Condensed from "Dams on Mekong river generate discord as environment suffers," by Yoolim Lee, published in the Phnom Penh Post, Oct. 29, 2010. All text below is copyright Lee/the Phnom Penh Post.
The Mekong river sparkles in the early morning sun as Somwang Prommin, a stocky fisherman wearing a worn-out black T-shirt and shorts, starts the motor of his boat. As the tiny craft glides on the river's calm surface in the northeastern Thai district of Chiang Khong, Somwang points to a nearby riverbank. Three days ago, he says, the water levels there were 3 meters higher.
The Mekong, which translates roughly as "mother of the waters" in the Thai langauge, has become unpredictable since China started building hydropower dams and blasting the rapids upstream, according to Somwang, 36, who has been fishing for a living since he was 8 years old.
In August 2008, devestating floods reduced his catches and income. Early this year, he witnesses the most severe drought in his life.
Tens of millions of people are experiencing similar currents of change along the 4,800-kilometer-long Mekong, which flows through six countries and is Southeast Asia's longest river.
The Mekong and its tributaries provide food, water and transportation to about 60 million people in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. Their livelihood is now threatened as their governments turn to hydroelectric dams along the river to generate power and create revenue.
[Proposed] projects will have a disastrous impact on Cambodia and Vietnam, says Milton Osborne, a visiting fellow at the Lowy Institute in Sydney and a historian who wrote The Mekong: Turbulent Past, Uncertain Future. "What the Chinese are doing shows a selfish lack of concern for the serious damage their dams will ultimately do to the downstream countries," Osborne says.
Downriver, other countries are pursuing their own objectives. Laos has proposed building 10 hydropower plants on the mainstream of the Mekong that will export electricity and transform the nation -- one of Asia's poorest, with a per-capita gross domestic product of US$886 -- into what the government calls "the battery of Southeast Asia."
Cambodia plans to build two dams near the border with Laos. In all, 12 dams are planned by the countries below China along the mainstream of the Mekong. The dams would transform 55 percent of the downstream river into a reservoir, making it into a series of impoundments with slow water movement. [A] report prepared by an independent consulting firm in Australia recommended that the [Mekong River Commission] delay any decision on constructing the dams for 10 years.
The dams "have the portential to create transboundary impacts and international tensions," the report says. "One dam across the lower Mekong mainstream commits the river to irrevocable change."
Chinese officials say they are aiding the environment, not harming it. Building dams "is an important step taken by the Chinese government to vigorously develop renewable and clean energy and contribute to the global endeavor to counter climate change," Song Tao, the country's vice minister of foreign affairs, told a summit meeting of the MRC in April.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Friday, November 5, 2010
Condo Owners in Jakarta Want the Monkeys Gone
Condensed from "Urban Boom Threatens Jakarta Wildlife Reserve, Monkeys," by Reuters, published in the Cambodia Daily, Oct. 25, 2010. All text below is copyright Reuters.
JAKARTA -- The last wildlife reserve left in Indonesia's vast, traffic-choked capital is under threat from a growing tide of rubbish and angry local residents who complain that it harbours thieving monkeys.
The last such reserve in Jakarta, Muara Angke's 25 hectares are a popular destination for people eager to escape the crowded streets and view the 95 Long-tailed Macaques that live there.
Residents of a luxury residential complex in nearby Pantai Indah Kapuk have asked the managers of the reserve to eradicate the [reserve's] monkeys, which they say steal food and bite people. The demand has outrage those who work with the reserve.
"How can we ban monkeys? This is a wildlife area," said Muhammad Rifa'i, an official at Balai Mangrove Kapuk Muara, an NGO under the Muara Angke management.
Founded in the 1930s under the colonial Dutch government, [the reserve] stretched across 1,344 hectares in 1960 but has now dwindled to its meager 25 hectares, with large parcels of land sliced off for development. Pollution has also hit it hard, killing mangroves and destroying habitat.
The Angke river that runs through it -- a source of food and water for the animals -- is now badly polluted with rubbish and boat fuel. This pollution, along with illegal hunting and starvation, has helped take the monkey population down by more than 30 percent in just four years.
JAKARTA -- The last wildlife reserve left in Indonesia's vast, traffic-choked capital is under threat from a growing tide of rubbish and angry local residents who complain that it harbours thieving monkeys.
The last such reserve in Jakarta, Muara Angke's 25 hectares are a popular destination for people eager to escape the crowded streets and view the 95 Long-tailed Macaques that live there.
Residents of a luxury residential complex in nearby Pantai Indah Kapuk have asked the managers of the reserve to eradicate the [reserve's] monkeys, which they say steal food and bite people. The demand has outrage those who work with the reserve.
"How can we ban monkeys? This is a wildlife area," said Muhammad Rifa'i, an official at Balai Mangrove Kapuk Muara, an NGO under the Muara Angke management.
Founded in the 1930s under the colonial Dutch government, [the reserve] stretched across 1,344 hectares in 1960 but has now dwindled to its meager 25 hectares, with large parcels of land sliced off for development. Pollution has also hit it hard, killing mangroves and destroying habitat.
The Angke river that runs through it -- a source of food and water for the animals -- is now badly polluted with rubbish and boat fuel. This pollution, along with illegal hunting and starvation, has helped take the monkey population down by more than 30 percent in just four years.
Japan Targets Nuclear Power in Vietnam
Condensed from "Tokyo Targets Nuclear Power in VN," by Kazumasa Takenaka, the Asahi Shimbun, published in the Cambodia Daily, Oct. 28, 2010. All text below is copyright Takenaka/the Asahi Shimbun.
TOKYO -- A public-private firm has been set up to aggressively push sales of Japan's nuclear power plant technology abroad amid the intensifying international cooperation.
International Nuclear Energy Development of Japan Co was established Friday [Oct. 22] by nine electric utilities, three plant makers and the government-affiliated Innovation Network of Japan.
The new company initially aims to win contracts for two nuclear power reactors in Vietnam's southeast province of Ninh Thuan. Vietnam plans to build 14 reactors by 2030. At least 18 countries plan to build 74 reactors.
TOKYO -- A public-private firm has been set up to aggressively push sales of Japan's nuclear power plant technology abroad amid the intensifying international cooperation.
International Nuclear Energy Development of Japan Co was established Friday [Oct. 22] by nine electric utilities, three plant makers and the government-affiliated Innovation Network of Japan.
The new company initially aims to win contracts for two nuclear power reactors in Vietnam's southeast province of Ninh Thuan. Vietnam plans to build 14 reactors by 2030. At least 18 countries plan to build 74 reactors.
Russia Sells Subs, Nuclear Power to Vietnam
Condensed from "Russia Reaching Out to Vietnam to Firm Security, Energy Ties," by Hideki Soejima, the Asahi Shimbun, published in the Cambodia Daily, Oct. 28, 2010. All text below is copyright Soejima/the Asahi Shimbun.
TOKYO -- Russia is strengthening security and energy ties with Vietnam . . . .
The first step in Russia's efforts to engage in Vietnam's national security coincided with the agreement last December for Russia to build its first nuclear power plant in Vietnam. As part of that deal, Russia agreed to sell six submarines, at a reported cost of $1.8 billion, to Vietnam.
Russia is also providing Vietnam with missile cruisers and Sukhoi fighters to support the modernization of Vietnam's navy.
TOKYO -- Russia is strengthening security and energy ties with Vietnam . . . .
The first step in Russia's efforts to engage in Vietnam's national security coincided with the agreement last December for Russia to build its first nuclear power plant in Vietnam. As part of that deal, Russia agreed to sell six submarines, at a reported cost of $1.8 billion, to Vietnam.
Russia is also providing Vietnam with missile cruisers and Sukhoi fighters to support the modernization of Vietnam's navy.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Malaysian Prime Minister Pushes Regional Free Trade
Condensed from "Malaysia Premier Wants ASEAN to Focus on Trade," by James Hookway, the Wall Street Journal, published in the Cambodia Daily, Oct. 30-31, 2010. All text below is copyright Hookway/the Wall Street Journal.
HANOI -- Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak yesterday urged Asia and Pacific leaders gathering in Vietnam for an annual summit to push wider trade links in the region and not be distracted by the ongoing turmoil in the global foreign exchange markets.
In an interview, Najib . . . said expanding free trade should remain a top priority for the region, which accounts for about half of global exports and imports.
"I think we must all adhere to the principle of open and free trade . . . because that is the surest way in which we can ensure there is enough wealth being generated to underpin a long-term global recovery," Najib said. "If you go towards protectionism, then definitely the world will take a turn for the worse in terms of wealth generation and even further recessions in the future."
HANOI -- Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak yesterday urged Asia and Pacific leaders gathering in Vietnam for an annual summit to push wider trade links in the region and not be distracted by the ongoing turmoil in the global foreign exchange markets.
In an interview, Najib . . . said expanding free trade should remain a top priority for the region, which accounts for about half of global exports and imports.
"I think we must all adhere to the principle of open and free trade . . . because that is the surest way in which we can ensure there is enough wealth being generated to underpin a long-term global recovery," Najib said. "If you go towards protectionism, then definitely the world will take a turn for the worse in terms of wealth generation and even further recessions in the future."
A Case Study in Globalizing Food
copyright the Guardian, published in the Cambodia Daily, Oct. 30-31, 2010.
