Intifada’s terrible toll leaves peace a distant dream

Analysis by Justin Huggler

Sept. 29— Palestinians marked the third anniversary of their uprising against Israeli occupation yesterday, but there is no sign either side has a strategy to end the violence that has so far killed at least 3,163 people, 502 of them children.

While Israelis were marking the Jewish New Year yesterday, Palestinians marched through the streets of Nablus and Gaza. But for both sides, the occasion was muted by fear of what is to come. Three years to the day after Ariel Sharon’s visit to Haram al-Sharif -- or the Temple Mount -- sparked the intifada, peace seems far off.

There were autumn clouds over Jerusalem yesterday, but they were nothing to the storm clouds hanging over the peace process. The hope of early summer — when Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and then Palestinian Prime Minister Abu Mazen stood side by side with President George Bush and committed themselves to implementing the road-map peace plan — has evaporated.

Bush’s road-map, which calls for a Palestinian state by 2005, has been pushed to one side with none of the steps it calls for achieved. The international diplomatic efforts now are simply to get the two sides talking again.

Abu Mazen, formally known as Mahmoud Abbas, the man hailed as a Palestinian leader the US and Israel could do business with, is not Prime Minister any more, forced out by a feud with Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian President.

It is as if nothing happened at Aqaba, in Jordan. Arafat, who was supposed to have been sidelined, is firmly back in control of Palestinian politics — the new Palestinian Cabinet named yesterday is packed with the Arafat cronies Abu Mazen had sent packing.

At the meeting in Aqaba in June, Sharon promised “a viable Palestinian state,” but his government insists on continuing to build a controversial wall, cutting huge swaths out of the West Bank, despite US opposition. He promised to dismantle some illegal settlement “outposts” in the West Bank — but the few that came down have since gone back up or simply been moved to another hill by extremist settlers.

Abu Mazen promised an “end to violence and terrorism.” He delivered a ceasefire from the Palestinian militant groups that held for six weeks. But Sharon’s government insisted that was not enough and resumed assassinations of militants, saying that if Abu Mazen would not dismantle the militant factions, such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad, it would. Some observers said that amounted to sabotaging the ceasefire. The militants responded by resuming suicide bombings. Israel responded with an even more ferocious campaign of assassinations.

Now Israel and the Palestinians have returned to the familiar cycle of assassination following suicide bombing following assassination — as night follows day. The death toll for the past three years makes grim reading. At least 552 Israeli civilians have been killed in suicide bombings and other militant attacks, 100 of them under the age of 18; 246 Israeli soldiers have been killed on active duty.

At least 2,197 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli security forces. Figures on how many were civilians are hard to find, but a large proportion were civilians: at least 123 were militants assassinated by the Israelis, but 84 innocent Palestinian bystanders were killed in those assassinations. And 399 of the Palestinian dead were children, 200 of them younger than 15.

Despite three years of carnage, there is no indication either side has an exit strategy. The Israeli invasion and reoccupation of West Bank cities did not work. Nor did imprisoning thousands of Palestinians. Nor has a relentless campaign of 123 assassinations stopped the suicide bombers coming. Israelis continue to die when they get on the bus to go work or school, when they go out to a restaurant or a nightclub.

And life has become miserable for the vast majority of Palestinians. They too die on their way to work or school, hit by an Israeli helicopter rocket as the “collateral damage” of an assassination, hit by shrapnel in their homes during gun battles in the streets outside between the Israeli army and militants, or hit by the live ammunition Israeli soldiers fire at Palestinian children throwing stones at their tanks.

Millions of Palestinians are trapped inside cities surrounded by the Israeli army, unable to move freely because of roadblocks. The Palestinian economy has collapsed and there is now serious child malnutrition in the occupied territories. Yet the Palestinians marching yesterday vowed to continue their armed resistance. The militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad have rejected any new ceasefire — so, for that matter, has Israel.

Arafat, far from being sidelined as the US and Israel hoped, is back in charge. The new Palestinian cabinet named yesterday was not chosen by the Prime Minister, Ahmad Qureia, popularly known as Abu Ala, but by the Fatah Central Committee, which is packed with Arafat loyalists. Yasser Abed Rabbo, an Arafat man sacked by Abu Mazen, was back, as was Saeb Erekat, an Arafat crony who resigned in May.

