allafrica.com OPINION May 5, 2003 Posted to the web May 13, 2003 Muthoni L. Wanyeki Nairobi

Over the past few years, Labour Day celebrations in the developed north have been marked by massive demonstrations by the so-called "anti-globalisation" protesters.

The description does the protestors a disservice. Yes, they include the anarchist organisations that the mainstream media so loves to capture and denigrate.

But the protestors also include representatives from the growing anti-racism movement, from the labour and women's movements and from the wide range of left-of-centre political parties.

What they protest is the state of the human condition across the world. Their analysis of the world as created by bilateral and multilateral financing as well as by international trade and investment is far from simplistic.

Their anger has helped shape public opinion and create pressure. They have thus made the work of advocates who lobby international financial institutions that much easier.

The results are there for all of us to see. We now have programmes for debt relief for the most highly indebted states. The International Monetary Fund is developing an international bankruptcy and insolvency mechanism for states.

International financing is increasingly targeted at poverty alleviation. More interestingly, late last month, we had the first national bill in support of the so-called Tobin Tax, in Venezuela.

The Tobin Tax refers to the proposal to develop an international mechanism for the taxing of international currency transactions. It is aimed at decreasing speculation in and reducing the volatility of international financial markets and is viewed as a potentially new source of financing for development.

It is a proposal that has been avidly adopted and promoted by the wide range of so-called "anti-globalisation" protestors. Now, the Venezuelan Ministry of Economic Development has presented a bill for adoption by its parliament containing its own version of the Tobin Tax.

The Bill proposes a two-tier currency transaction tax (CTT) - a small tax on currency transactions linked to international trade and a higher tax on currency transactions motivated by international financial markets.

What is remarkable about the proposed CTT in Venezuela is that it comes from the government of an indebted (although oil-rich) underdeveloped state. A state in political and economic crisis following last year's attempted coup d'etat by the right.

A state that needs foreign direct investment just as much as the rest of the underdeveloped south. Venezuela's experience with the CTT will thus be instructive to us all.

These changes, internationally and nationally, are what protestors like those who clashed with the police in Germany over Labour Day can bring about and have brought about.

I watched those clashes thinking about what protestors have achieved - painfully slowly as innovations they propose find their way into the arena of national and international policy. I watched those clashes thinking, too, about our own Labour Day celebrations.

Here, Labour Day celebrations were a sober and unquestionably state affair, despite the recent (and threatened) industrial unrest. It was a time for workers to sit back to hear what the state had decided to concede. For the state knew what it was expected to respond to, as came through in the president's speech.

But the minimum wage just announced is unacceptable. I cannot imagine trying to live on Ksh4,000 ($53) a month (and I am sure our president, who made the announcement, cannot either). I also know that the delay in resolving the teachers' salaries is equally unacceptable.

It is high time that debate on those salaries shifted from "what is achievable" to "how to make it achievable."

The long-term and systematic gains that collaborative efforts by all of civil society, including the labour movement, can achieve are obvious. Especially in view of the fact that the urgent bread and butter issues that still preoccupy labour here are intrinsically, if not obviously, linked to the issues raised above.

Muthoni Wanyeki is executive director of the African Women's Development and Communication Network (Femnet)

<a href=www.republicons.org>republicons.org by:   Wire Services 5/13/2003   A senior Venezuelan army general said the government of the South American country has proof the United States was involved in a short-lived coup against President Hugo Chavez last year.

Army Gen. Melvin Lopez, secretary of Venezuela's National Defence Council, said Tuesday "proof exists" the U.S. administration was involved in the mid-April putsch. He declined to give further details. "We have the evidence," Lopez said during an interview broadcast by Venezuela's state-run television channel.

Lopez said three U.S. military helicopters were on Venezuelan territory during the coup.

A spokesmen from the Pentagon declined comment on the allegation Tuesday night.

Dissident generals rose up against Chavez on April 11, 2002, several hours after 19 Venezuelans died and over 100 were wounded by gunfire as opposition marchers clashed with government supporters in downtown Caracas.

Loyalists in the military returned Chavez to power two days later.

Following his return, Chavez said "worrying details" had emerged suggesting a foreign country might have been involved in his temporary overthrow.

Chavez said a coastal radar installation had tracked a foreign military ship and helicopter operating over Venezuelan waters a day after his ouster. Chavez did not say which country had sent the ship and helicopter but governing party legislators have accused the United States of helping execute the coup.

