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News
Briefs: Undercovered #10 | Seeking
Justice | Pesticide Ban Sought | Corrections/Clarifications
News:
Failing Women -- OHSU scorecard shows Oregon lagging in women's health.
Happening
People: Pam Donegan.
UNDERCOVERED
#10
-- Recommended reading: University of New Hampshire
Prof. Marc Herold has released a meticulously researched document, "Dossier
on Civilian Victims of U.S.' Aerial Bombing of Afghanistan." Herold asks, "What
causes the documented high level of civilian casualties -- 3,767 [through Dec. 6]
civilian deaths in eight and a half weeks -- in the U.S. air war upon Afghanistan?
The explanation is the apparent willingness of U.S. military strategists to fire
missiles into and drop bombs upon heavily populated areas of Afghanistan." "Dossier,"
which has been largely ignored by mainstream media, includes casualty statistics,
wrenching interviews, and bloody photographs absent from U.S. newspapers. Read it
at www.cursor.org/stories/civilian_htm
slant
-- Mary O'Brien's Natural Resistance column this week is the first
in a series of two or three columns examining the "science" in evidence
in Eugene Sand & Gravel's proposal to mine gravel under prime farmland. The column
shines light on a murky subject: How much attention is paid by local government to
the validity of scientific evidence provided by those who benefit financially from
ripping up our landscape? This is a vitally important issue as county staff appears
to be busy working with ES&G to bring back a more acceptable proposal to the
commission next month. Is the staff even bothering to question ES&G's "evidence"?
Meanwhile, County Commissioner Anna Morrison surprised us with her swing vote against
the mining proposal. Looks like she won't get a zero rating for 2001 from the Oregon
League of Conservation Voters .
-- EW's editor in chief is likely to get grilled and maybe roasted by KLCC's
Claude Offenbacher this week in a half-hour interview to be aired on Civic Conversations
at 6:30 pm Monday, Jan. 7. Taylor prefers the written word to the spoken word, so
this should be enlightening, if not embarrassing. Also on the program will be a separate
half-hour interview with Tom Potiowsky, Oregon's chief economist.
-- The R-G reports Jan. 1 that PeaceHealth is paying a premium price for 160
acres of land in north Springfield, but PeaceHealth CEO Alan Yordy said Arlie &
Co. and John Musumici intended to hand over the property "essentially at their
cost." That's not the Musumeci we know and the numbers don't jive. Arlie's likely
making a bundle off this deal and we suspect PeaceHealth is trying to distance itself
as much as possible from Musumeci before going to the community for donations. Raising
big bucks from traditional Eugene donors is going to be a tough sell considering
the location of the project and the fact that construction might be bogged down for
years by environmental, land use and transportation problems.
SLANT includes short opinion pieces and rumor-chasing notes compiled
by the EW staff. Heard any good rumors lately? Contact Ted Taylor at 484-0519, editor@eugeneweekly.com |
-- On Dec. 20, U.S. warplanes bombed a convoy of Paktia elders
traveling to the inauguration of the new government in Kabul. Fifteen people died
in bombed vehicles and 45 in nearby villages (AP). U.S. spokesmen said convoy members
were al-Qaida, but Paktia leaders claimed that a rival warlord, Pacha Khan, had given
the U.S. false intelligence. Pentagon officials investigated and denied this (Independent).
In a Dec. 26 meeting, Paktia tribesmen begged Prime Minister Karzai for an end to
U.S. bombing of their province (Guardian).
-- On Dec. 27, U.S. warplanes killed 40 people and injured 60 others
in Naka and other villages in Paktika province in eastern Afghanistan, according
to local sources. Many houses were destroyed, including the house of a Taliban commander
who was not home (Guardian). On Dec. 28, Defense Minister Fahim said U.S.
bombing would be unnecessary once a few border areas had been cleared of final resistance,
and bombing should end quickly. "Osama is out of our control," Fahim said.
"America can pursue him with the help of the Pakistan government" (Reuters).
U.S. General Tommy Franks asserted, "We will not be pressed into doing something
that does not represent our national objectives, and we will take as long as it takes"
(Independent).
-- The night of Dec. 28, American bombs landed on Sheikhan village
near Gardez, killing 15 people, mostly women and children (Afghan Islamic Press).