It is good news for vampires by bad news for gourmets. Garlic was last year's best-performing commodity in China, Morgan Stanley says, and its has continued to appreciate.
Until last spring, garlic cost as little as $0.06 a kilo, prompting many farmers to turn to other crops. But by April last year, demand was far outstripping supply and the price began to rocket. A bad harvest this year sent it up against and caused speculators to pile in; some reportedly made hundreds of thousands of dollars trading warehousefuls. This July, the price hit a high of $1.97 - where it remains.
For Chinese consumers, it is only the most painful example of rising food prices, in many cases caused by bad weather; September saw a year-on-year increase of around 8 percent.
Wu Fei, a 30-year-old accountant, said her family's food costs had almost doubled over the last two years, particularly because they love eating meat. "The price of ribs has never come down since it doubled a year ago. My favorite crispy dates were [$0.90] a pack, but now they are [$1.65] and the contents are smaller. The cooking oil we use was about [$9] a bottle; now it's [$15]," she said, adding: "The increases in prices are not matched by that of salaries in Beijing."
It is good news for vampires by bad news for gourmets. Garlic was last year's best-performing commodity in China, Morgan Stanley says, and its has continued to appreciate.
Until last spring, garlic cost as little as $0.06 a kilo, prompting many farmers to turn to other crops. But by April last year, demand was far outstripping supply and the price began to rocket. A bad harvest this year sent it up against and caused speculators to pile in; some reportedly made hundreds of thousands of dollars trading warehousefuls. This July, the price hit a high of $1.97 - where it remains.
For Chinese consumers, it is only the most painful example of rising food prices, in many cases caused by bad weather; September saw a year-on-year increase of around 8 percent.
Wu Fei, a 30-year-old accountant, said her family's food costs had almost doubled over the last two years, particularly because they love eating meat. "The price of ribs has never come down since it doubled a year ago. My favorite crispy dates were [$0.90] a pack, but now they are [$1.65] and the contents are smaller. The cooking oil we use was about [$9] a bottle; now it's [$15]," she said, adding: "The increases in prices are not matched by that of salaries in Beijing."
"Earthwalker" Stops in Phnom Penh
Condensed from "On His Way to London, 'Earthwalker' Stops in Phnom Penh," by Drew Foster of the Cambodia Daily. All text below is copyright Foster/the Cambodia Daily.
Yuji Miyata has circled Taiwan on foot, trekked for days through an Okinawan forest and claims he escaped being kidnapped in Hanoi.
The Japanese national's adventures have all been part of his journey from Korea to London for the 2012 Olympic games, an expedition he is undertaking largely on foot. Mr. Miyata, an "Earthwalker" participating in the Culture of Peace Project, which is part of th UN-designated Peace Messenger Initiative, arrived in Cambodia on Oct. 11. The 28-year-old began his walk from Korea to London in January 2009 and has covered 7,000 km across South Korea, the Japanese island of Okinawa, Taiwan, Vietnam, and now Cambodia. He is advocating peace and environmental stewardship along the way.
"When we do something for the Earth, nature will do thousands of more things for us," he said.
Mr. Miyata began his journey to London after walking to the 2008 Beijing Olympic games with seasoned Earthwalker and British national Paul Coleman, who claims to have hoofed more than 47,000 km across 39 nations. The pair hear China was putting an emphasis on hosting an environmentally friendly Olympic games.
"In China, I saw lots of pollution and destruction, and the Chinese government said they were going to hold a green Olympics, but they didn't," Mr. Miyata said. "I saw both sides, so I decided to walk to the London Olympics."
Yuji Miyata has circled Taiwan on foot, trekked for days through an Okinawan forest and claims he escaped being kidnapped in Hanoi.
The Japanese national's adventures have all been part of his journey from Korea to London for the 2012 Olympic games, an expedition he is undertaking largely on foot. Mr. Miyata, an "Earthwalker" participating in the Culture of Peace Project, which is part of th UN-designated Peace Messenger Initiative, arrived in Cambodia on Oct. 11. The 28-year-old began his walk from Korea to London in January 2009 and has covered 7,000 km across South Korea, the Japanese island of Okinawa, Taiwan, Vietnam, and now Cambodia. He is advocating peace and environmental stewardship along the way.
"When we do something for the Earth, nature will do thousands of more things for us," he said.
Mr. Miyata began his journey to London after walking to the 2008 Beijing Olympic games with seasoned Earthwalker and British national Paul Coleman, who claims to have hoofed more than 47,000 km across 39 nations. The pair hear China was putting an emphasis on hosting an environmentally friendly Olympic games.
"In China, I saw lots of pollution and destruction, and the Chinese government said they were going to hold a green Olympics, but they didn't," Mr. Miyata said. "I saw both sides, so I decided to walk to the London Olympics."
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Indian Government Reconsiders Development Projects
Condensed from "Amid Growing Concerns, India Closely Examining Mining Costs," by Julien Bouissou, Le Monde, published in the Cambodia Daily, Nov. 1, 2010. All text below is copyright Bouissou/Le Monde.
PARIS -- Citing the need to protect the environment and local residents, Indian courts and government bodies have started blocking -- or even cancelling -- a growing number of industrial projects.
Last month, the high court in Madras ordered the closure of a copper smelter operated by the London-listed conglomerate Vedanta, to protect "mother nature" from "unabated air and water pollution."
In August, the environment ministry prevented Vedanta from opening a bauxite mine on tribal lands in eastern India held to be sacred by the Dongria Kondh community. [Webmaster's note: The Dongria people's struggle against Vedanta was the subject by an Avatar-themed press campaign earlier this year by Survival International.] Economic benefit is no longer sufficient reason for the government to approve applications for mining and industrial schemes.
India is rich in mineral resources and has almost doubled mining output since 1993. But of the 50 districts registering the largest mineral output, more than half are among the nations poorest in social terms, according to figures released by the Center for Science and Environment in New Delhi.
In a 2006 report on national mineral policy, the Planning Commission said, "The relationship between mining companies and local communities has a legacy of abuse and mistrust."
PARIS -- Citing the need to protect the environment and local residents, Indian courts and government bodies have started blocking -- or even cancelling -- a growing number of industrial projects.
Last month, the high court in Madras ordered the closure of a copper smelter operated by the London-listed conglomerate Vedanta, to protect "mother nature" from "unabated air and water pollution."
In August, the environment ministry prevented Vedanta from opening a bauxite mine on tribal lands in eastern India held to be sacred by the Dongria Kondh community. [Webmaster's note: The Dongria people's struggle against Vedanta was the subject by an Avatar-themed press campaign earlier this year by Survival International.] Economic benefit is no longer sufficient reason for the government to approve applications for mining and industrial schemes.
India is rich in mineral resources and has almost doubled mining output since 1993. But of the 50 districts registering the largest mineral output, more than half are among the nations poorest in social terms, according to figures released by the Center for Science and Environment in New Delhi.
In a 2006 report on national mineral policy, the Planning Commission said, "The relationship between mining companies and local communities has a legacy of abuse and mistrust."
Cambodia Keeps its Ranking as a Corrupt Nation
Condensed from “Cambodia Fails to Advance on Int'l Graft Index,” copyright Lucy Jordan of the Cambodia Daily, published Oct. 27, 2010. All text below is copyright Jordan/the Cambodia Daily.
Despite passing a long-anticipated anticorruption law in march, Cambodia has made no improvement this year in its perceived level of corruption, according to an annual ranking of countries by Transparency International that maintained Cambodia's position among the world's most corrupt states.
“I acknowledge there is corruption, but is it not serious like this,” said Cambodian senator and businessman Mong Reththy. He explained that some businessmen offered informal payments to some governmental institutions to speed up their investment process.
“I don't want to accuse this act as corruption, but it's the way to facilitate” trade, he said.
Despite passing a long-anticipated anticorruption law in march, Cambodia has made no improvement this year in its perceived level of corruption, according to an annual ranking of countries by Transparency International that maintained Cambodia's position among the world's most corrupt states.
“I acknowledge there is corruption, but is it not serious like this,” said Cambodian senator and businessman Mong Reththy. He explained that some businessmen offered informal payments to some governmental institutions to speed up their investment process.
“I don't want to accuse this act as corruption, but it's the way to facilitate” trade, he said.
Brother of Chihuahua Attorney General Makes Taped Accusation that She Ordered Killings
Condensed from "Kidnapped Mexican Forced to Name Names," copyright Ken Ellingwood, the Los Angeles Times, published in the Cambodia Daily, Oct. 28, 2010. All text below is copyright Ellingwood/the Los Angeles Times.
MEXICO CITY -- The gunmen pointed rifles at his head, demanding answers. The captive named names. He had lots to say about the Juarez drug cartel.
But this drug war interrogation, captured on [video], carried a twist.
The handcuffed man before the camera was no nameless cartel henchman. He was the kidnapped brother of Patricia Gonzalez, the former top prosecutor of Mexico's most violent state, and his account was startling: that his sister took bribes to protect the so-called Juarez cartel and even ordered several high-profile killings.
In the video, Gonzalez claims to have served as middleman between La Linea, a Cuidad Juarez-based gang closely tied to the Juarez cartel, and his sister, who became attorney general in Chihuahua in 2004.
Mario Gonzalez alleges that his sister ordered several infamous killings, including that of Juarez newspaper journalist Armando Rodriguez, who had written unflatteringly about her family's legal woes shortly before his slaying in 2008.
