Arming Militias
US - In January, the world press exposed the shocking news that the Indonesian government and military secretly armed the militias that massacred thousands of innocent East Timorese in the bloodletting that preceded and followed an independence vote in 1999.

Such tactics are not confined to Indonesia, unfortunately. Over the past 30 years, the US similarly has supplied arms to terrorist militias in Vietnam, Nicaragua, Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran.

American Indian Movement activist Leonard Peltier's new autobiography, Prison Writings: My Life Is My Sun Dance, features an introduction by former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark. In his essay, Clark recalls how, "With government complicity, a rogue paramilitary group that proudly called itself the GOONS - Guardians of the Oglala Nation - were provided with weapons, training and motivation to create a wave of violence ... against traditional Indian people and their supporters.

"In March of 1975 alone, seven Indians were killed, their deaths going virtually uninvestigated despite the presence of [an] army of FBI agents and other federal, state and tribal lawmen."

The Leonard Peltier Defense Committee [LPDC, Box 583, Lawrence, KS 66044, (785) 842-5774, www.freepeltier.org] is asking, "What was behind this ruthless endeavor to control the Indian population?" The committee suggests an answer: "On the day of the shootout at the Jumping Bull ranch in 1975, one-eighth of the Pine Ridge Reservation was transferred [to] US uranium and gold-mining interests."

The pattern continues today in Big Mountain, Arizona, where the US government continues to harass thousands of native Dineh (Navajo) with the threat of eviction. The Dineh's ancestral lands are coveted by the Peabody Coal Company. The LPDC calls it "outrageous that sacred land is slated to be strip-mined for coal, with its dislocated people to be sent downstream from America's worst nuclear waste accident" [See "Rio Puerco: The Legend of the Rock", Fall '88 EIJ].

Recapture the Chlorine Genie
US - Dow Chemical, Occidental Petroleum, Vulcan Chemical and other members of the Chlorine Chemistry Council are nervous about a new book by Joe Thornton, a research fellow at Columbia University's Center for Environmental Research and Conservation. Thornton's book, Pandora's Poison (MIT Press) links low-level organochlorine exposure to cancer, infertility, immune system disruption and impaired child development.

More than 40 percent of chlorine in the US is used to make polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastics. Industrial production has pumped 11,000 kinds of long-lived, fat-soluble organochlorines into the air, soil and water. "There is no way to get away from them," Thornton says. "They are in the food chain."

Thornton calls for scrapping the current inadequate regulatory system in favor of a system that requires manufacturers to first prove that their chemicals are safe. The chemical industry claims that this is impractical but precisely the same practice is applied to regulating pharmaceuticals.

"Chlorine chemistry is a Pandora's box, opened less than 100 years ago and still spewing its demons into the environment," Thornton has written. "While governments, cheered on by those who benefit from the open box, try to chase down each and every tiny demon that escapes, we miss the simplest and most obvious solution - close the lid."

Instant Culture: Made-to-Order Myths
JAPAN - Culture used to be drawn from folklore, then from literature and, more recently, from popular art. In the 20th century, culture increasingly became the by-product of commerce, as the world adopted the imagery of Mickey Mouse, Snoopy, Hello Kitty, Pokemon and - God help us - Jar Jar Binks.

Cultural myths are now being pulled out of thin air - essentially "invented on demand."

A prime example is "La Fête Tama," a 215,200-square-foot shopping center under construction in a western suburb of Tokyo. La Fête Tama is built on a "myth" that was created during a "storyboarding session" held by the US design firm RK/ID8.

RK/ID8's Phil Engelke explained how "we created a tale about a family from Provençe in Southern France who are transported, via science and alchemy, to a far away land." The heroes of RK/ID8's instant myth are the Verne family - Leonardo (an "eccentric inventor"), Marie Lise (a "gourmet cook"), daughter Antoinette (a "musical prodigy") and son Pascal (a "competitive gamer").

"The Verne family is left stranded on an unknown island after testing out the father's newest invention - an airship," according to RK/ID8. Eventually, "the family learns to love their adopted land, which they name La Fête Tama, a place of continuous celebrations of family, culture and invention." Not to mention continuous retail shopping. Each family member has a merchandise-linked theme village.

