From nymhm at lists.artsandmedia.net Wed Feb 6 11:40:42 2008 From: nymhm at lists.artsandmedia.net (nymhm@lists.artsandmedia.net) Date: Wed Feb 6 11:43:51 2008 Subject: NYMHM: Sea cow vs. Navy, melting mountains, Pakistan votes, pepper spray death Message-ID: <47AA0D3A.7000506@artsandmedia.net> ======================================================================== * NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED * January 30, 2008 * Vol. 7, No. 6 * ...................................... Important but overlooked news from around the world. NYMHM is a free service of Newsdesk.org. ...................................... DONATE: http://artsandmedia.net/contribute/ RSS: http://newsdesk.org/news/atom.xml ONLINE: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004543.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------ QUOTED: "I've never seen such a lackluster campaign. It's really clear that people don't trust the elections." -- Journalist Zahid Hussain on Pakistan's upcoming February 18 vote (see "Top Stories," below). CONTENTS: *Top Stories* Death after pepper spray raises questions Sea cow stymies Navy's Okinawa plan Specter of fraud haunts Pakistan election *Environment* The melting mountains *Democracy* Russia sends opposition to psych wards ------------------------------------------------------------------------ TOP STORIES ........................................................................ > Death After Pepper Spray Raises Questions A mentally ill man died not long after being pepper sprayed, the New Zealand Herald reported, prompting criticism of a "cavalier approach to using incapacitating weapons." Henry Bailey was confronted by police responding to an emergency call by his roommate, who said that Bailey had assaulted him. The New Zealand Herald reports that Bailey fought briefly with the officers, who tried to handcuff him, then ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004544.html > Sea Cow Stymies Navy's Okinawa Plan The endangered dugong, a type of "sea cow" similar to Florida's manatee, threatens to put the brakes on a huge military construction project in Japan. A federal court in San Francisco ruled that Navy plans to build a new base in Okinawa would violate the National Historic Preservation Act by threatening dugong habitat. The Christian Science Monitor reports that protecting the dugong could cut into related construction and service jobs, exacting a steep economic toll on ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004545.html > Specter of Fraud Haunts Pakistan Election The majority of Pakistan's voters expect the upcoming February 18 election to be rigged, reports McClatchy Newspapers. Doubts are widespread, with only 15 percent of voters expecting the poll to be fair. Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister, told reporters that he expects the election to be a "farce," but predicted extremely low results for ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004546.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ENVIRONMENT ........................................................................ > The Melting Mountains The Arctic ice caps and Antarctic glaciers are well-known barometers of global warming, but melting masses of ice in the Himalayas are in perhaps even more danger. Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper flew a plane over Nepal's Himalayan glaciers, and found that the ice there is retreating more rapidly than scientists expected. In some places, mountain lakes have grown so large they threaten to burst their banks -- which could lead to massive flooding in the heavily ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004547.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DEMOCRACY ........................................................................ > Russia Sends Opposition To Psych Wards A Russian opposition activist was forced into a mental hospital in one of many signs of the Russian government's crackdown ahead of elections next month. Roman Nikolaichik, a 27-year-old lawyer and member of Garry Kasparov's Other Russia Coalition, was detained by authorities on Friday, questioned about his political activities and sent to a psychiatric hospital, the Moscow Times reported. Human rights groups have documented several similar ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004548.html ........................................................................ Editors: Josh Wilson, Will Crain -------------------------------------- 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 Feb 13 16:05:46 2008 From: nymhm at lists.artsandmedia.net (nymhm@lists.artsandmedia.net) Date: Wed Feb 13 16:13:19 2008 Subject: Happy Birthday, NYMHM! Great Lakes study stymied: Good news for newspapers Message-ID: <8924ff8e993fc97da22ae4966c90cd4a@artsandmedia.net> HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NYMHM! Today marks the SIXTH anniversary of News You Might Have Missed, which debuted on Wednesday, February 13, 2002. We want to thank YOU for your support of this unique service, which has grown into one of the leading sources of "important but overlooked news" today. Every dollar you contribute and every email newsletter you forward to your friends help keep NYMHM alive and thriving. Here's to the future, and thanks again for making it all possible! -- The NYMHM staff and volunteers DONATIONS: http://artsandmedia.net/contribute/ TELL A FRIEND: Please forward this email freely ======================================================================== ===== NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED * February 13, 2008 * Vol. 7, No. 7 Important but overlooked news from around the world. NYMHM is a free service of Newsdesk.org. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----- - DONATIONS: http://artsandmedia.net/contribute/ - ONLINE: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004550.html - RSS: http://newsdesk.org/news/atom.xml ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----- QUOTED: "The governments, frankly, in both countries are so heavily aligned with, particularly, the chemical industry, that the word amongst the bureaucracies is that they really do not want any evidence of effect or injury to be allowed out there." -- Canadian biologist Michael Gilbertson on a new U.S. government report on Great Lakes pollution (see "Top Stories," below). CONTENTS: *Top Stories* Great Lakes toxics data suppressed? New York targets nonprofit fraud Housing crash takes down renters, too *Economy & Labor* Shoemakers walking away from South China *Media* Black and white and read all over ... in Asia, anyway ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----- TOP STORIES ........................................................................ ..... > Great Lakes Toxics Data Suppressed? Millions of people in the Great Lakes region may face health problems from pollution, but a study on the risk is under wraps seven months after its conclusion, and the scientist who led the project has been demoted. The Center for Public Integrity reports that Dr. Christopher De Rosa, a federal toxicology researcher, told his superior that delays in releasing the report has the "appearance of censorship of science ... " GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004555.html > New York Targets Nonprofit Fraud New York City investigators are looking into more than 30 cases of potential nonprofit fraud, the New York Post reports. The investigations follow a 2006 scandal at the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club, in which two executives confessed to misappropriating $1.2 million. The new inquiry will review $3.8 billion in 2007 city contracts with nonprofit ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004554.html > Housing Crash Takes Down Renters, Too Among the 11,000 San Francisco Bay Area homes repossessed in 2007 is a hidden statistic -- the number of renters quickly evicted following their landlords' fall from grace. No one knows how many renters have been shown the door, but the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the number is "high." One housing counselor told the newspaper that it has become a "common problem," while the Oakland city attorney's office has heard "a ton of anecdotes" about ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004553.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----- ECONOMY & LABOR ........................................................................ ..... > Shoemakers Walking Away from South China More than 1,000 shoe factories in southern China have closed in the past year -- half of them just in the past 12 weeks -- and many more will be shutting down in the coming months, according to news reports. Hong Kong's Asia Times reports that about 10,000 factories of different types are expected to close in the region this month, as wages increase and environmental and employment regulations tighten. About half the companies leaving Guangdong are moving to ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004552.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----- MEDIA ........................................................................ ..... > Black and White and Read All Over ... in Asia, Anyway Newspapers in the United States may be shrinking, losing circulation and laying off employees at an alarming rate, but times have never been better for the daily press in Asia. Seven of the 10 best-selling daily newspapers worldwide are in Asia, according to a Yahoo News story, and circulation there rose 3.6 percent in 2006, compared to a two percent drop in the United States. "The media has never been as powerful, or as pervasive, as it is in Asia right now ..." GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004551.html ======================================================================== ===== Editors: Josh Wilson, Will Crain ........................................................................ ..... 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 Feb 20 13:15:08 2008 From: nymhm at lists.artsandmedia.net (nymhm@lists.artsandmedia.net) Date: Wed Feb 20 13:17:38 2008 Subject: NYMHM: Silicon Valley wealth gap, "dodgy collateral, " air car, Chavez questioned Message-ID: <9ed40ed9ecd87d4787c1b1e6c75cf966@artsandmedia.net> ======================================================================== NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED * February 20, 2008 * Vol. 7, No. 8 Important but overlooked news from around the world. NYMHM is a free service of Newsdesk.org. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ - DONATIONS: http://artsandmedia.net/contribute/ - ONLINE: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004558.html - RSS: http://newsdesk.org/news/atom.xml ------------------------------------------------------------------------ QUOTED: "For the moment, we see a tougher position ... motivated by the political space which President Hugo Chavez has tried to open for them." -- Colombia's peace commissioner Luis Carlos Restrepo, on the Venezuelan leader's hostage negotiations with leftist rebels in Colombia (see "Chavez," below). CONTENTS: *Top Stories* "Dodgy collateral" fuels new bank borrowing Wealth gap widens in Silicon Valley Wikileaks shutdown thwarted *Transportation* Much puffery about air-powered car *Chavez* Friend of hostages, or friend of hostage-takers? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ TOP STORIES ........................................................................ > "Dodgy Collateral" Fuels New Bank Borrowing U.S. banks have borrowed almost $50 billion in the last month from the Federal Reserve, using an expanded Federal Reserve program that some critics fear will deepen instability long-term. The Financial Times of London reports that the Reserve's Term Auction Facility has enabled the government to reduce "financial stress" by "channelling liquidity into the banking system." It achieves this by allowing banks to "borrow at relatively attractive rates against a wider range of their assets than previously permitted ... " GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004557.html > Wealth Gap Widens in Silicon Valley The information economy may be firing on all cylinders, but in Silicon Valley more than 60,000 "midwage" jobs -- defined as those paying between $30,000 to $80,000 annually -- disappeared between 2002 and 2006. During that same period, however, Silicon Valley employers added more than 66,000 jobs paying less than $30,000. The Silicon Valley Index, published annually by a public-private consortium, details the changes, many of which ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004559.html > Wikileaks Shutdown Thwarted Infoworld technology guru Robert Cringley said the attempted shutdown of the Wikileaks Web site by a U.S. judge at the request of a Swiss bank was a futile effort that only fueled greater interest in ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004560.