Mohammed Dahlan, the security minister who won US admiration, is out. The only surprise appointment was Nasser Yusuf for the all-important job of Interior Minister, in charge of security, which means clamping down on the militants. Despite reports describing General Yusuf as an Arafat loyalist, their relationship has been strained. Arafat was said to have spat in General Yusuf’s face at a recent meeting. General Yusuf was the first Palestinian Authority figure to crack down on Hamas, in 1995. But there is no sign the new government is any more willing to take on the militants than Abu Mazen was.

Source: Independent (UK)

Kenyan children among British Army rape victims, says lawyer

By Andrew Johnson in London and Declan Walsh in Nairobi

Sept. 28— The lawyer representing 650 Kenyan tribeswomen who allege they have been raped by British soldiers called for a public inquiry yesterday. He also claimed that children were among the victims.

Martyn Day said: “We have examples of children as young as seven or eight who have been raped, and boys who have been sodomized — right up to women in their 50s. I am convinced they are genuine. It is quite horrendous.” He claimed there has been a “culture” of raping tribe women among British soldiers training in rural Kenya over the past 30 years.

His call for a public inquiry followed conflicting reports yesterday over the authenticity of records documenting 37 cases of rape being investigated by the Royal Military Police. A spokesman for the British High Commission in Nairobi was reported as saying the police records detailing the rapes were forgeries.

But other reports indicated that military police were preparing charges against two serving soldiers and that they believed the 37 women had been raped.

“I am keen that we should have some sort of public inquiry beyond this Army investigating the Army which we are currently seeing,” Day said. “All the indications that we have had from the people in Nairobi is that the military police believe these cases to be genuine. But we have had no contact with them. We have asked for progress reports on six occasions and have heard nothing. We are continuing our investigations and intend to commence legal action next month. We will be suing the Army for negligence.”

One of Britain’s leading human rights lawyers, Day has specialized in multiple claims, successfully winning a $7.5 million pay out last year for Kenyan tribesmen who said they had been injured by mines left by the British Army. He also won payouts for thousands of former Far East POWs.

His earlier success in Kenya has led to allegations that the 650 women who have approached him claiming rape are jumping on the litigation bandwagon. Some tribes people received payouts of between $250,000 and $333,000 from the earlier action, a fabulous amount of money in the area, and more than enough to corrupt local officials into forging records, critics say.

Day accepts that some of the women will inevitably be jumping on a bandwagon, but believes that the majority of cases are genuine. “I have interviewed between 100 and 120 of them and I’m convinced they are telling the truth. When you hear their stories you realize they would have to be Shakespearean actresses not to be telling the truth. Added to that are supporting documents, such as hospital records, and other witnesses, such as tribal elders.”

He added: “There are also at least 60 mixed race children in a proud rural area where sex outside your community, especially with a white man, can see you shunned by your community.” The shame of rape in this context would make it unlikely women would make false claims, he suggested.

“I believe at least 80 percent of the cases are genuine. This is a massive big deal, if there have been hundreds of rapes taking place over 30 years — and we know that all parts of the Army have been going out over the years, so it’s not just bad apples. On 12 occasions British Army officers were told but did nothing,” said Day.

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defense refused to comment further on the investigation.

“As yet no one has been charged and there are no plans to charge people imminently,” she said. “The investigation has not been completed.”

Source: Independent (UK)

Women on Waves rock the boat on abortion

By Erin Hardy

Oct. 1 (AGR)— Abortion is, for many women around the world, something that must be stealthily and illicitly sought out. The World Health Organization estimates that 20 million of 53 million abortions each year are performed under unsafe and illegal conditions and are responsible for the deaths of at least 70,000 women.

To Dr. Rebecca Gomperts, a licensed physician in the Netherlands, this figure represents an unpardonable injustice imposed upon women everywhere. In a small yet significant attempt to offset these numbers, she created the organization known as Women on Waves. She and a small crew, including an experienced nurse, an abortion doctor, and a gynecologist, converted a German fishing boat into a sea-worthy abortion clinic and named it The Langenort.

This small group of dedicated professionals travels to countries where abortion is illegal or highly restricted in order to achieve a number of both in-port and off-shore goals. In port, they provide contraceptives and general information, provide counseling and pregnancy tests, conduct workshops on reproductive health issues, and advocate campaigns to raise public awareness. While these liberal objectives have sparked heated cultural and religious debates, the real controversy arises from their offshore mission.

