Welcome to the Street News Service
There's a hearty helping of news, views and features from street papers around the world. Please feel free to read all material provided. Currently, the reproduction of material is available for paid up members of the International Network of Street Papers and the North American Street Newspaper Association only.
Want to submit a story? Please email it to sns@street-papers.org.
Last Updated: Monday 4th August 2008
You can now search Street News Service 144
FEATURED ARTICLES
TOP STORY: When your doctor becomes your dealer... (Straat Magazine, the Netherlands)
Ilja Post
About a million Dutch people take some 250 million tranquilisers each year. Many of these people are addicted. Every year 180 people die as a result of an accident involving sleeping pills. Despite the addictive effects of this type of medication, almost two thirds of all users get a prescription refill without question. The Dutch street paper 'Straat Magazine' talked to ex-user John Broek, who took over 50,000 tranquilisers over a fifteen year period. (2480 words, English summary of Dutch article, + picture)
TOP STORY: Als de dokter je dealer wordt… (Straat Magazine, the Netherlands)
Ilja Post
Ongeveer een miljoen Nederlanders slikken samen zo’n 250 miljoen slaap- en kalmeringstabletten per jaar. Ongeveer 650.000 daarvan slikken chronisch. Een groot deel daarvan is verslaafd. Ondanks de verslavende werking krijgt bijna tweederde van de gebruikers zonder problemen een herhaalrecept uitgeschreven. Straatmagazine sprak ex-gebruiker John Broek, die in vijftien jaar zo’n 50.000 kalmeringstabletten slikte: ‘Op doktersrecept is mijn leven verwoest.’ (2,480 woorden, Nederlands + foto)
TOP STORY: Foreclosed Dreams (Denver Voice, USA)
Michael de Yoanna
Though there’s no definite link, fears abound that the foreclosure ‘crisis’ –known to some as the ‘credit crunch’- will prompt a rise in homelessness. This is the story of Dave and Suzie Evans, whom, for six years, pursued the American Dream. The US couple bought the home, as Denver’s real estate boom ignited, sending housing prices rocketing to record highs. Then disaster struck. Dave’s loss of job led the couple into a life without a home. “You have to fight the loser feeling.” (2,153 words, English + picture)
TOP STORY: Drugs in sport (Issues Magazine, Ireland)
Jennifer May
With athletes all over the world in serious training for the up-coming Beijing Olympics, there is no doubt that the thorny issue of performance enhancing drugs will rear its ugly head. Just as it always does, whenever a serious sporting competition is in the offing. The Irish Issues Magazine looks back at the problem of drugs in sport and the consequences for some of those who attained their moment in the sun. (1,460 words, English + picture)
Global Voices (SNS Exclusive - English)
Street News Service
What do you do in your life to combat global warming? People on the streets all over the world answer this question in the first instalment of this SNS Exclusive column ‘Global Voices’. (261 words, available in English, Spanish and German, + pictures)
Stimmen der Welt (SNS Exklusiv - Deutsch)
Street News Service
Was tun Sie persoenlich gegen die globale Erwaermung ? Leute auf der Strasse weltweit geben Antwort auf diese Frage in der ersten Ausgabe der Serie ‘Stimmen der Welt’. (249 Wörter, verfuegbar in englisch, spanisch und deutsch, + Bilder)
Voces Globales (Exclusiva SNS - español)
Street News Service
¿Qué haces en tu vida para combatir el calentamiento global? Gente en las calles por todo el mundo contesta esta pregunta en el primer ejemplar de la columna ‘Global Voices’ (Voces Globales) en Exclusiva SNS. (261 palabras, disponible en ingles, español, alemán, + fotos).
