News Wrap – 23rd May

1. Burma

The UN chief has brokered a deal with the Junta to allow aid workers in.

“Burma’s military leaders had previously refused to allow a full-scale relief effort by foreign aid workers, and claimed everything was under control. About 78,000 people died and 56,000 are missing after the 2 May cyclone.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7416143.stm

But according to the international Red Cross:

“.. the death toll alone is probably about 128,000, with many more deaths possible from disease and starvation unless help gets quickly to some 2.5 million survivors of the disaster.”
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/05/17/myanmar.ap/

The same article mentions a french boat laden with aid that was refused permission to dock, despite allowing in its neighbours, Thailand and India, to deliver aid.

“Britain’s prime minister accused authorities in Myanmar of behaving inhumanely by preventing foreign aid from reaching victims, and said the country’s regime cares more about its own survival than the welfare of its people… Brown said a natural disaster “is being made into a man-made catastrophe by the negligence, the neglect and the inhuman treatment of the Burmese people by a regime that is failing to act and to allow the international community to do what it wants to do.”

All very well, but it begs the question: Could they not have delivered all the initial early aid via ‘friendly neighbour’ Thailand? Was all the political wrangling and national labeling of aid so necessary while tens of thousands died?

2. China

Meanwhile, “China earthquake deaths top 50,000″, their Olympic torch relay gets a minutes silence, and there’s talk of the government ‘opening up’.

The news reports sway between 9/11-style solidarity and Katrina-style blame. But thankfully, since the Chinese people are international, newspaper reading folk (unlike their Burmese brothers), their’s is a human story rather than an wholly objectified political one.

3. South Africa

“Anti-immigrant violence has spread to Cape Town, where mobs attacked Somalis and Zimbabweans and looted their homes and shops, police said on Friday.”
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=339938&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__national/

while more failures have been admitted:

“ANC deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe has admitted that the failure by the police to act swiftly when attacks on foreigners began in Alexandra, Johannesburg, more than a week ago, encouraged the spread of violence to other areas.”
http://blogs.thetimes.co.za/news/

and this may be due to restructuring:

“Police capacity to handle riots was virtually destroyed in a restructuring exercise in 2006, leaving officers ill-equipped to handle the wave of xenophobic violence that has swept the country in the past two weeks, researchers say.”
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=339894&area=/insight/insight__national/

There’s not all bad news though.

“A desperate court action to save the Scorpions received a major boost this week when the acting prosecutions boss, Mokotedi Mpshe, submitted a last-minute affidavit that laid bare government’s dishonesty in dealing with the matter.”
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=339890&area=/insight/insight__national/

The ‘Scorpions’ were a special unit set up to fight organised crime in South Africa. But, for those familiar with HBO classic ‘The Wire’, they made the crucial mistake of ‘following the money’.

They were pretty damn successful:

“By February 2004, (the Scorpions) had completed 653 cases, comprising 273 investigations and 380 prosecutions. Of the 380 prosecutions, 349 resulted in convictions, representing an average conviction rate of 93,1%.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorpions_(South_Africa)

But then they started implicated ‘president in waiting’ Jacob Zuma, the National Police commissioner Jackie Selebi, and several members of the National Executive Committee. Thabo Mbeki was also in the mix, in relation to the now famous $6bn arms deal of 1999. So, earlier this year, Parliament moved to disband the unit, and bring them in with the highly corrupt and useless police force.

4. Food Crisis

“The world’s poorest countries could pay 40 percent more for food this year than they did last year because of rising prices, according to a United Nations report released Thursday. In those countries, nearly a billion people are on the brink of malnourishment and, as food prices climb, more at risk of starving.”
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/05/22/food.crisis/index.html

News Wrap – May 22nd

1. South Africa

With the violence having spread to KwaZulu Natal, Mpumalanga and North West, and after much dilly-dallying, Thabo ‘The Blood of Thousands’ Mbeki has called in the army.

Over 40 people have so far been killed, with 16,000 displaced and several thousand already fleeing to neighbouring countries in what can essentially be described as ethnic cleansing.

The sense of desperation can be summed up by this man:

“I am just scared for my life,” Henry, a 24-year-old Zimbabwean, told the BBC as he prepared to board a bus taking him home.”I have a little girl at home – I want to see her grow up… I think Zimbabwe is safe.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7414214.stm

The South African Institute of Race Relations has outlined ‘Nine Causes’ of the violence, directly implicating the government:

“The violence we have experienced over the past week can be directly attributed to a series of policy failures on the part of Thabo Mbeki’s government. Warnings to that effect were too easily dismissed by government spokespeople who accused analysts of racism and ‘doom and gloom’ scenarios. A ‘worst possible scenario’ has now materialised and requires a more mature and measured response from government.“
http://www.politicsweb.co.za/politicsweb/view/politicsweb/en/page71619?oid=89859&sn=Detail

Meanwhile, the case for IFP’s involvement is growing:

“Earlier on Thursday, National Intelligence Agency director general Manala Manzini said that in the run-up to the 1994 democratic elections, “elements” that supported the apartheid regime had delivered weapons to hostels for use in attacking communities.”We are beginning to see those movements taking place currently. Into hostels (sic) where people are beginning to organise and resuscitate some of those people that they have had contact with in the past. To provoke (sic) and encourage them to unleash violence. That we are beginning to pick up (sic).”
http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/Xenophobia/0,,2-7-2382_2327371,00.html