As attorney general, Gonzalez often spoke against deep-rooted police graft and won praise from reformers and US law-and-order experts for the state's efforts to modernize courts and root out corrupt officers.
MEXICO CITY -- The gunmen pointed rifles at his head, demanding answers. The captive named names. He had lots to say about the Juarez drug cartel.
But this drug war interrogation, captured on [video], carried a twist.
The handcuffed man before the camera was no nameless cartel henchman. He was the kidnapped brother of Patricia Gonzalez, the former top prosecutor of Mexico's most violent state, and his account was startling: that his sister took bribes to protect the so-called Juarez cartel and even ordered several high-profile killings.
In the video, Gonzalez claims to have served as middleman between La Linea, a Cuidad Juarez-based gang closely tied to the Juarez cartel, and his sister, who became attorney general in Chihuahua in 2004.
Mario Gonzalez alleges that his sister ordered several infamous killings, including that of Juarez newspaper journalist Armando Rodriguez, who had written unflatteringly about her family's legal woes shortly before his slaying in 2008.
As attorney general, Gonzalez often spoke against deep-rooted police graft and won praise from reformers and US law-and-order experts for the state's efforts to modernize courts and root out corrupt officers.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Guardian Alleges Abuse at UN-Funded Center for Phnom Penh Undesirables
Condensed from "Abuse Alleged at UN-Funded Detention Camp," by Ben Doherty, the Guardian, published in the Cambodia Daily on Nov. 1, 2010. All text below is copyright Doherty/the Guardian.
UN funding is being used to run a brutal internment camp for the destitute in Cambodia, where detainees are held for months without trial, raped and beaten, sometimes to death, former inmates have said.
The Prey Speu facility, 19 km from Phnom Penh, is officially described as a "social affairs center" offering education and health care to vulnerable people. But human rights groups and former inmates say the center is an illegal, clandestine prison, where people deemed "undesirable" by the government -- usually drug workers, sex workers and the homeless -- are held for months without charge.
Men, women and children are housed together in a single building and are regularly beaten with planks, whipped with wires or threatened with weapons, according to witnesses.
The UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has described the conditions at Prey Speu as "appalling," with people "illegally confined and subject to a variety of abuses of power by the staff that included sub-humane conditions of detention, extortion, beating, rape, sometimes resulting in death and suicide." But the department that runs Prey Speu still gets money directly from the UN's children's fund, UNICEF, and the center is also supported by several international NGOs.
According to the rights group Licadho, three Prey Speu detainees have been beaten to death in front of other inmates.
Another five detainees have killed themselves, including two women who had been separated from their children.
[From the Webmaster:
\ Similar allegations have also been made against Phnom Penh-area detention centers for drug addicts and for HIV-positive Cambodians.
As disturbing as the allegations are, it is my firm belief that exactly the same things are happening today in detention centers across the world, including juvenile prisons and immigrant detention centers in the world's wealthiest countries. We must take solace in the fact that these unfortunate souls, while treated terribly by their government, have not been "disappeared," and that the voices of these wretches are heard by local and intenernational groups and media.]
UN funding is being used to run a brutal internment camp for the destitute in Cambodia, where detainees are held for months without trial, raped and beaten, sometimes to death, former inmates have said.
The Prey Speu facility, 19 km from Phnom Penh, is officially described as a "social affairs center" offering education and health care to vulnerable people. But human rights groups and former inmates say the center is an illegal, clandestine prison, where people deemed "undesirable" by the government -- usually drug workers, sex workers and the homeless -- are held for months without charge.
Men, women and children are housed together in a single building and are regularly beaten with planks, whipped with wires or threatened with weapons, according to witnesses.
The UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has described the conditions at Prey Speu as "appalling," with people "illegally confined and subject to a variety of abuses of power by the staff that included sub-humane conditions of detention, extortion, beating, rape, sometimes resulting in death and suicide." But the department that runs Prey Speu still gets money directly from the UN's children's fund, UNICEF, and the center is also supported by several international NGOs.
According to the rights group Licadho, three Prey Speu detainees have been beaten to death in front of other inmates.
Another five detainees have killed themselves, including two women who had been separated from their children.
[From the Webmaster:
\ Similar allegations have also been made against Phnom Penh-area detention centers for drug addicts and for HIV-positive Cambodians.
As disturbing as the allegations are, it is my firm belief that exactly the same things are happening today in detention centers across the world, including juvenile prisons and immigrant detention centers in the world's wealthiest countries. We must take solace in the fact that these unfortunate souls, while treated terribly by their government, have not been "disappeared," and that the voices of these wretches are heard by local and intenernational groups and media.]
Independent Panel Says Alcohol Is the Most Harmful Drug
Condensed from "Drug Experts Say Alcohol Is More Dangerous than Crack in UK," copyright Reuters, published in the Cambodia Daily, Nov. 2, 2010. All text below is copyright Reuters.
LONDON - Alcohol is the most dangerous drug in the UK by a considerable margin, beating heroin and crack cocaine into second and third place, according to an authoritative study published yesterday . . . .
Led by sacked government drugs adviser David Nutt with colleagues from the breakaway Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs, the study says that if drugs were classified on the basis of the harm they do, alcohol would be class A, alongside heroin and crack cocaine.
Yesterday's study . . . examines nine categories of harm that drugs can do to the individual, "from death to damage to mental functioning and loss of relationships" and seven types of harm to others. The maximum possible harm score was 100 and the minimum zero.
Alcohol scored 72 -- compared with 55 for heroin and 54 for crack. The most dangerous drugs to their individual users were ranked as heroin, crack and then crystal meth. The most harmful to others were alcohol, heroin, and crack, in that order.
LONDON - Alcohol is the most dangerous drug in the UK by a considerable margin, beating heroin and crack cocaine into second and third place, according to an authoritative study published yesterday . . . .
Led by sacked government drugs adviser David Nutt with colleagues from the breakaway Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs, the study says that if drugs were classified on the basis of the harm they do, alcohol would be class A, alongside heroin and crack cocaine.
Yesterday's study . . . examines nine categories of harm that drugs can do to the individual, "from death to damage to mental functioning and loss of relationships" and seven types of harm to others. The maximum possible harm score was 100 and the minimum zero.
Alcohol scored 72 -- compared with 55 for heroin and 54 for crack. The most dangerous drugs to their individual users were ranked as heroin, crack and then crystal meth. The most harmful to others were alcohol, heroin, and crack, in that order.
Obama Overrides Ban on Military Aid to Countries With Child Soldiers
Condensed from "US to aid armies with child soldiers," by Mary Beth Sheridan, the Phnom Penh Post, published Oct. 29, 2010. All text below is copyright Sheridan/the Phnom Penh Post.
President Barack Obama has granted a waiver allowing four countries to continue receiving United States military aid even though they use child soldiers, officials said.
Human rights groups reacted with surprise and concern, saying the decision would send the wrong message. "What the president has done is basically given everybody a pass for using child soldiers," said Jo Becker, children's rights director at Human Rights Watch.
Obama sent a memo to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, dated last Monday, saying that it was "in the national interest" to waive a cutoff of military assistance for Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and Yemen. These countries would have been penalized under the Child Soldiers Prevention Act, which was signed into law by President George W. Bush shortly before he left office. The law took effect this year, after the State Department identified six countries that used child soldiers -- including Somalia and Burma.
President Barack Obama has granted a waiver allowing four countries to continue receiving United States military aid even though they use child soldiers, officials said.
Human rights groups reacted with surprise and concern, saying the decision would send the wrong message. "What the president has done is basically given everybody a pass for using child soldiers," said Jo Becker, children's rights director at Human Rights Watch.
Obama sent a memo to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, dated last Monday, saying that it was "in the national interest" to waive a cutoff of military assistance for Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and Yemen. These countries would have been penalized under the Child Soldiers Prevention Act, which was signed into law by President George W. Bush shortly before he left office. The law took effect this year, after the State Department identified six countries that used child soldiers -- including Somalia and Burma.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Arizona Executes Man Using Mystery Drugs
Condensed from "Arizona Chamber Execution Goes Ahead After Stay Lifted," by Chris McGreal, the Guardian, published in the Cambodia Daily, Oct. 28, 2010. All text below is copyright McGreal/the Guardian.
LONDON -- Arizona executed a man Tuesday after the US Supreme Court lifted a stay granted when the state refused to reveal how it illicitly obtained one of the drugs used in the death chamber from a British manufacturer.
Jeffrey Landrigan, who was convicted of the murder of Chester Dean Dyer in 1989, was pronounced dead at 10:26 pm local time.
A federal judge put Landrigan's execution on hold on Monday after defense lawyers argued that the state's failure to reveal its supplier meant the drug might not meet US standards and that could amount to cruel and unusual punishment.
But the ruling was [hastily] overturned by the Supreme Court, and Landrigan was put to death by lethal injection in Arizona's first execution since 2007.
LONDON -- Arizona executed a man Tuesday after the US Supreme Court lifted a stay granted when the state refused to reveal how it illicitly obtained one of the drugs used in the death chamber from a British manufacturer.
Jeffrey Landrigan, who was convicted of the murder of Chester Dean Dyer in 1989, was pronounced dead at 10:26 pm local time.
