LIFE-NET NEWS

by Ret Z.

Covering Poverty Widely in a Net of Many Voices

2004 June 9	No Profit; No Proceeds
Volume 8 Number 5	All-Volunteer

"Give a family a fish, and they'll eat a meal;  give them a Net, and they'll have fish for Life."

Pope Opposes Soulless Materialism in US Life

Pope John Paul II warned several US bishops on May 28 that American society is in danger of turning against spirituality in favor of materialistic desires, giving way to a "soulless vision of life." To fight this, the pontiff argued, the US church must study contemporary culture to find a way to appeal to youth. He made his remarks to bishops from Indianapolis, Chicago and Milwaukee who were making a periodic visit to the Vatican.       The American church "is called to respond to the profound religious needs and aspirations of a society increasingly in danger of forgetting its spiritual roots and yielding to a purely materialistic and soulless vision of the world," John Paul said.       "Taking up this challenge, however, will require a realistic and comprehensive reading of the 'signs of the times,' in order to develop a persuasive presentation of the Catholic faith and prepare young people especially to dialogue with their contemporaries about the Christian message and its relevance to the building of a more just, humane and peaceful world."       Source:  Associated Press

Land Use Experts Examine Camden's 'Medical Mile'

Wowing a bus load of strangers with the Camden Waterfront on a brilliant sunny day is easy. Keeping them riveted to their windows through blocks of urban blight along Haddon and Kaighn Avenues is a challenge.       Stephen Dragos, president of the Greater Camden Partnership, succeeded Monday because his audience, a collection of urban experts, came to analyze Camden's strengths and weaknesses. Nine members of the Urban Land Institute, a prestigious research and educational think tank dedicated to responsible land use, descended on Camden as volunteers for a crash course on the city's past and future goals. The two-hour bus tour focused on what city officials are calling the "Medical Mile," the strip along Haddon Avenue between Our Lady of Lourdes and Cooper hospitals and viable surrounding neighborhoods, including Parkside and Cooper Plaza. The bus then crossed US Route 130 into Collingswood for comparison to illustrate what a healthy swath of Haddon Avenue can look like.       "Lourdes Medical Center, Cooper University Hospital and UMDNJ (University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey) have announced more than $200 million in construction. The Coriell Institute is looking to expand. With these powerful anchor employers, it makes sense to develop a strategy for the revitalization of the major street that links them," said Dragos about Haddon Avenue.       More tours and meetings with officials and neigborhood leaders will fill out the nine volunteers' week. On Friday they'll make recommendations on how to sprinkle some of that Waterfront glitter around the rest of the city.       "Camden has gone through tough times, but it is a typical Northeast city with lots of redevelopment opportunity," said Philip S Hart, who has developed and managed commercial real estate in Boston and Los Angeles. "It really is East Philly, a streetcar suburb to an important city, and should be marketed as such."       William A Gilchrist, planning director for Birmingham, AL, said his post-industrial city -- dubbed the Pittsburgh of the South -- is similar in many ways to Camden. He said that, after bottoming out in the late 1970s, the city of 250,000 people -- about three times the size of Camden -- has emerged as a banking and medical center. "When a ULI panel came to Birmingham two years ago, we found that a fresh pair of eyes could be very helpful. They helped us connect the dots in our planning and showed us what we should pursue and what we should cut loose."       Source:  Courier-Post (Camden)

Human Organ Trade Murders Afghan Children

Ismail is only 10 years old, but the horrors of the past three months will be with him to his grave. He was rescued by the Afghan authorities on Friday, after being kidnapped in March with his brother Ibrahim, 6.       Quietly, he told of seeing the bodies of four boys of about his age that had been cut open. "They took us to a mountain where I saw the bodies," he said. "They had taken out the organs. They were on the ground at the bottom of this mountain, then the men took them away. They were boys of about our age. I thought I would not live long when I saw them. I was scared."       The intelligence chief for the south, Dr Abdullah Laghmani, said local forces were searching for the four bodies, having found one already in Panjwai district to the southwest of Kandahar, where he is based. "We have information they [the kidnappers] killed five children, cutting their heads off and opening their stomachs to extract their kidneys," Dr Laghmani said.       He believes the kidnappers, involved in a worrying rise in the number of disappearing children across the country, planned to sell the kidneys in Pakistan, where patients are prepared to pay large amounts of money for healthy organs. There also appear to be other motives, including extortion.       The kidnappers who seized Ismail and Ibrahim from their home in a village in the remote southwestern province of Nimruz demanded money from their grandfather, which he could not hope to pay. "During these three months I was desperate and feared that I would never see my grandsons again," said a tearful Haji Anwar, an elderly man with a white turban and matching beard. "We were planning to hold prayers for them, assuming they had died."       Ali Ahmad Jalali, the Interior Minister, said recently that hundreds of children had been taken out of the country illegally in recent years, and some had been kidnapped for their body parts.       Dr Laghmani said, "These three men who were arrested did what they did for money, but the money will end up in the hands of al-Qa'ida and Taliban."       Source:  Independent (UK)

