What’s New June 1999

Date of Update

Description

June 27, 1999

1. Was NATO intervention humanitarian? A link to more information on the Kosovo Crisis has been added. This one is from a network of law professors called Jurist. Amongst the many articles that they have, there is a particularly good one called humanitarian hypocrisy which looks at the actions of NATO compared to international law. More has also been added regarding media coverage. Go There!
2. Some regions in the world are seeing an increase in military expenditure. The region seeing the most is Asia. Almost all countries have reduced their spending levels compared to Cold War levels, but now there has been a slight increase in some nations. Go There!
3. East Timor Elections get delayed due to Indonesian-backed violence. A UN-backed election to determine the status of East Timor has been accompanied by violent militas who are for keeping East Timor as part of Indonesia, which was invaded and occupied over twenty years ago. Go There!
4. The debt relief proposed by the G8 is not enough. Jubilee 2000 have been a loud voice in raising awareness about the burden of debt and at the time of the summit have organized many campaigns around the world. Go There!
5. A source of more information on the problems of debt has been added. This one is an excellent campaign on debt section from OneWorld online. Go There!
6. When regulations imposed on corporations implies additional costs, they often move to other places around the world where there are less impositions. A report by three human rights organizations show how Philip-Van Huesen shut a factory in Guetemala just because the workers tried to form a union. This is just one of many examples around the world. Go There!
7. A link to more information on trade related issues has been added. This one is from an organization called the Resource Center of the Americas. They have a lot of information on various issues in North and South America, including trade related issues. Go There!
8. A link to more information on media issues has been added. This one is about the media crackdown in Zambia. Go There!

June 20, 1999

1. Kosovo is in the process of healing. What that means for the future of the people in the area is hard to tell at this point. Kosovar Serbs are now refugees facing attacks from the KLA. Fresh massacre sites from the cruel Serb regime have been uncovered by NATO. The effects of the depleted uranium weapons can still be felt and the relief operations by the UN will be large and complex. Go There!
2. Volatility in exchange rates and structural adjustment policies have been major causes of poverty. The IMF-imposed cut backs mean that poorer nation provide even less for their own population although they do allow more exports and foreign investors. If an emerging economy is not stable enough, lack of regulations can cause capital flight, instability and even economic collapse. The current financial crisis has been partly due to this. Go There!
3. Jubilee 2000 campaigns against the debt burden again was taken to the G8 summit. Jubilee 2000 have managed to raise huge amounts of awareness on the debt burden that many nations face. UNICEF was another large organization that called on the G8 leaders to do something urgently. Go There!
4. The Poverty section has been completely restructured. Check it out -- feedback would be appreciated! Go There!
5. A meeting between the EU and Mercosur highlighted some issues about protectionism. On the one hand it is claimed by the EU and the US that protectionism is a barrier to free trade. Yet, as seen in this meeting, some EU nations still have much protectionism in place. Protectionism can also be a good thing to help emerging economies become strong enough to enter and survive in the global market. If there is too much protectionism by developing nations, much needed foreign investment is put in jeopardy. One of the ironic things is that providing education, health etc is also part of being protectionist. Go There!
6. A source of more information on human rights has been added. This one is a primer with educational tools on teaching human rights, from the Human Rights International Alliance. Go There!
7. The media has not paid as much attention to the 1.2 million displaced in Angola. People there face a risk of malnutrition due to lack of access to food. The mainstream media has not covered the various current conflicts in Africa in the same way it has covered Kosovo. Go There!
8. A couple of sources on media information has been added. One is the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association which, amongst other things, has some good news coverage on media issues around the world. The other is a French source called Reporters Sans Frontieres. Go There!
9. The gains in the equal rights for women has not advanced as much as some would hope. Old traditions can die hard. Go There!
10. A new source of information on population-related issues has been added. This one is from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. It has a lot of reports and studies on food related issues from around the world. Go There!
11. Scientists warn that non-target species can be affected by genetically engineered crops. They also urge precautionary measures to allow science and regulations etc to catch up. Go There!
12. A while back a British magazine found that they could not print an entire issue on Monsanto because the printers were afraid that they might be sued. However, that did not stop the edition from being made available on-line! A link to it, called the Monsanto Files, is provided. Go There!
13. In Latin America, scientists say that GE food may be ok. However, in order to determine that, they stress that precautionary measures should be taken and the public should be kept informed. Go There!