It certainly seems orchestrated:

“..Most of the flashpoints had been in areas where the IFP had a presence…Bishop Paul Veryn, who runs the Central Methodist Church, where many foreigners have sought shelter and which was attacked over the weekend, said the attacks were “clearly orchestrated”. He told the BBC’s Network Africa programme that the mobs appeared to know exactly where foreigners lived. “That information would not be accessible if they did not have access to councillors, to people in authority.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7409628.stm

That said, The IFP have merely stoked a fire. The government is heavily responsible for creating the conditions of extreme poverty and hopelessness, while failing to control rampent immigration. And It’s not the first time they’ve blaming everything on a convenient scapegoat such as the ‘Third Force’.

2. Oil

Once again, the price of oil has ‘soared’.

“The price of oil hit a record high above $135 a barrel on Thursday – more than twice what it cost a year ago.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7414093.stm

which is good for some, apparently:

“Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary is now hoping oil will stay at $125 to $130 throughout the winter so weaker airlines will collapse and his airline can raise fares.”
http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/oleary-wants-rivals-wiped-out-by-oil-prices-1382677.html

More analysis here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/23/business/worldbusiness/23oilweb.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
And here: http://blogs.iht.com/tribtalk/business/globalization/?p=723

3. Food

Food imports are expected ‘to top $1 trillion’ in 2008.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7412817.stm

And now there’s news that the banana is dying out:

“The foodstuff, more heavily consumed even than rice or potatoes, has its own form of cancer. It is a fungus called Panama Disease, and it turns bananas brick-red and inedible. There is no cure. They all die as it spreads, and it spreads quickly. Soon – in five, 10 or 30 years – the yellow creamy fruit as we know it will not exist. The story of how the banana rose and fell can be seen a strange parable about the corporations that increasingly dominate the world – and where they are leading us.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-why-bananas-are-a-parable-for-our-times-832104.html

3. ‘Climate change loans’

“Britain’s £800m international project to help the poorest countries in the world adapt to climate change was under fire last night after it emerged that almost all the money offered by Gordon Brown will have to be repaid with interest. The UK environmental transformation fund was announced by the prime minister to international acclaim in November 2007, and was widely expected to be made in direct grants to countries experiencing extreme droughts, storms and sea level rise associated with climate change”.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/may/16/climatechange.internationalaidanddevelopment

Tom Sharman, a policy adviser with ActionAid in London: “This is not money that is additional to Britain’s aid budget. It seems strange to be cancelling debt and then inviting poor countries to take on new debt.”

Strange indeed, but hardly unusual.

News Wrap Special – Violence in South Africa

Hell is Round the Corner

South Africa is in shock. A country saturated in violence, laced with anger and hate, and yet the scale of these attacks is unprecedented.

“Mobs armed with knives, clubs and jugs of petrol were on Monday running amok in Johannesburg townships as xenophobic attacks escalated.”
http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_2325283,00.html

“Some 6,000 people have fled a wave of attacks on foreigners in South Africa, which has left at least 22 dead, aid workers say… The attacks on foreigners began a week ago in the township of Alexandra, north of Johannesburg, before spreading to the city centre and across the Gauteng region.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7407914.stm

Not that violence against foreigners is anything new. There have been plenty of isolated incidents in the last few years, for example the murder of Somalian traders in Knaysna, the destruction of market stalls while the police looked on…

Nothing like this though:

“Médécins Sans Frontières said the situation now amounted to a humanitarian crisis. “I have been to many refugee camps and situations and this definitely is along those lines,” spokesperson Eric Goemaere said. ‘This reminds me of a refugee situation. I have treated bullet wounds, beaten people, rape victims and the people are terrified.’”
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=339526&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__national/

So what sparked this?

Well, the governments immigration policy has been practically non-existent. The idea of letting in hundreds of thousands of Africa’s ‘worse-off’ may seem noble, but when unemployment is pushing 60% in townships and a large sway of the population struggle to actually live, you have to control the numbers. The borders are sieve-like in their efficiency. Between 8-10 million people have immigrated to South Africa since 1994. And with the current food and petrol crisis now biting, they become scape-goats.

Actually, ‘scape-goats’ is only partially true. The violence has been tagged as ‘xenophobic’, i.e. caused by an unreasonable fear and contempt of foreigners. It suggests a mob too stupid to know the real causes. This is how the media generally depicts the poor.

But according to a criminal attorney working in Alexandra township:

“Our court rolls in respect of armed robbery are 70% of the time concerned with foreigners as the accused. (In this court as confirmed by members of that court) Foreigners commit a lot of the violent crime and locals cite incidents of people being shot for a cellphone.”
http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/traps/2008/05/15/xenophobia-%e2%80%93-alexandra-a-tale-of-two-in-one-city/

This offers no justification. Neither does the fact that foreigners are bribing officials for houses. Nor that they’re ‘taking our joooobs”. But they are root causes.

At least, we hope they are. Rumours have emerged that the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) the Zulu-backed party with a stronghold in KwaZulu Natal and the hostels in Gauteng, have been instigating the current wave of violence.