The U.S. administration has repeatedly denied it was involved in the coup but acknowledged having held conversations with Venezuelan opposition leaders and military officers prior to the rebellion against Chavez.

A month after Chavez returned, the U.S. Embassy denied allegations U.S. military vessels were in Venezuelan territory.

The only U.S. vessels to approach Venezuelan waters during the coup attempt were two U.S. coast guard ships on a joint anti-narcotics mission with The Netherlands, the embassy said in a news release.

The embassy also rejected allegations by governing party legislators that two U.S. military officials who visited the Fuerte Tiuna military base in Caracas the day before Chavez's ouster were helping coup leaders.

The two officers spent two hours at the base April 11 to investigate information about troop movements, the embassy said. They left hours before Chavez was deposed. Two officers returned to the base April 13 for another evaluation of the situation.

Officials in Washington said they told opponents of Chavez they would not support any unconstitutional activity aimed at removing the leftist leader from power.

Chavez, who has irritated Washington by forging ties with Cuban President Fidel Castro, has criticized the United States for being too slow in condemning the coup when it occurred.

In contrast to most Latin American governments, the United States was sluggish to condemn the coup, initially blaming Chavez for his own overthrow. It later joined members of the Organization of American States in condemning the coup as unconstitutional.

Last week, Chavez commemorated the one-year anniversary of his dramatic return to power by inviting anti-globalization activists to a series of forums in Caracas.

Opposition leaders condemned the celebration, saying it was an insult to relatives of the victims who died in the violence that occurred prior to the military uprising.

The Rediff Special/Rajgopal Nidamboor Rajgopal Nidamboor | May 13, 2003

The recent, shameful exposé of a band of Indian athletes "caught in the act" for using performance-enhancing drugs is just the tip of the iceberg. A wittingly, or unwittingly, enacted "fall-out" of what made anabolic steroids, and the Ben Johnsons, household "exemplars," and earned the wrath of the denizens who control sports and/or the Olympic movement...

That's not all. On the other side of the spectrum, "Golden Girl" Flo Jo fell a victim to the steroidal panache, just as much as sporting nobles like Carl Lewis became "tainted" with drug allegations, and every sport meet had its own share of "drug-abuse" skeletons in the cupboard… All the same, the chemical athlete of today has often been snared by stringent drug testing devices -- now in use, worldwide. But, life, of course, is a basic reality -- of which everything else is a form of manifestation, including the doping phenomenon, and its effects on the human body. Hence, every possible "remedy" to curtail it seems to be worse than the malady per se. An update.

First, the basics. An anabolic steroid is a substance that aims at promoting tissue growth, especially through stimulation of cellular protein -- its production, to be precise. And, while each type of steroid used exerts its peculiar effects in the body, athletes almost, as a norm, use those with chemical structures akin to the chief male hormone, testosterone. Also, steroids, without doubt, have masculinising, or androgenic, action/s. This is precisely the reason why they are, sometimes, labelled as androgenic-anabolic steroids.

The use of synthetic derivatives of testosterone dates back to the post-World War II sports scenario, when they were first "employed" by a handful of weightlifters and bodybuilders. Things came to a head when over a dozen athletes were disqualified during the 1983 Pan American Games in Caracas, Venezuela, for using anabolic steroids before the competition. It became clear, thereafter, that the menacing influence of drugs was not ethnic to sportspersons of the erstwhile Soviet-bloc countries. What's more, it was also the first time a very sensitive analytical technique was used to determine and screen the athletes' urine sample/s for the presence of steroids, whose use was, covertly or overtly, resorted to improving muscular size, strength, endurance, and sports performance.

Now -- a bit of history. A whole new world of experimentation with anabolic steroids, by sportspersons, began with the advent of oral steroids, in 1958. Awakened by economic prospects, and with the view of making them more effective, drug manufactures altered the steroid molecules so that they would not meet with rapid doom when they passed through the liver. It has now been well established that this grand design in steroidal composition is associated with one of the most serious of side-effects -- liver disease; most likely, cancer.

The most colourful effect of steroid use is its virilising purport -- with the availability of a varied range of drugs with minimal masculinising side-effects. Yet, it goes without saying that most athletes reckon that the androgenic effects, whatever their impact, are a sine qua non for elevating aggression levels -- levels that promote continued and strenuous training, scientific, biomechanical, or call it by any other name. And, you have it all well laid out: the purpose of inculcating a definitive advantage -- or, extra force for limb movements. However, controversy dogs the power and effectiveness of steroidal use in male athletes, what with their inherently adequate levels of testosterone.

