Following up on…

--Media coverage of Barack Obama’s religious background: First, Scott Paeth, an assistant professor of religious studies at DePaul University, has a blog entry discussing the Washington Post front-page coverage of the “Obama is a Muslim” rumor. Paeth reinforces the sincerity and consistency of Obama’s Christian practice, reminding us of how Obama differs from “Bob Dole’s switch from a moderate Methodist church to an evangelical Baptist church in 1996, which was clearly a cynical move.” Paeth also accurately hammers the implied bigotry of the rumor itself: “…people who would never breath a word of suspicion against a Catholic for being a Catholic, or a Mormon for being a Mormon, have absolutely no problem pillorying Muslims for no other reason than that they are Muslims.”

Secondly, Jeff Sharlet examines the potential religious implications of Obama and Mike Huckabee’s respective primary victories in Iowa (which is now old news in the wake of the New Hampshire results, but still remains an impressive achievement for both). There’s a lot to take away here, including his reminder that Obama isn’t maintaining close public ties with his pastor Jeremiah Wright—a factor that I should have probably mentioned in my original entry, because it leaves questions about how Obama presents his religious background, as The Revealer noted in a piece from earlier last year. Sharlet also finds that Obama and Huckabee aren’t nearly as far apart on the religious spectrum as they seem; indeed, both “look like they might represent the "third way" more and more rank-and-file evangelical[s] have been waiting for.” Nevertheless, as a follow-up story on the site notes, it’s kind of difficult to prove this argument when pollsters don’t ask religious questions about Democratic voters.

--Chiquita’s “blood bananas” business in Columbia: Corporate Counsel’s Sue Reisinger continues to research her story on Chiquita’s funding of Columbian left-wing terrorists, and has discovered a twist. Reisinger originally documented that Chiquita didn’t stop their payments to the paramilitary group Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC) until March 2004, which was just after U.S. attorney Roscoe Howard, Jr. had served a search warrant on the company for their actions. Now, both Chiquita lawyers and a U.S. Department of Justice official are disputing that account, saying that no one ever served the warrant. This turn of events complicates the story, because the timing of the warrant with Chiquita’s termination of payments suggests a correlation between the two events. Did Chiquita stop the payments due to federal coercing, or was it an (overdue) action completely of their own accord? We may never know; for his part, Howard continues to insist that the warrant was executed and accuses the Department of Justice of “stonewalling” for unclear reasons. None of this, of course, changes the fact that Chiquita continued to pay AUC long after the Department of Homeland Security had classified it as a terrorist organization, as well as the fact that the company profited handsomely from their Columbian holdings while on the terrorist installment plan.

Proposed Change to the Electoral College

According to an article on Forbes.com today, New Jersey has become the second state to enter into an agreement that would dramatically change the allocation of Electoral College votes. If a sufficient number of states sign this proposed compact, the allocation of these Electoral votes in U.S. Presidential elections would be cast based on the overall national vote, not each individual state's popular vote.

By casting Electoral votes based on the national popular vote rather than the individual state’s popular vote, it is hoped that smaller states, those with less Electoral votes, would have a more equal voice in the election. Within each state, the goal of such a compact is to guarantee that each individual’s vote is important.

If such a compact does become effective, the issue that arose in the 2000 Presidential election would not be an issue. Although the popular vote had been won by Democrat Al Gore, Republican George W. Bush won the election due to obtaining a greater number of Electoral votes. Under the proposed system, states would cast their Electoral votes for the winner of the national popular vote, even if that state’s returns favor the opposing candidate.

As states recognize the importance of the Electoral votes, at least one state, California, is seemingly attempting to re-allocate their vote in order to potentially allow more than one candidate to receive their apportioned fifty-five Electoral votes; as the system stands now, all of a state’s Electoral votes are allocated to a single candidate. With the proposed change, alleged partisan-based movements such as the one in California would not be an issue, as each state would have to abide by the overall national popular vote.

So far only two states, New Jersey and Maryland, have approved the compact. Other states such as Illinois, Arkansas, Colorado and North Carolina have had the compact pass in at least one house; California and Hawaii have already vetoed bills to join the compact. In order for the compact to become effective, the compact must be passed by enough states which would constitute a majority of the Electoral votes. With those that have passed the compact, the current count stands at 25 (10 for Maryland and 15 for New Jersey); for those who have had the compact pass at least one house, the count could add potentially another 51 votes (6 for Arkansas, 9 for Colorado, 21 for Illinois, and 15 for North Carolina). Even counting all these potential votes, the 76 votes falls short of the 270 Electoral votes required to constitute a majority.

While Democrats and Republicans argue about the merits of this compact, each party apparently feeling differently about their chances to garner a larger amount of Electoral votes v. popular votes, it seems that this idea is one that would ensure that America’s voice is heard and increase voter participation. After the previous two elections, the first where the apparent popular choice, Al Gore, lost out due to the Electoral vote and the second where a single state, Ohio, apparently swayed the entire election, it would seem that people may no longer feel that their vote counts; this would seem to be especially true in smaller states which hold fewer Electoral votes. Should Electoral votes be cast solely based on the national popular vote, a single state, no matter how many Electoral votes it holds, would not have such a disparate impact on the overall election. Additionally, knowing that America’s overall popular choice is the one leading the country would seem to add to people’s confidence in and support of our leader.

