence that followed his downfall. Children are regularly kidnapped for ransom and about 600 teachers were killed last year, according to ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004391.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- RWANDA ............................................................................. > Genocide Inquiry Stumbles on French Connection With the U.N. International Criminal Tribunal on Rwanda due to wrap up early next year with many genocide suspects still at large, Rwanda is keen to find and prosecute fugitives at home or abroad. But distance, cost, and international politics make this an unlikely goal ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004392.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- LABOR ............................................................................. > Slavery (and Emancipation) for the New Millennium 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 ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004393.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- IMMIGRATION ............................................................................. > Labor Day Highlights Immigrant Dilemma 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 ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004394.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 Sep 12 17:48:58 2007 From: nymhm at lists.artsandmedia.net (nymhm@lists.artsandmedia.net) Date: Wed Sep 12 17:49:55 2007 Subject: NYMHM: Your Support Will Help Us Thrive Message-ID: <03c98ae9fbcb30df8d38eb0f0870ed18@artsandmedia.net> News You Might Have Missed was founded in the wake of the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, as a means of giving Americans access to important world and national news that gets continually shut out or overlooked by profit-focused news media. We've published NYMHM every Wednesday since February 2002, with only one paid freelancer backed by a team of pro bono editors. But there's no edition of NYMHM this week. We're taking this time out to ask for your support. $2,000. That's how much we need to raise, in order to keep NYMHM alive and thriving this fall and winter. Donate here: https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?id=695 It's an absurdly small amount of money. $2,000. In big media, $2,000 wouldn't even fund a CEO's weekend junket to a D.C. business conference and awards ceremony. But for Newsdesk.org, $2,000 is months of news programming. The money goes directly Julia Scott, the freelance editor and journalist who has researched and written NYMHM every week since 2004. Donate here: https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?id=695 Over the years, Newsdesk.org and News You Might Have Missed have remained a vital source for important journalism thanks to the support of individual donors like you. We have big plans to develop income through syndication and, yes, grantseeking. But we need to sustain the foundation of our coverage as we take it to the next level. That foundation is News You Might Have Missed. It's a demonstration of our values and intent as editors and journalists. It's a showcase for the important news the mainstream misses the boat on day after day, week after week, year after year. And it's just the beginning of our efforts to build a new kind of nonprofit, commercial-free news outlet for the digital age. Donate here: https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?id=695 We need $2,000 to keep NYMHM alive for the rest of the year. We need another $6,500 to publish it every week throughout 2008 -- a crucial year for news media and democracy in general, with the presidential elections coming up amidst war, terrorism, and economic and environmental uncertainty. $2,000. Think about everything we've achieved on such small sums of money. Now imagine what we could do with a real newsroom budget! Well, we have a bit of work left before we're running a million-dollar newsroom. But we're building it brick by brick. And we're going to succeed, with your help. So, thank you for your support. The value of your donations are multiplied many times over by our hardworking, and mostly volunteer, staff. We're grateful for your investment in journalism and democracy! Donate here: https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?id=695 Sincerely, Josh Wilson Editor * Newsdesk.org From nymhm at lists.artsandmedia.net Wed Sep 19 10:31:12 2007 From: nymhm at lists.artsandmedia.net (nymhm@lists.artsandmedia.net) Date: Wed Sep 19 10:33:25 2007 Subject: NYMHM: "Another Darfur" in Ethiopia; oil smuggler's paradise; the chemical legacy today Message-ID: ============================================================================= NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED * September 19, 2007 * Vol. 6, No. 37 Important but overlooked news from around the world. NYMHM is a free service of Newsdesk.org. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Online this week: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004397.html - RSS: http://newsdesk.org/news/atom.xml - Donations: http://artsandmedia.net/contribute/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- QUOTED: "We use the same methods that we used during Saddam. Instead of Baathists and generals, it is now Shia militias and their cronies who are doing the business." -- A veteran smuggler in Iraq on the booming underground oil trade (see ""Petroleum Politics"," below). CONTENTS: *Top Stories* Taliban weapons traced to Iran and China Experts fear 'another Darfur' in Ethiopia Swiss citizenship hurdles called racist *Environment & Health* The chemical legacy today *Petroleum Politics* Smuggler's paradise for Iraqi oil runners *Afghanistan* Canada ponders a quagmire ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOP STORIES ............................................................................. > Taliban Weapons Traced to Iran and China A weapons cache found in Afghanistan's Herat province was traced back to Iran and China, prompting U.S. and British 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 ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004398.html > Experts Fear 'Another Darfur' in Ethiopia 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 ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004399.html > Swiss Citizenship Hurdles Called Racist 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 ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004400.