Sport, in recent years, has been nothing short of an industry. And, while champion material is being tapped in schools, so has drug power. It is also evident that coaches and trainers either recommend, or administer, drugs to their wards with the hope of fulfilling their fond dreams; they may even help them "customise" a number of steroidal regimens too. In combination, or otherwise. While transgression of dosage schedules are not uncommon, athletes have always prayed that a specific steroidal diet would only cause less harmful side-effects, and maximum effect on field performance. The equation is, however, not so simplistic.

While weightlifters have cyclical steroidal dosages, in combination with hormones, such as thyroid, to speed up metabolism, reduce appetite, and fat deposits under the skin, athletes have used a host of fanciful drugs experimentally, and carelessly. Some examples: the growth hormone extracted from human cadavers; HCG; grand doses of vitamins and minerals; bee pollen; amino acids; and, anything that holds promise to improving the levels of athletic competitiveness. The adage? More, the merrier. The sermon? Side-effects, if any, would be reversible upon cessation of drug [ab]use.

Each time an athlete takes a drug, which has no relevance to any form of ethical therapy, it changes his/her ability to function normally. While some drugs increase alertness and performance, others are relaxing and relieve high levels of arousal and tension/stress. All this, of course, depends on the "drug culture," the athlete, in question, is asked to follow.

To dwell on the exact chemistry of the steroidal habit. The natural rate of secretion of testosterone in men is about 10 mg per day; it is 0.26 mg in women. In reality, however, athletes take a total of 400-450 mg of different drugs, per day, in combined dosages, which may sometimes be higher in certain cases. The inference is obvious: enormous stress on the human system in balancing an unnatural act of human chicanery, or "enterprise."

Sporting glories have been underscored by one ritual from time immemorial: "Evil, be thou my good." And, methods to boost performance are not a modern-day saga. Just ponder over the fact that human nature is unchanging, and you'd be astounded to know that the noble Greeks were not averse to a little "cheating." Phylostratos and Galen, two great physicians of ancient Greece, contended that sportsmen, at the height of Greek magnificence, used many dietary methods to improve performance, including a novel, culinary idea, or a "miracle" -- eating sheep's testicles!

Today, it is all high-tech: a complex, super-specialised smorgasbord of "designer" drugs. Understandably, it is impossible to forecast which sportsperson might experience a given harmful side-effect of steroidal usage. The gamble is also risky, but athletes, and others, given the spectacular hold of the dough in sport, and human culpability, are prepared to swap it for the coveted gold, and also fame and wealth success would bring to one's doorstep. The winning edge, in sport, is of supreme importance, after all -- not the illegal, or unethical, side of dope.

Drugs are universal in their implications. However, drug tests are mainly administered at key competitions. Manipulating drug doses is, therefore, easy, because dates of major meets are always known in advance. Yet, the best way to stall the redundant use of drugs would be to spend a fortune in conducting spot checks at random, at any time of the year -- and, by surprise -- not just during, or before, an event. Some element of Hitchcockian suspense, after all, may help, even if the system would not be foolproof. Nothing is.

"Errors," wrote John Dryden, "like straws, upon the surface flow; He who would search for pearls must dive below." Sadly, a "drug-free" athletic world, in the present dispensation, is not only impossible, but also unachievable.

  The Lure Of Drugs

It's universally conceded that anabolic steroids are used by nearly all national and international athletes in a world dominated by muscularity and strength. Because, drugs have a positive effect in stimulating red blood cell formation, some runners and sprinters use them in the belief that a greater number of red cells will cause greater delivery of oxygen to the working muscles. Many athletes also believe that they cannot hope to compete favourably at high levels of competition without using drugs; athletes who would not ordinarily use drugs feel compelled to using them because they believe that they are at a serious disadvantage... if they are among "drug-free" competitors. Curiously, some athletes, who have been on drugs, have gone home free of blame; a few have been "caught" for no blemish, and then restored of their pride and medal.

There are athletes who take up to 1,000-2,000 mg of steroids per day, including amphetamines to help speed up metabolism... influenced by the current fad in the athletic world... That the most dangerous side-effects of overdoses are evident; and, so are the testimonials citing 30-lb body weight gain, tremendous improvement in strength, marked increase in stamina, and "personal bests" in sports performance. Yet, tumour development usually occurs over many years of use, as also shrunken testicles, low sperm count, infertility, baldness, loss of hair, irregular menses, and so on. The other effects often include hypertension, violent mood swings, even psychosis, loss of appetite, muscle cramps, vomiting, nosebleed, vertigo, headaches etc., The list is endless.