Leonardo-land will be surmounted by a large "bicycle/flying machine" (buy your Sharper Image gizmos here). Marie Lise-land will feature "a giant coffeepot with coffee cup and sugar cube benches" (food, snacks and kitchenware). Antoinette-land will be marked by a "five-meter-tall paintbrush" (wall posters and music CDs right-this-way). Pascal-land will sport a "life-sized chess board" (computer and videogames).

RTKL's design team has promised to "subtly recreate a town in Provençe with interpretive architecture, muted colors and ghost signs -- large, 'faded' graphics painted on wall surfaces." In the words of RK/ID8's press packet, "The remains of a two-story waterfall lends historical reference."

China Goes for GE
Scotland - Genetically engineered crops are despised in Europe and suspect in the US but, in China, they are the next big thing. Beijing University Professor Zhangliang Chen informed delegates to a world food conference in Edinburgh that China already has planted as many as 2.4 million acres of genetically altered crops (GACs) and plans to replace half its rice, potato and other crops with GACs in the next ten years. Wales, on the other hand, is considering becoming a "GM-free zone." Suman Sahai of India's Gene Campaign pointed out that a better way to increase productivity would be to improve storage facilities that currently lose a third of the nation's stored foods to mice.

Unclear on the Concept
US - Looking for that perfect Earth Day gift for your friends in the Wise Use Movement? We quote from a Kendrick Communications press release: "International Lubricants, Inc. now offers LUBEGARD^® Biodegradable Chainsaw Bar and Chain Lube, an environmentally friendly lubricant for all chain saws."

Prakriti - Concert for the Environment
US - Indian violins, Vedic chants and Kuchipudi dancers will celebrate the rythmns of nature during Prakriti, the first international South Asian concert for the Environment on May 21 in La Mirada, California. Kala Ramnath and other musical stars from the Indian continent will perform at this benefit for the Thimmakka's Resources for Environmental Education, a nonprofit dedicated to "providing environmental information to the South Asian community globally" [(510) 272-0722, thimmakka@thimmakka.org].

Budget Offers Eco-Friendly Cars
US - Budget Rent-a-Car is preparing to add nearly 10,000 environmentally friendly vehicles to its rental fleet this year. Budget is buying a range of alternative-fuel Jaguars, Ford Rangers, and Ford Taurus 2000s powered by natural gas, electricity and ethanol (fuel derived from plants). Since 1996, Budget has been renting alternative-fuel cars in France, Sweden and Britain.

Nebraska Burns Green
US - Governor Mike Johanns is backing a bill to require that ten percent of every gallon of gas sold in Nebraska contain renewal ethanol, a move that would "maintain our clean air and water supplies, while developing the state's ample supply of renewable resource." Using ethanol would reduce the contamination of the state's waters by the fuel additive MTBE. Ethanol is a good choice for Nebraska - it is derived from corn and grain sorghum.

Texaco Calls it Quits
US - On February 29, Texaco, Inc., became the first major US oil company to break its ties with the Global Climate Coalition, an oil industry lobby group that insists there is no scientific evidence of global warming. Other recent corporate defections include: Ford, DaimlerChrysler AG, Dow Chemical, British Petroleum and Shell Oil.

Al "Hot Zippers" Gore
US - Presidential Candidate Al Gore has not only reinvented government, he has also redefined recycling. Gore is backing a plan to permit tons of radioactive scrap metal to be turned into consumer goods - kitchen utensils, baby strollers, even zippers. On March 7, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and several members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee urged the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to put a cork in Gore's plan. "The NRC must not lower its standards for releasing these radioactive materials," Boxed said. "We need more protection for public health, not less."

China and the WTO
US - The Clinton-Gore administration is pushing for China's admission to the World Trade Organization despite the country's deplorable human rights and environmental record. Friends of the Earth President Brent Blackwelder fears that "China, with its anti-democratic government and history of human rights abuses, will take a leading role in blocking efforts to make the WTO more open and to address its effects on the environment and workers' rights." The US position, Blackwelder claims, "shows that the Administration's real trade priority is boosting corporate profits - not promoting democracy, environmental protection and human rights."