An ANC report indicates “a rumour that the xenophobic attacks started near hostels that are a stronghold of the IFP”, but this has been denied, and the IFP have, in turn, blamed ANC supporters.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__national/&articleid=339274&referrer=RSS

Denied as it may be, the cross accusations are worrying as they remind people of another violent episode of recent memory.

Back in 1994, the IFP refused to take part in the first democratic elections and sought to defend their Natal ‘kingdom’ against the ANC Xhosa’s. The result was mayhem, with thousands killed in a matter of months. Eventually, the IFP were handed control of the region and the violence ended, but the scars still ooze. Now, the ANC have a populist Zulu leader and tribal divisions are again coming to the fore.

These are bleak times.

News Wrap Special – The Neighsayers

The Neighsayers

“People died for your freedom — don’t throw it all away” states one of the anti-Lisbon treaty posters scattered around dublin. Another has those see-no-evil monkeys – ‘The new EU won’t see you, won’t hear you, won’t speak for you’.

So who are these guardians of our nation’s liberty?

The organisation behind them, Cóir, are believed to be the same people behind the “Hello Divorce: Goodbye Daddy” posters, 13 years ago. Their aim is to “protect Irish sovereignty and the Constitutional rights of every Irish person”. They’re also the people who hand out flyers at church warning against the dangers of homosexuals adopting children. Yes, them.

They recently claimed legalised abortion could be introduced in Ireland if the treaty is passed, and have an informative website (www.lisbonvote.com – they’ve blocked links, so you have to type in the address directly) on that empire of darkness, the EU, with details provided by the Irish Family Press, a right-wing Christian rag with close links to ‘Youth Defence’, who Cóir just happen share an office with.

Youth Defence?

Yes, that’s the name of a group of homophobic “pro-life” whack jobs, (also known as ‘The Mother and Child Campaign’) with one of the nuttiest websites around (www.truthtv.org), with headlines such as ‘”Leak: Cóir says government guilty of treason”. Coir have denied any connection wth YD. Hmmm.

More on Youth Defence: http://flag.blackened.net/revolt//darg/appendix_18sept_yd.html

Let’s name them, shall we:

Head honcho: Justin Barrett

“accountant” Niamh Nic Mhathúna,

“Eircom employee” Una Nic Mhathúna,

“GP” Dr Sean ó Domhnaill,

“Lift engineer” Peter Murphy

“Addiction counsellor” Maurice Colgan. http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2001/12/16/story651129728.asp

Cóir is clearly a cover, so expect ‘The EU kills babies and homosexuals eat them’ posters soon.

News Wrap – 14th May

1. China’s Earthquake

“The full horror of the devastating China earthquake began to emerge today as rescuers discovered whole towns all but wiped off the map, pushing the death toll well above 20,000.”
http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/full-quake-horror-emerges-as-toll-tops-20000/2008/05/14/1210444517724.html

2. Burma’s Cyclone

“Officially, about 62 000 people are dead or missing, and the United Nations estimates 1,5-million are in desperate need of food, clean water and shelter. It warns that many more could die if help fails to reach them soon.”
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=339138&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__international_news/

Burma Vice-Admiral, Soe ‘the seeds’ Thein:

“The (US) donation will enhance friendship between the governments, armed forces and the peoples of the two countries”. However, “Relief and rehabilitation tasks call for a lot of relief supplies and funds.So far, the nation does not need skilled relief workers yet.”
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=339042&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__international_news/

And with Hurricane Katrina now only a distant memory ..

“US first lady Laura Bush condemned the military Government in Burma for its “inept” response to the cyclone.”
http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/bush-honours-suu-kyi-and-offers-help-to-junta/2008/05/06/1209839647819.html

3. Hillary thumps Obama in West Virginia Primary

A little too late, probably.

More worryingly:

“Only 38 percent of Clinton’s voters said they would vote for Obama in a general election matchup against presumptive GOP nominee Sen. John McCain. A bare majority (54 percent) of Obama’s voters said they would vote for Clinton against McCain.”
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/13/west.virginia.analysis/index.html

4. Thaksin turns authoritarian shocker

Manchester City supporters are surprised by the ruthlessness of their current owner in his dismissal of their beloved manager.

“When Manchester City were about to be sold to Thaksin Shinawatra last summer the men in charge of City rejected any concerns about whether his really was the safest pair of hands for the self-styled true Manchester club. A cursory Google search could have told them of the long-standing allegations of human rights abuses, including the killing without trial of people suspected of drugs offences, while Thaksin was the prime minister of Thailand, and of other authoritarian aspects of his rule”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/may/14/manchestercity

They should start doing their homework. In 2006, the Shinawatra family sold their entire stake in Shin Corporation, a state asset, to a foreign company, netting them a total of $1.88 billion tax free. A fair whack of that money went into buying Man City. Thailand will want that money back.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1108114.stm

5. Prepaid water in South Africa

This week, the Johannesburg High Court ruled prepaid water meters to be “unconstitutional and unlawful” as they compromise the health and dignity of the poor. They were only installed in historically poor black areas, and many residents were going up to two weeks a month without water. South Africa is one of the few countries that proclaims water to be a constitutional right, and this ruling is the first to cite it. The meters have been stopped and the ‘free’ allocation has been doubled.

