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by Sharon Grimes, W A M M
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Coalition Goal to Halve Global Poverty
The Women’s Edge Coalition has launched the Global Opportunity for Women Campaign, which aims to cut extreme poverty in half by 2015. Women are the majority of the world’s poor living on less than $1 a day. Because women use their extra money for education, health care, and nutrition, every extra dollar a woman receives helps break the poverty cycle. (www.womensedge.org/goforwomen/index.php)
Peace Talks and Cease-Fire in Nepal
Maoist rebels agreed to peace talks with Nepal’s government after King Gyanendra restored democracy. They had also agreed to a three-month cease-fire after a decade of fighting that has killed 13,000 people. (StarTribune, May 5, 2006)
Take Heart! War Is Waning
Although it may not feel like it, the world is more peaceful, according to the “Human Security Report 2005.” Researchers have gathered data to measure conflict and violence trends. They found that the number of armed conflicts around the world has been dropping since the end of the Cold War. In nearly every category of conflict—coups, interstate wars, genocides, and politicides (in which political beliefs are the reason for the killing)—with the exception of terrorism, the trend has been down. The report was issued by the Human Security Center at the University of British Columbia. (New York Times Magazine, “Wonderful World?” by Jacob Traub, March 19, 2006)
Israeli-Palestinian Peace Effort
Combatants for Peace is a group of former Israeli soldiers and former Palestinian fighters whose aim is “to press for an end to Israeli settlements and military incursions, and for the creation of clear frontiers between independent Israeli and Palestinian states.” After meeting in secret for a year, they went public on April 10 and hope to begin speaking to international audiences about their vision of a “road to peace.” (Christian Science Monitor, April 6, 2006)
Iraq Amendment Forbids Permanent U.S. Bases
Sen. Joseph Biden introduced an amendment to the bill requesting emergency supplemental funding for the Iraq War that says “the United States should not establish permanent military bases in Iraq” and that “the United States should not exercise control over Iraq’s natural resources.” On May 3, the full Senate approved the amendment; the House approved a similar measure in March. (Friends Committee on National Legislation, http://www.fcnl.org/press/releases/iraq_vote5306. htm, May 3, 2006)
Senator Feingold Wants Troops Out by December
On April 27, Sen. Russell Feingold introduced an amendment calling for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq by December 31, 2006. Feingold said that although “the amendment recognizes the need for certain U.S. forces to be engaged in counterterrorism activities, the training of Iraqi security services, and the protection of essential U.S. infrastructure, it also recognizes that the President’s current strategy in Iraq is undermining our nation’s national security.” (AP, April 27, 2006)
British Official Says Guantánamo Prison “Unacceptable”
Britain’s attorney general, Lord Peter Henry Goldsmith, said the United States should immediately close its prison in Guantánamo Bay. Speaking at a conference on international terrorism in London, he said that the prison’s existence is “unacceptable.” Although he defended some of Britain’s antiterror laws, he said “there are certain principles on which there can be no compromise. Fair trial is one of those.” (The Guardian, May 11, 2006, http://www.guardian.co.uk)
Government Wiretap Arguments Called “Gobbledygook”
New Internet wiretap rules, which would make it easier for police and the FBI to wiretap Internet phone calls, were criticized by U.S. Circuit Judge Harry T. Edwards. The FCC would require Internet phone and broadband service providers to ensure that their equipment can handle police wiretaps under the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act. Edwards told the FCC lawyer that the government’s arguments were “gobbledygook.” His ruling is expected in several months. The new rules are scheduled to go into effect in May 2007. (AP, StarTribune, May 6, 2006)
State’s Mercury Emissions to Be Cut
The Minnesota Legislature passed a bill that will cut mercury emissions from the state’s largest coal-fired power plants by 90 percent by 2015. Mercury, which is a potent neurotoxin, causes learning and developmental disabilities in children. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported that “one in ten women of childbearing age have mercury in their bodies at levels that may adversely affect their unborn child.” According to Minnesotans for an Energy Efficient Economy (ME3), “the single largest source of mercury in Minnesota is burning coal to produce electricity.” Governor Pawlenty has said he will sign the bill. (StarTribune, May 5, 2006; ME3: http://www.me3.org/projects/mercury/index.html; Mercury-Free Minnesota, http://www.mepartnership.org/sites/MERCURYFREEMN/) ws |
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© 2006 Women Against Military Madness. All rights reserved.
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Complete June 2006 Index - click here
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