Chiquita in the dock for murder
For lawyer Terry Collingwood, capital punishment has its place, especially if it means “the death of a truly evil corporation.” The reference was to Ohio-based Chiquita Corp., which last March pleaded guilty to making 100 payments over seven years totaling $1.7 million to the right-wing, paramilitary Colombian Self Defense Units — AUC in Spanish. The payoffs began in 1997. Observers say the aim was to suppress labor activism, bar left-wing insurgents and control territory.
On the Bali conference and building a new society
The news about the Bali conference confirms the importance of the international agreements and the necessity of taking them very seriously.
ANC meet: South Africa at crossroads
POLOKWANE, South Africa — Progress was a central theme of South African President Thabo Mbeki’s address to the 52nd National Conference of the African National Congress, which opened here Dec. 16, in the capital of South Africa’s northern province of Limpopo. Over 4,000 delegates were attending.
New book eloquently describes tragedy of Cuban exile
For people you know who are impervious to what you tell them about the triumphs of the Cuban Revolution or the evils of U.S. Cuba policy, but who have good hearts and can be moved by stories of human tragedy and triumph, here is an excellent holiday present.
Scofflaw UnitedHealth pushes UK privatization
UnitedHealth, the discredited scofflaw U.S. health insurance company, just paid $12 million in fines to 37 state governments for its illegal administrative practices. The settlement followed years of legal problems. This hasn’t stopped UnitedHealth from seeking to expand its profiteering in the United Kingdom.
Australia signs Kyoto pact on gas emissions
As one of his very first official actions Dec. 3, Kevin Rudd, Australia’s newly sworn-in prime minister, signed the instrument of ratification for the Kyoto Protocol limiting greenhouse gas emissions. The ratification will come into force in 90 days.
Medical students rally for World AIDS Day
CHICAGO — Wearing white lab coats and red armbands, dozens of American Medical Student Association members from schools across the Midwest rallied here Nov. 30, urging presidential candidates to back expanded, comprehensive programs to fight AIDS and reject President Bush’s abstinence-only focus. Nationwide rallies took place in San Francisco and Washington, D.C., on Dec. 1.
After elections, Venezuelans vow to press ahead
The campaign to reshape Venezuela’s 1999 constitution toward a socialist future ended Dec. 2 in a narrow defeat for the government of President Hugo Chavez.
Bali and Beyond: A New Green Economics
We have read the science. Global warming is real, and we are a prime cause. We have heard the warnings. Unless we act, now, we face serious consequences. Polar ice may melt. Sea levels will rise. A third of our plant and animal species could vanish. There will be famine around the world, particularly in Africa and Central Asia.
Must-see documentaries showcased in Toronto
For the first time in its 32-year history, the Toronto International Film Festival screened a film that was simultaneously available for free streaming on the Internet. The 7-minute short film, “Shock Doctrine,” based on Naomi Klein’s bestselling book, is co-directed by Mexico’s acclaimed director Alfonso Cuarón, famous for “Y Tu Mamá También” and “Children of Men.”