The Hidden Public Costs of Low-Wage Employment

Working families (with at least one person working) comprised 53% of the families enrolled in at least one of the top ten public assistance programs in California in 2002, says a report by the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research. The report concerns the costs for taxpayers that result when working families in California earn low wages and rely on public assistance to meet their basic needs. It analyzes the top ten largest statewide programs such as CalWORKs, EITC, Healthy Families and Medi-Cal. The report projects the taxpayer savings if minimum wage salaries or health care benefits increased.       Other findings: Over half of all families on public assistance in California were in the greater Los Angeles area. Of the $21.2 billion of public assistance received by low-income families, 48% ($10.1 billion) went to working families. If the current working families on assistance earned at least $8 per hour, public assistance payments would drop from $10.1 billion to $7.4 billion. If the working families on assistance had access to affordable health insurance through their employers, public assistance payments would drop $2.2 billion.       Source:  Institute for the Study of Homelessness and Poverty       Report:  "The Hidden Public Costs of Low-Wage Jobs in California"

The Shrimp Comes with a Side Order of Mass Death

Shrimp has long been on the menu of coast-dwelling humans. But today's multibillion-dollar industry bears little resemblance to shrimp harvests of old. Today, huge quantities of shrimp are produced in developing countries for consumption in Japan, the United States, and Western Europe. In 2001 alone, more than four million tons swam into the global marketplace.       Roughly three quarters of the shrimp on the market is "wild captured" -- mostly by fishing boats dragging huge conical nets (trawls) over estuaries, bays, and continental shelves. Trawlers scour the seabed in a manner likened to forest clearcutting, destroying habitat and scooping up whatever lies in the paths of the trawls. Any turtles, fish, and other marine species swept up in the nets are considered unprofitable "bycatch" and are generally deposited -- dead -- back into the ocean.       Shrimp aquaculture has been no more benign. A typical shrimp farm produces large amounts of waste, some of it highly toxic. Chemicals and fertilizers used in the farms seep into local water sources and estuaries, while farmers dump much of the waste directly into the ocean.       By 2001, shrimp had displaced canned tuna as the top seafood choice on US dinner plates. But Japan is still first in per capita shrimp consumption.       In tropical areas, the bycatch-to-shrimp ratio is roughly 10:1, and it can run even higher in some fisheries. All told, shrimping accounts for one third of the world's discarded catch while producing less than 2% of global seafood.       Nearly one quarter of the world's remaining tropical mangrove forests were destroyed over the past two decades, in major part to make way for shrimp farms. Indian physicist and environmental advocate Vandana Shiva has estimated that the average shrimp farm provided perhaps 15 jobs on the farm and 50 security jobs around the farm, while displacing 50,000 people through loss of land and traditional fishing and agriculture.       Source:  Worldwatch Institute

More Than 300 AIDS Orgs Busted

The Kenyan government has de-registered over 300 fake non-governmental and community-based organizations purporting to be fighting AIDS. The assistant minister for Home Affairs, Dr Wilfred Machage, said a number of other NGOs and CBOs were being scrutinized and those found wanting would be struck off the list.       Machage said the organizations had presented excellent proposals and were allocated money, ostensibly to fight the scourge, but on closer scrutiny, the documents were found to be fake. He said the money so allocated had instead ended up lining the pockets of the directors of the NGOs, at the expense of hundreds of people dying of HIV/AIDS related ailments.       Source:  The East African Standard (Nairobi)