A federal judge put Landrigan's execution on hold on Monday after defense lawyers argued that the state's failure to reveal its supplier meant the drug might not meet US standards and that could amount to cruel and unusual punishment.
But the ruling was [hastily] overturned by the Supreme Court, and Landrigan was put to death by lethal injection in Arizona's first execution since 2007.
France Cracks Down on File-Sharing
Condensed from "French Officials Enforce New Antipiracy Law," by Max Colchester, the Wall Street Journal, published in the Cambodia Daily, Oct. 28, 2010. All text below is copyright Colchester/the Wall Street Journal.
PARIS -- France's new Internet piracy police have been scouring the Web this month for people illegally downloading films and music, sending hundreds of warning e-mails to suspected intellectual property thieves.
The implementation of France's new antipiracy law -- which is one of the first in the world, along with similar legislation in South Korea, Taiwan and Britain -- is considered a litmus test by other nations hoping to crack down on intellectual property theft.
To catch offenders, the government has hired a private company to monitor file-sharing websites, such as eMule and BitTorrent, to determine when a computer is illegally downloading music or video. A computer's Internet Protocol address can be viewed freely by anyone using these sites.
PARIS -- France's new Internet piracy police have been scouring the Web this month for people illegally downloading films and music, sending hundreds of warning e-mails to suspected intellectual property thieves.
The implementation of France's new antipiracy law -- which is one of the first in the world, along with similar legislation in South Korea, Taiwan and Britain -- is considered a litmus test by other nations hoping to crack down on intellectual property theft.
To catch offenders, the government has hired a private company to monitor file-sharing websites, such as eMule and BitTorrent, to determine when a computer is illegally downloading music or video. A computer's Internet Protocol address can be viewed freely by anyone using these sites.
UN Again Votes to Urge US to Drop Cuba Sanctions
From Reuters
Last Tuesday, the United Nations General Assembly passed for the 19th consecutive year a resolution urging the US to drop its economic sanctions against Cuba, which date back to the time of US President John F. Kennedy. Representatives from 187 nations voted in favor of the resolution, with two votes against (the US and Israel) and three abstentions.
Last Tuesday, the United Nations General Assembly passed for the 19th consecutive year a resolution urging the US to drop its economic sanctions against Cuba, which date back to the time of US President John F. Kennedy. Representatives from 187 nations voted in favor of the resolution, with two votes against (the US and Israel) and three abstentions.
WSJ Editorial: "Singapore's Exchange Bid Panics Aussies"
All text below is copyright the Wall Street Journal. This editorial was published in the Cambodia Daily on Oct. 28, 2010; it has been condensed below.
The latest outbreak of economic nationalism comes from Down Under. No sooner had the Singapore Exchange made an $8.3 billion bid on Monday for ASX, Sydney's stock exchange, than some politicians began talking about defending Australia's "national interest" against the foreign invaders. If they're not careful, these leaders actually will damage the national economic interest.
Political grandstanding against this deal is by far the greater danger [Ed: greater than various arguments purportedly advanced by opponents of the plan, and shot down by the editorial]. Australia's economy is thriving due to the global commodities boom, but more broadly as well thanks to the opening of the country's economy to competition and investment undertaken by a succession of governments over the past 25 years. But the Australian economy will only thrive so long as the government stays true to the free-market principles that have spurred national growth. One of the most important of these principles is openness to foreign investment.
The latest outbreak of economic nationalism comes from Down Under. No sooner had the Singapore Exchange made an $8.3 billion bid on Monday for ASX, Sydney's stock exchange, than some politicians began talking about defending Australia's "national interest" against the foreign invaders. If they're not careful, these leaders actually will damage the national economic interest.
Political grandstanding against this deal is by far the greater danger [Ed: greater than various arguments purportedly advanced by opponents of the plan, and shot down by the editorial]. Australia's economy is thriving due to the global commodities boom, but more broadly as well thanks to the opening of the country's economy to competition and investment undertaken by a succession of governments over the past 25 years. But the Australian economy will only thrive so long as the government stays true to the free-market principles that have spurred national growth. One of the most important of these principles is openness to foreign investment.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
The W.H.O. explains IMF Policies
by the Webmaster
As explained below, loans from the World Bank and the IMF to developing countries are typically made conditional on the implementation of certain policies which the lenders believe will advance their institutions' goals and decrease the likelihood of sovereign default. These policies are widely unpopular in every country in which they are imposed -- in recent months, similar "austerity measures" have caused mass protests in France, Greece, and the United Kingdom -- yet they continue to drive government policies across the globe. The World Health Organization provides on its Web site an explanation of these policies, which is reproduced below (all emphasis is added):
Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) are economic policies for developing countries that have been promoted by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) since the early 1980s by the provision of loans conditional on the adoption of such policies. Structural adjustment loans are loans made by the World Bank. They are designed to encourage the structural adjustment of an economy by, for example, removing “excess” government controls and promoting market competition as part of the neo-liberal agenda followed by the Bank. The Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility is an IMF financing mechanism to support of macroeconomic policies and SAPs in low-income countries through loans or low interest subsidies.
SAPs policies reflect the neo-liberal ideology that drives globalization. They aim to achieve long-term or accelerated economic growth in poorer countries by restructuring the economy and reducing government intervention. SAPs policies include currency devaluation, managed balance of payments, reduction of government services through public spending cuts/budget deficit cuts, reducing tax on high earners, reducing inflation, wage suppression, privatization, lower tariffs on imports and tighter monetary policy, increased free trade, cuts in social spending, and business deregulation. Governments are also encouraged or forced to reduce their role in the economy by privatizing state-owned industries, including the health sector, and opening up their economies to foreign competition.
http://www.who.int/trade/glossary/story084/en/index.html
As explained below, loans from the World Bank and the IMF to developing countries are typically made conditional on the implementation of certain policies which the lenders believe will advance their institutions' goals and decrease the likelihood of sovereign default. These policies are widely unpopular in every country in which they are imposed -- in recent months, similar "austerity measures" have caused mass protests in France, Greece, and the United Kingdom -- yet they continue to drive government policies across the globe. The World Health Organization provides on its Web site an explanation of these policies, which is reproduced below (all emphasis is added):
Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) are economic policies for developing countries that have been promoted by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) since the early 1980s by the provision of loans conditional on the adoption of such policies. Structural adjustment loans are loans made by the World Bank. They are designed to encourage the structural adjustment of an economy by, for example, removing “excess” government controls and promoting market competition as part of the neo-liberal agenda followed by the Bank. The Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility is an IMF financing mechanism to support of macroeconomic policies and SAPs in low-income countries through loans or low interest subsidies.
SAPs policies reflect the neo-liberal ideology that drives globalization. They aim to achieve long-term or accelerated economic growth in poorer countries by restructuring the economy and reducing government intervention. SAPs policies include currency devaluation, managed balance of payments, reduction of government services through public spending cuts/budget deficit cuts, reducing tax on high earners, reducing inflation, wage suppression, privatization, lower tariffs on imports and tighter monetary policy, increased free trade, cuts in social spending, and business deregulation. Governments are also encouraged or forced to reduce their role in the economy by privatizing state-owned industries, including the health sector, and opening up their economies to foreign competition.
http://www.who.int/trade/glossary/story084/en/index.html
Election Violence in the Philippines is Widespread
by the Webmaster
Mindanao, a province in the south of the Philippines, appears regularly in global news reports recounting political violence and election-related murders. These reports typically reference the ongoing conflict between a Muslim majority and Christian groups supported by the Philippines armed forces.
Unfortunately, political violence and murders are widespread in the Philippines. Each day's newspaper recounts multiple new murders of candidates for office in every region of the country, including in Manila and barangays throughout the country's most developed island, Luzon.
Evidence of the importance given by Filipinos to elected office is everywhere in the country, from large signs on street corners in each neighborhood listing local officials' names and positions; to ubiquitous flyers for various candidates; to the parades of hired cars and moto-taxis which roll through towns, plastered with the name and photos of a local election candidate, blaring slogans and music through loudspeakers. The importance of elected offices is also reflected in the countless murders which have been perpetrated to obtain them.
While the Philippines was a de facto and de jure colony of the United States throughout much of the 20th century, it remains a world apart, with its internal affairs bearing little relation to those of its former patron.
Mindanao, a province in the south of the Philippines, appears regularly in global news reports recounting political violence and election-related murders. These reports typically reference the ongoing conflict between a Muslim majority and Christian groups supported by the Philippines armed forces.
Unfortunately, political violence and murders are widespread in the Philippines. Each day's newspaper recounts multiple new murders of candidates for office in every region of the country, including in Manila and barangays throughout the country's most developed island, Luzon.
Evidence of the importance given by Filipinos to elected office is everywhere in the country, from large signs on street corners in each neighborhood listing local officials' names and positions; to ubiquitous flyers for various candidates; to the parades of hired cars and moto-taxis which roll through towns, plastered with the name and photos of a local election candidate, blaring slogans and music through loudspeakers. The importance of elected offices is also reflected in the countless murders which have been perpetrated to obtain them.
While the Philippines was a de facto and de jure colony of the United States throughout much of the 20th century, it remains a world apart, with its internal affairs bearing little relation to those of its former patron.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
UK Soldiers Trained to Humiliate, Strip and Threaten Iraqis
Condensed from “Humiliate, Strip, Threaten: UK Interrogation Manuals Discovered,” copyright Ian Cobain of the Guardian, published in the Cambodia Daily, Oct. 27, 2010. All text below is copyright Cobain/the Guardian.