Because the applicability of penal codes, and therefore abortion laws, is restricted to each individual nation and its respective territorial waters, Women on Waves is able to avoid legal prosecution while administering the abortion-inducing drug, RU-486. They take women seeking abortions twelve miles out to sea — into international waters — where the only laws that apply are those of the country under whose flag the ship sails.

In 2001, Women on Waves made their pilot voyage to Ireland — a nation steeped in “pro-life” Catholicism. Amid heated controversy and scathing criticism from right-wing Irish conservatives, the group was told that they could not administer RU-486. While Women on Waves were able to provide information and support to Irish women, they were not allowed to assist in the termination of unwanted pregnancies.

After lengthy bureaucratic negotiations Women on Waves requested permission from the Dutch government to again set sail on the high sea. While they had initially hoped to provide women up to twelve weeks into their pregnancies with safe and legal abortions, the Dutch Ministry of Health denied their request and subsequent appeal on the grounds that Women on Waves could not comply with the standards set forth by the ministry but did grant the group with permission to provide early termination – up to 45 days – via RU-486.

Two years after their disappointing voyage to Ireland, in June, 2003, Women on Waves attempted another voyage — to predominantly Roman Catholic Poland. In Poland abortion is legal only if the pregnancy threatens the life of the mother, if the fetus is damaged, or if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. Doctors caught assisting in abortions that do not meet these criteria may spend two years or more in prison. Somewhere between 80,000-200,000 illegal abortions are performed in Poland every year.

As in Ireland, Women on Waves were met in Poland with intense cultural and religious fervor. After initially being refused admittance to the harbor of Wladyslawowo, they were eventually granted permission to enter, only to be greeted by a mob of angry protesters. A small group of men from the League of Polish Families political party protested the group by throwing paint, rocks, and eggs at the Langenport and Women on Waves supporters. Among the protesters was a member of the Polish parliament who used “parliamentary immunity” to excuse his violent behavior.

On June 20, 2003, the Langenort was relocated by port authorities and secured in a private part of the Wladyslawowo harbor. Polish customs and the local prosecutor searched the ship and seized the crew’s passports. Customs officials sealed several bottles of the abortion drug RU-486, but the prosecutor admitted that unless the drugs were administered in Polish waters, there was no crime in mere possession. The crew’s passports were returned, and Women on Waves were allowed to remain.

The next day, Dr. Gomperts addressed the press in an attempt to provide some general information about Women on Waves, but admitted that she was largely unable to speak to the public’s concerns, because to even discuss the details of abortion procedures is illegal in Poland. Gomperts appealed to the public by stating that “abortion is a fact in the lives of women; a reality that we have to deal with … People that do not agree with abortion do not have to have one, but they should respect other people’s private decisions. Making abortions illegal does not reduce the number of abortions. It just causes the unnecessary deaths of 80,000 women a year. It causes psychological and medical harm.” At the end of her address, she invited the Polish community to visit the ship to assuage their curiosities and concerns. She also encouraged Polish doctors and other medical health professionals to join in their information workshop, to be held aboard the ship on June 27.

During the next several days, three separate trips were made out to international waters, carrying groups of young women, primarily between the ages of 25 and 35. After each re-entry into the port of Wladyslawowo, Polish customs inspected the ship, re-sealed the bottles of RU-486, and informed the public that Women on Waves were abiding by Polish law because the bottles had remained sealed while in Polish waters.

Because the subject of abortion is legally regulated to the shroud of secrecy in Poland, Dr. Gomperts was unable to report on the number of women who received RU-486 on board the Langenort. She did say, however, that the Women on Waves hotline received over 200 requests from Polish women in need of abortions, and that they had received widespread support via email. They had also received a number of death threats.

Women on Waves returned to the Netherlands in July, after successfully and legally completing their Polish tour. Gomperts reports that she has received multiple invitations from other women’s organizations around the world, primarily in South America and Africa, although she declines to name them. She says that Women on Waves will set sail again, but that they will use their time at home to establish more contacts with international women’s rights organizations and non-governmental organizations. She also says that she intends to continue to appeal the Dutch Ministry’s decision to prohibit Women on Waves from facilitating later termination of pregnancy through surgical procedures.