Study Looks at How Charities Manage Volunteers

To document the extent to which charities use various practices in managing volunteers, among other purposes, in 2003 the Urban Institute undertook the first national study of volunteer management capacity. The field of volunteer administration has long promoted a range of best practices, including supervision, data collection, recognition, and training. However, until the Institute undertook systematic research, they didn't know the extent to which these practices have taken root in the nonprofit sector. Nor did they know how much these practices were influencing volunteer retention.       A study commissioned by the UPS Foundation in 1998 revealed that two-fifths of volunteers have stopped volunteering for an organization at some time because of one or more poor volunteer management practices. Reasons included the organization not making good use of a volunteer's time or good use of their talents, or that volunteer tasks were not clearly defined. The study warned, "Poor volunteer management practices result in more lost volunteers than people losing interest because of changing personal or family needs."       The Institute's 2003 findings provide new insight into volunteer management capacity and retention: Adoption of volunteer management practices was not widespread. Of the nine practices, only regular supervision and communication with volunteers has been adopted to a large degree by a majority of charities. Likelihood of adoption depended on characteristics of the charity. Charities operating in the health field have generally adopted more of the practices. Larger charities are more likely to have adopted most but not all of them. Some practices were tied to greater retention of volunteers, some not. Charities interested in increasing retention of volunteers should make three particular investments: in recognizing volunteers, in providing training and professional development for them, and in screening volunteers and matching them to organizational tasks. Charities can do others things as well to maximize volunteer retention. In addition to implementing the basic recommendations, charities can provide a culture that is welcoming to volunteers, can allocate sufficient resources to support them, and can enlist volunteers in recruiting other volunteers.       Other studies echo these views on effective means for supporting and retaining volunteers. Grossman and Furano identify three elements as crucial to the success of any volunteer program: 1) screening potential volunteers to ensure appropriate entry and placement in the organization; 2) orientation and training to provide volunteers with the skills and outlook needed; and 3) management and ongoing support of volunteers by paid staff to ensure that volunteer time is not wasted.       Source:  Urban Institute

Top Ten Principles of Good Consumption

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. This brilliant triad says it all. Reduce: Avoid buying what you don't need -- and when you do get that dishwasher or lawnmower or toilet, spend the money up front for an efficient model. Re-use: Buy used stuff, and wring the last drop of usefulness out of most everything you own. Recycle: Do it. But know that it's the last and least effective leg of the triad. (Ultimately, recycling simply results in the manufacture of more things.) Stay close to home. Work close to home to shorten your commute; eat food grown nearby; patronize local businesses, including those in the low-income communities nearest you; join local organizations. All of these will improve the look, shape, smell, and feel of your community. Internal combustion engines of all sizes are polluting, and their use should be minimized. Period. Watch what you eat. Whenever possible, avoid food grown with pesticides, in feedlots, or by agribusiness. This is an easy way to use your dollars to vote against the spread of toxins in land, water, and the bodies of consumers and agro-workers. Private industries have very little incentive to improve their environmental practices. Our consumption choices must encourage and support good behavior; our political choices must support regulation. Support thoughtful innovations in manufacturing and production. Hint: Drilling for oil is no longer an innovation. Prioritize. Think hardest when buying large objects; don't drive yourself mad fretting over the small ones. It's easy to be distracted by the paper bag puzzle, but an energy-sucking refrigerator is much more worthy of your attention. (Small electronics are an exception.) Vote. Political engagement enables the spread of environmentally conscious policies. Without public action, thoughtful individuals swim upstream. Don't feel guilty. It only makes you sad. Enjoy what you have -- the things that are yours alone, and the things that belong to none of us while enjoyed by all. Both are pleasant, but the latter are priceless.       Source:  Grist

Life-Net News Extras

Bulgaria Gripped by Graft and Crime

Rampant graft and organized are "still widely recognized as the major problem for economic development of" Bulgaria, said EU Enlargement Commissioner Guenter Verheugen said on Tuesday. Bulgaria is poised to close EU accession talks ahead of schedule. "I have spoken with many potential investors and some of these investors are hesitant to make investments and to do business in Bulgaria because they feel that the fight against corruption and crime could be more convincing."       Bulgaria's economy has grown at a blistering pace of over 4% annually in recent years, but it has failed to land major investment projects. Key privatizations have also stalled amid opposition from opaque political and economic groups.       Gangland shootings are frequent in Sofia -- just last week two assassins dressed as priests gunned down three rivals in a cafe. High level politicians are often accused of graft. Despite pledges to clean up politics and fight gangsterism, the government of ex-King Simeon Saxe-Coburg has failed to jail a single organized crime boss, and no top level official has been convicted of corruption.       A recent poll showed 96% of Bulgarians believe the country is corrupt.       Verheugen also reiterated that Bulgaria's judiciary system and the government's administrative abilities were still not up to levels adequate to prepare it for being an EU member. "Preparations are far from being complete, but everything is on track," he said, adding, "Everyone can be assured Bulgaria will be a full, equal, and responsible member of the EU by January 2007."       Source:  Reuters