Worldwide Vendor Spotlight (SNS Exclusive - English)
Street News Service
UK street paper vendor John, tells his story in this first instalment of the SNS Exclusive column ‘Worldwide Vendor Spotlight’. (404 words, English/ Spanish/ German, + picture)
Verkaeufer weltweit im Rampenlicht (SNS Exklusiv - Deutsch)
Street News Service
John, Verkaeufer einer Strassenzeitung im Vereinten Koenigreich erzaehlt seine Geschichte im ersten Teil der Serie “Verkaeufer weltweit im Rampenlicht” (404 Wörter + Bilder)
Enfoque global: Vendedores Destacados (Exclusiva SNS, español)
Street News Service
John, vendedor de un periódico callejero en el Reino Unido narra su historia en este primer ejemplar de la columna exclusiva de SNS, Enfoque global: Vendedores Destacados. (404 palabras, ingles, español, alemán, + foto)
Rainbow Gathering: a worldwide family reunion (Street Roots, USA)
Miyuki Sese
Miyuki Sese is from Japan and is working with Street Roots, USA as an intern this summer. Her adventures recently took her to the annual Rainbow Gathering in Wyoming: “There was nothing but woodland as far as I could see. It was so far from modern society and its technology. No TV, no grocery store, no house. Not even a restroom! I made one by digging a hole in the ground: the wildest experience ever for me.” (1,510 words, English + picture)
A Visit to San Francisco's Project Homeless Connect (Homeward Street Journal, USA)
Paula Lomazzi
A group from the US Sacramento Homeless Connect planning committee took a trip to San Francisco to tour the city's 21st Project Homeless Connect (PHC). What better way to learn than from the experts who first conceptualized and founded Project Homeless Connect three and a half years ago. These one-day events bring disconnected services together for homeless and nearly homeless people at a central location. A report. (693 words, English)
Graham Walker column: Free (The Big Issue Cymru)
Graham Walker
Graham Walker says he’s always been homeless, one way or another. His book, ‘Unsettled’, offers a remarkable, articulate insight into the complicated life of a Big Issue vendor. For The Big Issue Cymru he writes a regular column about his life. Here is the latest instalment. (475 words, English)
Foodwise: Healthy Savings in Las Vegas (Streetwise, USA)
Ginny and The Chef
In the latest installment of the StreetWise column Foodwise, duo Ginny & The Chef talk about food in Las Vegas: “It may surprise some people to learn that “sin city” has become one of the world’s top dining destinations. Yes, there is far more to do and see than gamble, get married, or see a show.”(486 words, English)
Moving Home (The Big Issue Australia)
Romy Ash
A house can remain, even when it’s gone: The Big Issue Australia’s Romy Ash ponders the connections between buildings, memories and things left behind. “First house, first love, first time I cooked red-sauce tuna pasta. Like the tradition of carpenters sealing the front page of that day’s newspaper in the wall, the note I found hidden in the crack between two boards spoke from the past.” (1,241 words, English)
Green Street jewellers bring Bollywood to London (Reuters)
David Brough
Green Street, a slice of India in one of the most depressed areas of London, is branding itself as the up-and-coming jewellery quarter for shoppers who love South Asian style. A long avenue where sari shops mingle with curry houses, its jewellers offer necklaces and bangles of deep yellow 22-carat gold and diamonds, as well as cheaper designer and costume jewels, for weddings and parties. (780 words, English + picture)
Siberians see eclipse reviving homemade telescope (Reuters)
Natalya Sokhareva
From a garden in the remote West Siberian town of Barnaul rises a rickety wooden tower capped with an aluminium dome. World War Two veteran and astronomy enthusiast Mikhail Levchenko built this telescope and observatory from scratch in the 1970s, working far from the grand research centres that were once at the heart of the Soviet space race with the West. Now, the neighbours and locals he mesmerised with his creation want to bring it back to life. (625 words, English + picture)
Fewer Conflicts, But More Refugees (Inter Press Service)
Tarjei Kidd Olsen
Despite a reduction in the number of violent conflicts around the world, the number of internal refugees has soared to levels not seen since the end of the cold war. Almost half of all of these refugees are in Africa. The Norwegian Refugee Council is afraid the situation could become even worse: “Warring parties increasingly seek to deliberately displace people as a part of their strategies.” (758 words, English + picture)
Court Ruling Emboldens Third Gender in Nepal (Inter Press Service)
Mallika Aryal
On Dec. 21, 2007 Nepal’s Supreme Court (SC) declared that all discriminatory laws against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people must be repealed by the government. Nepal is the only country in South Asia to provide such rights. In this story, Nepalese talk about their personal experiences: “I was awkward and I knew I was different." (890 words, English + picture)
Norwegian Oil Fund Finds Ethical Success (Inter Press Service)
Tarjei Kidd Olsen