Bush isolated as speech to UN falls flat

By Gary Younge

Sept. 24— George Bush was increasingly isolated on the global stage yesterday as he defied intense criticism from a litany of world leaders at the United Nations over the war on Iraq.

Showing no contrition for defying the world body in March or the declining security situation in Iraq, the U.S. president called for the world to set aside past differences and help rebuild the country: “Now the nation of Iraq needs and deserves our aid - and all nations of goodwill should step forward and provide that support,” he said.

But the French president, Jacques Chirac, who spoke after Bush, blamed the US-led war for sparking one of the most severe crises in the history of the UN and argued that Bush’s unilateral actions could lead to anarchy.

“No one can act alone in the name of all and no one can accept the anarchy of a society without rules,” he said. “The war, launched without the authorization of the security council, shook the multilateral system. The UN has just been through one of the most grave crises in its history.”

Earlier the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, condemned the doctrine of preemptive military intervention, arguing that it could lead to the unjustified “lawless use of force” and posed a “fundamental challenge” to world peace and stability.

“My concern is that, if it were to be adopted, it could set precedents that resulted in a proliferation of the unilateral and lawless use of force, with or without credible justification,” said Annan. “This logic represents a fundamental challenge to the principles on which, however imperfectly, world peace and stability have rested for the last 58 years.”

The Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who also spoke before Bush, said: “A war can perhaps be won single-handedly. But peace — lasting peace — cannot be secured without the support of all.”

Bush’s speech was received with polite applause from the 191-member states, while his critics were given a far warmer reception.

The American president was not just under fire for his decision to wage war without international consent but also for his refusal to move more quickly towards handing control of the country back to the Iraqi people.

Both Chirac and the German chancellor Gerhard Schröder, called for a transition within months, insisting that this was crucial to securing peace. Bush has not laid out a timetable. “This process must unfold according to the needs of Iraqis — neither hurried nor delayed by the voices of other parties,” he said.

Bush is under increasing domestic political pressure to outline a strategy to get out of Iraq, where increasing military casualties and growing financial burden on a strained economy are draining support ahead of next year’s presidential election.

Having bypassed the UN to bomb Iraq, America returned to the security council earlier this month asking for military and financial help to assist it with the costs of the occupation. The resolution is currently before the security council, where France has the power of veto.

Source: Guardian (UK)

Network error: Phone contracts shed light on shady deals in Iraq

Analysis by Brian Whitaker

Sept. 29— Any day now, the authorities in Iraq will announce the winners of a contest to provide Iraq’s long-awaited mobile phone service. This is one area where Halliburton — vice-president Dick Cheney’s old firm — isn’t a front-runner, so the outcome could be interesting.

Last July, the US-run coalition provisional authority invited bids from phone companies for up to three licenses, covering northern, central and southern Iraq. Licenses, it said, would be issued on the basis of “best value.”

Almost immediately, suspicions were aroused that this would be another case of commercial imperialism. The CPA’s tendering process — described by one bidder as “opaque, unrealistic and technically incompetent” (Financial Times, Aug. 26) — seemed weighted to favor American companies.

For a start, the CPA decided that telecom firms in which governments held more than a 10 percent share would not be allowed to bid except as part of a consortium.

This immediately ruled out the nationalized Iraqi Telecommunications and Postal Company which, despite knowing more about Iraq’s telephone systems than anyone else, is also excluded from helping to evaluate other companies’ bids.

Besides hitting the state-run Iraqi company, the CPA’s decision neatly squeezed out Orange (France) and T-Mobile (Germany) — two countries which opposed the invasion — along with Telefonica Moviles (Spain), KPN (Netherlands), NTT DoCoMo (Japan), Batelco (Bahrain), MTC-Vodafone (Kuwait) and Etisalat (United Arab Emirates).

More subtly, as part of assessing bidders’ track records, the CPA invited them to submit details of up to five previous contracts. If the idea of this is to give a higher ranking according to the number of contracts that a bidder has, it will favor those in the US where companies tend to have several contracts awarded on a regional basis. Outside the US, companies have fewer contracts because they are usually awarded nation-wide.

This may seem like yet another case of loaded dice, but potentially it’s worse than that. Installing an American mobile phone system in Iraq makes little sense.

Mobile phone networks in the US use the CDMA system, which is also used in South Korea and China but has only about 12 percent of the world market. The standard system in the Middle East, on the other hand, is GSM, which has about 70 percent of the world market.

