Global Forum

May d'Marie, a retired librarian from Sacramento, is handing out apple slices cooked in a solar stove at her side. "This is where you cook only with the sun--no gas, no electricity or any of that other stuff," she said. D'Marie is one of thousands of environmental activists participating in the Global Forum, a serious-minded carnival of non-governmental organizations that is being staged in conjunction with the U.N. Conference on the Environment and Development.

The General Assembly kicked off a weeklong discussion of counter-terrorism Monday with a finger-wagging speech by New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani. Stepping onto the stage of the world body, which his city hosts, Giuliani stressed that the recent attacks against the U.S. violated the United Nations' founding principals of protecting world peace and that the member states have a moral obligation to act. "You're either with civilization or with terrorists," he said.

It was an unlikely diplomatic setting. Instead of international talks in the elegant mansions of Embassy Row, there was talk of oranges and aerospace firms in the meeting rooms of the Los Angeles Convention Center--one floor above an auto show. Several dozen ambassadors had flown from Washington to attend and, certainly, diplomatic skills were in order. They were there to woo and be wooed, negotiating--along with their Southern California hosts--a fine line of commercial self-interest.

I recently went to Washington to attend the first Youth Summit on Globalization, hosted by Amnesty International and the Sierra Club. I encountered people who actually participate in politics because they care about social issues. Having the opportunity to interact with citizen activists in my age group was stimulating. It was certainly a drastic change from the apathetic environment at home. During the conference, the 200 discussed the need for corporate accountability.

Re the June 26 commentary by Craig Venter and Daniel Cohen suggesting the creation of a world parliament with a view to establishing universal ethical criteria for the potential applications of human genome research: International consultations on these issues have already taken place. Over several years, UNESCO, the United Nations agency in charge of science, has developed a global forum and ethical criteria for genetic research. This led to the unanimous adoption of the Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights by UNESCO's general conference in 1997.

Former California Gov. Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown Jr., sharing his thoughts here Saturday on environmental destruction, squared off against the Bush Administration and "the forces of greed and waste." But he also took a jab at what he called "tax-deduction junkies"--nonprofit groups that advocate environmental protection but shy away from partisan politics. Brown was speaking at the Global Forum, an international meeting of environmentalists being held in Rio de Janeiro along with the U.N.

President Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton on Saturday harshly assailed conservative critics of the International Conference on Women to begin in Beijing next week, defending the gathering as "true blue" to family values.

My neighbor's Honda was stolen from our street — twice. The second time it was recovered, its rear windshield had been blown out in a gang shooting. It was time for a change, a drastic one. So my neighbor bought a Ford Crown Victoria with tinted windows, side spotlights and a metal plate on the trunk lid reading "Police Interceptor. " Now it sits, black and brutish, among the Camry Hybrids, Mini Coopers and Volvo station wagons in our Echo Park neighborhood. In September, the last of the iconic cop cars — a veteran of countless street chases, both actual and theatrical — rolled off Ford's production line in St. Thomas, Ontario.

The General Assembly kicked off a weeklong discussion of counter-terrorism Monday with a finger-wagging speech by New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani. Stepping onto the stage of the world body, which his city hosts, Giuliani stressed that the recent attacks against the U.S. violated the United Nations' founding principals of protecting world peace and that the member states have a moral obligation to act. "You're either with civilization or with terrorists," he said.

I recently went to Washington to attend the first Youth Summit on Globalization, hosted by Amnesty International and the Sierra Club. I encountered people who actually participate in politics because they care about social issues. Having the opportunity to interact with citizen activists in my age group was stimulating. It was certainly a drastic change from the apathetic environment at home. During the conference, the 200 discussed the need for corporate accountability.

Re the June 26 commentary by Craig Venter and Daniel Cohen suggesting the creation of a world parliament with a view to establishing universal ethical criteria for the potential applications of human genome research: International consultations on these issues have already taken place. Over several years, UNESCO, the United Nations agency in charge of science, has developed a global forum and ethical criteria for genetic research. This led to the unanimous adoption of the Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights by UNESCO's general conference in 1997.

President Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton on Saturday harshly assailed conservative critics of the International Conference on Women to begin in Beijing next week, defending the gathering as "true blue" to family values.

It was an unlikely diplomatic setting. Instead of international talks in the elegant mansions of Embassy Row, there was talk of oranges and aerospace firms in the meeting rooms of the Los Angeles Convention Center--one floor above an auto show. Several dozen ambassadors had flown from Washington to attend and, certainly, diplomatic skills were in order. They were there to woo and be wooed, negotiating--along with their Southern California hosts--a fine line of commercial self-interest.

May d'Marie, a retired librarian from Sacramento, is handing out apple slices cooked in a solar stove at her side. "This is where you cook only with the sun--no gas, no electricity or any of that other stuff," she said. D'Marie is one of thousands of environmental activists participating in the Global Forum, a serious-minded carnival of non-governmental organizations that is being staged in conjunction with the U.N. Conference on the Environment and Development.

Former California Gov. Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown Jr., sharing his thoughts here Saturday on environmental destruction, squared off against the Bush Administration and "the forces of greed and waste." But he also took a jab at what he called "tax-deduction junkies"--nonprofit groups that advocate environmental protection but shy away from partisan politics. Brown was speaking at the Global Forum, an international meeting of environmentalists being held in Rio de Janeiro along with the U.N.

U.S.-Japan Microchip Talks Stall: Trade negotiators appeared to make little headway in the discussions to resolve the dispute, despite a looming deadline after U.S. officials said a new Japanese proposal broke no new ground. The negotiators have been told by Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and President Clinton to resolve the dispute over an expiring semiconductor agreement and a separate row over insurance deregulation in Japan by today.

Youth Theme Song: "Please Save Us the World," a music video starring 13-year-old actress Love Hewitt ("Kids Inc."), will be screened for Earth Summit participants in Rio on Saturday. The United Nations chose the song as the official 1992 theme of its Global Youth Forum, which will receive all proceeds from the sale of the video and an upcoming CD single.