The Pentagon claimed they had hit a suspected Taliban leadership complex at this
time and place. U.S. warplanes would keep flying "ready to attack targets of
opportunity," according to a Marine Corps spokesman (Reuters).
-- Before dawn on Dec. 30, American bombs killed up to 100 people
in Qalaye Niazi near Gardez. The U.S. said this village was a compound of Taliban
and al-Qaeda leaders. But Afghan defense ministry officials said they had no information
of al-Qaeda there. Villager Janet Kul said 24 members of his family had died and
"People are very upset ... There are no Taliban or al-Qaeda here." U.S.
Commander Dave Culler stated, "there was no collateral damage. If there were
civilian injuries, it is the fault of Taliban and al-Qaeda for living among innocent
people ..." (Independent). -- Kate Rogers Gessert
SEEKING JUSTICE
Terrorism is best prevented by policies which further social
and economic justice, disarmament, human rights, and humanitarian aid, according
to a recent policy statement from the Coordinating Council of the Green Party of
the U.S.
"Indictments under international law, not declarations of
war, are the appropriate first step in responding to acts of terrorism," reads
the statement dated Dec. 10. "In contrast to the American-led military response,
an international law-based prosecution would have diminished the perception that
the U.S. is against Islam, seeking revenge or geopolitical gain. In addition, it
would have affirmed justice over revenge, law over power, internationalism over nationalism,
and most importantly, non-violence over violence."
The statement goes on to call for the U.S. to petition the U.N.
to form an ad hoc international tribunal to prosecute indicted individuals for crimes
against humanity.
"The declaration of war made by President Bush in response
to the Sept. 11 events was counter-productive, inappropriate and illegal, placing
our citizens at greater jeopardy, reads the statement.
PESTICIDE BAN
SOUGHT
Environmental groups have joined forces with a labor union
to call for a ban on the widely used pesticide Vinclozolin.
Northwest Treeplanters and Farmworkers United (PCUN), in conjunction
with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Northwest Coalition for Pesticides
(NCAP), and the Environmental Working Group (EWG) offered to suspend pending legal
action in exchange for a commitment from EPA to end the use of the pesticide used
widely on Oregon snap beans. The groups are plaintiffs in proceedings challenging
the use of the pesticide, and the latest action came Dec. 28.
While the EPA has announced a multi-year phase out of the pesticide,
the agency has indicated to agricultural industry representatives that they may apply
for an "emergency" exemption once the phase out has occurred in order to
continue using the dangerous pesticide, according to Erik Nicholson, Collective Bargaining
Committee Coordinator for PCUN.
"It's time for EPA to once and for all end the use of this
pesticide once and for all," says Nicholson in a prepared statement. "The
EPA has repeatedly violated federal rules and laws in allowing growers to use this
pesticide, not to mention putting farmworkers and consumers at risk."
Over the past five years, PCUN, NCAP, NRDC and the EWG have repeatedly
challenged the EPA's tolerance levels for Vinclozolin.
CORRECTIONS/CLARIFICATIONS
In our "Haven of Hope" cover story Dec. 20, a
former drug addict described being refused treatment at Sacred Heart's ER. In response,
PeaceHealth's Brian Terrett tells us it's Sacred Heart's longtime policy to never
turn away anyone who asks for help, regardless of ability to pay, economic status
or "their lifestyle choices."
Back to Top
Failing
Women
OHSU scorecard shows
Oregon lagging in women's health.
By Orna
Izakson
One third of U.S. women live in counties without an abortion provider.
One fifth smoke. Twelve percent live in poverty. Nearly a third don't exercise. Overall,
the health status of women in the U.S. is considered unsatisfactory, according to
a new scorecard put out by Oregon Health Sciences University and other organizations.
"Women's health continues to not receive the attention it
needs," says Dr. Michelle Berlin of OHSU, one of the report's principle authors.
"This report card is a step to figure out what to do. I hope policymakers will
pay attention to this."
The country as a whole received a failing grade for access to abortion
providers and for health insurance -- only 13.2 percent of women across the nation
have health insurance. Most measures of disease prevention also flunked: 28.6 percent
of women don't exercise, one third are overweight, only 26.9 percent eat five fruits
and vegetables each day, and 21.2 percent smoke. Nearly half of all U.S. women have
unintended pregnancies, and more than half -- 55 percent -- reported that they'd
experienced violence in their lifetimes.
