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| A Larger View |
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A Bi-Monthly Newsletter of the Inner Outer Partnership |
| Volume IX Edition 6 |
November/December |
2004 |
In this issue:
So many current events are cause for concern that by way of closing out the year with a larger and hopefully more accurate perspective, we are deviating from our ordinary format to concentrate on items which seem to us to contribute in however small a way to advancing the human agenda. The events below are just a few of those which came across our desk. They may be a tiny fraction of ongoing efforts but nevertheless underline the existence of a movement forward.
A New President For Somalia
It is easy to remember Somalia and how anarchic conditions were in part responsible for the abuse of American soldiers. For the last 13 years the country has known dire poverty and chaos and the divisive rule of warlords. Government and the order and public services it is meant to stand for have been non-existent. Finally, after two years of negotiations, a 69 year-old colonel, Abdullahi Yussuf has been elected transitional president and will hold the post for the next five years. He was chosen by the Transitional Federal Parliament of Somalia made up of 275 delegates who have labored hard under a $21 million peace process funded by international donors. Knowing the difficulties ahead of him, the new president asked for cooperation and asked all Somalis to be "part of the effort bringing peace and stability" to the nation.
Preventing Nuclear Terrorism
In our uncertain world one of the greatest dangers is nuclear proliferation, and even more frightening, nuclear terrorism. Concerned about such possibilities, the IAEA, the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency is stepping up its efforts particularly as they concern the maintaining of a database on incidents involving illicit trafficking in nuclear and other radioactive materials. Currently, 80 countries, UN member states, provide information for the database. Other states have also been urged to contribute so that the program may be enhanced. The IAEA says that some 60 illicit trafficking incidents have been reported from January through September 2004. Some 540 had been reported through December 2003. It hopes the more countries that join, and the fuller the database can be, the better tool it can be in helping to prevent a nuclear incident.
Working Towards Disaster Reduction
A world conference on disaster reduction will be held in Kobe Japan next January. It may not sound like a big step forward but when one recalls the devastation in Haiti after hurricane Jeanne or in Bangladesh after a recent typhoon, one begins to see the issue differently, as one that can have answers. Many poor countries tend to lack natural disaster barriers, and this usually leads to unique problems. Soil erosion is such an example and is often due to using trees and vegetation for food and fuel. But current knowledge shows us that vulnerable countries can take several steps to reduce their susceptibility when disasters strike. The Kobe conference, which is sponsored by the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, a group based in Geneva, is aimed at just that. Not only could better forecasting prevent damage and save lives, but other measures could be implemented as well. Wetlands could, for instance, reduce flooding, forested watershed could help prevent landslides or coral reefs could lessen the effects of coastal storms. The organizers hope the Kobe conference will develop the needed guidelines.
The Right To Food
After two years of negotiations the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has adopted a resolution that all people have the right to food. The Committee on World Food Security who recently met in Rome, hopes that the resolution will add momentum to the efforts to halve poverty by 2015. As a consequence other agencies have had to revise prior estimates that such a goal can be reached. But the mere fact that guidelines upholding the right to food were agreed upon-apparently after lengthy discussions-is seen as a breakthrough since it required the agreement of many countries and the blending of many points of view. Giulianno Pucci, the FAO legal counsel for the Committee admitted that the negotiations were protracted and difficult. Perhaps this makes the result all the more significant, for it is the first time an intergovernmental body has agreed on what the right to food really means.
Clean Water For All
Michel Camdessus one of the leading expert on water and former director of the IMF (International Monetary Fund) has written a book arguing that clean water for all by 2025 is not a Utopian idea. The lack of clean water obviously contributes to the hardship of many, particularly women and children who must fetch and carry it often from long distances. It is also a crucial subject simply because access to clean water can prevent many diseases. The lack of water therefore has serious implications for health, poverty and education. If, for example, girls are needed at home to carry water, they cannot go to school. While Camdessus draws what one reviewer called a damming picture of the lack of clean and drinkable water upon the planet, he also conveys a sense of hope, hope that achieving clean water is doable and hope that it can be achieved within the next 20 years. In 2000 the UN resolved in fifteen years to reduce by half those who did not have access to drinkable water. Since that time a committee chaired by Camdessus has been working on dealing with the issues of the financing for water infrastructure. Another sign of hope cited by Camdessus is the need to involve those who will be directly affected, usually the women in African and Asian villages who spend several hours each day bringing water to their homes. Their input is seen as crucial to the success of any potential future programs. Their participation will bypass government and presumably the red tape that goes with it and make helping people that much simpler and quicker. The private sector and the World Bank will also be involved.
