What's New, May 1999

Date of Update

Description

May 29, 1999

1. Milosevic gets indicted for gross violations of crimes against humanity. While this is definitely a welcome step, it is easy to forget that NATO/USA/UK could also get indicted for gross violations of international and humanitarian law. Already there has been a submission to the Hague for the indictement of UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, Foreign Secretary Robin Cook and the Defence Secretary George Robertson... Go There!
2. A link to more information on the Kosovo crisis has been added. This site includes some very disturbing pictures of Serb civillians that have been killed from NATO bombings. The web site is from a group called Free Serbia. They are a group of people in Serbia who have been struggling in the past decade for democracy and a better future through various political parties, ngos, student organisations and other means of political activity. They have a lot of news coverage of NATO bombing in Serbia. Just as we see many disturbing images of Mulsim Alibanian refugees and some of the horrific killings, Free Serbia provides equally powerful images of civillian Serbs that have been killed by NATO bombs... Go There!
3. A source of information on globalisation has been added. It is a series of lectures that provide some good insights into various aspects of our lives that contribute and are affected from (both positively and negatively) from globalisation... Go There!
4. In many countries around the world, genetically engineered food and safety concerns are being debated, often intensely. However, one nation where there is little mainstream debate is also perhaps one of the most influential -- USA. Many people around the world are raising issues that are of interest to American consumers... Go There!
5. Some farmers in India have been driven to suicide over the issue of Terminator seed technology.. These genetically modified seeds prevents farmers from reusing what that they have managed to save for the following years harvests (which is something that is usually done). This means that each year they would have to buy more seeds. This will affect poorer farmers in developing nations even more. From their point of view, there doesn't seem to be a clear rationale for the terminator technology... Go There!
6. Another source of information for environment and nature related information has been added. This one is from the Environment News Service that provides some good news reports on environment related topics... Go There!
7. A couple of quotes have been added. One is a nice reflection on the meaning of ideals to some people... The other is a great quote from Yoda, in Star Wars, Episode 1!! If you have seen it already and whether or not you liked it or hated it, I thought that this quote was great... (Note that the latest quotes appear at the bottom of the list of quotes). Go There!

May 23, 1999

1. Mainstream media is not verifying all the claims that they report. While Serb media claims are correctly treated with suspicion, the same is not happening to NATO/Pentagon reports which have sometimes turned out to be false... Go There!
2. Use of cluster bombs are very indiscriminate. In Yugoslavia, many civilians have been hurt or killed as a result -- especially since the NATO campaign has intensified to civilian targets... Go There!
3. Another source of media information has been added. This is a link to the Center for Media and Democracy. They have some interesting information on media and public relations. Go There!
4. In modern conflicts over 80 percent of all casualties have been civilian and 90 percent of these are caused by small arms. There is increasing pressure to get the major suppliers to curb their small arms trade... Go There!
5. Some countries spend more on debt servicing than education. Structural adjustment initiatives for lending money to poorer nations has led to a reduction in important services such as health, education, communication, transportation. It therefore becomes harder for poorer countries to develop... Go There!
6. The British Medical Association reports on Genetically Modified Food. They strongly suggest following precautionary principles due to the unknown nature of GM foods. They are the first amongst leading medical associations to comment on the issue. The report was not received well on Capitol Hill, which is more concerned about the trade ramifications if a BMA recommendation of banning unlabeled imports is to take place... Go There!
7. Most nations now favor labelling of GM food. As a turn around from last year, only USA and Argentina do not want GM food to be labelled... Go There!
8. A search engine has been added to this site! At this time I cannot completely control the web page appearance that the search engine tool shows. As a result, Netscape users may see smaller fonts on the search page... Go There!