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------ TRANSPORTATION ........................................................................ > Much Puffery About Air-Powered Car An automobile that runs on compressed air got a boost this week with an investment from India's Tata Motors. MDI Industries, of Carros, France, designed the cars based on technology invented by Guy Negre, a former Formula One engineer. The project has been in development for 14 years, but no carmaker has yet put the car into production. Now, according to some reports, Tata is planning to manufacture and sell air cars in ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004561.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CHAVEZ ........................................................................ > Friend of Hostages, or Friend of Hostage-Takers? Venezuela's firebrand President Hugo Chavez has been deeply involved in recent months in trying to resolve the long-running standoff over hundreds of hostages held by Colombian rebels. He was credited last month for gaining the release of two hostages, and he spoke last week with French President Nicolas Sarkozy about working to attain the release of more. But new criticisms against Chavez say he is doing more harm than good -- and a former hostage agrees ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004562.html ======================================================================== Editor: Josh Wilson, Will Crain ........................................................................ 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 Feb 27 14:46:38 2008 From: nymhm at lists.artsandmedia.net (nymhm@lists.artsandmedia.net) Date: Wed Feb 27 14:51:59 2008 Subject: NYMHM: Obama donations, London bicycles, radiation on the reservation, and more Message-ID: ======================================================================== NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED * February 27, 2008 * Vol. 7, No. 9 Important but overlooked news from around the world. NYMHM is a free service of Newsdesk.org. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ - DONATIONS: http://artsandmedia.net/contribute/ - ONLINE: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004568.html - RSS: http://newsdesk.org/news/atom.xml ------------------------------------------------------------------------ QUOTED: "This is the first time we have caught a human trafficking syndicate in a case where the baby was still in the womb." -- A Vietnamese police officer on recent arrests in a adults baby-smuggling ring (see "Adoption," below). CONTENTS: *Top Stories* A 'complicated truth' about Obama donations London shifts gears to favor bicycles Beijing Olympics: It's the water *Environment & Health* Radiation on the reservation *Adoption* Infants and international incidents ------------------------------------------------------------------------ TOP STORIES ........................................................................ > A "Complicated Truth" About Obama Donations Although Barack Obama has publicly disavowed campaign donations from lobbyists, the candidate, along with his rival Hillary Clinton, has received millions of dollars in donations from special-interest groups linked to the legal, pharmaceutical and health-care industries. The Columbia Journalism Review notes that the Obama campaign did indeed take far less money from registered lobbyists -- just $86,000 -- through the end of December 2007 than either Clinton ($800,000) or Republican candidate John McCain ($400,000). However, money from special interests can follow other routes into campaign coffers besides registered lobbyists ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004567.html > London Shifts Gears to Favor Bicycles Armed with a proposal to develop 12 major "superhighways" for bicyclists throughout the city, along with a daily "congestion charge" of almost $50 for polluting vehicles, England's capital city is gearing up to become the world's newest bicycle utopia. London's mayor hopes the programs will result in a 400 percent increase in the number of cyclists in the city by ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004569.html > Beijing Olympics: It's the Water A senior Chinese official has sharply criticized a multi- billion-dollar government plan to divert water from the Hubei and Shaanxi provinces north to Beijing, the BBC reports. An Qiyuan, a former Community Party leader from Shaanxi province, said that the plan would endanger the livelihood of millions of residents, and that compensation is necessary to prevent what the BBC described as "social upheaval and ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004570.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ENVIRONMENT & HEALTH ........................................................................ > Radiation on the Reservation As the market booms for uranium mining in the American West, a Seattle newspaper took a new look at what can happen when industry ignores the potential risks of the practice. The Seattle Times reported on the toxic mess left behind by uranium mines on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington: toxic pools, radioactive homes and very high rates of cancer. Former workers say the mines had very lax safety controls when they were in operation, and left behind ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004571.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ADOPTION ........................................................................ > Infants and International Incidents Faced with tightening regulations in China, Vietnam is shaping up to be the new location of choice for Western couples seeking overseas adoptions. But the trend is creating new complications, including illegal baby smuggling and diplomatic struggles between governments. Vietnamese police said last week they had busted a baby-smuggling gang who were taking two infants -- a one-month-old and a one-week-old -- to sell in China. Also detained was a woman in her eighth month of pregnancy who told police she had agreed to sell her unborn child to the group for the equivalent of ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004572.html ======================================================================== Editors: Josh Wilson, Will Crain ........................................................................ 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. ========================================================================