A Report On Taxes
We look upon reports telling us that 82 major firms paid no federal taxes as part of the news that is problematic. But the reality is that problems can't be solved unless they are understood and they can't be understood unless they are identified. This report, therefore, as hundreds of others each year, helps us better grasp the reality we must perforce change. Citizens for Tax Justice, and the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy, two Washington D.C. groups some call liberal, found that this kind of tax avoidance reflected a trend. Corporations, they find, are allowed to pay less taxes and therefore a smaller share of the nation's tax burden. Companies like Boeing, Prudential, Caterpillar or Walt Disney paid no income tax at least once in the last three years, and even more striking, paid no taxes in the years when they reported profits of more than a $100 million.
Banning Hand-Weeding
In the 60's Cesar Chavez won concessions for California farm workers and that led in 1975 to a ban on hand-hoeing. The reason was simple: medical evidence showed that using the 12 inch tool 12 to 14 hours a day could cause severe back injuries. But the law had a loophole, it did not forbid hand-weeding which uses the same motions and causes the same stresses on the back. Growers have therefore made workers stoop and weed by hand when long handled hoes could not work. Thus since 1975 hand-weeding has spread even though Cal/OSHA in 1993 concluded that it caused the same kind of back problems as using the short-handled hoe. Last September, however, a compromise banning hand-weeding was worked out between growers and union organizers thus closing the loophole. Although Cal/OSHA will enforce the ban, it will only investigate when a complaint is filed. The state would then have to show that unnecessary hand weeding was ordered for a protracted period, while, to avoid heavy fines, the growers would have to demonstrate that no other weeding method would have been effective. All in all still a victory-even if overdue.
Kyoto's New Life
In 1997, in Kyoto, Japan, about a 100 countries adopted an international environmental treaty aimed at reductions in the emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases that cause global warming. The U.S refused to sign the accord. It was rejected by the Senate 95 to 0 on the ground that it would put a disproportionate burden on U.S. companies given how much they would have to cut back. Russia has recently signed the treaty and with such an important member new life has been given the endeavor. Meanwhile U.S. companies feel compelled to at least think about how they use power. DuPont Co, for example has cut back the carbon dioxide emissions from its U.S. and international plants by 67% (measured since the Kyoto Treaty) and even says that not only has this made its business more efficient, it has better positioned the company for the marketplace of 20 to 50 years hence. Other companies such as General Electric or Chevron are also making adjustments. The U.S. may not yet have signed on to the treaty but nevertheless there is widespread recognition that global warming and the climatic changes it heralds require a closer look, or at least new approaches.
Redefining a Church
Orange County in Southern California is not known for its innovation. It is a hotbed of traditionalism and even conservatism. Still it has become the center of what is called emerging churches, Christian churches who believe that their ministry is not in a building but out there where the people are. Instead of meeting in the same place, congregants will go talk to the homeless, make friends with strangers, visit the sick or simply have a picnic in the park inviting everyone there to join them. Everyone is on a first name basis, dress is casual and since there is no building or office keep in touch by phone and emails. Such churches are said to be a model for the future, as a way to offset mega-churches and a religion that can become too institutionalized.
A Larger View is published by the Inner\Outer Partnership, a tax-exempt educational organization probing how spiritual principles can be agents of individual and societal change. We are funded through donations. Please send yours - as well as any comments - to P.O.Box 1293, Pac. Pal. CA 90272-1293. Also contact us by email at innerouter@earthlink.net or call 310-8367710 or visit our web site at www.innerouterpartnership.org
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