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Many Filipinos are acutely aware of the connections between the US-led assault on Iraq and issues much closer to home. Aside from the massive troop build-up in the Middle East, the Philippines has seen the second biggest US military deployment since Afghanistan, and the largest concentration of US forces there since the withdrawal of US military bases in 1992.

In February, another 1700 US troops arrived. This follows last year’s Operation Balikatan (“shoulder to shoulder”), which saw 1300 US soldiers “training and advising” the Philippine armed forces in counter-terrorism, focusing on Basilan, the island where the Abu Sayyaf kidnap-for-ransom gang had a stronghold. The Philippines had already been declared the “second front.” Bush’s recent “wartime supplemental appropriations request” to Congress specifies the Philippines as one of the areas for additional funding for the “broader war on terror.”  read more

Each hairpin turn on the winding mountain road to the Lacandon jungle in Chiapas revealed peaceful panoramic views of pine-covered forests and incredible vistas of cascading sheer drops to the canyons below. Our small Global Exchange delegation was on its way to an overnight stay with the Las Abejas nonviolent sympathizers of the Zapatistas.

Earlier in the week, we had met with experts who spoke about the region’s unique biodiversity, comparable to none save the Amazon. We also heard about an impending neo-liberal plan on the drawing boards of the Fox government and transnational corporations. The plan — Puebla Panama Project (PPP) — would be a major enterprise stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec that could trigger a volcanic eruption of armed protest. Although it has so far slipped by the media without making a ripple, the communities we visited in April were clearly aware of its potential harsh impact upon their culture. read more

Growing up in the remote mountains along Nicaragua’s border with Honduras, it was Neyrin Rivera’s job to mind the cows. When one wandered off, he knew he had to fetch it, or else face a hiding when he returned to the one-room, mud-brick shack he called home. But he didn’t know that he was following the errant cow into a minefield.

When the ground exploded beneath him, the seven-year-old had no idea what had happened. His leg had become a pulsating stump of blood, torn flesh, and protruding bone. “I didn’t know anything about mines, even what a mine was,” says Neyrin, now 11 and an old hand at riding a bicycle and playing football with the plastic prosthesis that replaced his right leg below the knee. read more

Since President Ronald Reagan launched the modern War on Drugs 20 years ago, the US has spent billions in a largely unsuccessful attempt to put some of the world’s biggest criminal organizations out of business, while imprisoning thousands on drug-related offenses. Yet, cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and other illegal drugs still enter the US freely.

Can anything be done to change the course of this war? Yes, there are alternatives that can ameliorate the effects of illegal drugs Ñ if the country chooses realistic objectives and seeks to achieve them by practical means. Let’s consider 10 strategies. read more

Despite being the smallest segment of the population, Native Americans have the second largest state prison incarceration rate in the nation, according to a recent review of prison statistics. The review, conducted by the Foundation for National Progress, an umbrella organization for the magazine Mother Jones, found that 709 per 100,000 American Indians and Alaska Natives were incarcerated in state prisons in 2000. The rate was surpassed only by African-Americans, whose jail rate was a startling 1815 per 100,000. read more

Since Sept. 11, deep concerns have arisen about the threats to civil liberties and basic rights posed by the US government’s anti-terrorist campaign. Among other things, Uncle Sam has profiled the Muslim-American community, eavesdropped on conversations between people held in detention and their lawyers, and required colleges to provide certain records on foreign students.

Less publicized has been the federal government’s bold move to drastically restrict the right to know what officials are doing. But this is also part of a trend involving several other Western countries, not coincidentally some of US’s closet allies in the “war on terrorism.” read more