Room for a View

Views & News
Short takes, updates and calls to action

CIA Takes Over AIDS Science
According to the April 30 Washington Post, the National Security Agency has announced it will place AIDS science, and all public health agencies conducting AIDS science, under the command of the Central Intelligence Agency. The action was signed into law by President Clinton, after being advised by the National Intelligence Council to formally declare global AIDS a “national security threat” to the USA.
A CIA report to the president warns that “the persistent infectious disease burden is likely to aggravate and, in some cases, may even provoke economic decay, social fragmentation, and political destabilization in the hardest-hit countries.” According to Nexus magazine, the CIA study defines “instability” as revolutionary wars, ethnic wars, genocides and disruptive regime transitions. Dramatic declines in life expectancy are considered the strongest risk factor for such instability.
In a related development, South African President Thabo Mbeki has publicly questioned whether there is a causal link between HIV and AIDS, and has included testimony of “dissident” scientists in South Africa’s review of AIDS treatment practices and the epidemic’s origin.
—Todd Paul

Messing with Mifepristone
After a decade-long wait, Mifepristone was approved for use and distribution by the Food and Drug Administration this past September. Since its use was approved in France in 1988, more than 600,000 women in Europe have used this antiprogesterone drug to block unwanted pregnancies within the early days of conception.
Despite the FDA’s approval of the drug, formerly known as RU-486, Rep. Tom Coburn (R-OK) introduced legislation that called for severe and unwarranted restrictions on the drug’s use. These restrictions would have put the drug out of the reach of many American women. As more than 13,000 faxes and e-mails from the American Civil Liberties Union flooded Congress in just three days, Coburn was forced to admit defeat. “I can’t get it to the floor because we have too many members that don’t want to even talk about this,” Coburn was reported as saying.
The approval of Mifepristone represents a breakthrough in women’s reproductive health care rights, especially those who live far from an abortion provider, affording women better access to a safe, private and early option for ending an unwanted pregnancy.
As the election approaches, it is important to note the stance of candidates regarding reproductive freedom for women:
George Bush
“I think the FDA’s decision to approve the abortion pill RU-486 is wrong. People on both sides of the abortion issue can agree that we should do everything we can to reduce the number of abortions, and I fear that making this abortion pill widespread will make abortions more and more common, rather than more and more rare. As president, I will work to build a culture that respects life.’’ (New York Times, 9/28/00)
Al Gore
“I am pleased with the Food and Drug Administration’s decision to approve Mifepristone. After careful review and clinical tests, the Food and Drug Administration has determined that its use is safe and effective. The review and approval of this drug is consistent with the Food and Drug Administration’s mission as a science-based public health regulatory agency. Today’s decision is not about politics, but the health and safety of American women and a woman’s fundamental right to choose.’’(New York Times, 9/2/00)
Ralph Nader
“I don’t think government has the proper role in forcing a woman to have a child or forcing a woman not to have a child. And we’ve seen that around the world. This is something that should be privately decided with the family, woman, all the other private factors of it, but we should work toward preventing the necessity of abortion.” (Source: “Meet the Press”)
—Lorna Tychostup

You Can Run, But You Can’t Hide
BBC News Online has reported that the next generation of mobile telephones will include improved location-revealing technology, similar to global positioning devices, that will give the location of the phone’s user to within 50 meters.
Due to the new Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act in Britain, police in the UK do not need a warrant to monitor the positions of mobile phone users. The Foundation for Information Policy Research in Britain is warning that anyone using such a phone could be subject to covert surveillance by police agencies.
In the US, organized crime syndicates have long understood that any conversation held over a mobile telephone is subject to electronic monitoring by security agencies and is in no way “private.”
—TP

Kosovo Commission Seminar at Mohonk
Revisiting an historical heritage dedicated to world peace dating back to 1895, Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz will host a seminar by the Independent International Commission on Kosovo on December 7 and 8. Convened by SUNY New Paltz, the seminar will review the Commission’s investigation of the Kosovo conflict and examine recommendations for future peacekeeping or peacemaking operations.
Initiated by Swedish Prime Minister, Goran Persson, due to concerns about the absence of both any independent analysis as to events in Kosovo, as well as any real attempt to research lessons learned from the conflict, the Kosovo Commission will present its final report to the United Nations on October 23. “Gathering the Commission, diplomats, scholars and human rights activists gives us the first opportunity in the United States to use this report to guide our actions in the future,” says Roger Bowen, President of SUNY New Paltz.
The two-day seminar will include five of the 11 members of the Commission, led by its chairman, Justice Richard Goldstone, and co-chair Carl Tham. Goldstone chairs South Africa’s Commission of Inquiry regarding Public Violence and Intimidation, and was Chief Prosecutor of the UN International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. Tham is secretary general of the Olao Palme International center.
Other invited participants include UN representatives from Europe, reporters actively involved in covering the conflict, leading conflict resolution academics and representatives from non-government organizations active in the Kosovo region. Seventeen SUNY New Paltz political science students will also be in attendance.
From 1895 to 1916, Mohonk Mountain House hosted annual conferences attended by dedicated peace advocates from business, law, religious, publishing and philanthropy communities. According to Bowen, during the 21 year term of the conferences, they “served as the impetus for several international treaties and arbitration agreements.”
The Commission’s final report is available to the public at www.kosovocommission.org.
—LT