Norway's 'oil fund' has risen to become the second largest fund in the world despite housing an ethical investments council which has kicked out major companies such as Wal-Mart, Lockheed Martin and Boeing. The Government Pension Fund - worth an estimated 390 billion dollars, has become the world's second largest sovereign wealth fund. An analysis. (1,002 words, English + picture)
Weniger Kriege, mehr Flüchtlinge (IPS Europa)
Tarjei Kidd Olsen
In den letzten zwei Jahren ist die Zahl der Kriege und bewaffneten Auseinandersetzungen von 35 auf 31 zurückgegangen. Die Zahl der Flüchtlinge und Vertriebenen aber ist dennoch gestiegen. Experten erklären dieses Phänomen mit einer Brutalisierung der Kriege und kriegsähnlichen Situationen (377 Wörter, Deutsch + Bilder)
Lob für Armenhäuser: Laos und Kambodscha top bei Vergabe von ARVs (IPS Europa)
Marwaan Macan-Markar
Laos und Kambodscha sind am besten für ihre Armut bekannt, aber die beiden Staaten kümmern sich dennoch außerordentlich gut um ihre HIV-Infizierten. Die Länder gehören zur regionalen Spitzengruppe bei der Vergabe der lebensverlängernden antiretroviralen Medikamente (ARVs). (488 Wörter, Deutsch)
Armut im Gaza-Streifen auf historischem Höchststand (IPS Europa)
Omid Memarian
Die Menschen im Gaza-Streifen sind so arm wie nie zuvor. Über die Hälfte aller Haushalte dort lebt unterhalb der Armutsgrenze. Dies geht aus dem neusten Bericht des UN-Hilfswerks für Palästina-Flüchtlinge im Nahen Osten (UNRWA) hervor. Die Zahlen sind erschreckend. (595 Wörter, Deutsch)
Biodiésel iluminará comunidades amazónicas (Inter Press Service)
Mario Osava
El aceite de palmeras nativas como el tucumán, el ouricurí y el murumurú permitirá a poblados aislados en el interior profundo de la Amazonia brasileña disponer de electricidad, inaccesible por medios convencionales. Un equipo de investigadores se apresta a poner en funcionamiento este año una planta de producción de biodiésel en Carauarí, municipio de 25.000 habitantes al que sólo se accede por vía fluvial o aérea, surcando 1.600 kilómetros de ríos o viajando 2,5 horas por avión desde Manaos, capital del estado de Amazonas, en el noroeste del país. (782 palabras, español)
La papa vale más que un conflicto (Inter Press Service)
Daniela Estrada y Milagros Salazar
Las políticas de rescate, conservación, producción, comercio y mejoramiento genético de las papas nativas, orientadas a los campesinos, deberían anteponerse a la añosa disputa entre Chile y Perú sobre el origen del preciado alimento, afirman expertos de ambos países. (1,305 palabras, español)
La verdadera hora para el liderazgo de EEUU (Inter Press Service)
Jim Lobe
Estados Unidos debe implementar cuanto antes grandes cambios en sus políticas de desarrollo y de ayuda de emergencia para afrontar la crisis internacional de los precios de los granos, que pone en riesgo los recientes avances en la reducción de la pobreza de muchos países del Sur. (741 palabras, español)
Bemiddelaar goedkoper dan blauwhelmen (Inter Press Service)
Thalif Deen
Toen de voormalige VN-baas Kofi Annan zijn bemiddelingspoging in Kenia tot een goed einde bracht, spaarde hij niet alleen veel levens, maar ook een pak centen. Het hele proces kostte de VN immers amper 208.000 dollar, een fractie van een vredesoperatie met VN-blauwhelmen. (474 woorden. Nederlands)
Noors ‘Oliefonds’ vaart wel bij ethisch beleggen (Inter Press Service)
Tarjei Kidd Olsen
Zakendoen en ethiek kunnen best samengaan. De Raad voor Ethisch Investeren van het Noorse ‘Oliefonds’ heeft een veto gesteld tegen uiteenlopende bedrijven als Wal-Mart, het Europese defensieconcern EADS en Boeing, maar dat heeft de instelling niet belet uit te groeien tot het op een na grootste openbare investeringsfonds ter wereld. (432 woorden, Nederlands)
Pentagon concentreert zich op ‘kleine oorlogen’ (Inter Press Service)
Jim Lobe
Het Amerikaanse leger moet zich de komende decennia vooral wapenen tegen “gewelddadige extremistische bewegingen” als al-Qaida, die aansturen op niet-conventionele conflicten. Tegelijk blijven voorzorgsmaatregelen geboden tegen losgeslagen staten als Iran en Noord-Korea en mogelijke rivalen als China en Rusland, staat er in de eerste Nationale Defensiestrategie van de Amerikaanse minister van Defensie, Robert Gates. (522 woorden, Nederlands)
Fler avrättningar på grund av "kriget mot narkotikan" (Inter Press Service)
Antoaneta Bezlova
Kinesiska myndigheter trappar upp det de kallar "folkets krig mot narkotikan". Det har gjort att regeringens löfte att minska antalet avrättningar kommit på skam, enligt betraktare. Som värd för sommar OS 2008 har Kinas regim lovat att utdöma dödsstraff mer sparsamt och alla dödsdomar som utdelas av provinsdomstolar skickas därför till landets högsta domstol för översyn. (610 words, Swedish)
Kvinnor värst drabbade av cyklonen (Inter Press Service)
Marwaan Macan-Markar
Nästan tre månader har gått sedan cyklonen Nargis slog till mot Irrawaddy-deltat i Burma. En ny rapport visar att majoriteten av dem som dog i det drabbade området var kvinnor. Över 60 procent av katastrofens offren var kvinnor, och i vissa av de svårast drabbade byarna dog dubbelt så många kvinnor som män, visar en utvärdering från PONJA, Post-Nargis Joint Assessment, ett trepartssamarbete bestående av företrädare från Burmas militärregim, FN och den sydostasiatiska samarbetsorganisationen Asean. (581 words, Swedish)