However, Cape Town is now planning to install 20,000 more meters.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=339008&area=/insight/monitor/

An example of how they worked:

“Pre paid water meters were installed in Stratford Four -a district of Orange Farm- in 2002 and 2003. Each of the 1300 houses in Stratford Four, mainly shacks and brick houses with outdoor toilets, has had a pre-paid meter installed. Communal taps -which previously served the community- have been removed, forcing residents to buy water units from corner stores and plug those units into their water meter before water will flow from their tap.”
http://www.alternatives.ca/article975.html

And the consequences..

“In South Africa, in KwaZulu Natal 113,966 people were infected with cholera after prepaid water meters replaced communal standpipes.”
http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/water/world-water/right/prepaid/oppose-prepaid-water-meters

More here: http://www.tradewatch.org/cmep/Water/cmep_Water/reports/southafrica/index.cfm

6. Irish economy on the mend?

“Taoiseach Brian Cowen got unexpected good news on the economy last night when a major report predicted it would bounce back in time for the next general election. Forecasting a major comeback in growth by 2010, the country’s leading economic think-tank said the economy will grow by an average of 3.75pc annually between now and 2015.” http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/frontpage/2008/0514/1210717482166.html

News Wrap – 13th May

1. Aid to Burma

“The first shipment of American emergency supplies arrived in Burma yesterday as aid agencies warned that the number of people in desperate need of help had risen to two million.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/first-us-aid-flight-arrives-in-burma-as-new-storm-looms-827009.html

Governments and aid agencies are debating whether aid should be dropped without military consent.

Oxfam make a fair point: “Air drops of food and mosquito nets could not target the most vulnerable, while clean water systems and safe sanitation could not be dropped from the sky at all.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/opinion-divided-over-air-drops-827011.html

Meanwhile, the Junta seem more interested in cash than food:

“Sacks of rice destined for Bangladesh were being loaded on to a ship at the Thilawa container port at the mouth of the Yangon River at the end of last week, even though Burma’s ‘rice bowl’ region was devastated by the deadly storm a week ago.”
http://www.independent.ie/world-news/regime-exports-rice-as-population-starves-1372503.html

“Myanmar’s military rulers on Tuesday rejected growing international pressure to accept aid workers, insisting against all the evidence that it had the emergency cyclone relief effort under control.”
http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=nw20080513090408842C436692

2. Earthquake in China

“Rescuers were struggling this morning to reach victims of the devastating earthquake that killed thousands of people in central China and trapped thousands more in the rubble of collapsed schools, factories, hospitals and homes.”

“Earlier this morning, authorities put the death toll in the worst affected province, Sichuan, at almost 10,000, with more than 7,000 in one county alone. In Mianzhu, 60 miles from the epicentre, 10,000 people remain buried in rubble, according to state media.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/may/13/china

3. More trouble in Beruit

“Hizbullah yesterday took control of a strategic mountain-top village in Druze heartlands south-east of the capital after fierce fighting with government allies”

Their leader Hassan Nasrallah branded the western-backed, Sunni-led government “Israelis dressed in suits speaking Arabic”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/may/13/lebanon.israelandthepalestinians

4. Origins of the Global Food Crisis (cont..)

Good article in Le Monde Diplomatique:

“The International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organisation promised that more trade would help to eradicate poverty and hunger. Foodcrops? Self-sufficiency in food? They had a better idea. Local farms would be closed down or encouraged to concentrate on exports.”

“Some states have followed the World Bank and IMF advice and turned over their food crops. They can no longer keep their produce for themselves. Well, they will pay, that’s the law of the market. According to UN Food and Agriculture Organisation figures, their bill for grain imports has risen by a massive 56% in one year. Naturally the World Food Programme (WFP), which feeds 73 million people in 78 countries every year, is asking for a further $500m.”
http://mondediplo.com/2008/05/01speculate

5. Liberal views blind us to the “truth” about HIV.

“The Wisdom of Whores, published this week, condemns the global strategy for Aids as an ill-conceived waste of money which is not saving but costing lives.”

Elizabeth Pisani, a HIV epidemiologist has been involved in the task of convincing governments to fund AIDS projects by ‘dressing up’ the language in proposals and reports.

“Aids couldn’t be about sex and drugs,” she explains. “So suddenly it had to be about development, and gender, and blah blah blah.”

Her main argument is that prevention is better than treatment, but it comes across as dangerously simplistic, with an entirely unhelpful rhetoric. It’s the sort of jaded viewpoint you reach having played god with statistics too long.

“Why is it OK to be judgmental about people who smoke? But not to be judgmental about people who take crystal meth and fuck 16 guys in a weekend without condoms?”

“HIV is mostly about people doing stupid things in the pursuit of pleasure or money,” declares the cover on a proof copy of the book. “We’re just not allowed to say so.”

And Africa?

“The more treatment you have, the more infection you get.”