LONDON – The British military has been training interrogators in techniques that include threats, sensory deprivation and enforced nakedness in an apparent breach of the Geneva Conventions.
One PowerPoint training aid created in September 2005 tells trainee military interrogators that prisoners should be stripped before they are questioned. “Get them naked,” it says. “Keep them naked if they do not follow commands.”
A manual prepared in April 2008 suggests that “Cpers” – captured personnel – be kept in conditions of physical discomfort and intimidated. It also urges enforced nakedness.
More recent training material . . . suggests that interrogators tell prisoners they will be held incommunicado unless they answer questions.
The 1949 Geneva Conventions prohibit any “physical or moral coercion,” in particular coercion employed to obtain information.
This material was created for the instruction of “tactical questioners,” who conduct initial interrogations of prisoners of war, as well as for the instruction of servicemen and women from all three branches of the armed forces.
Next month, at the high court in London, lawyers representing more than 100 Iraqis who were held and interrogated by British forces . . . will argue that there is compelling evidence that they were tortured in a systematic manner.
The abuse . . . includes 59 allegations of detainees being hooded, 11 of electric shocks . . . 52 of sleep deprivation, 131 of sight deprivation using blackened goggles, 39 of enforced nakedness and 18 allegations that detainees were kept awake by pornographic DVDs played on laptops.
LONDON – The British military has been training interrogators in techniques that include threats, sensory deprivation and enforced nakedness in an apparent breach of the Geneva Conventions.
One PowerPoint training aid created in September 2005 tells trainee military interrogators that prisoners should be stripped before they are questioned. “Get them naked,” it says. “Keep them naked if they do not follow commands.”
A manual prepared in April 2008 suggests that “Cpers” – captured personnel – be kept in conditions of physical discomfort and intimidated. It also urges enforced nakedness.
More recent training material . . . suggests that interrogators tell prisoners they will be held incommunicado unless they answer questions.
The 1949 Geneva Conventions prohibit any “physical or moral coercion,” in particular coercion employed to obtain information.
This material was created for the instruction of “tactical questioners,” who conduct initial interrogations of prisoners of war, as well as for the instruction of servicemen and women from all three branches of the armed forces.
Next month, at the high court in London, lawyers representing more than 100 Iraqis who were held and interrogated by British forces . . . will argue that there is compelling evidence that they were tortured in a systematic manner.
The abuse . . . includes 59 allegations of detainees being hooded, 11 of electric shocks . . . 52 of sleep deprivation, 131 of sight deprivation using blackened goggles, 39 of enforced nakedness and 18 allegations that detainees were kept awake by pornographic DVDs played on laptops.
Most Top Facebook Apps Transmit Personal Data About Your Friends to Outside Companies
Condensed from “Top Facebook Applications Caught in Major Security Breaches,” copyright Emily Steel and Geoffrey Fowler of the Wall Street Journal, which was published in the Cambodia Daily, Oct. 19, 2010. All text below is copyright Steel and Fowler/the Wall Street Journal.
NEW YORK – Many of the most popular applications, or “apps,” on the social-networking site Facebook Inc have been transmitting identifying information . . . to dozens of advertising and Internet tracking companies, a Wall Street Journal investigation has found.
The Journal found that all of the 10 most popular apps on Facebook were transmitting users' IDs to outside companies. The apps . . . include Zynga Game Network Inc's FarmVille, with 59 million users, and Texas HoldEm Poker and FronteirVille. Three of the top 10 apps, including FarmVille, also have been transmitting personal information to outside companies.
NEW YORK – Many of the most popular applications, or “apps,” on the social-networking site Facebook Inc have been transmitting identifying information . . . to dozens of advertising and Internet tracking companies, a Wall Street Journal investigation has found.
The Journal found that all of the 10 most popular apps on Facebook were transmitting users' IDs to outside companies. The apps . . . include Zynga Game Network Inc's FarmVille, with 59 million users, and Texas HoldEm Poker and FronteirVille. Three of the top 10 apps, including FarmVille, also have been transmitting personal information to outside companies.
China Arms the North of Sudan, Courts the Oil-Rich Separatist South
Condensed from “Chinese Interests Face Predicament in Sudan Vote,” copyright Joe Lauria, the Wall Street Journal, published in the Cambodia Daily on Oct. 25, 2010. All text is copyright Lauria/the Wall Street Journal.
JUBA, SUDAN – China is courting the secessionist government of oil-rich Sudan, in an apparent departure from Beijing's decades-long opposition to independence movements abroad.
Sudan, after constant civil war over the past five decades, is seeing tensions boil again ahead of a planned independence referendum early next year that stands to split Africa's largest country in two. Voters from the largely Christian south are expected to vote to break away from the country's largely Muslim north. As the Jan 9, 2011, election approaches, both sides have accused the other of amassing troops.
[D]espite its recent overtures to the south, Beijing seeks to maintain its long-standing economic ties with Khartoum, the seat of Sudan's government and center of northern power. China armed and supported the north in the 23-year civil war in the south from 1983 to 2005, in which 2 million people are believed to have died. It continues to arm Khartoum and has built the north infrastructure projects, including the largest hydroelectric dam in Africa.
China has a very pragmatic reason for tolerating the south: It is home to 80 percent of Sudan's oil reserves, including most of the China National Petroleum Corp's four oil concessions, granted to it by Khartoum.
JUBA, SUDAN – China is courting the secessionist government of oil-rich Sudan, in an apparent departure from Beijing's decades-long opposition to independence movements abroad.
Sudan, after constant civil war over the past five decades, is seeing tensions boil again ahead of a planned independence referendum early next year that stands to split Africa's largest country in two. Voters from the largely Christian south are expected to vote to break away from the country's largely Muslim north. As the Jan 9, 2011, election approaches, both sides have accused the other of amassing troops.
[D]espite its recent overtures to the south, Beijing seeks to maintain its long-standing economic ties with Khartoum, the seat of Sudan's government and center of northern power. China armed and supported the north in the 23-year civil war in the south from 1983 to 2005, in which 2 million people are believed to have died. It continues to arm Khartoum and has built the north infrastructure projects, including the largest hydroelectric dam in Africa.
China has a very pragmatic reason for tolerating the south: It is home to 80 percent of Sudan's oil reserves, including most of the China National Petroleum Corp's four oil concessions, granted to it by Khartoum.
Land Mines Define Resistance by Taliban
Condensed from “The First Rule of War in Afghanistan: Watch Where You Step,” copyright James Foley, GlobalPost, published in the Cambodia Daily, Oct. 27, 2010. All text below is copyright Mr. Foley.
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – In Kandahar it's all a matter of footing. Where you step and where you don't.
The Taliban have mostly eschewed direct firefights in the face of overwhelming fire power, but they can make a pressure plate out of two blocks of wood taped together with a metal connection wired to a 9 volt battery and a farmer's jug filled full of Homemade explosive. The kind of stuff that can be concocted using fertilizer and metal byproducts.
Then there was the morning the Afghan soldier called LaRasha brought in a the whole contraption – pressure plate, wires and jug of explosive, that he'd just dug up from outside the compound US troops were occupying. The US guys asked him to take it outside. LaRasha usually leads the patrol. He gives his rifle to another soldier and holds the mine detector out in front.
Villagers say they stare at the US soldiers because, “sometimes they fire at us.”
A few weeks ago Charlie Company pushed far down a dirt road and set up a patrol base in an abandoned compound and started sand-bagging it. Initial the patrols were to “clear” nearby compounds. In other words, asking locals a few basic questions and then blowing up some empty grape huts.
[After one mine damaged a “specialized route clearing vehicle”], a day later a US 225-kg bomb was dropped on two individuals digging at the same IED spot at night; a few days later, a man was killed digging there again in daylight.
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – In Kandahar it's all a matter of footing. Where you step and where you don't.
The Taliban have mostly eschewed direct firefights in the face of overwhelming fire power, but they can make a pressure plate out of two blocks of wood taped together with a metal connection wired to a 9 volt battery and a farmer's jug filled full of Homemade explosive. The kind of stuff that can be concocted using fertilizer and metal byproducts.
Then there was the morning the Afghan soldier called LaRasha brought in a the whole contraption – pressure plate, wires and jug of explosive, that he'd just dug up from outside the compound US troops were occupying. The US guys asked him to take it outside. LaRasha usually leads the patrol. He gives his rifle to another soldier and holds the mine detector out in front.
Villagers say they stare at the US soldiers because, “sometimes they fire at us.”
A few weeks ago Charlie Company pushed far down a dirt road and set up a patrol base in an abandoned compound and started sand-bagging it. Initial the patrols were to “clear” nearby compounds. In other words, asking locals a few basic questions and then blowing up some empty grape huts.
[After one mine damaged a “specialized route clearing vehicle”], a day later a US 225-kg bomb was dropped on two individuals digging at the same IED spot at night; a few days later, a man was killed digging there again in daylight.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Cambodian Company Takes Land from Villagers, Gives Land to Prime Minister's Son
Condensed from "Anti-Terror Center Planned in Land Concession," copyright Phann Ana, the Cambodia Daily, Oct. 28, 2010. All text below is copyright Phann Ana/the Cambodia Daily.
