cartoon by Matt Wuerker
NIGERIA. In the Ogoni region of Nigeria, another 21 Ogonis have been imprisoned on similar charges that led to the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others. Shell Oil is preparing via public relations efforts to resume operations in the Ogoni region, where some 2,000 were killed in a military operation following massive anti-Shell demonstrations in 1994. Poorly maintained oil pipelines are responsible for widespread pollution in the country.(Earth First!)
FERTILITY DECLINES. The growth of population continues, but not as fast as before. In the 1950s, the world average number of children born per woman was five. Now, that number has fallen to 2.8 children per woman. The "replacement rate" at which zero population growth should occur is 2.1 children per woman. Still, the world population is expected to increase by about 80 million this year. (United Nations)
INDIA. Plans for the Maheshwar Dam have been stopped by protest action. Rallies and occupation of dam work sites resulted on February 2 in a government order halting the work and requiring a total review of the project. The project would submerge 61 villages, containing the homes of some 100,000, as well as fertile farmland. (Earth First!)
CANADIAN HEMP. The Canadian Department of Health has taken steps to approve the use of marijuana as medicine. Suggested guidelines released in December require medical marijuana to originate from a federally approved manufacturer, but no companies have a the proper license as yet. Other liberalizations in Canada will likely result soon in the first large-scale legal planting of hemp. About 350 farmers in the Ontario have expressed interest in contract farming for the company Kenex, Ltd, which hopes to revive the national hemp industry. (NORML)
FLIGHT PROTEST. Thirteen members of Friends of the Earth Netherlands were arrested in February after they climbed aboard a US-bound airplane and delayed it for three hours. They were protesting against increases in flights at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport which they say are contrary to government environmental standards.
DIRTY FOOD. The food industry in the US during the past decade has donated some $41 million to politicians, and politicians have in turn killed every meaningful bill for food safety. Cases of E. Coli poisonings have increased during the same period from near zero to about 20,000 per year. The new Department of Agriculture food inspection system allows industry largely to inspect itself. The meat industry alone employs 124 lobbyists to the federal government. (Center for Public Integrity)
NATO EXPANSION. The nation's largest military contractors have been promoting and lobbying congress for the expansion of NATO into eastern Europe. Such an expansion would cost US taxpayers roughly $250 billion by the year 2010 and would open up new subsidized arms sale possiblities for US arms manufacturers. The magazine Multinational Monitor points out that there is no compelling need for this expansion, since the Russian military is no longer a threat.
PRISONTOWN USA. Economically distressed small towns are competing with each other to attract prisons to boost their economies. But when the prison comes, the prison management can wield unprecedent political clout as the only major industry in the area. "We're a penal colony, plain and simple. This is California's Siberia or Guyana," says lawyer John Levy, who accuses prison officials at the Pelican Bay State Prison in Crescent City, California of using economic leverage, violent intimidation, and death threats to silence local dissent. The surrounding region has also become dependent on the cheap labor that the prisoners provide. "It seems that the prison, in conjunction with local judges and prosecutors, is using every excuse it can to keep more people locked up for longer," says a spokesperson from California Prison Focus. According to the group, minor offenses by prisoners are often prosecuted as felonies resulting in additional years of imprisonment. (Prison Legal News)
MICRO-RADIO. In 1978, the FCC explicitly began refusing radio licenses to stations operating at less than 100 watts. In February, the FCC obtained its first successful prosecution of a micro radio station operator, Arthur Kobres of Florida. The FCC had characterized the station as anti-government. Kobres intends to appeal. The FCC has also filed an action against Stephen Dunifer of Radio Free Berkeley. A US District Court judge in California is expected to rule soon on the legality of the power restriction in licensing. (Freedom of Espression Quarterly)
PESTICIDE EXPOSURE. The EPA is stepping up efforts to address pesticide exposure and is soliciting accounts from the public. If you believe you were exposed to and suffered adverse effects from Dursban, Lorsban, or other pesticides, send a description of how the exposure happened to you and the consequences in your life. Send to: Norm Spurling, Office of Pesticide Programs 7502C. US Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M Street SW, Washington DC 20460-0001 or tell your account by phone to 1-800-858-7378.
GREEN POWER. Electric utilities districts are experimenting with offering electric customers options for "green" power. The Northwest Energy Coalition reports that "power sellers are trying to determine if utility customers are willing to pay more for environmentally-friendly energy sources." An effort by the Public Service Company of Colorado convinced 5% of its customers to pay an additional 40% on their electric bill for electricity from a well-publicized nearby wind-turbine facility. In contrast, Clark Public Utilities District of Washington tried offering a similar option, but only one in a thousand of its customers signed up. The green facilities were not specially publicized or described in the offer, which probably led to less customer support.