In many categories, health measures for black women were far worse
than for their white, Hispanic, Native American or Pacific Islander counterparts.
Nearly two thirds of all black women experience unintended pregnancies. Their AIDS
rate is nearly five times the national average for all women, and a whopping 23 times
the rate for white women. Black women see nearly four times as many of their babies
die as white women do. Nearly a quarter of black women -- 24.3 percent -- live in
poverty, followed by Hispanic women (23.1 percent), Native American women (22.5 percent),
Asian/Pacific Island women (11 percent) and white/non-Hispanic women (8.6 percent).
In the scorecard's state section (with #1 the best and #50 the
worst), Oregon ranked 21st, a drop from its "unsatisfactory" 2000 ranking
at 19th. The state failed women for private health insurance (only 15.9 percent have
it), first trimester prenatal care (nearly 20 percent don't get it) and access to
abortion providers (38 percent live in counties without it). The state flunked on
all prevention criteria -- smoking, exercise, diet, drinking, weight -- except for
annual dental visits, where the state got a grade of unsatisfactory (31.4 percent
of Oregonian women don't see a dentist annually).
Oregon also failed on high blood pressure (21.7 percent of white
women and 41.7 percent of black women have it) and diabetes. The state got the same
grade for deaths from stroke (28.5 per 100,000 population) and lung cancer (29.8
per 100,000).
Poverty among Oregonian women was higher than the national average
at 13.6 percent, ranking 38th among the states on that measure. Nearly two out of
every five Native women in Oregon live in poverty, the highest for all categories
in the state at 38.6 percent. More than a quarter of the state's Hispanic women live
in poverty, followed by 16.9 percent of Asian or Pacific Islander women and 12.7
percent of white women. Oregon's black women have the lowest poverty rate, at 4.1
percent.
The scorecard found that Oregon had no policy or a harmful one
for women in safety net services; linguistic access; gun control; long-term care;
mental health; and screenings for chlamydia, osteoporosis and colorectal cancer.
The state has weak programs in breast and cervical cancer treatment, family planning,
maternity stays, infertility treatment, smoking and violence against women. Oregon
offers poor conditions for women in terms of discrimination and the environment.
The report also includes demographic information, such as the percentage
of households headed by women (29.7 percent Oregon; 29.5 percent U.S.), education
levels, ages and percentage of total population. The state is substantially whiter
than the rest of the U.S.: 86.2 percent of Oregonian women are white, compared with
70.6 percent nationally. Black women represent only 2 percent of the female population,
compared with 13.1 percent in the U.S. Hispanic women make up 6.2 percent of Oregon
women, compared with 11.5 percent nationally. However, the female Native American
population in Oregon, at 1.7 percent, is nearly double that of the U.S. as a whole.
Perhaps the most hopeful statistic in the report is that new Oregonians
are twice as likely (13.4 percent) to be born with a midwife around as their counterparts
elsewhere in the country.
The report, "Making the Grade on Women's Health," is
available on-line at www.ohsu/edu/women/ReportCard.htm
Back to Top
 Pam Donegan
"I have this thing about volunteering," says
California native Pam Donegan. "When I was small I watched a neighborhood boy
cutting up pollywogs -- I can't bear to see any living creature in pain." Since
she moved to Eugene in the mid-'90s, Donegan has worked nearly full-time as a volunteer
while she studies psychology part-time and teaches one class as a graduate teaching
assistant. From early '96 through mid-'98, she averaged 80-plus hours of on-call
time weekly for Lane County's Victims' Services program. "There's an endless
flow of victims," she notes. "If we could halt one perpetrator, we could
save a lot of victims." So in 1999, when she learned of an experimental residential
treatment program for chronic offenders at the Lane County Jail, Donegan volunteered
there. "We were inside from 8 am until 6 or 7," she says. "I worked
there 'til mid-2000 -- the stress was unbelievable." Now just a term away from
graduation, Donegan has focused her volunteer efforts on the A Life for A Life initiative
campaign. The measure would replace the death penalty with life imprisonment and
offer restitution to victims' families.
-- Photo by Paul Neevel
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