Wednesday, July 29, 1998

• The English Patients Eat Pesticide

  
  

  For decades, U.S. and foreign pesticide manufacturers have been feeding their products to rats, rabbits, mice, and guinea pigs in thousands of controlled laboratory studies, all designed to satisfy government regulatory requirements for chemicals that kill weeds, insects, rodents, and other pests.

• School Shootings On the Decline

  
  

  During this past school year, the American public was riveted by the images: small town and suburban schools taped off by police-lines, paramedics rushing to wheel tiny bodies away on gurneys and kids being carted off in hand-cuffs. As the national media poured into Pearl, Mississippi; West Paducah, Kentucky; Jonesboro, Arkansas; Edinboro, Pennsylvania; and Springfield, Oregon; — the magnified coverage of these highly unusual crime stories turned into what some news outlets described as — an all-too-familiar story — or — another in a recent trend. Even a non-fatal shooting in Richmond, Virginia garnered national headlines in June because it occurred in a high school hallway during final exams.

• Cambodia

  
  

  Following Cambodia’s elections this past weekend, the country seems to be teetering on the brink of a crisis as opposition leaders are blaming fraud for their apparent election defeat to the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party headed by Hun Sen. The leaders are vowing to boycott the new parliament and organize protests. This is significant because under the constitution, a new government requires endorsement from 2/3 of the 122 seat National Assembly. Meanwhile, U.S. officials called last night for a thorough investigation of the allegations of fraud, which some interpret as Washington throwing its weight behind the opposition coalition that is viewed as more IMF friendly. Full results of Sunday’s vote are not due until this weekend.

• Honduran Priest Disappearance Case Blocked By Washington

  
  

  It’s been nearly fifteen years since U.S. priest James (Guadalupe) Carney disappeared in Honduras. The Chicago-born priest was working as a chaplain to an armed revolutionary column when they were captured by the Honduran Army. Father Carney had renounced his US citizenship and dedicated his entire life to the cause of liberation in Honduras. Many people believe that shortly after his capture, the radical priest was thrown to his death from a helicopter. His case is one of tens of thousands of cases of disappeared persons in Central America that are unsolved. What is interesting about the case of Father Carney is that the United States seems particularly intent on withholding much of the information the CIA and the State Department have on his disappearance.