Dave Zirin’s (Populist) New Year’s Resolutions for Sports

Back in October, I wrote about Sports Illustrated/Edge of Sports columnist Dave Zirin and his interview of Olympic veteran Dr. John Carlos in the wake of the Jena 6 scandal. One of the things I enjoy most about Zirin is his willingness to explore social and cultural angles that few other sportswriters even consider, and though I don’t always agree with his conclusions, his populism is important and engaging. This is especially true with regard to his last column of 2007, where he offers New Year’s resolutions as a critique of the sensationalism and top-down control that marred sports over the past twelve months:

“William Blake may have said ‘the road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom,’ but this lost highway of excess has led to a crisis of overproduction: too much scandal, too much chatter, too much drama masquerading as sports.

“The Sports World needs to collectively resolve to see 2008 as a time to slowly mend fences with a fan base feeling the pain. The road to redemption begins with that staple New Year's resolution we are all too familiar with: It's time to shed the excess weight. And throughout sports, the superfluous baggage is flowing from the commissioner's offices.”

He then proposes replacing Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig and (perhaps) National Basketball Association commissioner David Stern, as well as a curtailing of National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell’s broad powers. While Zirin is obviously suggesting that these changes will aid the overall health of all three leagues, he is more concerned about sports fans receiving fair treatment in exchange for their time and money. The column’s key section appears near the end:

“This question of execrable excess affects all sports fans. We don't need stadiums that bankrupt our cities. We don't need athletes who treat fans like an inconvenience to be suffered in between checks. We don't need sports telecasts that look like they were produced by Maxim. And we don't need commissioners more concerned with PR than the basic health of their games.”

That first point above—the economics of new stadiums—has become increasingly important over the past several years, and Zirin’s aptly summarizes the issue in an Edge of Sports column from July: “The [new] stadiums are presented as a microwave-instant solution to the problems of crumbling schools, urban decay and suburban flight,” even though they rarely provide a profitable return on investment for the cities and states that are financing them. My favorite football team, the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts, might—I repeat, might—end up as one of the exceptions to the rule; their new Lucas Oil Stadium includes additions to the Indianapolis Convention Center in what has become a revitalized section of the city. Yet despite high revenue estimates, Indianapolis and the state will still shoulder over 85 percent of the stadium’s cost in the short term.

An associated problem with new stadiums is that even if fans don’t participate in the public financing for a new stadium, they almost always incur higher ticket prices if they actually want to attend games. As the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys build a new stadium that is set to open in 2009, their proposed pricing structure for the stadium’s club seats easily prices out lower- and middle-class income citizens by requiring long-term “personal seat licenses” (PSLs) that will cost as much as $50,000 before actual ticket purchases. The Cowboys’ plan is certainly expensive, but their use of PSLs is simply the continuation of a trend that has become popular among sports teams building new stadiums. It’s not difficult to see Zirin’s point in the aforementioned Edge of Sports column that “[s]tadiums are sporting shrines to the dogma of trickle-down economics,” where those less financially well-off bear a disproportionate economic burden, even though they sometimes simply don’t have a choice in the matter.

Consequently, it’s reasonable to argue that at the least, professional sports teams are responsible for producing—to the best of their ability—a superior product, especially given how much they ask of fans and taxpayers. When this doesn’t happen, fans have every right to complain, and sportswriters can play a crucial role in developing a sense of accountability. Zirin continues to provide an excellent example in this regard; as we head further into 2008, I hope his colleagues will join his plea in Sports Illustrated “to stop making it so darn difficult to love sports” through their own work.

The Supreme Court of the United States heard arguments on lethal injections

The Supreme Court of the United States heard arguments on January 7, 2008 on whether the method of lethal injection used to execute prisoners in Kentucky is unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment.

The outcome of Baze v. Rees will have national repercussions, as 36 of the 37 death penalty states use the same combination of lethal injection drugs as Kentucky. There is currently a de facto national moratorium on lethal injection executions pending the outcome of Baze. To read the merit & Amicus briefs for this case, click here.

80 Arrests in Guantanamo protest at Supreme Court

Police arrested eighty demonstrators at the Supreme Court yesterday in a protest calling for the shutdown of the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Similar protests were held in Australia, Europe and Africa.

About 200 demonstrators dressed in orange jumpsuits and black hoods intended to simulate prison garb were arrested inside and outside the building in the early afternoon. "Shut it down," protesters chanted as others kneeled on the plaza in front of the court.

All demonstrations are banned from the court grounds. Those arrested inside the building were also charged under a provision that makes it a crime to give "a harangue or oration" in the Supreme Court building.

Later this year, the court is considering whether prisoners still detained at Guantanamo Bay have a right to challenge their confinement in U.S. courts. Currently they are subject to military tribunals. The Pentagon has released several hundred detainees, with 275 remaining.

Six years ago today, the first prisoners arrived at Guantanamo

Six years ago today, "the first orange-clad, shackled and blindfolded prisoners arrived at Guantanamo's Camp X-Ray." Today, demonstrators have been protesting worldwide. The ACLU notes, “Since that dark day in recent American history, more than 700 people have been detained without due process and not a single trial has been completed.”

In April 2006, the Center for American Progress established a comprehensive strategy for dealing with suspected terrorists after the closure of Guantanamo. The report concluded that the best solution to the problem would require working with our allies to create a Special Tribunal of International Terrorist Suspects.

In June 2006, President Bush stated that he wanted to close Guantanamo. With less than a year left in office, it appears that Mr. Bush plans to leave without following through with his intention of closing the camp, leaving his successor with the job of cleaning up his mess.

Internet Harassment

The New York Times reports today on two interesting stories related to restrictions of Internet speech. In both, the Courts and/or state lawmakers are facing new issues related to the increasing popularity of blogs and social networking sites. Such issues may force these bodies to act in ways that could affect people’s rights in relation to these services.