A Plan Against Racial Injustice

"It is a good thing to see the various articles, TV programs and discussions of where we are as a country during this 50th anniversary month of the Brown vs Board of Education desegregation decision," said prospective Green Party presidential candidate David Cobb in mid-May. "What is essential, however, is the building of a broadly-based, grassroots movement to address persistent and glaring racial injustice and discrimination in this society.       "Such a movement must have a multiple agenda," Cobb continued, "including a defense and expansion of affirmative action, a major overhaul of a legal and prison system permeated with racism and class bias, and action to correct the disparity in available resources between predominantly people-of-color schools in urban areas and predominantly white schools in the suburbs.       "People of all races and nationalities will benefit from a jobs program to address structural unemployment," Cobb said, "a jobs program which consciously addresses depression-level unemployment in African American and Latino communities and on Indian reservations. We must respect the treaty rights of Indigenous peoples and take action to correct centuries of shameful theft of land and devastation of their societies.       "For years the Green Party has supported HR 40, the legislation introduced by Congressman John Conyers and co-sponsored by 40 other Congresspeople, to establish a federal commission to address the issue of reparations," Cobb explained. "We oppose the so-called 'war on drugs' which has led to a burgeoning prison-industrial complex, use of prisoners for private profit, and a 600% increase in the number of prisoners in the US since 1972, over 2/3 of them presently African American and Latino. We call for an immediate moratorium on the use of the death penalty as a step towards outlawing this inhuman and ineffective form of punishment.       "Finally," Cobb concluded, "we should stop scapegoating immigrants for the problems caused by a corporate-dominated economic and political system which allows good jobs to move out of the country. Corporate and political 'leaders' exploit racial fears to keep workers divided, while immigrants are often paid sub-minimum wages doing the hardest jobs. I support legal amnesty for undocumented immigrants who have lived in the US for at least three years and temporary legalization for new immigrants with the right to join unions and organize for worker rights and a living wage without reprisal."       Source:  Vote Cobb

Renewable Energy Conference Ends in Optimism and Resolve

The European Union's environmental commissioner thinks something good may come out of the price surge that is jolting the international oil market right now. "The current crisis will help us," Margot Wallström said, by awakening interest in renewable sources of energy and electricity conservation.       The International Conference for Renewable Energies, "Renewables 2004" concluded Friday with a strong declaration by 154 governments that renewable energy should and will play a major role in the energy economy of the 21st century. Amid concern about rising oil prices and the environmental and health costs of a fossil fuel economy, much of the world has now settled on renewable energy as a key priority. For developing countries, renewable energy has the potential to provide power for the rural poor, reduce dependence on fossil fuels, and create thousands of new jobs.       This was the largest ever meeting of government and private sector leaders on renewable energy, with over 3,000 participants according to the organizers. The conference produced an international action program that contains 165 individual commitments by governments, international agencies, and private groups to promote the use of renewable energy, including: China pledged to increase its use of small hydro, wind, solar, and biomass power generation to 60,000 megawatts (the equivalent of 60 giant power plants), providing 10% of its generating capacity by 2010. With this announcement and the related new policies now in the works, China may be on the verge of becoming the world’s next leader in renewable energy. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder announced plans to increase Germany’s use of renewable energy to 20% of its energy supply by 2020. Germany also committed to providing 500 million Euros worth of low-interest loans over the next five years for renewable energy projects in developing countries. Egypt plans to raise the share of renewable sources in electricity production to 14% by 2012. The World Bank committed to increase its renewable energy lending by at least 20% annually over the next five years.       Worldwatch President Christopher Flavin, who served as an expert adviser to the conference, reported a remarkable level of enthusiasm and consensus among the delegates at the conference. "Thousands of leaders will leave this conference with a new sprit of optimism that with continued action, a new energy future is possible."       Despite the usual objections by the Saudi delegation -- which seemed even more dissonant in the face of recently soaring oil prices -- the Bonn conference demonstrated an unusually broad North-South consensus, with countries such as Brazil, Morocco, and Uganda playing major roles in the conference outcomes.       Source:  Worldwatch Institute       Source:  Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

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