| LIFE-NET NEWS |
| by Ret Z. |
| Covering Poverty Widely in a Net of Many Voices |
| 2003 August 6 | No Profit; No Proceeds |
| Volume 7 Number 9 | All-Volunteer |
| "Give a family a fish, and they'll eat a meal; give them a Net, and they'll have fish for Life." |
| World's Poorest Countries: Situation Not Much Better |
|
Halting progress in the world's 49 least developed
countries (LDCs) was reported in mid-July to the UN
Economic and Social Council, along with a call to set their
plight higher on the international agenda. Major
challenges cited by UN Under-Secretary-General Anwarul
Chowdhury include the widespread prevalence of diseases in
the LDCs, slow progress in debt relief, and continuing low
levels of foreign investment and trade; with 11% of the
world population, LDCs account for a bare 0.42% of global
trade, he said.
Several LDCs have demonstrated the capability of achieving high economic growth rates in recent years (in 2002, Angola by 10%, Chad by 11.3% and Mozambique by 12.0%, according to the UN World Economic and Social Survey 2003). But at least 15 of these countries suffered a drop in per capita income last year, Chowdhury said, presenting a report of his UN office to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in Geneva. Aid to LDCs has been insufficient and, over the past decade, in decline, but he noted that new donor pledges constituted a "positive trend that is emerging regarding the volume of Official Development Assistance". An action plan was agreed on at a May 2001 global meeting in Brussels. That month, the European Union announced elimination of tariffs on LDC imports, and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development set new guidelines to improve aid efficiency. Shortly after, however, terrorist strikes, Middle East tensions, and military incursions swung world attention sharply to security issues. "The LDCs seem to have slipped off of everyone's agenda; it's time to put them back", said Daphne Davies, coordinator of LDC Watch, an NGO coalition, in an interview with a UN information officer. An LDC Watch report, issued at a July 15 NGO forum in Geneva, endorses a "bottom-up" approach to development and maintains that additional training of civil society leaders will enhance the contributions currently being made by NGOs in the poor countries. The report notes that some governments have been nervous about civil society playing a role in development efforts, but says that they should be reassured that NGOs are playing "a constructive role in making policies work on the ground and being engines for change". One obstacle to grassroots efforts is the large scale of farm subsidies in the rich countries, according to LDC Watch. "There is no point in trying to stimulate agriculture in LDCs, when they face unfair competition from subsidised agriculture in the North", said Davies. At its 16 July meeting, ECOSOC accepted the suggestion of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan that LDC issues should serve as the main theme of its upcoming 2004 annual session, to be held in New York. Source: United Nations |
| Protesters Obstruct Fume-Spewing Truck Traffic |
|
Several dozen South Camden residents gathered in a
waterfront neighborhood Monday to protest what they called
"environmental racism" being committed by truckers. The
protesters, including a number of people who have spoken
on Life-Net Radio, stood at a five-point intersection near
Fourth Street and Ferry Avenue, an area through which they
say hundreds of tractor-trailers, trash trucks, and other
industrial vehicles rumble every day.