The first article arises out of an incident where three women allegedly created a false MySpace identity in order to communicate with a 13-year-old girl in Missouri. The messages sent to the girl eventually became more and more cruel to the point of what many are now calling harassment. These messages eventually led to the 13-year-old girl committing suicide.

No charges were pressed against the women who created the fraudulent ID, as the current laws do not address the type of on-line harassment allegedly perpetrated by these women. In a somewhat interesting turn, the address and phone number of one of the women allegedly responsible has been posted on the Internet, leading to many harassing her for her alleged actions. The Governor of Missouri has created a committee to address this type of Internet harassment, and said committee is set to submit a bill in January.

In the second article, the issue of free speech on the Internet comes up once again. In this instance the Court has issued an Order that a man discontinue his Internet postings “about his wife and their marriage pending a [divorce] hearing next month.” William Krasnansky has created a blog (lookatmypugs.livejournal.com) with “a fictionalized account of [his] marriage.” The author claims that this Order constitutes a prior restraint and violates his First Amendment rights. In direct defiance of the Order, he is continuing to post to the site.

According to the article, many Constitutional Law experts feel that the Order issued is overbroad and can not survive a First Amendment challenge. An issue still exists though as to how fictional the work may be; such statements that the account is “fictional” still may not be sufficient “if the court found that readers were likely to perceive the postings as factual statements about a real person and if the statements were false.” Even if the account is labeled not to be “fictional”, experts state that typical remedy in such a case would be damages and not an injunction as the Court here has ordered.

In both articles, issues have been raised as to how to properly regulate alleged harassment on the Internet as existing laws do not quite cover this area yet. Even in just these two cases, the issue of harassment may appear more clear cut than in the other; to attempt to expand a definition and create standards that can apply to all such instances will indeed be a difficult task. While states struggle with determining these standards, the issues remain for those with blogs as to what they can safely post and for those on social networking sites as to what constitutes harassment and what protections are available in events of perceived harassment. If and when new standards are established, more guidelines will be available, but these standards will almost certainly affect how people use these services; if people’s rights are affected too severely by these new standards, many may cease or limit their use of these tools, greatly decreasing the benefits such blogs and social networking sites provide to their readers and users. The question then becomes: at what cost to people’s rights and access to these social networking tools do we protect others from perceived Internet harassment?

A Human Being Died That Night: Prime Evil and Forgiveness

“He spoke with a heavy Afrikaans accent: ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you.’ I knew the face; I had seen it in the newspapers, and at public hearings during his first appearance before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, but this was the closest I had ever been to Eugene de Kock. As he smiled shyly, perhaps politely, rising to greet me, I saw a flicker of boyishness, of uncertainty. At the same time, my mind registered ‘Prime Evil,’ the name that marked him as the surest evidence of all that had happened under apartheid. De Kock had not just given apartheid’s murderous evil a name. He had become that evil. The embodiment of evil stood there politely smiling at me” (A Human Being Died That Night, 6; emphasis in original).

When South African psychologist Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela formally met Eugene de Kock for the first time in late 1997, her thoughts above largely capture the sentiments of black South Africans who had suffered under decades of apartheid rule. As a covert police operative, de Kock was responsible for masterminding countless operations to murder anti-apartheid activists, remaining anonymous even as he “had been at the center of the chaos, the blood, the bodies, and the killing, directing it” (18). Now, Gobodo-Madikizela stood inside the heavy-security “C-Max” section of Pretoria Central Prison, where de Kock was serving a double life sentence for human rights crimes. Yet during a hearing of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)—the country’s revolutionary justice model designed to provide a voice to both perpetrators and victims of apartheid—two widows whose husbands died during one of de Kock’s bombing operations personally offered their forgiveness to Prime Evil. Gobodo-Madikizela finds this “extraordinary,” and consequently asks the central question of A Human Being Died That Night: “Was evil intrinsic to de Kock, and forgiveness therefore wasted upon him?” (15).

Relying on a series of interviews she conducts with de Kock in C-Max, along with psychological and cultural analysis, Gobodo-Madikizela finds a basis for the possibility of forgiving an extraordinary criminal. Her personal turning point occurs after she briefly touches de Kock’s left hand as a gesture of consolation during one of their discussions. Several weeks later, de Kock requests to speak to her during break in a TRC hearing, and after they greet each other, he confesses “with an expression that seemed to reflect genuine amazement that” she had touched his “trigger hand” (39). She wrestles with the loaded meaning of this comment, but later realized that it represents evidence of de Kock’s remorse as he contemplates his actions. Gobodo-Madikizela demonstrates that he isn’t always completely honest or forthcoming about the particulars of his operations, but she contends that he was clearly “struggling with his past,” trying to make sense of what happened (44). As she writes:

“It gave me a sense of hope that he was in some emotional pain about what he had done. And the grace-filled gestures of forgiveness I had witnessed from people who lived with psychological scars as daily reminders of their trauma gave me even greater hope. In wrestling with my empathy, somehow I found solace in these gestures of forgiveness by victims. They validated my own feelings of empathy toward de Kock” (44-45).

It is also important to remember what Gobodo-Madikizela identifies as the “structural and systemic crimes” of which de Kock took part (61), and that he does not bear sole responsibility for his role in enforcing apartheid. Indeed, as brutal as his actions were, they were merely part of a larger sociopolitical atmosphere that had consistently dehumanized black South African citizens for decades. Even those that should have or could have done more to speak in protest against the status quo often refused to do so. The Afrikaans (or Dutch Reformed) Church was the spiritual home for nearly all apartheid politicians, and church leaders officially condoned the killing of state enemies, with “state enemies” consistently meaning anti-apartheid supporters. This certainly isn’t ground for excusing de Kock’s actions, and though he is (and remains) willing to document the complicity of his colleagues and superiors, he doesn’t exonerate himself. Nevertheless, his evil is, to an extent, an outgrowth of an environment where those in power believed that God was on their side, and “interpreted all religious objections to the war as inconsistent with spiritual conviction” (72).