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ENVIRONMENT & HEALTH ............................................................................. > The Chemical Legacy Today 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 ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004401.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- PETROLEUM POLITICS ............................................................................. > Smuggler's Paradise for Iraqi Oil Runners 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 ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004402.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFGHANISTAN ............................................................................. > Canada Ponders an Afghan Quagmire 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 ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004403.html ============================================================================= Editors: Julia Scott, Will Crain, 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 Mon Sep 24 10:16:58 2007 From: nymhm at lists.artsandmedia.net (nymhm@lists.artsandmedia.net) Date: Mon Sep 24 10:18:37 2007 Subject: Newsdesk.org: Putting Down Roots Message-ID: <238de6bdea00ab5ce98daba4c00b7389@artsandmedia.net> We've raised $350 towards our goal of $2,000. That's how much Newsdesk needs to continue publishing News You Might Have Missed through the end of the year. Our email list is just under 2,000 subscribers. Please spread the word and help this project grow. The more folks who know about our work, the more effectively we can achieve our funding goal and continue our important public-service work: Donate here: https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?id=695 New subscribers -- sign up here!: http://lists.artsandmedia.net/mailman/listinfo/nymhm/ Why is your support so vital? For one thing, while we are working with grant consultants and cultivating allies in foundations, we've come to understand that foundations have their own agendas, issues, concerns and needs. As valuable as their support is, we can't count on foundations to pay for this important journalism service -- and neither can you. If we want to build true alternatives to the world of mass-marketed "infotainment," we're going to have to do it ourselves. Donate here: https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?id=695 Newsdesk.org was created by "mainstream media" journalists who hit the hard limits of their day jobs in commercial publishing. I was an entertainment editor at SFGate.com, the Web site of the San Francisco Chronicle, where my job was to write snappy headlines about Brittney Spears, and other pop-culture flavors of the moment. At the Gate, a well-financed and exciting workplace, I tried to establish a new program of public health reporting, with an initial focus on chemical and industrial pollution in the San Francisco Bay. Needless to say, the idea went nowhere. Regardless of the value of such reporting, it was not viewed as a good economic bet for a mainstream, urban news Web site. Eventually, I chose to resign, rather than spend the next 25 years using my talent and training as a journalist to make jokes about pop stars. Since then, Newsdesk has established itself as a leading source of "important but overlooked news," including groundbreaking coverage of issues that the commercial press picked up months or years after the fact -- including the FCC, net neutrality, faith-based politics, Nigeria's oil strife and veterans' health care. Donate here: https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?id=695 Newsdesk article links: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/003263.html In 2001, Jen Anderson, founder of News You Might Have Missed, was an employee of MTV's online division. After the Sept. 11 attacks, MTV confronted the issue of war and terrorism by slashing its news budget, including its entire online staff. As an unemployed media worker in a nation in desperate need of a reliable and broad diet of world news, Jen took a trip of Europe, hungry for new perspectives. While overseas, she noticed that foreign news media provided a window into issues that simply didn't turn up in U.S. newspapers, nor on television, or even the Internet. "What we need is a newsletter," she said, upon returning, "that rounds up all this news nobody's getting here in the States." Thus, in February 2002, was born News You Might Have Missed, bringing you "Important but overlooked news from around the world -- and your own backyard." Donate here: https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?id=695 Everyone who's gotten involved with Newsdesk.org has a story like this. We'll share them with you in the coming weeks and months. But meanwhile, with the 2008 elections looming, we are more determined than ever to dig in, build our foundation, and put down roots that can sustain the type of nonpoliticized and diverse news coverage without which no democracy can survive. We'll keep you apprised this fall and winter on our plans and hopes for 2008. Thank you again for your support and participation! Donate here: https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?id=695 Sincerely, Josh Wilson Editor * Newsdesk.org http://newsdesk.org/ 415/861-5302 p.s. You can also make a tax-deductible donation by sending a check or money order (do not send cash!) payable to Independent Arts & Media to: Newsdesk.org/Independent Arts & Media PMB 821 601 Van Ness Ave, Ste. E San Francisco, CA 94102 From nymhm at lists.artsandmedia.net