A report compiled by an urban design company for the Heart of Camden Corporation suggests diesel fumes emitted from the trucks' exhaust are detrimental to the neighborhood's physical and economic health. Protesters said they wouldn't have to deal with the problem if their neighborhood were more affluent. No expensive study is required to stop these trucks. Residents have proposed a workable solution that won't cost local port businesses anything: Reroute the heavy truck traffic to Atlantic Avenue and put up signs to keep diesel trucks off Ferry. Camden County could make it happen relatively quickly since both are county streets. The change could even speed up truck traffic moving from the port to Interstate 676. The Atlantic route would be a tenth of a mile longer than the Ferry route, but Atlantic is a wider street with just two lights and a straight shot to the expressway. Rerouting that traffic could dramatically improve the quality of life for the approximately 1,800 people who live in the neighborhood. There are four lights in six blocks on the current route--from about Second Street to I-676. At each light, the trucks idle and spew toxic clouds of black exhaust into the neighborhood. Sacred Heart School and a day-care center sit trapped in the crosswinds. Monsignor Michael Doyle, pastor of Sacred Heart Catholic Church at Broadway and Ferry, said the protests have prompted South Jersey Port Corporation Executive Director Joseph Balzano to forbid his trucks from cutting through the neighborhood. "An idling truck is one of the most deadly carriers of toxic air," Doyle said. The fumes coupled with humidity make it almost unbearable to leave the house, resident O'Dessia Bowser said. "The smoke and emissions burn your throat." The buildup of diesel soot is a real threat, said the executive director of the Clean Air Council in Washington, Frank O'Donnell: "It can trigger asthma attacks and make it difficult for people to breathe. The US Environmental Protection Agency said it's a likely carcinogen." The constant stream of truckers, halted at Ferry's four lights, has attracted prostitutes to the community. They "work" around the clock, loitering on the streets as students travel to school and step over the trash of their trade. There are about six families along Atlantic. Because the trucks would be idling less, these families wouldn't be subjected to the kind of pollution experienced on Ferry. Prostitutes might find it hard to get the truckers' attention with them moving more swiftly to I-676. As problems in Camden go, this one doesn't appear that difficult for the county to solve. Source: Courier-Post (Camden) editorial Source: Courier-Post (Camden) news story |
| Ten Ways to Perpetuate Homelessness |
|
Joel John Roberts, executive director of People Assisting
the Homeless, a Los Angeles area homeless agency, gives us
an upside-down view:
This "logic" sounds ludicrous, but so is the existence of homelessness in affluent America. If there really is an absurdist conspiracy to keep people homeless on our streets, then here are the "Top 10 Ways to Increase Homelessness in Our Community": 10. Keep thinking that the homeless are just lazy and shouldn't be helped. 9. Assume foster kids magically become responsible, self-sufficient adults at age 18. 8. Provide public food programs, but ignore the real reasons people are hungry. 7. Make it hard for the homeless to access services by spreading out services all over the county. 6. Encourage NIMBYism. 5. Let law enforcement deal with it. Outlaw homelessness and throw the homeless in jail. 4. Sweep the homeless into other communities. 3. Eliminate the welfare system. 2. Keep minimum wages at a minimum. 1. Reduce the housing stock and eliminate affordable housing. Source: Los Angeles Times |
| Study Finds Iraq Coverage Unbalanced |
|
After the invasion of Iraq began in March, official voices
dominated US network newscasts, while opponents of the war
were notably underrepresented, according to a study by
FAIR. Starting the day after the bombing of Iraq began on
March 19, the three-week study looked at 1,617 on-camera
sources appearing in stories about Iraq on the evening
newscasts of six television networks and news channels:
ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox, and PBS.
Nearly two thirds of all sources, 64%, were pro-war, while 71% of US guests favored the war. Anti-war voices were 10% of all sources, but just 6% of non-Iraqi sources and 3% of US sources. Thus viewers were more than six times as likely to see a pro-war source as one who was anti-war; with US guests alone, the ratio increases to 25 to 1. Official voices, including current and former government employees, whether civilian or military, dominated network newscasts, accounting for 63% of overall sources. Current and former US officials alone provided more than half (52%) of all sources. Looking at US sources, which made up 76% of total sources, more than two out of three (68%) were either current or former officials. The percentage of US sources who were officials varied from network to network, ranging from 75% at CBS to 60% at NBC. Of a total of 840 US sources who are current or former government or military officials, only four were identified as holding anti-war opinions. As noted in earlier FAIR studies, over-reliance on official sources leaves little room for independent policy critics or grassroots voices. At a time when dissent was quite visible in US society, with large anti-war demonstrations across the country and 27% of the public telling pollsters they opposed the war, the networks largely ignored anti-war opinion in the US. The FAIR study found just 3% of US sources represented or expressed opposition to the war. With more than one in four US citizens opposing the war and much higher rates of opposition in most countries where opinion was polled, none of the networks offered anything resembling proportionate coverage of anti-war voices. Guests with anti-war viewpoints were almost universally allowed one-sentence soundbites taken from interviews conducted on the street. Not a single show in the study conducted a sit-down interview with a person identified as being against the war. Source: Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting |
| The US in Iraq: 'They Treat Us Like Cattle' |
|
The curfew had just fallen at 11pm, as it had for the last
three months in the Iraqi capital, and Nudir was late but
barely a few hundred yards from his home in the Zeyouna
neighborhood, when an American patrol blocked the BMW he
was in with two friends. Polite, but firm, the GIs laid
them out on the hood. They searched the vehicle. Like
many Iraqis, he had a revolver for self-defense in the
glove compartment. The soldiers immediately bound their
hands.