Bearing these facts in mind, Gobodo-Madikizela argues that forgiving a perpetrator who is guilty of human rights violations is nonetheless difficult, and dependent upon not only an acknowledgement of wrongdoing and remorse, but also the ability of victims to transcend their anger and sadness while continuing to live with the trauma of what has occurred. She makes it clear that black South African citizens are still coping with the atrocities of the apartheid era, and that victims whom remain angry or resentful about losing a friend or loved one aren’t necessarily “ ‘holding on’ ” to anger out of spite, but instead “what seems to be the only connection to the one who is no longer present” (96). For those who do forgive, their action represents both an effort to let go of their anger and being open “toward a new path of healing”; for one of the aforementioned widows, forgiving de Kock allowed her to (in her words) “ ‘mourn properly’ ” for her dead husband as a means of letting him go (97).

On another level, Gobodo-Madikizela writes that forgiveness is about “human connectedness” (127), and Eugene de Kock is no different. It’s certainly difficult enough –at least in my case—to simply not hold grudges about everyday matters; overcoming crimes against humanity can seem altogether impossible. But de Kock is a human being just as we are, and he reminds us that the line between good and evil is a very thin one indeed. To forgive someone like him is to recognize the evil in our own lives, and to embrace the possibility of hope and justice in response.

The Return to Paper Ballots: Solution or New Problems?

As Presidential candidates continue to lobby for support, potential problems with electronic voting equipment continues to be discovered and/or discussed. While security concerns have been previously raised over this equipment, the fact that the Presidential election is just under ten months away has raised the additional problems that any proposed remedies for these problems may not be remedied in time.

In Ohio and Colorado, officials have discovered that machines may be affected by the use of a magnet or PDA. In Colorado, the state has already taken the measure of decertifying a number of voting machines, including machines located in Denver. In Ohio, Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has proposed eliminating touch-screens and returning to paper ballots; if the Republican-controlled state legislature disagrees with this proposal, Brunner’s next step may be to work with the Board of Voting Machine Examiners to decertify the faulty electronic voting equipment. Other states such as California have already returned to paper ballots.

Paper ballots had originally been replaced due to problems such as the “hanging chads” in Florida in the 2000 election. The federal government had provided grants to states to research and replace these ballots with electronic voting equipment. Colorado has spent $41 million in grants on such an endeavor while and Ohio has spent approximately $81 million. Not only would the government grant money perhaps be seen as “wasted”, but it would cost Ohio an additional $31 million for a new system, as well as approximately $250,000 for each county (based on previous Presidential elections in which paper ballots were used) to supply voters with the paper ballots.

Even if this is the only solution in Ohio, as the Secretary of State suggests, the cost of such a change is not the only issue. As it currently stands in Ohio, there will still be two systems used in the Ohio primary election – the touch-screen and paper ballots. With the existence of both systems operating concurrently, election officials and poll workers will be relied upon to monitor and be trained in both systems. As evidenced in previous elections and in the studies leading up to the implementation of the use of touch-screens, there have been and continue to be problems with the use of this technology; whether problems exist due to purposeful tampering or accidents (such as power failures) or lack of training (on the part of poll workers or the voters), these problems are clearly not under control yet. Many more are familiar with the paper ballots, but Florida in 2000 has demonstrated problems with this system; additionally, paper ballots may lead to a need for increased time in completing the ballot, leading to larger lines, leading to many voters leaving without voting.

The ACLU has stated that the problem with such a change in Ohio may not be evident in the primary election as there is expected to be a lower turnout. However, the election in November will most likely have a large turnout for which the polling locations may not be adequately prepared. Even with the election just under ten months away, it is uncertain that an adequate system can be in place in time.

There are flaws to be expected whenever a new technology or system is set into place. However, in a case where such a fundamental aspect of our democratic government is involved, and the federal government has provided assistance in addressing the issue, it would be hoped that a reasonable system with minimal flaws could be discovered. Still, these problems persist, and not just in Ohio. Until such polling place issues are remedied, I believe my best option is to take advantage of Ohio’s no-excuse absentee voting policy and hope my ballot doesn’t get lost in the mail.

CIA Under Criminal Investigation for Destruction of Tapes

The New York Times reports today that the Justice Department has begun a formal criminal investigation into the C.I.A.’s destruction of interrogation videotapes. The videotapes in question were of two Al Qaeda members from 2002; these tapes were destroyed, perhaps improperly, in 2005.

Previously, this matter was the subject of an inquiry, but has been elevated to a criminal investigation after a December 6 report that said tapes had existed, but had now been destroyed. The exact nature of the crimes which are now being investigated have not yet been specified, “but government lawyers have said the inquiry will probably focus on whether the destruction of the tapes involved criminal obstruction of justice and related false-statement offenses.” Such an investigation is expected to scrutinize the actions of both current and former high-level C.I.A. officials. While the Justice Department’s investigation proceeds, both the chairmen of the House Intelligence Committee and Senate Intelligence Committee have indicated that their own inquiry would continue.

The C.I.A. has indicated that they will cooperate fully with John H. Durham, a federal prosecutor from Connecticut who has been appointed to lead the investigation along with the F.B.I. Several officials have already provided the name of Jose A. Rodriguez, Jr. as the official who had ordered the destruction of the tapes in question.