You see, keeping people alive is enabling them to have more sex. They need condoms. Fair points, but rhetoric like this is hardly going to help sway the Christian right. Book review coming soon.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/may/13/aids.hiv

6. World carbon dioxide levels highest for 650,000 years, says US report

“Scientists at the Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii say that CO2 levels in the atmosphere now stand at 387 parts per million (ppm), up almost 40% since the industrial revolution and the highest for at least the last 650,000 years… From 1970 to 2000, the concentration rose by about 1.5ppm each year, but since 2000 the annual rise has leapt to an average 2.1ppm.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/may/13/carbonemissions.climatechange

7. Xenophobic violence in South Africa

“A man was shot dead and another injured when violence flared up in Alexandra on Monday evening, bringing the death toll in suspected xenophobic attacks to three, police said on Tuesday. Constable Neria Malefetse said a total of 39 people were arrested in the Johannesburg township on Monday evening.”
http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=nw20080513080626930C191059

8. Former Republican congressman, Bob Barr, has announced he hopes to run for president of the United States – for the Libertarian Party.

Never heard of the Libertarian party, but let’s hope it’s the conservative’s answer to Ralph Nader.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7397377.stm

9. Irish news: Habitat closes Dublin and Galway branches.

Sign o’ the times when people stop buying fancy soap racks for their new apartments.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/customers-in-dark-over-fate-of-their-habitat-sofas-1373828.html

News Wrap – 8th May

1. Burma death toll could reach 100,000

The Burmese Junta has been dragging its heals over entry visas for aid workers but have started to let aid in.

Aid workers are holding off for proper clearance.

“Amnesty International said some donors were delaying aid for fear it would be siphoned off to the army.”
http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_2318601,00.html

The Junta have agreed to let US aid in, while France has “urged the UN to invoke its “responsibility to act” clause to break the logjam and deliver aid without waiting for the junta’s approval. French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner said the clause, that allows aid delivery to citizens if their government failed, even if it breached national sovereignty, was being discussed at UN headquarters in New York. “
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/may/08/cyclonenargis.burma

2. Happy Birthday Israel!

It’s Israel’s birthday on May 14th, which, bizarrely, also happens to be the time that Arabs commemorate “al-Naqba” (the Catastrophe`) .

Some history: Britain had promised a homeland for the Jewish people back in 1917. And they had this piece of land lying around with some Arabs on it with a handy biblical tie in to the Hebrew faith, so they said “We’d be most delighted if you would come settle here, keep an eye on the towel heads, what what!”.

Anyway, Britain was handed the mandate to look after the place and they began clearing Arabs out to make way for settlers. The Arabs, unsurprisingly, rose up, and the Brits were forced to rethink their strategy of partitioning the area. Then the war came and turned nations on their head.

After the war, Britain was exhausted and handed the problem over to the UN, who decided to partition the place anyway. Fighting started almost immediately (Arab-Israeli War), and the Israelis eventually won, taking over far more of the Arab territory than was stipulated in the UN agreement. By the middle of 1949, up to 700,000 Palestinian Arabs had left the region.

“Those Palestinian refugees and their descendants in the region now number more than three million.” http://www.raceandhistory.com/worldhotspots/Israel.htm

More here: http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=338524&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__international_news/

And, before you pop the champaign, this from Jimmy “Cadaaa” Carter:

“The world is witnessing a terrible human rights crime in Gaza, where a million and a half human beings are being imprisoned with almost no access to the outside world…Israel and the US refused to accept the right of Palestinians to form a unity government with Hamas and Fatah and now, after internal strife, Hamas alone controls Gaza. Forty-one of the 43 victorious Hamas candidates who lived in the West Bank have been imprisoned by Israel, plus an additional 10 who assumed positions in the short-lived coalition cabinet.” http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/may/08/israelandthepalestinians

And in entirely unrelated news…

3. Lebanon descends into chaos

Robert Fisk: “Lebanon seems to feed on crisis, need crisis, breathe crisis, like a wounded man needs blood.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/fisk/robert-fisk-lebanon-descends-into-chaos-as-rival-leaders-order-general-strike-822840.html

4. The great organic myth?

Missed this one. An environmental expert attacks organic livestock and farming methods. They fart more, apparently. And so do the animals.

“The study of Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs)…should concern anyone who buys organic. It shows that milk and dairy production is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). A litre of organic milk requires 80 per cent more land than conventional milk to produce, has 20 per cent greater global warming potential, releases 60 per cent more nutrients to water sources, and contributes 70 per cent more to acid rain.”

“A hectare of conventionally farmed land produces 2.5 times more potatoes than an organic one.”

“The organic insecticide rotenone (in derris) is highly neurotoxic to humans – exposure can cause Parkinson’s disease.”

“Disease is the major reason why organic animals are only half the weight of conventionally reared animals – so organic farming is not necessarily a boon to animal welfare.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/the-great-organic-myths-why-organic-foods-are-an-indulgence-the-world-cant-afford-818585.html

And a rebuttal:

“The science is clear cut. Scientific literature reviews have found that, overall, organic farms have 30 per cent more wild species, and 50 per cent higher numbers of those species. Based on scientific research, the Government says that organic farming has clear environmental benefits – better for wildlife, lower pollution from sprays, produces fewer dangerous wastes and less carbon dioxide.”