Inconsistency, however, dogs scientific and medical studies. Also, problems associated with drug abuse typically disappear after the stoppage of steroidal use. But, what is really amazing is the various modes of usage of anabolic steroids. It is quite remarkable, and somewhat terrifying, when one considers the wild experimentation that athletes often indulge themselves with/in. A majority of steroids used by athletes comes from underground sources -- unscrupulous pharmacists, drug supply houses, athletes who bring drugs back from foreign countries, vets, and several others. Most physicians abhor the use of steroids by healthy athletes, or persons -- not steroidal doctors, who, because of the lure of the lucre, or a "sincere" belief, argue that they can monitor the usage of drugs -- for quicker and better results. Faster. Higher. Stronger.

Ephedrine: Potency Magnified?

A naturally occurring substance found in plants of the genus, Ephedra, ephedrine has been used for thousands of years as a decongestant, and energy tonic. Oriental medicine too has used the substance, down the ages, and testifies for its incredible, completely natural, effects. Ever since it began to sport the mantle of bodybuilding's hottest new supplement, the sales pitch has been intense. Yet, one inescapable fact remains. For all its real benefits, ephedrine is, doubtless, a potent drug that may have serious, even fatal, consequences in some predisposed, or unsuspecting, individuals.

Athletes have developed a fancy for ephedrine. Because -- it helps one become stronger, have more energy for the next workout, and the next. It also helps one energise one's entire day, cuts on one's appetite, and, most importantly, reduces body fat. All without allowing one to lose any muscle mass. Ephedrine's safety record is quite impressive, too. In addition to its use as a recreational drug, or precursor of metamphetamine, ephedrine is rapidly gaining popularity both as an ergogenic that enhances strength, energy and endurance, and as a lipolytic that promotes fat loss while sparing lean body mass. This also makes it a popular weight-loss agent.

Research and scientific evidence indicates that ephedrine not only increases fat utilisation, but also spares muscle mass and maintains metabolic rate. This is all fair and dandy, but for individuals with underlying heart/cardiovascular disease, taking ephedrine may not be safe.

However, for all practical purposes, ephedrine could be thought as a cross betwixt adrenaline, one of the body's primary "fight or flight" hormones, and metamphetamine, an extremely puissant synthetic, stimulating drug. Aside from this, ephedrine, in lower amounts, has many of the same biological responses, as do adrenaline and metamphetamine; in higher doses, ephedrine produces almost all the adverse effects, albeit many users and proponents take comfort in the fact that the substance is an "herbal" product. Nothing, after all, is risk-free.   More Than Test[osterone] Drive

Though it may sound like a gastronomic sizzler named after a mythical god or legend, testosterone restores one's sexual drive/urge. It boosts muscle mass. Soon, one could get it as a gel… at the local chemist. What next? Something wackier. But, one thing is certain. It'll always remain dangerous.

What it does: helps concentration, and maybe memory; deepens voice at puberty; elevates lean muscle mass; cuts down on body fat; increases libido; stimulates hair growth; triggers normal development of male sex organ; and, increases bone density and growth.

How it is administered: IM injections, every week to 30 days; dose: 100 mg to 300 mg; patches on scrotal tissue, back, abdomen/thigh, on a daily dose of 4 mg to 6 mg; gel, 10 mg to 40 mg; on hairless skin, a few times a day; and, pill, 40 mg to 80 mg, by mouth.   Banned Drugs... At The Olympics

1. Beta-blocker, an OTC drug, which calms nerves and steadies hands, in events such as archery and fencing
2. Blood-doping, which improves oxygen supply and endurance, in track and field [T&F] events
3. Diuretics, which reduce weight, in weightlifting and judo
4. EPO [Erythropoietin], which increases RBC production, in cycling, tennis, and running
5. Human Growth Hormone, which builds muscle size and strength, in swimming and T&F
6. Insulin-like Growth Factor I, which increases muscle mass and reduces body fat, in swimming, and T&F
7. Steroids [Testosterone], which accelerate muscle growth and intense training, in T&F, and swimming

  The Indian Angle

Some Indian athletes, who were in the eye of the drug storm, lately, have been at the wrong side of the fence -- for several years. Drug use is an accepted fact; not a fact accepted by both athletes and coaches. However, monitoring drug indulgence has been as good as athletic standards. While a few coaches have been known to place their wards on a drug diet, with or without supervision, or knowledge of drug action, side-effects etc., so that the latter derive that extra "edge" over competitors, the overall results have been nothing but spectacular. Most Indian athletes have been found wanting on the international arena -- presenting a sorry image, drug or no drug. What's more, we all know how many of our athletes have failed drug tests -- in every major competition, as it were… But, one thing is imminent. Drug abuse is widespread; and, that is it.