The outcome of this investigation, expected to potentially outlast the remainder of President Bush’s term, will be interesting to follow. While the steps taken to ensure the accountability of the C.I.A. in this matter is commendable, it will be interesting to see what type, if any, punishment and results occur due to the investigation. The Attorney General’s appointment of an attorney outside of Washington would seem to indicate that this investigation will be independent, but in the end the punishment and/or changes would seem to need to be handed down from officials in D.C. It is hoped that the investigation will, at the least, prevent other such instances of the destruction of evidence and, at best, cause the Attorney General to take a firmer stance on the issue of torture in these instances, punishing those who violate any future measures; however, until the investigation is completed, the true effectiveness of this probe will be unknown.

2007 list of victories for the environment

Since we’re approaching the end of 2007, I thought I’d take a minute to highlight some environmental victories:

• Official protection for Puerto Rican Coastline -- On October 4, Governor Anibal Acevedo Vila signed an executive order to establish a 3,240-acre natural reserve that will effectively protect all of the lands in the corridor.
  

• Congress passes landmark Energy Bill -- Congress gave America a big holiday gift in the form of an energy bill that included increased fuel economy standards, a massive increase in the production of homegrown biofuels, programs to train workers for 3 million green jobs over the next ten years, dramatic increases to the efficiency of our buildings and appliances, and more.
  

• Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency -- The Sierra Club won a landmark Supreme Court ruling stating that the EPA has the power to and must regulate carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels as a pollutant.

For a complete list 2007 Sierra Club Victories, click here.

Putin Named Time's Person of the Year

On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year for 2007. This honor was bestowed upon Putin even though many, in Russia and the United States, feel that he has done little to further human rights in Russia, and has perhaps even diminished these rights.

Some Russians see this honor as acknowledging the role Putin has played in “helping to pull Russia out of the economic and social troubles of the 1990s”. In fact, it is reported that Russia’s economy grew “an average of 7 percent yearly for the past half-decade and that Moscow had repaid a foreign debt of nearly $200 billion.”

While reporting these economic successes, the magazine also acknowledges Putin’s “curtailment of democratic freedoms”. Similarly, opposition leaders in Russia “agreed Putin had been a newsmaker but accused him of oppressing rival political parties, rigging the recent State Duma elections and ignoring the needs of ordinary people.” Some in Russia have gone so far to claim that “antihero of the year” would be a more fitting title, and that the economic growth can be directly attributed to the rise in oil prices and such growth would have resulted with or without Putin.

Time defends its selection of Putin by claiming that this honor is only recognition of the fact that Putin had made the biggest impact on world events in 2007 and is not an endorsement of anything Putin has done. Unfortunately, allies of Putin are using this as support for the President, and state controlled television in Russia is only broadcasting the positives written about Putin in the article.

Although Time cannot in any way be held responsible for the use of the award by the Russian government and its supporters, the choice still seems rather questionable. In a year when a person such as Al Gore, a runner up for this award, has tried to positively affect the world and make others aware of the environment, it would seem that there may have been available choices that had similar impact on world events. Instead of choosing an individual who has done little in the way of advancing human rights in his country, and who now has further support for his “effective” leadership style, it appears that a better choice may have been an individual who has not done such damage to the advancement of these rights.

Addendum to Carnivore Politics: The Question of Seafood

While writing about meat-eating and some of its associated implications, it didn’t occur to me that in addition to beef, pork, and poultry, I should consider seafood as well. For me, it’s often easier to overlook the ethical issues that are associated with seafood, probably due to a case of “out of sight, out of mind.” I don’t live in an area that produces it, and my closest connection to squid and shrimp (two of my favorites) is when I purchase them at the grocery store or order them at the restaurant. Nevertheless, it’s just as important to understand what we are eating when we consume seafood, and it’s even possible to draw parallels between mass-produced seafood and their land-based cousins.

The New York Times provides an excellent example of this in an entry for their current series on China’s “epic pollution crisis” (series overview here). David Barboza focuses on the southern coastal city of Fuqing, which has become a major domestic and international source for farmed fish, including crab, shrimp, and eel. As he argues, Fuqing is part of the aquaculture system that has made China a “seafood power” since the 1990s, but their farming methods come with a high environmental and public health cost:

“Government records document the environmental ills in the region. The nearby Dongzhang Reservoir, a water source for agriculture and more than 700,000 people, was recently rated level 5, near the bottom of the government scale, unfit for fish farming, swimming or even contact with the human body.

“The Long River, the major waterway in Fuqing, has been degraded by waste dumped by paper factories and slaughterhouses. The government this year rated large sections of the river below level 5, or so highly polluted that it is unfit for any use. And nearby coastal waters which are also heavily fish farmed are polluted with oil, lead, mercury and copper, according to the State Environmental Protection Administration in China.”

Barboza notes that while “industrial waste and agricultural runoff” are responsible for the polluted water supplies upon which aquaculture farmers rely, “[t]he fish farms, in turn, are discharging wastewater that further pollutes the water supply.” Moreover, the farmers have resorted to treating fish supplies with a variety of chemicals and antibiotics that are not only illegal, but also include carcinogens and other human health hazards. Consequently, the U.S. has rejected over forty seafood shipments from Fuqing this year, all of which “involved the use of illegal veterinary drugs.”

As I read about this, I noticed that what Barboza was describing bore striking similarities to U.S. factory farming. Both factory farms and Fuqing’s aquaculture farms are attempting to defy nature by packing a high concentration of animals into confined spaces while keeping them fit for human consumption. Both negatively affect (and are negatively affected) from their surrounding environments, especially with regard to waste disposal and access to uncontaminated water sources. Both face high risks of disease outbreaks among their stock due to confinement, and both rely upon the use of chemicals and supplements as a primary response method. Finally, because of the above practices, both place human consumers at a greater risk than we should tolerate.