"They made us get into an armored troop carrier and started to beat us up," relates the young engineer, who, after a night in a holding center piled up in a barred cage with 350 other suspects, finally arrived at "Camp Cropper", the airport prison of canvas tents surrounded by barbed wire, where he spent sixteen days. It was the end of May. He was registered as an "enemy prisoner of war." Tony was arrested ten days later, June 3, at his home in the Al-Mansur neighborhood. "Thieves had started to loot the house next door. The neighbors and I began to fire into the air to make them run away, and the Americans arrived a few minutes later. They weren't interested in the thieves. They asked me who had fired and where the weapons were. I showed them the Kalashnikov I kept for my family's protection. They confiscated it, bound my hands and took me away", recounts the young Christian economist, who didn't come home until twenty-six days later, having passed through the prison camps set up near Um Qasr. "There are a huge number of detainees who come and go, making any precise account impossible", asserts an ICRC representative, who, while acknowledging "having access to all the detention sites now", denounces "the big black marks which remain: the protracted procedures and the absence of lawyers and judges". Nudir and Tony's misadventures are two stories among many others that testify to the daily oppression effected by American troops, who are edgier all the time. In his report to the Security Council, the UN's Baghdad Representative, Sergio Viera De Mello, expressed his concerns with the human rights situation in Iraq. Amnesty International in a "Memorandum of Concerns about Law and Order" denounced "the cases of torture and bad treatment inflicted by coalition forces". There have also been ever more frequent "blunders" during strike operations as the GIs always act as though they are in a combat situation. Source: La Liberation English Translation: Truthout |
| Work Stress Worse than Weight Gain or Aging |
|
Workplace stress increases the risk of dying from a heart
attack or stroke, according to new research in the UK.
Long-term stress is worse for the heart than putting on
40 lbs or aging 30 years because workers deal with stress
by smoking, drinking and "slobbing out".
Those who suffer stress for at least half their working lives are 25% more likely to suffer a fatal heart attack and have a 50% greater chance of dying from a stroke, the report found. The study comes as the first NHS hospital has been threatened with legal action from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for failing to protect its doctors and nurses from stress. The research--the Modern Workers Health Check--has been published in the TUC-backed Hazards magazine. Blue-collar manual workers were more prone to illness through stress than business executives. Contributing researcher Paul Landsbergis said manual workers were more likely to suffer heart attacks because of high pressure caused by overtime, night shifts and hard work for low rewards. Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC said: "Stress at work is cutting lives short". He blamed overwork and the long hours culture. Working for unreasonable and irrational bosses leads to potentially dangerous high blood pressure, the report claimed. Meanwhile the West Dorset Hospitals NHS Trust has been given until December 15 to assess stress levels in among its 1,100 staff and introduce a program to reduce it, according to the Times paper. If it fails to act it will face court action and unlimited fines under the Health and Safety at Work Act. The HSE launched a pilot scheme earlier this summer whereby companies must measure employee stress and if necessary take action to reduce it. Source: BBC |
| Life-Net News Extras |
| Food Crisis Worsening in Haiti |
|
A "silent" food crisis is looming in Haiti, the poorest
country in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned Friday. Living
conditions of the poor have deteriorated markedly, with
over 3.8 million people suffering from hunger. The
majority of the hungry lives in rural areas.