The 3,200-square-km economic land concession granted to the Pheapimex Company 13 years ago stretches over two provinces and will soon contain [] plantations the company is currently developing despite villager protests.
But in the hills of Samakki Meanchey and Poek Phos districts in Kompong Chhang province, the concession will soon give way to something else: a new 7,000-hectare training center for the RCAF National Counterterrorism Task Force commanded by Prime Minister Hun Sen's son, Brigadier General Hun Manet.
Commanded by the premier's son, whose star is rising in the armed forces, the counterterrorism task force enjoys a prominent place in the changing face of Cambodia's military. . . . [T]he task force received marksmanship and hand-to-hand combat training from the US Marines 31st Marine Expiditionary Unit in 2007.
Surrounded by the Pheapimex Concession, which is itself 31 times larger than the legal size limit established in 2005, the new training center will be in friendly territory, as the company's owners are well-known friends of the premier and his wife.
The 3,200-square-km economic land concession granted to the Pheapimex Company 13 years ago stretches over two provinces and will soon contain [] plantations the company is currently developing despite villager protests.
But in the hills of Samakki Meanchey and Poek Phos districts in Kompong Chhang province, the concession will soon give way to something else: a new 7,000-hectare training center for the RCAF National Counterterrorism Task Force commanded by Prime Minister Hun Sen's son, Brigadier General Hun Manet.
Commanded by the premier's son, whose star is rising in the armed forces, the counterterrorism task force enjoys a prominent place in the changing face of Cambodia's military. . . . [T]he task force received marksmanship and hand-to-hand combat training from the US Marines 31st Marine Expiditionary Unit in 2007.
Surrounded by the Pheapimex Concession, which is itself 31 times larger than the legal size limit established in 2005, the new training center will be in friendly territory, as the company's owners are well-known friends of the premier and his wife.
Kremlin-Installed Chechnya Governor Wants Putin to Be Russia's Leader-for-Life
Condensed from “Chechnya's Leader Kadyrov Calls for Putin to Return as President,” copyright Reuters, published in the Cambodia Daily, Oct. 27, 2010. All text below is copyright Reuters.
The leader of Russia's volatile Muslim Chechnya region Ramzan Kadyrov has called for Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to return as president in the 2012 elections and serve for life.
“I want him to be the president as long as he lives,” Kadyrov told Newsweek magazine. “As long as Putin backs me up, I can do everything,” he said.
Kadyrov is widely credited by Russia's leaders for rebuilding Chechnya, but rights groups accuse him of heavy-handed tactics such as torture and abduction. Analysts say the Kremlin allows Kadyrov to run Chechnya as a personal fiefdom in exchange for relative stability.
The leader of Russia's volatile Muslim Chechnya region Ramzan Kadyrov has called for Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to return as president in the 2012 elections and serve for life.
“I want him to be the president as long as he lives,” Kadyrov told Newsweek magazine. “As long as Putin backs me up, I can do everything,” he said.
Kadyrov is widely credited by Russia's leaders for rebuilding Chechnya, but rights groups accuse him of heavy-handed tactics such as torture and abduction. Analysts say the Kremlin allows Kadyrov to run Chechnya as a personal fiefdom in exchange for relative stability.
Obama Presses for Free Trade with South Korea
Rewritten from “US, S Korea to Meet on Stalled Free-Trade Pact,” copyright the Cambodia Daily, Oct. 27, 2010.
WASHINGTON – Top US and South Korean trade officials were to meet in San Francisco yesterday to discuss how to ensure approval of a free trade deal between the two countries. The meeting comes shortly before the November 12 deadline set by US President Barack Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak to resolve differences over a pact.
While running for president in 2008, Obama criticized the free-trade agreement negotiated by former US President George Bush. Now he promises to resolve any problems with the pact.
WASHINGTON – Top US and South Korean trade officials were to meet in San Francisco yesterday to discuss how to ensure approval of a free trade deal between the two countries. The meeting comes shortly before the November 12 deadline set by US President Barack Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak to resolve differences over a pact.
While running for president in 2008, Obama criticized the free-trade agreement negotiated by former US President George Bush. Now he promises to resolve any problems with the pact.
US Military Contractors Teach Former Sierra Leone Rebels How to Fight
Condensed from “Sierra Leone's Former Fighters Train to Keep Peace Abroad,” copyright Reuters, published in the Cambodia Daily, Oct. 27, 2010. All text below is copyright Reuters.
HASTINGS, SIERRA LEONE – In a patch of freshly cleared bus a short drive outside Freetown, the capital, US trainers look on as Sierra Leonean troops square their rifles at imagined targets.
Those selected as potential peacekeepers are now being taken under the wing of the American Africa Contingency Operations Training and assistance program, which pays private military contractors to train African armies.
The soldiers – many of whom fought in Sierra Leone's civil war – are finding the program a stark contrast to their previous combat experience.
“There is a lot of difference between the rebel fight and the military training,” said 31-year-old Lance Corporal Hassan Conteh, a former rebel. “In terms of the rebel fight, we just do things at random, without good control.”
HASTINGS, SIERRA LEONE – In a patch of freshly cleared bus a short drive outside Freetown, the capital, US trainers look on as Sierra Leonean troops square their rifles at imagined targets.
Those selected as potential peacekeepers are now being taken under the wing of the American Africa Contingency Operations Training and assistance program, which pays private military contractors to train African armies.
The soldiers – many of whom fought in Sierra Leone's civil war – are finding the program a stark contrast to their previous combat experience.
“There is a lot of difference between the rebel fight and the military training,” said 31-year-old Lance Corporal Hassan Conteh, a former rebel. “In terms of the rebel fight, we just do things at random, without good control.”
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Refugees from Somalia Expect No Return to the Good Life
Condensed from “Somali Refugee Flow to Kenya Ebbs, Flows but Never Stops,” copyright Jeffrey Fleishman, Los Angeles Times, which was published in the Cambodia Daily, Oct. 19, 2010. All text below is copyright Fleishman/Los Angeles Times.
DADAAB, KENYA – He buried his children and fled west across the border to a new country.
Young soldiers with rifles pass as Mohamed Abdul walks in the clothes of a refugee, a man who once owned several houses and a kiosk in that whitewashed and bloodied city by the sea: Mogadishu, Somalia.
Things taken, life whittled, and suddenly he is in Kenya, angry and lost amid tents and huts.
“Sometimes I get the job of loading food into a wheelbarrow and running from hut to hut,” he says. “The food is too little. There's no milk, no sugar for our tea. There are no real jobs. The only thing you have in a refugee camp is peace from rifles and bombs."
Nearly 300,000 Somalis have fled to eastern Kenya, living in UN camps meant to hold 90,000. Their dead are laid in foreign soil, their new are born in borrowed beds far from the farms and fishing villages of their ancestors.
Ibrahim Hussein Abu-Bakr doesn't even dream of a place with such a pretty name as Mombasa, and he suspects he'll never again harvest mangoes and pineapples on his farm in Somalia. He speaks of men with guns, how fast they swept between the fields, burning and killing.
“There's no land for me to farm in Kenya,” he says. “It was good, though, once in Somalia. I planted my crops and supported my family. We farmers sat around the market and told stories and then we went back and worked our lands. We were happy before it all started.”
DADAAB, KENYA – He buried his children and fled west across the border to a new country.
Young soldiers with rifles pass as Mohamed Abdul walks in the clothes of a refugee, a man who once owned several houses and a kiosk in that whitewashed and bloodied city by the sea: Mogadishu, Somalia.
Things taken, life whittled, and suddenly he is in Kenya, angry and lost amid tents and huts.
“Sometimes I get the job of loading food into a wheelbarrow and running from hut to hut,” he says. “The food is too little. There's no milk, no sugar for our tea. There are no real jobs. The only thing you have in a refugee camp is peace from rifles and bombs."
Nearly 300,000 Somalis have fled to eastern Kenya, living in UN camps meant to hold 90,000. Their dead are laid in foreign soil, their new are born in borrowed beds far from the farms and fishing villages of their ancestors.
Ibrahim Hussein Abu-Bakr doesn't even dream of a place with such a pretty name as Mombasa, and he suspects he'll never again harvest mangoes and pineapples on his farm in Somalia. He speaks of men with guns, how fast they swept between the fields, burning and killing.
“There's no land for me to farm in Kenya,” he says. “It was good, though, once in Somalia. I planted my crops and supported my family. We farmers sat around the market and told stories and then we went back and worked our lands. We were happy before it all started.”
EU Sends Soldiers to Seal off Greece-Turkey Border
Condensed from “Armed European Guards Head to the Greece-Turkey Border,” copyright Ian Traynor of the Guardian, published in the Cambodia Daily, Oct. 27, 2010. All text below is copyright Traynor/the Guardian.
BRUSSELS – A new force of armed European guards is to be dispatched to Greece to patrol the country's border with Turkey in an attempt to stem steeply increasing illegal immigration into Europe. The deployment . . . will be the first time Brussels has deployed multinational armed forces on the EU's external land border.
BRUSSELS – A new force of armed European guards is to be dispatched to Greece to patrol the country's border with Turkey in an attempt to stem steeply increasing illegal immigration into Europe. The deployment . . . will be the first time Brussels has deployed multinational armed forces on the EU's external land border.