Although CDMA is said to have some technical advantages, GSM is the most obvious choice for Iraq because business customers would then be able to use their phones anywhere in the Middle East. If CDMA is chosen, cross-border roaming will become more expensive, requiring handsets that are compatible with both systems.

These issues are discussed more fully on the website of Iraq Revenue Watch, which — as its name suggests — is keeping an eye on the CPA’s management of Iraq’s finances with the aim of promoting transparency and accountability. It is an offshoot of the Open Society Institute, founded by the investor/philanthropist George Soros.

In the long run there are plans to restore Iraq’s decrepit land-line telephone system but getting mobile services up and running is seen as a quick-fix way to alleviate the country’s communications problems.

At present there are three GSM services operating in the Kurdish north of Iraq which was not under Saddam Hussein’s control. These are expected to continue, but will not be expanded.

In Baghdad there is another GSM service which is restricted to US personnel and foreign aid workers. This network, capable of handling 10,000 users, is provided under a $45 million contract awarded by the Pentagon to MCI — part of Worldcom, which declared itself bankrupt last year in the wake of an $11 billion accounting scandal.

MCI is currently embroiled in legal battles with one of its rivals, AT&T, which is suing it under the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act. MCI has responded by alleging that AT&T is in contempt of court.

Around Basra in southern Iraq, MTC-Vodaphone of Kuwait is also operating a GSM service under a license granted partly by the British Ministry of Defense.

Yet another player is — or at least was — the buccaneering Batelco (Bahrain Telecommunications Company) which last July moved covertly into Baghdad and spent $5 million setting up a GSM network. The service ran for two days and handled 8,000 calls before the CPA ordered it to stop.

The CPA insisted that only licensed companies could provide mobile phone services, though some Iraqis say the real concern was that Batelco’s phones might have been used by the Iraqi resistance to organize their activities.

Once the results of the bidding are announced, successful companies will be granted licenses to operate in Iraq for just two years — though obviously this will leave them well-placed to bid later for long-term contracts.

The announcement was originally due on Sept. 5 but was then postponed until Sept. 12. It is still awaited, and the reason for the delay is unclear.

Last week, Iraq Today newspaper reported that the list of 80 bidders had been whittled down to three by the two supervisory committees — one of which looks at bidders’ technical specifications while the other looks at pricing.

The paper suggested that a final decision had been delayed because the new Iraqi minister of communications, Hayder A’abadi, had asked for a review of the entire tendering process.

He seems particularly unhappy that under American plans the successful companies will pay a total of only $15 million a year to the government for the privilege of operating in Iraq.

It is, of course, conceivable that the right choice will be made and Iraqis will get the best possible value from the new mobile phone system — though, equally, they may not.

What counts in the long run is the way these processes are perceived by Iraqis. Apart from the issue of prolonged military occupation, the CPA’s role as a latter-day version of a 19th-century colonial governor is also causing more than a little irritation: arrogant, disdainful and presumptuous are just a few of the milder adjectives used these days to describe it.

The problem, as Iraq Revenue Watch has pointed out, is the CPA’s reluctance to draw Iraqis into the process of reform and reconstruction.

“If the Iraqi public and the Iraqi civil service are not involved,” it says, “it is unlikely that they will commit to implementing them once the coalition government dissolves.

“This would be the worst case scenario for a future Iraq: rejection of those democratic and economic freedoms the CPA and the US have been so keen to install.”

Source: Guardian (UK)

Chechen leader critically ill after poison attempt

By Nick Paton Walsh

Moscow, Russia, Sept. 29— The acting president of the war-torn Russian republic of Chechnya was last night fighting for his life after an elaborate attempt to poison him days before crucial presidential elections.

Anatoly Popov was taken seriously ill on Saturday after eating lunch in the Gudermes region of Chechnya, where he was at the opening ceremony of a new gas pipeline. He complained of stomach pains as his motorcade returned to the Chechen capital, Grozny, and was rushed to the main military base of Khankala, where he was operated on.

His condition remained so severe that officials were considering sending him to Moscow, where a specialized clinic could give him better treatment. Officials said he was stable, but in a serious condition.

Popov’s deputy, Alexander Andronov, said poison residue had been found in his body and that prosecutors had launched an investigation “to find out whether this was accidental food poisoning or if this was done deliberately.”