The irony of aquaculture farming is that it’s theoretically supposed to counterbalance the quite serious problem of overfishing, which has depleted numerous species and upset delicately balanced ecosystems worldwide. Yet if farmed seafood can be unsafe for consumption and results in environmental damage, how do we proceed in determining what types of seafood to purchase? The best resource I have found is Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program, which includes a seafood guide for consumers. The guide is particularly helpful because it not only classifies popular edible seafood into three categories (Best, Good and Avoid, with corresponding green, yellow, and red signifiers), but also briefly explains the harvesting methods for particular species and why it does or doesn’t make a good choice based on environmental and marine factors. (Unsurprisingly, they aren’t too keen about the harvesting of sea turtles.)

As I wrote in my previous entry, we’re not always going to make the ethical and/or sustainable choice that we probably should. Following the Seafood Watch recommendations definitely requires some adjustments, especially since some popular types of seafood—Atlantic cod, farmed shrimp and salmon, and certain types of halibut and flounder—have Avoid warnings. The good news is that there are plenty of environmentally sound and personally safe choices on their list, and, thanks to federal law, we can also determine the source of unprocessed seafood at the store, as well as whether it has been farmed or wild-caught. Keeping these two things in mind provides us with a basic awareness of what we eat when we eat seafood.

Private Medicare Health Plans and Unscrupulous Practices

The New York Times has an article today discussing a disturbing trend practiced by some unscrupulous insurance salespersons. According to the article, some salespersons are misrepresenting and “hard-selling” their product in order to have elderly men and women unwittingly sign up for private Medicare health plans.

In order to prevent such tactics, the Bush administration has taken steps such as fining companies, issuing warnings to companies and using “secret shoppers” at some sales events hosted by these companies. According to the acting administrator of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, such steps have reduced the number of reported issues; however, the New York Times, based on interviews conducted in Mississippi and Alabama, concludes that the problem still exists at a higher level than the government is acknowledging. Studies by the Medicare Payment Advisory Committee Commission appear to confirm the conclusions reached by the New York Times.

Enrollment in these private plans has increased by more than 8.9 million subscribers from December, 2005 to November, 2007. For sales of these plans, each agent receives anywhere from $350.00 to $600.00 in commission, providing incentive to push these programs.

Aside from being elderly, the main targets of the salespersons appear to fall into the low-income category. As stated in the article, “Most people who sign up for private Medicare plans are locked in for a full year, but many low-income beneficiaries are allowed to switch plans each month.” As these low-income beneficiaries can switch their plans more easily, the salespersons do not have to necessarily wait an entire year in order to sell their product.

The idea of taking advantage of the elderly who, as the New York Times states, “just have a hard time saying no” is rather disturbing. Add to this the fact that many of those targeted are low-income beneficiaries, and the practice is even more problematic. Many of those approached need no additional insurance, but the article states that the salespersons disregard this fact and continue to push. Even if those approached do desire additional insurance, the misrepresentations made by the salespersons do not allow the person to make an informed decision. Such practices by these few salespersons may also cast a bad shadow over all insurance salespersons in the eyes of those affected, preventing those who desire additional insurance from knowing whom to trust and what to believe.

It is admirable that the government is taking steps to try to prevent these practices. However, it is naïve to think that the government, through mere threats or fines, will be able to completely eliminate these practices. This fact is evidenced by the interviews conducted by the New York Times and the studies performed by the Medicare Payment Advisory Committee Commission. It would seem that the insurance companies themselves would need to create more stringent policies and possibly reduce the commissions for sales of these types of private Medicare health plans. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that such steps will be taken.

Carnivore Politics (Part III): Final Thoughts

--CHOW has an interesting analysis of the Bill Buford essay for the New Yorker that I discussed in my first post for this series. Miriam Wolf argues that Buford’s three subjects—Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Martin Picard, and Stéphane Reynaud—“reflect the three streams of thought that have led to the re-adoption of meat as our most treasured foodstuff.” In her view, Fearnley-Whittingstall represents the “sustainable farming” movement that Michael Pollan promotes in The Omnivore’s Dilemma; Picard is part of the meat-for-meat’s-sake crowd that isn’t really concerned with ethical implications; and Reynaud espouses a “slow-food” approach that originated in Europe and is becoming more popular in the United States.

I think Wolf is generally correct in her interpretation, but it’s important to remember that these “three streams of thought” she identifies aren’t inherently separate. For example, Pollan’s arguments for a more sustainable mode of eating are favorable toward the Slow Food movement; there’s actually a fair amount of common ground between the two, especially on emphasizing the benefits of local livestock and produce sources. (He also partnered with slow-food adherents for this fundraiser last year.) Also, Wolf obscures the fact that Picard and like-minded unrepentant meat lovers still express ethical considerations about where their meat originates, even if they don’t directly voice those considerations. As I wrote in the first post, the fact that “Picard relies on local suppliers for his Montreal restaurant and ‘rarely offers beef in his restaurant, because he has yet to find a producer he trusts’ ” is telling. Picard relies on local suppliers for his Montreal restaurant and “rarely offers beef in his restaurant, because he has yet to find a producer he trusts” It is highly ethical even if his primary concern is simply whether his beef sources are “good” or “not good.”

--I’ve mentioned Michael Pollan and his 2006 book The Omnivore’s Dilemma repeatedly in this blog, and there’s a good reason for that; it's become one of the most important books on food this decade due to Pollan’s crack research (particularly on how large a role corn plays in the American diet) and his willingness to ask tough questions about what’s on our dinner plate and how it got there. It has inspired plenty of praise as well as some inspired criticism, leading to larger debates about food production, including what organic food really means. And Pollan already has a sequel of sorts that is due for release early next month.