US Wants Pakistan to Allow More CIA Paramilitary Actions
Condensed from “US Seeks a Wider Role for the CIA Near Afghanistan Border,” copyright Julian Barnes and Adam Entous of the Wall Street Journal, which was published in the Cambodia Daily, Oct. 25, 2010. All text below is copyright Barnes and Entous/the Wall Street Journal.
WASHINGTON – The US is pushing to expand a secret CIA effort to help Pakistan target militants in their havens near the Afghan border.
The number of CIA personnel in Pakistan has grown substantially in recent years. The push for more forces reflects, in part, the increased need for intelligence to support the CIA drone program that has killed hundreds of militants with missile strikes.
Some US officials [] remain hopeful that Islamabad will allow a greater covert presence that could include CIA paramilitary forces.
Given Pakistan's objections to US ground forces, using more CIA paramilitary forces could be a “viable option,” said a government official. “That gives them a bit of cover,” the official added, referring to the Pakistanis.
WASHINGTON – The US is pushing to expand a secret CIA effort to help Pakistan target militants in their havens near the Afghan border.
The number of CIA personnel in Pakistan has grown substantially in recent years. The push for more forces reflects, in part, the increased need for intelligence to support the CIA drone program that has killed hundreds of militants with missile strikes.
Some US officials [] remain hopeful that Islamabad will allow a greater covert presence that could include CIA paramilitary forces.
Given Pakistan's objections to US ground forces, using more CIA paramilitary forces could be a “viable option,” said a government official. “That gives them a bit of cover,” the official added, referring to the Pakistanis.
Japanese Prime Minister Pursues Asia-Pacific Free Trade Zone
Condensed from “Japanese Ruling Party Divided Over Asia-Pacific Free Trade Plan,” copyright the Asahi Shimbun, which was published in the Cambodia Daily, Oct. 25, 2010. All text below is copyright the Asahi Shimbun.
[Japanese Prime Minister Naoto] Kan is expected to pursue Japan's participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership at next month's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Yokahama.
[T]he prime minister appears determined to put Japan at the forefront of negotiations to form the trans-Pacific free trade area. A Cabinet minister close to Kan says he fears Japan's economy will sink unless Japan goes for it.
The TPP is a regional economic trade initiative [which includes Singapore, New Zealand, Chile, Brunei, the United States, and seven other countries]. US President Barack Obama reportedly wants to reach an accord by fall 2011.
The farm ministry [in Japan] predicted in 2007 that if all tariffs were lifted, Japan's food self-sufficiency would fall from 40 percent to 12 percent because almost all rice would be replaced by imports.
[Japanese Prime Minister Naoto] Kan is expected to pursue Japan's participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership at next month's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Yokahama.
[T]he prime minister appears determined to put Japan at the forefront of negotiations to form the trans-Pacific free trade area. A Cabinet minister close to Kan says he fears Japan's economy will sink unless Japan goes for it.
The TPP is a regional economic trade initiative [which includes Singapore, New Zealand, Chile, Brunei, the United States, and seven other countries]. US President Barack Obama reportedly wants to reach an accord by fall 2011.
The farm ministry [in Japan] predicted in 2007 that if all tariffs were lifted, Japan's food self-sufficiency would fall from 40 percent to 12 percent because almost all rice would be replaced by imports.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Police Say Chinese Supervisors Shot Mine Workers in Zambia
Condensed from "Zambian Miners Riot After 11 Shot at Chinese-Owned Mine," copyright Nicholas Bariyo and Sarah Childress of the Wall Street Journal, which was published in the Cambodia Daily, Oct. 19, 2010. All text below is copyright Bariyo and Childress/the Wall Street Journal.
Zambian locals rioted and blocked a road leading to Chinese-owned Collum Coal Mine Ltd on Saturday to protest the shooting of at least 11 miners, allegedly by Chinese supervisors, during a protest over low wages, police officials said Sunday.
On Friday, miners at Collum Coal Mine, in the Sinazongwe District of southern Zambia, demonstrated against low pay and poor working conditions. Gunshots followed, allegedly fired by two Chinese supervisors, wounding 11 miners, two of them critically, according to Zambian police and government officials.
Zambian locals rioted and blocked a road leading to Chinese-owned Collum Coal Mine Ltd on Saturday to protest the shooting of at least 11 miners, allegedly by Chinese supervisors, during a protest over low wages, police officials said Sunday.
On Friday, miners at Collum Coal Mine, in the Sinazongwe District of southern Zambia, demonstrated against low pay and poor working conditions. Gunshots followed, allegedly fired by two Chinese supervisors, wounding 11 miners, two of them critically, according to Zambian police and government officials.
Obama Travels to India to Help US Multinationals Land Contracts
Condensed from "US Seeks Billions of Dollars in Indian Deals," copyright Amols Sharma of the Wall Street Journal, which was published in the Cambodia Daily, Oct. 19, 2010. All text below is copyright Sharma/the Wall Street Journal.
NEW DELHI – The US is aiming to sell up to $5.8 billion of military-transport aircraft to India and secure other major deals when US President Barack Obama travels to New Delhi early next month.
India is set to buy 10 Boeing Co C-17 transport aircraft in the country's largest military transaction yet with the US, people familiar with the matter said. The exact price is still to be determined. The total value of deals agreed to during the trip could reach $10 to $12 billion, including pacts for India to buy military jet engines from General Electric Co, freight locomotives, and reconnaissance aircraft.
The visit comes as some Western companies that have made big bets in India – or plan to – are growing increasingly frustrated with restrictive regulations in energy, technology, health care and banking. Obama is likely to raise concerns with market access – among other issues – during his visit, a White House spokesman said Sunday.
Topping the list of US concerns is [a] civil nuclear-energy partnership, people familiar with the matter say. Though a 2008 deal ended US sanctions against India imposed after its past nuclear-weapons tests, US firms including GE aren't selling nuclear technology here yet. They are worried about a recently passed Indian law that exposes them to accident liability, deviating from the practice in most countries, where nuclear plant operators assume all liability [emphasis added].
GE Chief Executive Jeff Immelt has complained in recent months that the leaders of France, Germany and Russia lobby for their nations' corporate interest abroad, suggesting the Obama administration hasn't done as much as it could to stoke sales for US firms abroad.
NEW DELHI – The US is aiming to sell up to $5.8 billion of military-transport aircraft to India and secure other major deals when US President Barack Obama travels to New Delhi early next month.
India is set to buy 10 Boeing Co C-17 transport aircraft in the country's largest military transaction yet with the US, people familiar with the matter said. The exact price is still to be determined. The total value of deals agreed to during the trip could reach $10 to $12 billion, including pacts for India to buy military jet engines from General Electric Co, freight locomotives, and reconnaissance aircraft.
The visit comes as some Western companies that have made big bets in India – or plan to – are growing increasingly frustrated with restrictive regulations in energy, technology, health care and banking. Obama is likely to raise concerns with market access – among other issues – during his visit, a White House spokesman said Sunday.
Topping the list of US concerns is [a] civil nuclear-energy partnership, people familiar with the matter say. Though a 2008 deal ended US sanctions against India imposed after its past nuclear-weapons tests, US firms including GE aren't selling nuclear technology here yet. They are worried about a recently passed Indian law that exposes them to accident liability, deviating from the practice in most countries, where nuclear plant operators assume all liability [emphasis added].
GE Chief Executive Jeff Immelt has complained in recent months that the leaders of France, Germany and Russia lobby for their nations' corporate interest abroad, suggesting the Obama administration hasn't done as much as it could to stoke sales for US firms abroad.
Chinese Professor Explains China's View of Globalization
Condensed from "Western, Chinese Conceptions of Globalization Are Very Different," copyright Zhang Xiaoying, head of the Department of English and Journalism at the School and English and International Studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University, which was published in the Cambodia Daily, Oct. 27, 2010.
As China extends its trade, investment and influence to every part of the world, the West has become increasingly agitated about what it sees as the new Chinese imperialism. Perhaps this isn't surprising, given the West's own history of expansion.
It is an irony of globalization, which the West has thought of so long as its own invention, that now China is the great beneficiary. The US in particular finds it difficult to see this as anything other than a drive for world domination.
Global ambition has been a formative part of the Western worldview for over 2,000 years, framing the fates of nations and governments. By contrast, China has traditionally styled itself as the "Middle Kingdom," the center of a world that could be left to its own devices so long as it did not intrude.
Traditional Western and Chinese ways of thinking have an impact today. The West still tells the story of the whole world, but now it calls this story "globalization." And China is largely telling a story about itself, one in which it is merely the beneficiary of Western globalization.
China's global economic activity, according to its traditional thought – captured in the saying "sweep the snow only in front of your doorstep" – draws on the rest of the world to look after the Chinese people. The contrast with the West's drive to shape the world in its own image could not be more profound. The scope for mutual incomprehension is vast.
As China extends its trade, investment and influence to every part of the world, the West has become increasingly agitated about what it sees as the new Chinese imperialism. Perhaps this isn't surprising, given the West's own history of expansion.
It is an irony of globalization, which the West has thought of so long as its own invention, that now China is the great beneficiary. The US in particular finds it difficult to see this as anything other than a drive for world domination.
Global ambition has been a formative part of the Western worldview for over 2,000 years, framing the fates of nations and governments. By contrast, China has traditionally styled itself as the "Middle Kingdom," the center of a world that could be left to its own devices so long as it did not intrude.