“The diagnosis is poisoning by a substance of unknown origin,” said the Chechen government’s press service. A Ministry for Emergency Situations spokesman said someone may have slipped poison into his food in Gudermes, the republic’s second biggest city.

A successful poisoning of a senior Russian official will humiliate Moscow, betraying either a fundamental breach of security or an inside job. Russian officials travel everywhere inside Chechnya with at least 10 heavily armed special forces bodyguards.

Senior officials eat in Chechnya in the safety of administration or military facilities. The fact that only Popov fell ill in his entourage, suggests that his food alone was targeted.

The attempt would appear to mark the Chechen rebels’ first successful use of poison to attack a Russian official. Poisoning has, until now, been a favorite assassination tool of the Russian secret services in Chechnya. The prominent fundamentalist rebel, Khattab, was killed last year by the Russian secret services in a special operation that involved a messenger being sent to him with a poisoned letter.

The Saudi-born warlord — one of the key “foreign mercenaries” Moscow maintains are directing the independence struggle in Chechnya — died days later.

Popov is a relatively low-profile official. An attack on him is more a symbolic gesture than a strategic victory. He was made prime minister of Chechnya last year by Moscow and attracted persistent criticism because of his seeming inexperience for the posting.

He was made acting president while his boss, the current administration head, Akhmad Kadyrov, went on the campaign trail. Kadyrov accompanied President Vladimir Putin to New York for a meeting at the UN.

Election “campaigning” as such has been marred by interference from Moscow that led to both Kadyrov’s main opponents dropping out of the race. One withdrew when he was offered a senior post in the government. The other had his candidacy blocked by a Chechen court.

The US state department has already condemned the elections as rigged. Kadyrov’s police forces have reportedly beaten up anyone displaying a poster promoting the opposition in Grozny, a city where elections will take place next Sunday under martial law.

Source: Guardian (UK)

Carcinogens found in household cleaning products and cosmetics

By Veronique Mandal

Sept. 20— Women who work in the home are at a 54 percent higher risk of developing cancer than career women, says Michael Dufresne, a leading researcher in environmental cancers.

Women and men who want to look good and avoid body odors are at an added risk, because of the cancer-causing chemicals in hundreds of personal care products and household cleaners.

From cosmetics and hair products to toothpaste, shaving cream, furniture polish and dishwashing liquid, the presence of carcinogens raises major concerns, said Dufresne, an adjunct and research professor at the University of Windsor, researcher for Cancer Care Ontario and a member of the Barbara Karmanos Cancer Institute.

Speaking at a Hospice of Windsor seminar Tues., Sept. 16, and quoting from leading studies, Dufresne said his greatest worry is the lack of information given to the public about products they use every day.

“People are blindly being led in the use of these products. They assume they are tested and safe, and they’re not,” said Dufresne. “Scientists are discovering that exposure to a variety of trace chemicals over the span of a lifetime is dangerous.”

According to Statistics Canada, 335 women per 100,000 will develop cancer. Forty-six percent of Canadian women are in the workforce and the remainder work at home.

The US Public Interest Research Group reports that there are more than 100,000 synthetic chemicals in use. Residues of more than 400 toxic chemicals have been identified in human blood and fat tissue.

The risk for childhood leukemia and brain tumors increases dramatically in households using home and garden pesticides, herbicides and insecticides. Bleach is being linked to the rising rates of breast cancer.

Dufresne said the biggest culprit is the cosmetic industry, which does not put warnings on labels and does not list potentially harmful ingredients.

“The industry and the regulators know the cancer risks associated with cosmetics but there is virtually no consumer knowledge,” Dufresne said. “Unlike cigarettes, there are no warning labels on cosmetics and virtually no FDA regulations policing them.”

Cancer-linked chemicals are found in blush, concealer, facial powder, mascara, eye shadow, and lipstick. Toothpaste, nail polish, bubbles, shaving cream, deodorant, soap, tampons, conditioner, shampoo and styling products also pose a threat.

The use of talc in the genital region has been linked to ovarian cancer.

Mouth, tongue, and throat cancer has been linked to the high alcohol content (more than 25 percent), saccharin, dyes and a chemical called PS60/80 in various types of mouthwash.