May 16, 1999

1. A lot of updates regarding the Kosovo Crisis have been added; An excellent analogy at the top, more media-related criticisms, a look at more humanitarian related issues, the role and place of international law, political factors and links to more sources of information. Go There!
2. The Genocide in Rwanda was horrendous even as the international community watched on. An excellent, detailed report from Human Rights Watch provides an insight into how this was planned for a long time, how the international community failed to act and also how the media was used to portray the propaganda making the genocide possible... Go There!
3. In New York recently, journalists gathered to honor the stories that did not make the news in 1998. A link to a funny, yet serious speech from this has been added. It looks at some of the important stories that did not make it and what it means to be a mainstream journalist... Go There!
4. Israel has faced numerous resolutions in the past from the United Nations. These have ranged from issues to do with expanding territories to the use of torture. Incidentally, Israel is the only nation to allow the use of torture as a means of interrogation... Go There!
5. The United States must seek to prevent the emergence of European-only security arrangements which would undermine NATO. This is what the Pentagon has recommended, according to a leaked document. It hints that perhaps even though there were other options before the Kosovo bombing began they were not supported because they probably would not have involved NATO... Go There!
6. Iraq continues to get bombed. Over 1 million people are believed to have been killed since the Gulf War 1991. This is also a humanitarian disaster... Go There!
7. The largest supermarket in Spain also rejects Genetically Modified food in its own brand of products. Public awareness is on the increase. Go There!
8. Better healthcare for women, family planning etc could also help the environment. A decline in birthrates around the world would help alleviate some of the environment problems that we see. Go There!
9. A new source of information on population issues has been added. This one is an excellent interactive web site which provides many many statistics... Go There!
10. Many new sources of more information have been added for the web site. Many include media-related links... Go There!

May 9, 1999

1. The use of Depleted Uranium in the Kosovo crisis is illegal and the UN Human Rights Tribunal has called it a Weapon of Mass Destruction. The huge environmental devastation and the long term effects on the region of the NATO bombing of chemical and oil factories, the polution of the drinking water etc, goes somewhat unmentioned or without much consideration... Go There!
2. The mainstream media slant on the Kosovo Crisis has been predictable. Fairness and Accuracy provide an interesting article that has researched this... Go There!
3. The G8 have proposed a peace plan. While this is a welcome step, this plan already falls under huge scrutiny and one group even call it a fraud... Go There!
4. The US admits that it was wrong to bomb the Sudanese Factory in August 1998. But most progressive groups could have told you that, and indeed were, during the time it actually happened... Go There!
5. While NATO is at war in Kosovo, the US almost daily bomb Iraq, with hardly a mention in mainstream media... Go There!
6. While NATO is at war in Kosovo, the media hardly mentions the war in the Congo. Media coverage of various military conflicts have been less than objective as one would hope... Go There!
7. Some excellent sources of information on Media issues have been added. One is from the Media Institute of Southern Africa, and the other is a set of links from WebActive, which provides on line streaming radio reports from such excellent sources like Democracy Now and the Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting weekly Counter Spin radio program... Go There!
8. French Atomic Energy Commission has admitted that their nuclear tests have harmed some coral in the French Polynesian islands. There are worries about what else has been harmed that they have not mentioned. Coral Reefs are some of the richest sources of biodiversity. Reefs help protect shores from the impact of waves and storms. They also provide a lot of benefits to humans in the form of food and medicine as well as tourism. Unfortunately, around the world, coastal development, overfishing, inland pollution are all affecting much of the world's marine biodiversity... Go There!
9. A new quote has been added. This one is from Ancient Rome describing Roman imperialism. It is applicable in the present too... (Note that new links appear at the end of the list) Go There!

May 1, 1999

1. Kosovo resistance to Milosovic was initially through a huge non-violent movement. It didn't receive much attention from the mainstream media, unfortunately... Go There!
2. The bombing campaign in Kosovo is illegal. Not only does it violate international law, but the US Congress itself has not approved of this... Go There!
3. NATO destruction in Yugoslavia in one month is more than that seen by NAZI German occupation of 1941 to 1944. The bombing is achieving the opposite of the claimed objectives... Go There!
4. A link to more information on the Kosovo Crisis has been added. This one is a link to the Mother Jones web site section covering the conflict. It has some very good articles... Go There!
5. Is NATO about maintaining world hegemony? We see NATO trying to act in places where the United Nations would seem more appropriate (if some of the NATO members would actually contribute to the UN like they are required to do so). A great link to an article looking at the US motives for maintaining the alliance has been added... Go There!
6. The School of the Americas has trained some of the most notorious dictators and human rights violators in Latin America. People are calling for a closure of the school. Go There!
7. In the past couple of weeks there have been a number of bomb blasts in London. They have been racially motivated as well... Go There!
8. The Coral Reefs are some of the richest ecosystems in the world. Yet they are also perhaps one of the most neglected... Go There!
9. Two food giants said they would withdraw their acceptance of genetically modified foodstuffs. There has been much resistance around the world to the rushed development and push of genetically engineered food... Go There!

Check Out What Was New In:

• April 1999
• March 1999
• February 1999
• January 1999
• December 1998
• November 1998
• October 1998
• September 1998
• August 1998
• July 1998