“Government-funded studies have shown that across a range of sectors, organic farming uses 26 per cent less energy than non-organic farming to produce the same amount of food, and the Government agrees that organic farming is better for climate change.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/the-great-organic-myths-rebutted-822763.html

News Wrap – 7th May

1. Aid agencies battle to help Burma

“Up to 60,000 people killed and one million left homeless by Burmese cyclone – but ruling junta obstructs global aid efforts”

Travel documents are proving a major obstacle. This, according to one aid worker:

“Today a team called in and said they’ve arrived on the tip of the [Irrawaddy] delta; 40,000 dead in one village (Pyin Su La in Labutta). Corpses everywhere. Stinking. No food. No water. And the government won’t allow NGOs to work in areas where they don’t have official permission. Of the 40 NGOs working in Burma, only four have permission to work in the affected area.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/aid-agencies-face-battle-to-reach-victims-of-the-cyclone-822139.html

2. Landslide victory for Obama in North Carolina

“Clinton had needed to win both North Carolina and Indiana, the last two big states left in the contest, to stand a chance of reining in Obama.”

Could this be the end?

Clinton: “It is full speed to the White House,”

Damn.

Still, reality may soon bite:

“As of Tuesday morning, most people were expecting a narrow Obama win in North Carolina and a handy Clinton victory in Indiana. But just the opposite happened, and dramatically so. Her campaign had been building up expectations that they had Obama on the run and the momentum was all her way. Now she has no momentum. Or, as it happens, money.”

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/michael_tomasky/2008/05/the_end_of_the_line_1.html

3. More on the Food Crisis

The Herald Tribune carries an interesting opinion piece on food aid and subsidies. Apparently, while European countries provide all their food aid in cash,

“The United States… still buys all of its aid from American farmers and then pays to ship the food overseas. This wastes millions on overhead and shipping costs, and farmers in the developing world are discouraged from investing by the competition with subsidized American food.”

Eh?

Apparently the charity CARE rejected American food aid in 2007:

“CARE’s decision is focused on the practice of selling tons of often heavily subsidized American farm products in African countries that in some cases, it says, compete with the crops of struggling local farmers…

“If someone wants to help you, they shouldn’t do it by destroying the very thing that they’re trying to promote,” said George Odo, a CARE official who grew disillusioned with the practice while supervising the sale of American wheat and vegetable oil in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital.

But..

“The Christian charity World Vision and 14 other groups, which call themselves the Alliance for Food Aid, say that CARE is mistaken; they say the system works because it keeps hard currency in poor countries, can help prevent food price spikes in those countries and does not hurt their farmers. Not least, they argue, it also pays for their antipoverty programs.”

However…

“Peter J. Matlon, a Nairobi-based agricultural economist: converting American commodities into cash for development was a case of “the tail wagging the dog,” with domestic farm policies in the United States shaping hunger-fighting methods abroad.” http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/08/14/news/food.php

More here on how US imports of maize have destroyed Malawi’s farming economy: http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/food/story/0,,2086467,00.html

4. More immigrant backlash in England.

“South American, African and other non-European footballers who cannot speak English will be barred from joining Premier League clubs from the autumn under the new points-based immigration system detailed by ministers yesterday.”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/may/07/immigration.immigrationpolicy

Labour are setting things up nicely for the Tories.

5. While America continues to shine as a beacon for Human Rights

“An inmate at the US-run Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba is set to be the first child soldier to go on trial for war crimes since Nuremberg, after a military judge ruled that there were no legal obstacles preventing the camp’s special military commissions from prosecuting him..Omar Khadr, a Canadian national, was 15 at the time of his alleged crimes.” http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/canadian-becomes-first-child-soldier-since-nuremberg-to-stand-trial-for-war-crimes-822165.html

6. Zimbabweans head for Mozambique after meltdown

Eduardo Koloma, the Mozambican Deputy Foreign Minister, said there was no question of trying to close the border to Zimbabwe.

“We have a lot of Zimbabweans entering the country, some settling in the country while others come in search of jobs,” said Koloma. “We cannot close our borders, our people interact so much.” http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__africa/&articleid=338573&referrer=RSS

At least the blockade on the arms ship is still working

“A Chinese ship loaded with arms destined for Zimbabwe has left Luanda, Angola, after unloading construction material, two trade union federations said on Tuesday…The ship was carrying a consignment of arms destined for Zimbabwe. The ship was authorised to unload in Luanda only “merchandise destined for Angola”, after it was barred from offloading in South Africa following a court banning the arms from being transported through the country’s territory to Zimbabwe, three weeks ago.” http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__africa/&articleid=338571&referrer=RSS

7. Sting’s rainforest charity given a zero rating by NGO watchdog

“Based on assessments of how the financial assets are managed, the watchdog gave the US branch zero stars out of four for 2004, 2005 and 2006 – the latest year for which the assessment has been completed. (Less than 2% of the charities it monitors fall into the zero-star category.)”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/may/07/conservation.endangeredhabitats

8. Cowen becomes Taoiseach

“Brian Cowen will be voted in as Taoiseach to succeed Bertie Ahern when the Dáil meets this afternoon.”

I failed to find a single article of criticism or debate regarding the above. Check out the front of the Irish Independent for a picture of Bertie raising a pint to victory.