In the home, Lysol, Murphy’s Oil Soap, Pledge, Tilex, Ajax, Palmolive, Joy, Sunlight, Arm & Hammer heavy duty laundry detergent, Shout Stick and liquid Spray ‘N Wash are a few of the many products containing dangerous chemicals, said Dufresne.

Chemicals formed in woodsmoke from the fireplace, some burning candles, carpets and plastics, particularly plastic wrap, can also cause cancer.

Dufresne said people shouldn’t panic, but wants to ensure they have information to make informed choices.

“You have to balance the risks and benefits, but ask questions first and demand answers,” said Dufresne. “Just remember what you don’t know can hurt you.”

Source: Windsor Star

Valley of death: Nepal’s civil war claims thousands of lives

By Natalie Toms

Sept. 29 — Nepal’s brutal and primitive civil war has been fought primarily in the remote and mountainous hinterlands for more than seven years, claiming more than 7,000 lives. During this time the political elites of the capital, Kathmandu, argued amongst themselves at some remove from the violence.

But after Maoist rebels ended their ceasefire in August, citing the failure of government to agree to their demand for a constituent assembly to redraft the country’s constitution, it briefly seemed as if the city itself would come under serious attack.

First came a series of assassination attempts on senior military officials directly involved in the war. Then, on Sept. 8, six bombs were set off outside government buildings, one of which killed a passing child.

A three-day “bandh,” or national shut-down, from Sept. 18-20 passed off relatively peacefully, though costing more than $30 million in revenue, which the country can ill afford.

The newly immediate nature of the rebel threat has not, however, been enough to force a rapprochement between the political forces in the Kathmandu valley.

The dispute between government and Maoists is complicated by the fact that on Oct. 4 last year, King Gyandendra dissolved parliament and appointed his own government. Five of the ousted political parties are now agitating against the king, a division which is only helping the insurgents.

Despite pressure from foreign ambassadors, and at a time when more than 70 percent of tourists are canceling their trekking trips (although not one tourist has been killed in the conflict), the much-vaunted formation of an all-party government had not materialized as the country moved into a two-week holiday for the festival of Dasai.

Sumnima Tuladhar, of CWIN, a charity working in the far reaches of Nepal, says: “For the first time in eight years people in Kathmandu are feeling just a breeze, not even the whole wind, but just a breeze of the effect. They face the threat of accident. But the people in the villages do not face a threat of accident, but a direct threat. They’re living with it every day.”

While people in the valley worry about the loss of tourist earnings, people in the villages are fleeing their homes. Caught between Maoist forces who come into their houses demanding help which they can ill afford to give, and the Royal Nepal army, which will often shoot anyone who has given shelter to a Maoist, a mass exodus is occurring.

In the mid-western town of Nepalganj, since the end of the ceasefire more than 2,000 men a day have been seen heading over the border towards India, scared to stay in their homes for fear of falling victim to either set of armed forces.

In many villages, no government infrastructure remains (and to the rebels, government infrastructure often includes schools and health posts). More than half of the 4,000 village council buildings have been destroyed, a fact which angers Nepali Times editor Kunda Dixit: “The Maoists claim that their argument is with the monarchy. But most of the people that the Maoists have killed are local village leaders who believed in democracy and practiced it.”

Krishna Ghale has been forced to leave the village in which his family has lived for generations, for the simple reason that he was chairman of the village development committee. “We had no choice — they are killing VDC chairmen,” he says.

This does not mean that people in remote areas have many good words to say about the government, which has not only been abusing human rights with impunity since the start of the insurgency in 1996, but neglected the provinces both before and after the establishment of democracy in 1990.

Dixit admits that “successive governments have shown complete neglect and apathy towards the districts and that goes to the root of the discontent. But that alone doesn’t explain it — there’s a political movement here that has deliberately chosen violence.”

But the plight of the villages is not something that the residents of Kathmandu are keen to discuss. Most of them refuse to enter into any discussion of politics whatsoever. A shop owner at Kathmandu’s main tourist attraction, Darbar Square, is typical in his assessment: “The situation is very bad for Nepal. The King, the parties, the Maoists are all the same. They’re all after power. There’s nothing you can do about it.”

The Maoists seem to have retreated back into the hills for Dasai, making it even harder to guess at their strategy. Perhaps they have realized that if the breeze in Kathmandu became too strong it might actually force a return to the negotiating table.

Source: Guardian (UK)