Peru: Relocating Entire Villages for Mines, Dams http://upsidedownworld.org/main/news-briefs-archives-68/2384-peru-relocating-entire-villages-for-mines-dams

Hundreds of Peruvian communities were displaced as they fled the 1980-2000 civil war. Today the government is pushing for urgent passage of a law that would facilitate the relocation of entire villages or neighbourhoods in mineral or energy-rich areas.The draft law that the government of Alan García introduced to the single-chamber Congress for urgent consideration would move communities from areas where development projects deemed to be of "public or fundamental interest" are planned. 

The number of concessions granted to mining companies increased by more than 70 percent between 2002 and 2007, and has continued to grow since then, driven up by the boom in minerals prices. Several of the mining projects, still in the exploration phase, are on land that is populated by local communities. In other cases, mines have expanded to the point where they encroach on nearby populations, making it necessary to relocate entire villages or neighbourhoods. 

One of the most notorious cases is the town of Morococha in the central highlands region of Junín, where the Chinese company Chinalco plans to mine for copper on a hill ringed by the homes of hundreds of people. Another case is the city of Cerro de Pasco, also in the central highlands, where a huge open-pit mine operated by the Peruvian company Volcán is surrounded on all sides by neighbourhoods, and some 11,000 families could be relocated because of the mine's negative effects on their health as well as their homes, many of which have cracks as a result of the detonations. 

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HEALTH: Neoliberalism not Liberal Enough for AIDS Investments  http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50515

Neoliberal economic ideas have grown increasingly dominant over the last 30 years. During that same time, the spread of HIV/AIDS has reached an epidemic crescendo.This is more than a coincidence, argues Rick Rowden, author of the new book "The Deadly Ideas of Neoliberalism: How the IMF has Undermined Public Health and the Fight against AIDS." Rowden, who is a senior policy analyst at ActionAid, has long been critical of the way in which the restrictive spending policies of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have, in his view, set up a framework in which public health priorities go underfunded in the countries which receive aid from these international financial institutions. 

This argument is detailed in his new book and last week he made his case at the IMF itself. "The development that is needed has been pursued by the IMF and World Bank over these last decades in a way that has led to an inability of countries to invest properly in health…and the consequences of that have unfortunately been felt by the people on the ground in those countries," Rowden said in a panel discussion at the Fund's headquarters here.The IMF's development strategy has historically tried to encourage economic development through a neoliberal strategy that limits countries' public spending for fear they will go too far into debt or that it will impede the development of the private sector.

But Rowden says this philosophy is flawed and is a real hindrance to the developing world – both in their fights against AIDS and their general economic development. "I think there was this mythology in neoliberalism where if you just got government out of the way business would flourish…but public investment is essential for long-term economic development," he said. He credits subsidies and public research policies for helping rich countries beef up their domestic companies and their economies, but these policies in which government is directly involved in the private sector are inimitable with the tenets of neoliberalism.

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Totalitarianism threatens the world GM farmer http://www.radiomundoreal.fm/Totalitarismo-transgenico-amenaza

"The case will be GM contamination in Mexico," said Ramon Vera Herrera, Mexico GRAIN, "but we should also cite the case of FAO, which is obviously doing promotion of biotechnology companies as a solution, we [...] are  trying to say that there can be coexistence between biotechnology, and the native, natural.  The hearing, scheduled Tuesday and Wednesday in the Mexican city of Guadalajara, mark the point of greatest attention of the meeting of civil society organizations against Transgenics wich aim to steal our future. With contributions collected by organizations we also carry out a peasant, and popular opinion against GM. 

"At least 1400 million people are engaged in agriculture by planting their own food and provide meals in addition to the rest of humanity," said the activist. "Ultimately what we are saying is that coexistence does not matter much when we know that this is a very serious issue , that GM pollution is going to be a fact and that all laws are pushing our ancetsral methods to the side so there will be  super strict regulations, very totalitarian system against this peasant vision wich has cared in the world, "said Herrera. All kinds of free exchange, the save seeds for later get our own food, "based on autonomy, self-government", could be punished in the future by certified seed and certified by agribusinesses. As in the worst sci-fi movie, the organic methods of food base wich have been guarded by thousands of years would be criminalized. 

"For the indigenous farming communities, especially those that are close to the Network in Defense of Maize there has been a process of awareness", Herrera said, noting: "The Indian view is different from the commercial farmer because for the peasant, the indigenous plant life is an issue of life. It's not just "ethnographic or folk 'the difference on adressing this issue says Herrera. GRAIN The benchmark gave an example of the perception that indigenous peasant communities have about their life and environment: "I care very much for the details of daily life, work among the entire community to defend its corn seeds and in general, their way of seeing the world, of taking care of everything. " 

The Network in Defense of Maize emerged at the end of 2001 and brings together communities ranging from central to southern Mexico. "There are some that are mestizo peasants and organic or sustainable farmer networks ," Herrera said, noting that "the strong core is in the indigenous communities. In contrast, inthe north of Mexico the differences are obvious, because "there is no other history of colonization and, as such,its  another history of working in the field," he said. They are large tracts of land where the people before the Conquest was nomadic and had no planting, "and agriculture was able to implement a commercial or industrial rate in the worst cases. 

It is in this last area where the federal government is "experimenting" with genetically modified seeds. The Network in Defense of Maize has opened a channel of contact between farmers and indigenous people "where they can share their ancestral knowledge of a particular region and [...] defend against the invasion of transgenics," said Herrera. Parallel to this road the network  will  undertake to strengthen the exchange of ancestral native seeds and defending peasant worldview, against these  laws  wich have been passed, with the approval of big business, promoted by GM technology and its release to the market.

"It implies seed laws that promote privatization through strong patents and seed certification, and on the other hand, sooner or later, [...] what they want is to criminalize the trade  ,monitoring or even promotion of our organic seeds," said Herrera , who provides a scenario where the seeds wich are not certified as native seeds will be "eradicated". For the activist it  is clear that "GMOs are not just a technological innovation that has failed or  one that doesnt understand why its a bad idea." "If we as a world, as peoples, we run out the free organic seeds , without those channels and confidence in our ancestral knowledge of farming, we can face a serious problem because there is a tremendous struggle over control [...],and  it envisions one of military-controlled areas, "he added.

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15 Years Ago, the Combined Assets of the 6 Biggest Banks Totaled 17% of GDP... By 2006, 55% ... Now, 63%  http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2010/03/15-years-ago-combined-assets-of-6.html

Fifteen years ago, the combined assets of our six biggest banks totaled 17 percent of our GDP. By 2006, that number was 55 percent. Right now, it stands at 63 percent.Johnson also points out that:The big four have half of the market for mortgages and two-thirds of the market for credit cards. Five banks have over 95 percent of the market for over-the-counter derivatives. Three U.S. banks have over 40 percent of the global market for stock underwriting.

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Consumer group sues California health insurer http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6212ZO20100302

Consumer advocates filed a class-action suit against Anthem Blue Cross on Monday, accusing California's largest for-profit health insurer of illegally using drastic rate hikes to force customers into inferior health plans.The suit comes two days before top executives from several major U.S. health insurers, including Anthem's parent company, WellPoint Inc. , were to meet in Washington with Obama administration officials to discuss escalating premiums. Anthem's plan to boost its individual premiums by as much as 39 percent has spawned inquiries by state regulators and congressional committees.