June 12, 1999

1. Was the Kosovo War necessary? Evidence is emerging that the U.S. deliberately set out to thwart the Rambouillet peace talks in France. A US State Department official has also admitted that the US intentionally set the bar too high because the "Serbs needed some bombing" The peace treaty now is very similar to what was originally proposed at Rambouilet. Except the costs have been higher. Go There!
2. The Kosovo Crisis has entered a possible new phase of peace-keeping. There are still many many issues to consider. While peace is obviously welcome, the long term effects are still to be felt and understood. NATO want to be in total control. Russia wants a stake in this. The UN needs to be in control. Serb police and forces are feared to be burning bodies as they withdraw, while it is also feared that Serb civilians will be the new refugees. Go There!
3. Preventing the use of Child Soldiers does not seem to be important enough a consideration for some nations. The International Labor Convention (a UN body) proposed a Worst Forms of Child Labor Convention. While it has almost been adopted it fails to disallow the use of children in armed conflicts. This was because a number of nations were opposed to the notion. Go There!
4. Turkey is the largest recipient of military aid from the US. Yet, because Turkey is a NATO ally and key strategic partner, their gross violations of human rights goes ignored. Go There!
5. Another source of information on the Arms Trade has been added. This is from the Federation of American Scientists who have a lot of factual information on arms sales. Go There!
6. There are an estimated 7.3 million refugees in Africa. The mainstream media has not really covered this humanitarian disaster in anywhere near the same amount as the Kosovo crisis. Go There!
7. As the G8 summit comes close, Jubilee 2000 criticize the plans for debt relief. The proposal is slammed as not going far enough and is equivalient to just 5 loaves of bread per person for a year. Go There!
8. People in Zimbabwe are raising concern and awareness about genetically engineered food. All over the world, people are asking for more testing to ensure safety of this new technology. Go There!
9. The oceans gets affected by global warming too. A new WWF report says that many species of marine life are already showing signs of stress. This can eventually affect humans who rely on ocean life for food, tourism etc. Go There!
10. A new source of information on climate change has been added. This one is from WWF and provides a number of resources. Go There!

June 6, 1999

1. The Kosovo Crisis has been accompanied by media propaganda. On both sides. While people will perhaps have expected and predicted Milosevic propaganda, less accept that there could also be NATO propaganda. Go There!
2. The Greek Council of State condemns the NATO attacks. This came from 20 judges from the supreme court of Greece. Go There!
3. Another source of information on the Arms Trade has been added. This one is from the well-respected Stockholm International Peace Research Institute -- they have a huge database of documents and other information in many aspects of the arms trade and the military in general. Go There!
4. Debt repayments in their current form are contributing to severe poverty and misery. "The poorer the country, the more likely it is that debt repayments are being extracted directly from people who neither contracted the loans nor received any of the money." Go There!
5. A link to a source of more information has been added. This one is a German web site which has links to over 11,000 other web sites on global issues and is aptly named Norbet's Bookmarks. Go There!

June 3, 1999

1. Yugoslavia have accepted a peace plan brokered by Russia and NATO. This sounds like a positive step forward. However, a number of important issues still remain to be considered. Go There!
2. In Africa there are an estimated 120,000 child soldiers. A meeting in April has resulted in a declaration to stop using child soldiers in Africa and is close to being ratified. Go There!
3. A new report on the state of landmine use around the world was released in May. It shows that there was a great reduction in production and export of landmines. Unfortunately, some countries, including some signatories of the Ottawa Landmine Treaty, continue to use landmines. Go There!
4. While the conflict in Kosovo rages on, the mainstream media ignores many other conflicts around the world. For example, the war in Congo and also the civil war in Sierra Leone where over 350,000 refugees have been created. Media coverage has succeeded in getting much needed humanitarian assistance to fleeing Muslim Ethnic Albanians, yet that same type of coverage which could raise awareness of similar conflicts in other parts of the world is not forthcoming. Go There!
5. Racial violence is on the increase all around the world. In UK, for example, which has seen some of the highest levels of racial violence and harassment in Western Europe, it is getting worse. Go There!
6. Austria banned a genetically modified maize produced by Monsanto. A study revealed that the maize killed useful insects. Go There!
7. Canada refused to accept the controversial rBGH, a genetically modified milk hormone fed to cows. This was despite a lot of pressure from Monsanto who makes it. Go There!