Month: June 2005

Prison Conditions Worsen for Women
WASHINGTON, DC — The female inmate population in US prisons doubled in the 1990s, growing far faster than the male population, according to a study by the General Accounting Office (GAO). The GAO also found that most female inmates are mothers, jailed for nonviolent crimes, and incarcerated at great distances from their children. They’re also more likely than men to suffer from HIV infection and mental illness. 

"In placing women in carbon copies of male institutions, the US and the states are not [providing] some important gender-specific health and other services," concludes Eleanor Holmes Norton, the Democratic delegate from the District of Columbia who commissioned the study. "As a result, prison systems have failed to respond effectively to rates of HIV infection and mental illness among female inmates that are greater than among males, and have actually reduced drug treatment — even though nonviolent drug crimes are the major cause for female incarceration." read more

China and India Take Aim at the WTO
NEW DELHI — In the wake of protests at the World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting in Seattle last December, India and China are rallying developing nations to take a stronger role in future trade talks. "The WTO cannot be allowed to become another world government," India warns, while China charges that it doesn’t "reflect the interests and demands of developing countries enough and clearly has defects."

Speaking in January at the Confederation of Indian Industry’s annual Partnership Summit, Commerce and Industry Minister Murasoli Maran called on developing countries to counter the influence of major players. The same day, China’s vice-Minister of the Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Ministry Zhang Xiang directly criticized the WTO, suggesting that China’s entry would strengthen the negotiating hand of developing nations. read more

Blocking the Free Trade Express
TORONTO — On Nov. 4, a banner was hung outside the Toronto Metro Convention Center, where Latin American trade ministers were meeting to discuss the southern expansion of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The protest, organized by the Native Forest Network, was one of hundreds of events around the world during an International Day of Education and Action expressing opposition to the World Trade Organization (WTO), expansion ofNAFTA, and a proposed Global Free Logging Agreement (GFLA). read more

Seeking Justice for the Slave Trade
ACCRA — Calling itself the African World Reparations and Repatriation Truth Commission, a group set up by the Organization of African Unity is demanding $777 trillion from Western Europe and the the Americas "in reparation for enslaving Africans while colonizing the continent." According to a declaration released in Ghana, the commission will use an international team of lawyers to collect the money.

Africa’s external debts would be wiped out as part of the package. The Accra Declaration argues that Europe, the Americas, and the Caribbean grew rich off the slave trade, while Africa shriveled economically. Development was further hampered by colonization — another form of slavery. read more

US Moves to Bottle African Lightning
LUANDA — In late July, the Clinton administration quietly agreed to resume military cooperation with Angola. According to an Angolan newspaper, the US will provide airspace control equipment, military training through a private contractor, and help in drafting a development plan. South Africa’s SAPA news agency adds that the US recently participated in military exercises with the Botswanan and South African armed forces.

These developments mark the emergence of a new and potentially risky US policy toward Africa – increased engagement, with an eye toward preventing conflicts from spreading. To this end, the administration appears willing to support Angola’s MPLA government, while abandoning the UNITA rebels it has long supported. Angola still receives aid from Russia, Cuba, and Libya. read more

Robertson Goes for the Gold

MONROVIA — Liberian President Charles Taylor is known for many things:  embezzling, escaping jail, abusing human rights, and starting a bloody civil war. Now he adds another line to his resume — Pat Robertson’s business partner. The TV preacher has struck a deal with Taylor that allows a Robertson-owned company to mine for gold in Liberia’s Bukon Jedeh region. Freedom Gold Ltd., which lists Robertson as president and sole director, was formed last December in the Cayman Islands. read more