UTAH OLYMPICS. Salt Lake City is slated to host the 2002 Winter Olympics, but many residents are beginning to question if that's a good idea. The city is currently host to the nation's largest public works project, a $1.6 billion fast-track revamp and expansion of its freeway system, which has caused numerous highway closures and alarming rates of road rage and accidents. The city and the Utah state legislature is also gearing up to beg the federal government to help support further projects, in an attempt to match the $13 billion in projects built for the Nagano Olympics. The city of Denver was scheduled to host the 1976 Winter Olympics, but became the only city in history to reject the offer after voters approved a 1972 constitutional amendment that prohibited use of tax money for the games. (High Country News)
MAD-ELK DISEASE. Wildlife officials in Colorado and Wyoming have determined that five percent of elk and one percent of deer are suffering from "chronic wasting disease," a cousin of mad-cow disease. The diseases belong to a family of illnesses known as Transmissable Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs). The large numbers of cases are quite alarming to researchers, and a federal agency has initiated a wider seven-state study. (High Country News)
ANTI-CHOICE LEGISLATION designed to undermine or hinder women's access to reproductive choices has increased substantially nationwide. In 1996, 14 anti-choice measures were adopted, and in 1997, 54 were adopted. (WA NARAL)
MEGA BOOK STORES. Freddy's Feed and Read bookstore in Missoula, Montana has joined the anti-trust lawsuit against Barnes and Noble. According to the complaint-which Seattle's Elliott Bay Books is also a party to-"Barnes and Noble employees at a new superstore [in Missoula] were told by management that independent bookstores in the community were unnecessary....Management stated that the success of Barnes and Noble in the community would be measured by whether it put a major independent out of business." (Missoula Independent)
GEORGETOWN FLIGHT ZONE. Not only is Sea-Tac expanding, the airport next to the Georgetown neighborhood of Seattle, the King County International Airport, wants to extend its runway by 800 feet, bringing jet traffic that much closer to Georgetown residents. The announcement by airport manager Cynthia Stewart stunned many, since the airport has in recent years repeatedly denied intent to expand the runway. The purpose of the expansion is to meet the desires of unnamed cargo carriers who would like to use heavier planes requiring a 10,000-foot runway. King County councilmember Dwight Pelz informed the airport that he would oppose the expansion. Pelz is head of the county committee overseeing the airport. (Truth in Aviation)
HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST Patty Inman of Mead, Washington will be imprisoned for six months at the federal corrections institute in Sheridan Oregon for trespassing on the US Army's School of the Americas in Georgia. Inman was attempting to deliver petitions to the school along with 600 other protestors. She and 24 other repeat offenders were sentenced to prison and fined $3000 each. (The Inlander)
ACE R. HAYES, one of the nation's premier advocates for open government, died in Oregon on February 13. He had in recent years edited the Portland Free Press, a publication dedicated to exposing inconsistencies in government accounts and mainstream news (what many would undoubtedly call "conspiracy theory"). In his own words, "Unless and until enough people demand that all public business be conducted in public and all public documents be open to the public, secret government will tyrannize the people."
PORTLAND TENANTS. The Community Alliance of Tenants (CAT) has announced four proposals to the city council: an increase of fines on landlords who don't make repairs, a replacement ordinance to stop the loss of affordable housing, a ban on discrimination against low-income Section 8 voucher tenants, and abolition of no-cause eviction. CAT expected the proposals to pass easily through the council, since many current council members have been housing advocates, but is encountering lukewarm response. (The Portland Alliance)
ALASKAN PRUDERY. The Anchorage city assembly voted to eliminate municipal arts funding for a local theater, proclaiming that all publicly supported arts should be "family oriented." Among the "controversial" items cited in the theater's brochure was the word "breast" which advertised the production of Susan Miller's award-winning play My Left Breast, which deals with breast cancer. (Freedom of Expression Quarterly)
OLYMPIA MEGAPLEX. Act III Cinemas, a Portland-based theater chain, is planning to build a 12-screen theater in downtown Olympia with a parking lot for 702 cars. The plan has already sailed through its first hurdle with the city of Olympia, and the company is not currently required to complete an environmental study despite the fact that property slated for the development contains a wetland. (Works in Progress)
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