Wed Sep 26 15:20:04 2007 From: nymhm at lists.artsandmedia.net (nymhm@lists.artsandmedia.net) Date: Wed Sep 26 15:22:01 2007 Subject: NYMHM: Burma Backstory -- How the Junta Stays in Business Message-ID: Dear readers: In light of the ongoing protests in Burma/Myanmar, we bring you a special edition of News You Might Have Missed this week. Instead of several shorter roundups of world news, we're focusing on Newsdesk's previous coverage of the oil industry and the money that keeps the Myanmar junta in power. This special feature also brings together the latest coverage of oil and gas development there, which promises billions more in profits for the junta. It's all the context and depth you're not getting from mainstream media -- a hallmark of Newsdesk.org's journalistic mission. * If you find our work of value, please tell your friends, family and co-workers. They can subscribe for our free newsletter here: http://lists.artsandmedia.net/mailman/listinfo/nymhm/ * Although our expenses are low, and most of our editors work pro bono, we need your support to continue publishing NYMHM throughout 2007. Thank you for your generous donations: https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?id=695 Sincerely, Josh Wilson Editor * Newsdesk.org * 415/861-5302 ============================================================================= NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED * September 20, 2007 * Vol. 6, No. 38 Important but overlooked news from around the world. NYMHM is a free service of Newsdesk.org. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Online this week: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004406.html - RSS: http://newsdesk.org/news/atom.xml - Donations: http://artsandmedia.net/contribute/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- QUOTED: "Where do you think that the money is going to go? It's not going to education or health programs -- it's going to the military to build a better command-and-control center to repress the population." -- Activist David Mathieson, on a pipeline that would earn $17 billion for the Myanmar junta (see "Burma Backstory," below). CONTENTS: *Top Stories* Day labor site divides in Texas Agribusiness gets another record harvest -- of subsidies Billboards no more for Brazil's megalopolis *Burma Backstory* Myanmar: How oil funding keeps the junta in business ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOP STORIES ............................................................................. > Agribusiness Gets Another Record Harvest -- of Subsidies 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 ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004407.html > Billboards No More for Brazil's Megalopolis Seventy percent of the residents of Sao Paulo, Brazil's largest city and the nation's economic powerhouse, remain fully committed to a near-total ban on outdoor urban advertising there. Adbusters reports that the city's conservative mayor, Gilberto Kassab, pushed through the new ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004408.html > Day Labor Camp Divides in Texas A Christian church in Houston is part of an interfaith coalition that has drawn the ire of anti-immigration activists by planning a new center for day laborers, the Houston Chronicle reports. U.S. Border Watch, a civilian group, brought 200 people to a rally opposed to the plan, saying it would undermine ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004409.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE BURMA BACKSTORY ............................................................................. > Myanmar: How Oil Funding Keeps the Junta in Business Newsdesk.org, Sept. 26, 2007 http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004405.html Although most of the world's political powers, including the United States, have condemned the Myanmar junta's crackdown on reformist protestors, 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-kilometer route through Burma's southern Tenasserim region. Rich with natural resources and dense rainforest, Tenasserim is also home to ongoing ethnic strife, and the construction of the pipeline brought with it ongoing reports of forced labor, rape and murder of local minorities by government ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004405.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 Thu Sep 27 12:41:03 2007 From: nymhm at lists.artsandmedia.net (nymhm@lists.artsandmedia.net) Date: Thu Sep 27 12:42:02 2007 Subject: NYMHM special edition: "Egypt Gripped by Massive Strike" Message-ID: ============================================================================= NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED * SPECIAL EDITION * Vol. 6, No. 39 Important but overlooked news from around the world. NYMHM is a free service of Newsdesk.org, http://newsdesk.org/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - RSS: http://newsdesk.org/news/atom.xml - Donations: http://artsandmedia.net/contribute/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Egypt Gripped by Massive Strike" Newsdesk.org, September 27, 2007 http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004411.html While the world focuses on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's repression of journalists and the Muslim Brotherhood party, a different sort of social unrest has boiled over at a state- owned textile mill in Mahalla el-Kubra, where tens of thousands of strikers have brought work to a costly standstill. The BBC notes that a similar strike last December at the mill led to sympathy strikes across Egypt, causing the government to "back down and meet the workers' demands" for higher pay and better profit sharing. Now, an estimated 27,000 workers have taken over the factory in Mahalla, a town north of Cairo on the Nile Delta ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004411.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. =============================================================================