"Haitians somehow manage to survive from day-to-day, leaving many observers questioning whether there is really a humanitarian emergency," said Anne M. Bauer, Director, Emergency Operations and Rehabilitation Division. "The indicators, however, show that there is a crisis, albeit a silent one, and one that risks becoming deeper." Increased social and political tensions have contributed to a vicious cycle of marginalization and increased vulnerability, eroding social, economic, infrastructural and environmental assets, the FAO said. Out of a labor force of 4.1 million, only 110,000 are employed in the formal sector, of whom 35,000 are civil servants. Agriculture, the main source of income, has been damaged by drought in the northwest over the last four years and by floods in the northeast over the last season. National food production is still decreasing due to insufficient investment, infrastructure and access to agricultural inputs. Poor living conditions are exacerbated by inadequate or non-existent water and sanitation. Over 1.2 million children are affected or infected by HIV/AIDS or other diseases. Around 23% of the children under five are suffering from chronic malnutrition. The FAO launched an appeal for $6 million to finance five key relief activities in Haiti. The FAO projects will:
The FAO will soon distribute around 180 ton of seeds to around 60,000 people so that they can prepare for the next planting season which starts in September. Source: United Nations To Help: Aid Appeal for Haiti |
| Only About 20% of Russians Healthy |
|
Not more than 20% of Russia's population can be considered
fully healthy, according to an article by Russian Health
Minister Yury Shevchenko, published by Rossiiskaya Gazeta
on Tuesday. "Only about 20% of the population is healthy,"
Shevchenko said.
The health of Russia's workforce has declined, the article states. "An estimated 3 million of people do not go to work in Russia due to illnesses, and 20 to 25 million come to work in a pre- or post-illness condition. Over 70% of the population have health problems when they hit retirement age," the minister said. Shevchenko added that "Russian citizens retire 5 to 10 years earlier than people in developed countries. Life expectancy in Russia is 10 to 14 years lower than it is in Japan, the US, England, and France," he said. Source: Interfax |
| Panel Urges Overhaul of Mental Health Care |
|
Care for the mentally ill must go beyond medication and
managing symptoms to helping people find jobs, go on dates
and live productive lives, said the final report of the
President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health last
month, calling for a major overhaul of the nation's mental
health system. The report said Americans must be educated
that having a mental illness is no shame so people will
come forward for screening and treatment. And it said
innovative treatments and ideas must get into the field as
soon as they are proven effective--unlike today, when
promising ideas can linger for 15 years or more before
moving into routine practice.
The report was applauded by an array of mental health advocates, who vowed to lobby state and federal policy makers to implement its findings. "The time has long passed for yet another piecemeal approach to mental health reform," said commission Chairman Michael F. Hogan, director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health. "This report provides the President with a road map for ... transformation." Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson called the report "thorough and thoughtful" and directed HHS' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to review its recommendations. The report is the second major look at mental health in the US in recent years. In 1999, then-Surgeon General David Satcher issued an exhaustive review of research on mental disorders and concluded that shame and trouble paying for care were keeping millions from effective treatments. Little about the nation's mental health system has changed since then, and the commission cites stigma surrounding mental illness as a major barrier to treatment. The commission, created last year by President Bush, recommended that each state develop a comprehensive plan for transforming its system of care for the mentally ill. Those systems typically combine institutional and community-based care and are paid for with a combination of state, federal and private dollars. The report does not recommend spending any new money, but says states, if they develop strong plans, should be given more flexibility in using dollars already available through various federal programs. Source: Associated Press |
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