--A final point: When it comes to purchasing and consuming our meat from ethical, sustainable sources, it’s highly unlikely that we’re going to be completely consistent on our decisions. Heaven knows I do a pretty poor job overall, and even though I’ve made some changes that I’d like to think are for the better (buying organic free-range eggs and vegetarian-fed beef, for example), I doubt that they’re even that adequate. With that said, awareness is a necessary first step, and if we make the effort to figure out the source of our meat and what it does and doesn’t contain, then that alone is huge.

Bali Climate Change Conference Ends With A Deal

It seems that an agreement has been reached at the Bali Climate Conference. The United States had originally rejected the compromise, but ultimately accepted. The pact provides for negotiating rounds until 2009. The Conference was scheduled to end yesterday, but was extended a day because no deal had been struck.

It appears that the United States wasn’t in a position to leave without signing. I think that the United States realized what leaving without an agreement would do to their image. If nothing was decided it would be a black-eye for Americans, so they decided to cave in and continue to make “energy intensity” reductions.

Two interesting quotes from Reuters:

"The U.S. has been humbled by the overwhelming message by developing countries that they are ready to be engaged with the problem, and it's been humiliated by the world community. I've never seen such a flip-flop in an environmental treaty context ever," said Bill Hare of Greenpeace."

"At the end of the day, we got an extremely weak agreement," said Sunita Narain, head of the Centre for Science and the Environment in New Delhi. "It's obvious the U.S. is not learning to be alive to world opinion."

U.S. Senate Approves Scaled Back Energy Bill

The U.S. Senate passed the amended Renewable Fuels, Consumer Protection, and Energy Efficiency Act of 2007 (H.R. 6) yesterday evening, 86-6. The House of Representatives is set to approve the bill next week.

The energy bill will help reduce America’s oil dependency and will be an critical step in reducing global warming pollution. However, according to Larry Schweiger, President and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, the bill does not close $13 billion worth of tax loopholes and subsidies for the oil industry and reinvest the money in clean and renewable energy technologies. On Thursday morning, 40 senators lined up behind big oil companies, instead of American families. Oil companies have contributed $8 million to senators over the past four years.

Democrats noted disappointment at the demise of the tax package and the removal of a renewable electricity standard but said the final bill is still a historic achievement.

The centerpiece of the final bill is language requiring a 40 percent increase in vehicle fuel economy standards, raising the average fleet standard to 35 miles a gallon by 2020.

The provision, which drew reluctant support from the U.S. auto industry, is expected to save 1.1 million barrels of oil a day and save consumers some $22 billion in 2020. Proponents say it will also make a significant dent in U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases, equivalent to taking some 60 million cars off the road.

Although is not the bill that environmentalist had hoped for, it at least shows effort on the part of the United States in the fight against global warming.

President Bush had threatened to veto the bill over the tax package.

Charity Through the Internet

Starting this afternoon (3:00 P.M. on 12/13/2007), a “new” concept will be tested to determine the role of the Internet in aiding charitable causes. The Case Foundation is sponsoring a contest which will award two prizes, one of $500,000 and one of $250,000, to people who enter either via Parade Magazine or through the Causes section of Facebook. According to the sponsors of the contest, “[t]he prizes will go to the charities and causes that attract the greatest numbers of unique donors, rather than the one that raises the most money.”

According to Jean Case, co-founder of the Case Foundation, the purpose of such a contest is to endorse the belief that“[p]hilanthropy shouldn’t be defined as a bunch of rich people writing big checks”. Instead, such a contest hopes to encourages and demonstrate how a large number of smaller donations can be just as effective as a single large donation. Along with the Case Foundation, it appears that Facebook is seeking to send a similar message, as evidenced by the following description obtained from their “About” section:

“The goal of all this is what we call ‘equal opportunity activism.’ We're trying to level the playing field by empowering individuals to change the world. Existing nonprofits must raise hundreds of millions of dollars and leverage massive direct marketing campaigns to attract members. We're democratizing activism by empowering activists with an arsenal of tools for users of Facebook who want to leverage their network on Facebook to effect positive change.”

The Case Foundation and Facebook appear to be seeking the most beneficial way to further charitable endeavors through the use of the Internet. Aside from this contest, the Chase Foundation is supporting ThinkMTV.com, aimed at getting youths involved in their community and charitable causes. Facebook’s efforts have raised what some call “modest” amounts; but even the $52,240.00 raised for Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the top cause on the site, would seem to amount to much more than what any of these users alone would contribute.

Targeting Facebook and other social networking sites, as well as cooperating with companies such as MTV, would certainly seem to, at the least, make these opportunities known to a previously untapped audience and get this audience to think about their participation in charitable causes. The Internet is already being successfully used for the purposes of acquiring signatures on petitions; this success seems to stem from the fact that the Internet creates greater awareness and ease of participation. It would seem that other charitable causes could just as easily take advantage of these same benefits the Internet provides. If organizations such as the Chase Foundation can promote their causes through the use of the Internet as effectively as proponents of these petitions have, they will have an excellent opportunity to make people aware of this “equal opportunity activism” and demonstrate how even small donations can be effective. If such effective use can be implemented by these organizations, it is believed that these projects will encourage participation and will be successful, leading to greater participation in charitable endeavors.

