Page 880 – Toward Freedom

Venezuela to join South American trade bloc

Super User October 19, 2005 Super User

Montevideo – In December, Venezuela will become a permanent member of the South American trade bloc Mercosur, a move likely to strengthen the group and serve as a major step toward Latin American economic integration. Officials in Uruguay, the trade bloc’s current president, announced the decision Prensa Latina reports.

"This is something that is historic for us," President Hugo Chavez told reporters during an Ibero-American summit meeting in Spain last week. Mercosur was founded by Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay in the 1990s. Venezuela, along with Peru, Bolivia and Chile, are currently only associate members. read more

Conflict, Crisis and Soccer in Côte d’Ivoire

R.G.C. October 19, 2005 R.G.C.

Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire

Côte d'Ivoire

is the world's largest cocoa exporter, producing 43% of the planet's supply. For thirty years, cocoa production, in addition to coffee crops, logging and seaport activities, constituted the backbone of this West African republic's economic success, enabling political stability and social harmony. Thus, while most African countries were engaged in violent struggles for independence, Cold War geo-politics or ethnic conflicts,

Côte d'Ivoire

was one of the continent's success stories. Today however, Abidjan's modern skyline is only a reminder of the days of peace, unity and prosperity. The critical Presidential election of October 30 has been postponed due to technical and political unfeasibility, and that is only the tip of the iceberg.

Time for Transparency in the EU

Owen Espley October 18, 2005 Owen Espley

The Dutch and French rejections of the EU constitution make the time ripe for strong measures to create more transparency around lobbying in Brussels. The European Transparency Initiative, created by Vice President of the Commission, Siim Kallas, must not miss this opportunity. The EU's democratic deficit has long been discussed, andyet never seems to go away. The perception continues that the EU is an impenetrable fortress, where corporate and political elites make decisions with no room for citizens' involvement. The estimated 15,000 lobbyists in Brussels, the vast majority working for business interests, combined with dubious public affairs practices and a lack of any credible mechanism for ensuring transparency, give credence to this perception.

Manufacturing High Anxiety

Greg Guma October 17, 2005 Greg Guma

"Are you and your family at risk?" Almost anyone who watches television has heard that teaser during the news. The answer is often no, but the question itself has the power to set off a panic reaction that leads people to rush out for the latest cure or recommended precaution.

Several years ago, Dr. Marc Siegel, a practicing internist in New York and frequent guest on TV news programs, began to notice what he calls "free-floating communicated fear" was causing his patients to personalize risks that were actually quite remote. In his new book, False Alarm: The truth about the epidemic of fear, he has assembled a convincing case that, misdirected by political opportunists and irresponsible media, we too often worry about the wrong things, and that fear itself poses a greater risk than any "bug du jour."

Brazilians go for alcohol fuel

Super User October 13, 2005 Super User

RIO DE JANEIRO – Drivers in Brazil are fighting rising gasoline prices by turning to "flexible fuel" cars that use more alcohol. In fact, alcohol made from sugar cane is becoming the fuel of choice, so much so that global sugar prices have hit a seven-year high, reports the Christian Science Monitor.

Flex cars are already outselling traditional gasoline models. In August, 62 percent of new cars sold in Brazil were flex, according to industry numbers. "Demand has been unbelievable," said Barry Engle, the new president of Ford Brazil. "I am hard-pressed to think of any other technology that has been such a success so quickly." read more

Editor lambastes U.S. treatment of journalists in Iraq

Super User October 13, 2005 Super User

BAGHDAD – A top editor for Reuters news service has charged that the treatment of journalists in Iraq by U.S. troops is "spiraling out of control" and preventing full coverage of the war from reaching the public.

In a letter to Sen. John Warner, R-VA, head of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Reuters Global Managing Editor David Schlesinger charges that the detention and accidental shootings of journalists is severely limiting how reporters can operate. He referred to "a long parade of disturbing incidents whereby professional journalists have been killed, wrongfully detained, and/or illegally abused by U.S. forces in Iraq." read more