Next week, we examine Irish Journalism…

News Wrap – 6th May

1. Burma death toll rises to 15,000

Tornado reaps more damage than the tsunami a few years back.

“95% of the homes in the city of Bogalay in the Irrawaddy river delta were destroyed”

Some reckon the Junta’s call for international aid is a promising step,

“If Burma’s rulers have accepted that this disaster is too big for the country to handle on its own, and that relieving the suffering of their stricken people should take precedence over their hermit instincts, this is progress of a kind. The decision to open the country a crack is still progress, even if the response is born of fear for the regime’s survival. An inadequate response to a natural disaster can spell danger to those in charge.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-a-human-tragedy-but-good-may-come-of-it-821620.html

Others see it as mere self-preservation:

“The junta does not want foreign aid workers swarming through the land… But if they continue to do nothing, some kind of popular revolt is probable. “This country is a volcano,” a dissident intellectual told me in Mandalay in March. “It could erupt at any time.” And it is always at moments of dramatic crisis that the Burmese people’s patience snaps. Better, perhaps, the generals may have decided, to bring in foreign aid quickly to avoid an outbreak of violent disorder.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/peter-popham-junta-is-acting-out-of-selfpreservation-not-compassion-821591.html

2. The end is nigh (cont…)

One commentator wants us to grow a spine and admit that the taboo subject, over-popultation, must be addressed.

“Why taboo? Much credit goes to pressure from social justice activists. They’ve insisted in recent decades that any focus on numbers inevitably violates the right of women to manage their own fertility. China’s one-child policy notwithstanding, humane, successful population programmes in countries as varied as Thailand, Iran, and Mexico contradict that assertion. Nevertheless, the criticism has cowed environmentalists and NGOs which once championed the population cause, influencing policy, pushing the subject off the agenda, or shifting the emphasis solely to “reproductive health” without the numbers.”
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/john_feeney/2008/05/return_of_the_population_timebomb.html

You see, people, we’ve all become too caught up in the value of people and their survival. It’s an argument you hear again and again: Stop having babies. People like this argument. Men especially. It’s blunt and subversive. The harsh words you don’t want to hear. Tough medicine.

Problem is, it’s incredibly elitist and almost mind-numbingly hypocritical.

This, from a man named Cheeseman, no less:

“The “overpopulation” argument is much older than most realise. It was first advanced by Thomas Malthus, who argued over 200 years ago that increasing world population would cause scarcity, starvation and environmental devastation within the 19th century, and that the world couldn’t possibly produce enough food for one billion people. Malthus’s “solution” was for efforts to be made to reduce birth rates and living standards – but only those of the poor and/or “undesirable”.

In other words, rich whites could consume all they liked, while those poor or coloured enough to earn Malthus’s contempt would suffer. Today, theories of overpopulation cause people to blame populous countries like China for environmental destruction – when the USA, with 78 per cent fewer people than China, uses 78 per cent more energy, and, according to the International Energy Agency, creates over 60 per cent more greenhouse gases.”
http://www.sa.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=385&Itemid=106

Me, I blame all those pregnant mothers in rural Africa. How dare they.

In somewhat related news, Oil prices hit a fresh record above $120 a barrel yesterday, putting stock markets on course for another tumultuous week.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/may/06/oil?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront

And for environmental solutions, we can always look to George Monbiot for a bit of a laugh. Seriously, while being one of the best investigative journalists around, his solutions are as thin as helium:

Today’s solution: Bring back airships
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/may/06/travelandtransport.carbonemissions

3. The immigrant backlash

a. UK: “Proposals will be announced today for the new points-based immigration system for people who wish to come and work in the UK, the Home Office said”.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/immigration-points-proposals-to-be-unveiled-821738.html

b. EU: “In the rush to blame foreigners for real and imagined social ills, Europe’s anemic birth rates, aging population and hard-to-fill jobs are forgotten. Without large infusions of foreign workers, the tourist industries that many European countries depend on would be understaffed and the cost of construction would soar. None of this has stopped Europe’s politicians from stoking fears of immigrant crime, welfare burdens and foreign ways.”
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/05/02/opinion/edcalais.php

c. US: “Immigrants taken into federal custody enter a world where many of the rights taken for granted by people charged with real crimes do not exist. Detainees have no right to legal representation. Many are unable to defend or explain themselves, or even to understand the charges against them, because they don’t speak English and lack access to lawyers or telephones.There is no public system for tracking deaths in immigration custody, no requirement for independent investigations. Relatives and lawyers who want to unearth details of such tragedies have found the bureaucracy unresponsive and hostile.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/06/opinion/06tue1.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

4. Lisbon Treaty under threat.

Firstlly, what is this Lisbon treaty when it’s at home? Well, it represents a series of amendments that will “improve” the structure and function of the EU parliment and give member states more of a say. Ireland is the only country to vote on it, and a no vote could effectively scupper the whole thing. A yes vote will change the Irish constitution, giving parliment a say:

“At present, national parliaments are not directly involved in EU decision making. If the Treaty enters into force then national parliaments – in Ireland’s case, the Dáil and Seanad – will have 8 weeks after the publication of an EU legislative proposal to vet that proposal and offer an opinion.”
http://www.lisbontreaty2008.ie/lisbon_treaty_changes_eu.html

This, from one MEP:

“The key changes being brought about by it include:
- The creation of the post of a new President of the European Council and the creation of a post of a new EU Foreign Policy Representative.
- An enhanced role for national parliaments in the EU legislative process.
- The incorporation of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights into EU law.
- The provision of 33 new powers to EU governments and to the European Parliament so that they can enact new EU laws to combat international drug trafficking and organised crime.
- Reforming the practical operation of the Council of Ministers and the European Commission.