Carnivore Politics (Part II): Reconsidering Veganism

When I was seventeen, my family went on vacation to the Cayman Islands, which I, as someone from rural Indiana, found to be an incredible area—clear blue water, good restaurants, and agreeable weather (this being a period without hurricane threats). Our activities included a trip to the Cayman Turtle Farm, and I loved having the opportunity to witness such a large concentration of sea turtles up close. Then I noticed the farm’s small indoor snack bar, with a sign in front of the door advertising that day’s special: “TURTLE SOUP.” Having naively failed to yet notice the clear implication of the word “farm,” I felt ashamed, and almost immediately asked myself a question that is common for teenagers becoming conscious of their diets: should I become a vegetarian? I had made the connection between the turtles—sixty percent of which the farm raises for food—and the snack bar, and wondered if my love for meat was wrong.

It didn’t take long for me to move past my ethical dilemma at the sea turtle farm, and I continued to regularly consume meat. If anything, I think I’m guilty of being overly defensive about being a carnivore/omnivore. I have vegetarian friends, and think it’s admirable that they’re able to make such a commitment to their diets. Yet my attitude has largely been along the lines of “Why would you want to do that?”—as if my own self-reflection in the Caymans was simply a youthful and silly matter. Things become even worse with regard to vegans, because I often conveniently resort to negative stereotypes as a means of safeguarding my own eating habits. It’s often been easier to espouse an attitude of “look at those crazy vegans!” rather than seriously consider the validity of their claims. Even when I read Michael Pollan’s respectful critique of veganism and its sustainability in The Omnivore’s Dilemma (you can get the general idea here), my own reaction was less gracious; it was as if I’d found a personal apologetic for eating chicken and pork. Besides, how can vegan food be consistently good anyway without the benefit of so many ingredients?

That last one is a stickler for me and for many others who aren’t vegan. No meat is one thing, but cutting out meat, dairy and trace animal-based ingredients (such as gelatin) is quite difficult, especially in the Midwest. I don’t tend to handle dairy very well, and many of the dairy substitutes I’ve tried have been disappointing; rice and soy milk are okay, but nothing seems to match the richness of real butter and cheese. I “cheat” every so often, but vegans don’t really have that option, and it leads to the question of how they approach certain types and categories of food. This is especially true for dessert, where milk, cream, and butter are traditional fixtures.

Enter Patty Cake Vegan Bakery. I became more curious about vegan cookies earlier this year after stumbling across a couple of bakery websites that offered several different varieties available for online ordering. Patty Cake was another accidental find, and, looking for an excuse to go to Columbus, my girlfriend and I first went there in October. She voiced the question that we both had on our minds—would this be good for being vegan? We collective purchased several cookies, buckeye bars, and whoopee pies, and took them home for the test.

Oh. My. Word.

Any of their cookies are just as good as their well-made and non-vegan counterparts, and two kinds in particular—the molasses crinkle (which is probably oil-based regardless of dietary concerns) and peanut butter chocolate chip—are easily among the best cookies I’ve ever put in my mouth. The buckeye bars and whoopee pies are equally excellent. On a recent return trip, my girlfriend bought two different types of cupcakes, and one bite of the first one (chocolate with chocolate icing) left her raving. I merely had what was arguably the best sticky bun of my life. Patty Cake single-handedly refutes the notion that vegan food can’t taste good; I can honestly say that I’m more willing to make the two-and-a-half hour round trip to buy their products than to search for something similar that’s closer to Dayton.

Yet Patty Cake also reminds me of how I’ve been wrong in my attitudes. Their employees are friendly, and though they’ve asked me if I’m vegan, it’s simply out of curiosity. (Another dumb assumption on my part—what else should I expect?) In a consumer society that encourages a “fast and cheap” approach to food, they offer the best kind of counter-example—an ethical business (organic ingredients, sustainable practices) that sticks to its convictions while selling superior product to believers and (initial) skeptics alike. This approach is educative to those of us who use and consume animal products. Even if we disagree with certain core tenets of veganism, it’s important to consider not only the merits of the “cruelty-free” paradigm, but also that adopting such a philosophy doesn’t mean having to sacrifice as we think it might. On a personal level, it additionally means that I need to more fully develop a critical awareness of how I view the food options of others, especially if those options are attempts to circumvent our unhealthy attitudes towards food.

Good cookies with a lesson? It’s hard to argue with that.

Human Rights Day 2007

Today is Human Rights Day, marking the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The theme for the coming year is “Dignity and justice for all of us”, which is meant to reinforce the idea of “vision of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) as a commitment to universal dignity and justice.” In a ceremony today Ban Ki-moon, General Secretary of the United Nations, has promised that the coming year “would see all UN bodies taking part in a campaign ‘to promote the declaration's ideals and principles of justice and equality for everyone’.”

The UDHR itself is a “commitment to universal dignity and justice”, with a goal of ensuring the protection of human rights through the education of what human rights entail. In order to spread knowledge on the subject of human rights, the UDHR “is now available in over 360 languages and is the most translated document in the world – a testament to its universal nature and reach.” According to Louise Arbour, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UDHR is “not a product of Western cultural values but a ‘composite synthesis’ of views derived from many backgrounds, regions and legal traditions.”

Human Rights day has set the stage for statements by several activist groups regarding the violation of human rights. In France, the government was criticized “for hosting a state visit by Libyan leader Muammar Kadhafi on the same day as the anniversary.” In China, Reporters Without Borders has complained that they had been banned from entering mainland China. In Russia, activists have used the day to bring forth accusations of human rights violations by President Vladimir Putin.

As Louise Arbour states, it is hard to “accept [that] there's any culture, religion or tradition that should supersede the fundamental principle that all human beings are born equal”. It is hoped that the continued work of the United Nations will ensure that all people are one day soon treated equally with equal rights; as the United Nations and all member nations work towards this goal, it is important that activist groups continue to report human rights violations, keeping people aware of, and fighting against, these transgressions not just on Human Rights Day, but throughout the entire year.