Traditional Western and Chinese ways of thinking have an impact today. The West still tells the story of the whole world, but now it calls this story "globalization." And China is largely telling a story about itself, one in which it is merely the beneficiary of Western globalization.
China's global economic activity, according to its traditional thought – captured in the saying "sweep the snow only in front of your doorstep" – draws on the rest of the world to look after the Chinese people. The contrast with the West's drive to shape the world in its own image could not be more profound. The scope for mutual incomprehension is vast.
India's Noveua Riche Driving for Attention
Condensed from "India's Smaller Cities Begin to Show Off Growing Wealth," copyright Lydia Polgreen, the New York Times, published in the Cambodia Daily, Oct. 25, 2010. All text below is copyright Polgreen/the New York Times.
AURANGABAD, INDIA – A group of more than 150 local businessmen [in central Indian city Aurangabad] decided to buy, en masse, a Mercedes-Benz car each, spending nearly $15 million in a single day and putting this small, but thriving, city on the map.
"The story of Aurangabad is the story of India," said Debashish Mitra, head of sales and marketing for Mercedes-Benz in India. "People want to spend, and feel they deserve luxury."
These men could not be more different from their cautious fathers, who stashed every penny as a hedge against an uncertain future in India's economy, which until 1991 was heavily controlled by the government. In the land of Gandhi and the birthplace of Buddhism, grand displays of material wealth are still frowned upon.
Older men like Ashish Garde, who runs Nirlep, a company that has made nonstick pots and pans here since 1968, declined to join the group. Garde said the nearly $15 million spent on luxury cars would have been better spent on investments in industries that would create jobs or donations to charities. He declared himself satisfied with his economy car.
"Those of us who went through the hardships of the past know the value of money in a different way," Garde said." Those who get quick money, their relationship is different. After globalization things happen very easily."
AURANGABAD, INDIA – A group of more than 150 local businessmen [in central Indian city Aurangabad] decided to buy, en masse, a Mercedes-Benz car each, spending nearly $15 million in a single day and putting this small, but thriving, city on the map.
"The story of Aurangabad is the story of India," said Debashish Mitra, head of sales and marketing for Mercedes-Benz in India. "People want to spend, and feel they deserve luxury."
These men could not be more different from their cautious fathers, who stashed every penny as a hedge against an uncertain future in India's economy, which until 1991 was heavily controlled by the government. In the land of Gandhi and the birthplace of Buddhism, grand displays of material wealth are still frowned upon.
Older men like Ashish Garde, who runs Nirlep, a company that has made nonstick pots and pans here since 1968, declined to join the group. Garde said the nearly $15 million spent on luxury cars would have been better spent on investments in industries that would create jobs or donations to charities. He declared himself satisfied with his economy car.
"Those of us who went through the hardships of the past know the value of money in a different way," Garde said." Those who get quick money, their relationship is different. After globalization things happen very easily."
Zimbabwe Looks to Sell off State Assets
Condensed from "Zimbabwe Hopes to Revive Struggling State Firms," copyright Reuters, published in the Cambodia Daily, Oct. 27, 2010. All text below is copyright Reuters.
HARARE, ZIMBABWE – Zimbabwe hopes to have clear plans by the end of the year on turning around 10 struggling state firms under a revived privatization drive, which a cabinet minister said was attracting foreign investors.
State Enterprises Minister Gordon Moyo said the government had recently approved a new program to restructure, commercialize and privatize at least 10 companies and had receive interest from foreign investors.
Moyo declined to say which companies would be privatized. Targeted firms include National Railways of Zimbabwe, AgriBank, Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company, the National Oil Company of Zimbabwe, power utility ZESA, and Air Zimbabwe.
HARARE, ZIMBABWE – Zimbabwe hopes to have clear plans by the end of the year on turning around 10 struggling state firms under a revived privatization drive, which a cabinet minister said was attracting foreign investors.
State Enterprises Minister Gordon Moyo said the government had recently approved a new program to restructure, commercialize and privatize at least 10 companies and had receive interest from foreign investors.
Moyo declined to say which companies would be privatized. Targeted firms include National Railways of Zimbabwe, AgriBank, Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company, the National Oil Company of Zimbabwe, power utility ZESA, and Air Zimbabwe.
Australian Officials Oppose Singaporean Takeover of Stock Exchange
Condensed from "Opposition Mounts Following Singapore Exchange Big for ASX," copyright Edna Curran and Rachel Pannett of the Wall Street Journal, published in the Cambodia Daily, Oct. 27, 2010. All text below is copyright the Curran and Pannett/the Wall Street Journal.
CANBERRA, Australia – A political backlash in Australia threatens to derail the proposed $8.3 billion takeover of the country's largest stock market operated by Singapore Exchange Ltd.
"I do not wish to live in a country of serfs working for foreign landlords," said independent lawmaker Bob Katter, who plans to present a motion in Parliament to oppose the takeover of the ASX by a foreign investor.
CANBERRA, Australia – A political backlash in Australia threatens to derail the proposed $8.3 billion takeover of the country's largest stock market operated by Singapore Exchange Ltd.
"I do not wish to live in a country of serfs working for foreign landlords," said independent lawmaker Bob Katter, who plans to present a motion in Parliament to oppose the takeover of the ASX by a foreign investor.
Cambodian Red Cross Accused of Nepotism in Disaster Relief Distribution
Condensed from "Red Cross Defends Distribution; Adhoc Received Complaints," copyright Kuch Naren and Drew Foster of the Cambodia Daily, published in the Cambodia Daily, Oct. 27, 2010. All text below is copyright the Naren and Foster/the Cambodia Daily.
A day after dozens of villagers from two communes in Banteay Meanchey province protested the Cambodian Red Cross' distribution method for providing flood relied, officials from the aid organization stood by their procedures and rejected claims of nepotism.
Chan Sothea, a 45-year-old villager from Preah Ponlea commune in Serei Saophoan City who participated in Monday's protest, alleged that the commune chief selected family member to receive donations from Red Cross, while ignoring more badly affected villagers.
Preah Ponlea commune Chief Chea Huon said yesterday that he could supply 100 of the 700 families in his commune affected by the floods with Cambodian Red Cross donations on Monday. He said an additional 217 families received aid yesterday.
A day after dozens of villagers from two communes in Banteay Meanchey province protested the Cambodian Red Cross' distribution method for providing flood relied, officials from the aid organization stood by their procedures and rejected claims of nepotism.
Chan Sothea, a 45-year-old villager from Preah Ponlea commune in Serei Saophoan City who participated in Monday's protest, alleged that the commune chief selected family member to receive donations from Red Cross, while ignoring more badly affected villagers.
Preah Ponlea commune Chief Chea Huon said yesterday that he could supply 100 of the 700 families in his commune affected by the floods with Cambodian Red Cross donations on Monday. He said an additional 217 families received aid yesterday.
Cambodian Villagers Fear Court Action After They Refuse to Sell Land to Sugar Company
Condensed from "K Speu Families Fear Legal Action From Sugar Firm," copyright Kuch Naren of the Cambodia Daily, published in the Cambodia Daily, Oct. 27, 2010. All text below is copyright Naren/the Cambodia Daily.
Two families from Kampong Speu's Omlaing commune said yesterday they feared legal charges after they rejected offers for their land by a sugar company this weekend. The company, owned by Cambodian People's Party Senator Ly Yong Phat, has been involved in an ongoing land disputes with residents of the area.
Villager Meas Nhen, 41, said on Sunday a RCAF [Royal Cambodian Armed Forces] soldier identified himself as a worker for Phnom Penh Sugar Company and urged her to accept $500 in exchange for her 30-by-200-meter plot of farmland.
Another villager, Kheand Savorn, 30, said he had also refused a similar compensation offer for his 73-by-200-meter plot of land made by company workers Sunday.
Mr. Savorn said he was worried about the consequences of his refusal. "I am really concerned the company will order the court to press charges against me and other villagers who refuse to sell their land.
"Two other families have been charged for land encroachment, although they gave the court documents to prove legal ownership of the properties," he said.
About 700 familiars in Omlaing commune are involved in a land dispute [with] Mr. Yong Phat, who has been granted a 10,000-hectare sugar concession on land claimed by local families.
Two families from Kampong Speu's Omlaing commune said yesterday they feared legal charges after they rejected offers for their land by a sugar company this weekend. The company, owned by Cambodian People's Party Senator Ly Yong Phat, has been involved in an ongoing land disputes with residents of the area.
Villager Meas Nhen, 41, said on Sunday a RCAF [Royal Cambodian Armed Forces] soldier identified himself as a worker for Phnom Penh Sugar Company and urged her to accept $500 in exchange for her 30-by-200-meter plot of farmland.
Another villager, Kheand Savorn, 30, said he had also refused a similar compensation offer for his 73-by-200-meter plot of land made by company workers Sunday.
Mr. Savorn said he was worried about the consequences of his refusal. "I am really concerned the company will order the court to press charges against me and other villagers who refuse to sell their land.
"Two other families have been charged for land encroachment, although they gave the court documents to prove legal ownership of the properties," he said.
About 700 familiars in Omlaing commune are involved in a land dispute [with] Mr. Yong Phat, who has been granted a 10,000-hectare sugar concession on land claimed by local families.
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