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... GLOBAL NEWS ... NEWS The DustWatch network was established in 2002 in NSW by Dr Leys from the NSW Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources and Professor McTainsh from Griffith University in Queensland. Since 2002, the team has charted 15 events which exceeded safe health limits for breathability. And all of the events speak of lost topsoil, lost nutrients, and the land being stripped away and sometimes gone for good. In bad events, the plumes extend far across the ocean, stretching halfway to South America and Africa, besides dyeing the New Zealand snows pink. In such events, Prof. McTainsh says, cubic kilome- tres of Australia's soil is lost—far more than is exported by our rivers as sediment. (Source: CSIRO media release, 6 July 2005, http:/www.desertknowledge.com.au/crc) 171 Codex countries in attendance, adopted The writing off of debt, which occupied the guidelines by consensus method. so many front pages, is itself hedged Although the guidelines are not in them- around with similar conditions and requests selves restricting supplement sales, they do before countries will be allowed to benefit. prohibit making information available It is linked to the HIPC (highly indebted about diseases and nutrition, and they call poor countries) initiative, a form of debt for future dosage restrictions to be set after relief that has been tied to privatisation scientific evaluation of the safety of nutri- schemes controlled by the IMF and World ents contained in pills and capsules. Bank. Consumer representatives who attended The G7 statement makes it clear that the meeting are concerned that the guide- _ only those countries that are "on track with lines, in conjunction with the European their programmes of repayment obligations Union's Directive on Food Supplements, and adjusting their gross assistance flows may be a first step towards heavy controls by the amount forgiven" will be covered by on nutrition that would favour the pharma- the write-off—in other words, only those ceutical approach to disease over active, countries that have adjusted their consumer-driven prevention. economies in favour of repayment. (Sources: Press releases, 4 July 2005, What is more, any further grants of aid http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/ are conditional on those countries’ move- sepp/2005/07/04/codex_alimentarius_ ment towards "good governance, account- adopts_vitamin_guidelines.htm,; ability and transparency". The World http-//ahha.org/millerpressrelease705.htm) Bank, under Iraq war architect Paul Wolfowitz, will decide what amounts to THE AGENDA BEHIND DEBT "good governance". RELIEF FOR POOR NATIONS This kind of sleight of hand—to control he statement that was released on 10 _ through the appearance of altruism—is June, following the G7 finance minis- only possible under a modern democracy, ters' meeting, has been generally received with a media so well trained in self- by the Western media as heralding some _ censorship that it can be trusted not to poke kind of new dawn for poor countries. around in the more unpleasant corners of Taking a closer look, however, reveals _ such statements. the statement to be very much about the Constant references were made to the breaking down of barriers to "free" trade "G8 debt deal" and even the "G8 finance and corporate control of countries’ services ministers". In truth, there were only seven and resources—or "the elimination of ministers at that meeting. impediments to private investment, both Russia, although allowed into aspects of domestic and foreign", as the ministerial the G8 summit in view of its large reserves statement put it. of oil, gas and nuclear weapons, is not con- sidered to be an important enough player, economically speaking, to come to G7 finance meetings. The dressing up of World Trade Organization measures under the cloak of humanitarianism and international aid is perhaps the most successful aspect of the G8 summit's spin offensive. (Source: Corporate Watch, 17 June 2005, available at http://www.corporatewatch. org.uk/?lid=1807; read the G7 statement at http://www. g8.utoronto.ca/finance/fm0506 11 _dev.htm) CODEX COMMISSION ADOPTS TOUGH VITAMIN GUIDELINES ik its 28th session in Rome on 4 July, the planet's supreme food regulator has given a nod to industry in approving guidelines for food supplements over the strenuous opposition of consumer representatives. The full Commission of Codex Alimentarius adopted in final form the Codex Guidelines for Vitamin and Mineral Food Supplements. This is the Step 8 adoption, the final stage of adoption for the international Codex guidelines. The Codex Vitamin and Mineral Food Supplements guidelines are now official and no longer in draft form. The Commission, with over 85 of the THE AGENDA BEHIND DEBT RELIEF FOR POOR NATIONS lhe statement that was released on 10 June, following the G7 finance minis- ters' meeting, has been generally received by the Western media as heralding some kind of new dawn for poor countries. Taking a closer look, however, reveals the statement to be very much about the breaking down of barriers to "free" trade and corporate control of countries’ services and resources—or "the elimination of impediments to private investment, both domestic and foreign", as the ministerial statement put it. US DRIVER'S LICENCES TO BECOME NATIONAL ID CARDS he "Real ID" bill that President Bush signed into law on 11 May will turn state-issued US driver's licences into national ID cards. Real ID, which was slipped into an emer- gency appropriations bill, stipulates that by GEORGE BVSH BRAINSCAN 8 = NEXUS www.nexusmagazine.com AUGUST — SEPTEMBER 2005