This treaty does not give the EU any powers to set Ireland’s Corporation Tax rates, or change our inward investment strategies, or change our laws governing abortion or euthanasia or change our laws on neutrality.”
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/letters/time-to-treat-lisbon-poll-more-seriously-1367546.html

The treaty will give Ireland more of a say, and will help bring us up to speed with EU law (remember, it was EU law that gave us divorce, condoms, gay rights and other such visions of the antichrist). So what’s the problem?

Well, the farmers are worried they’re going to be sold down the river by Peter Mandelson’s (Booo!) WTO deal (“imports from Brazilian ranchers would increase by 780,000 tonnes at very low prices, and force Irish cattle prices down to €2/kg (70p/lb), which would be completely unviable and wipe out Ireland’s one million beef cows.”), even thought IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE TREATY being ratified or not. Anyway, the pitchforks are out..

Isolationist fear-mongerors (i.e. Irish journalists) are make it out as if we’ll be giving all our power away to the “fat cat dictatorship” in Brussels, granting “extensive powers…with no real means of holding accountable those taking over the power…. In fact, it is hard to think of any major function of a state which the new European Union would not have power over if the Lisbon Treaty is ratified.“
http://bellaciao.org/en/spip.php?article16593

As ever, fear will be used to guide the sheep back to the pen.

Get informed:
http://www.lisbontreaty2008.ie/lisbon_treaty_overview.html

News Wrap – 2nd May

1. Labour suffers worst election defeat for 40 years!

“Results so far show Labour heading for its lowest share of the vote since the 1960s”

Labour seats lost: -212
Tory seats won: +148

“Against a backdrop of an economic downturn and anger over the abolition of the 10p income tax rate, Labour looked set to be pushed into third place, with a meagre 24% share of the vote, trailing the Lib Dems on 25% and the Tories on 44%.”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/may/02/localgovernment.labour1

Most importantly, Boris Johnson may become mayor of London.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/waiting-game-as-final-poll-shows-boris-threatens-to-drive-ken-out-of-city-hall-819826.html

A few quotes from Boris:

“If gay marriage was OK – and I was uncertain on the issue – then I saw no reason in principle why a union should not be consecrated between three men, as well as two men; or indeed three men and a dog.”

“For 10 years we in the Tory Party have become used to Papua New Guinea-style orgies of cannibalism and chief-killing…”
(He later apologised for this: “I meant no insult to the people of Papua New Guinea who I’m sure lead lives of blameless bourgeois domesticity in common with the rest of us.”)

Portsmouth – “one of the most depressed towns in southern England, a place that is arguably too full of drugs, obesity, underachievement and Labour MPs”,

On Blair’s visit to Congo: “No doubt the AK47s will fall silent and the pangas will stop their hacking of human flesh, and the tribal warriors will all break out in watermelon smiles to see the big white chief touch down in his big white British taxpayer-funded bird.”

Yes, I think he’ll make a fine mayor.

2. Zimbabwe: ‘Official results’ finally out.

Tsvangirai ‘fails’ to secure outright win over Mugabe.

“Zimbabwe’s opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, defeated President Robert Mugabe in the presidential elections, but failed to win enough votes to secure outright victory, the Zimbabwean Election Commission was reported to have announced last night.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/tsvangirai-fails-to-secure-outright-win-over-mugabe-819729.html

In other news…

3. Mbeki is a wanker

“senior Cabinet ministers and government officials worked to prevent the Chinese arms ship from offloading its cargo, even as Thabo Mbeki insisted that the mortar bombs, rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles be allowed to reach Robert Mugabe’s military.”

http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=338211&area=/insight/insight__africa/

4. and Mugabe is a lunatic

“Under headlines such as “Return to Rhodesia”, weeks of supposed revelations have included claims that white former generals will be brought back to take over the Zimbabwean army, that racially segregated residential areas will be reintroduced and that the opposition Movement for Democratic Change presidential candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, has proven to be an imperialist puppet by enduring a course in British etiquette.”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/may/02/zimbabwe.foreignpolicy

5. Irish news: Court ruling may be of help to thousands facing deportation

“The Nigerian parents of two Irish-born children are likely to remain in Ireland after the Supreme Court unanimously rejected an attempt by the Minister for Justice to uphold deportation orders issued against them… The five-judge court ruled the Minister had failed to give “substantial” reasons for the decision to deport the parents. He also failed to consider the children’s rights under the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights, including their right to family life.The judgment could lead to further cases and means the Minister may be obliged to consider these rights if he decided to deport any of the thousands of parents who were allowed to remain in Ireland under the Irish-Born Child Scheme in 2005.

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/frontpage/2008/0502/1209678892121.html

6. Irish unemployment level up 42,000 in last 12 months.

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/frontpage/2008/0502/1209678892152.html