A case in point: the blatant, indiscriminate use of drugs came to the fore at a national meet, some years ago, when an intrepid reporter, armed with a photographer, took actual pictures of used syringes, ampoules and several other "paraphernalia," strewn all over the "backyard" of the playing fields, without a care in the world. The pictures clinched the issue much better than a thousand words put together.

Result: nothing ever happened -- and, all was quiet. The only difference today is the emergence of "sophistication" in our athletes' drug usage patterns -- not the rudimentary "slant" of the example cited.                                          

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<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic NewsPosted: Monday, May 12, 2003 By: Jose Gregorio Pineda & Jose Gabriel Angarita</a.

VenAmCham's Jose Gregorio Pineda (chief economist) and Jose Gabriel Angarita (economist) write: The events experienced by Venezuela from December 2002 to February 2003 made clear once again the country's enormous dependence on the oil sector and the consequences of a partial shutdown of many productive industries due to the intense political conflict prevailing in the country.

This situation depressed current revenue by more than 5 points of GDP and made it extremely difficult to continue servicing the government's internal and external debt, given the rapid buildup of short terms that prevail in the first and the heavier cost of the second because of currency depreciation.

A variety of measures were taken to cope with the fiscal crisis. On the one hand, a 4 trillion bolivar staggered cutback of public spending was announced in January. The first stage amounted to 2.8 trillion bolivares, with another 1.2 trillion bolivar reduction to be made later on, as needed.

The Finance (Hacienda) Ministry subsequently asked the banks to accept swaps that would postpone public bond maturities, and the Bank Debit Tax was extended through December 31.

All these moves reflect a strategy aimed at cutting the cost of government, increasing revenue collections, and refinancing internal public debt, in spite of the heavy outlays to import gasoline needed to meet domestic demand while the oil industry was not producing.

The authorities decided to impose strict price and exchange controls (to the point where dollars are still unavailable more than 100 days after the measure was adopted). The distorting effects of these controls quickly made themselves felt: on the one hand, the negative impact on tax collections of falling imports, and on the other, impending shortages of raw materials needed by Venezuelan producers.

The controls are clearly incompatible with improved revenue flows and falling public spending.

Government spokesmen recently announced an import plan with tariff exemption to cope with the shortages provoked by the controls, which are hurting all the economic agents. As if that were not enough, the second round of spending cuts planned for this year was also ruled out. But the actions taken seem to lack fiscal coherence, and seem out of synch with prevailing conditions in Venezuela and the world.

The foreign exchange shut-off will continue strangling industry and import duties will continue to be depressed.

At the same time, oil prices are expected to decline, resulting in less revenue from oil exports. Not to mention the problems with the Andean countries that could be provoked by the tariff exemptions.

The facts indicate that the officials responsible for Venezuelan fiscal policy should be conservative and maintain tight spending controls to improve cash flow, as well as restore the supply of foreign exchange to the private sector.

Respecting international agreements and ensuring the continuity of industrial operations are needed to prevent an excessive growth of unemployment and reduce the risk of a cessation of debt payments.

If changes are not made in the rest of economic policy, the vicious circle will continue and the fiscal problem will not be overcome.

Paris, May 13 (<a href=quote.bloomberg.com>Bloomberg) -- The International Energy Agency lowered its estimate for growth in world oil demand in 2003 by 8 percent as the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome reduces air travel and fuel demand in Asia.

Oil consumption this year will rise by 1.03 million barrels a day, 90,000 barrels less than expected a month ago, to 77.9 million barrels, said the agency, an adviser to 26 industrialized countries on oil policy. This quarter, world demand will be 400,000 barrels a day lower than forecast last month.

``The impact of SARS on jet fuel demand is pretty significant,'' said Klaus Rehaag, an IEA analyst and editor of the agency's monthly oil report.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries last month pledged to lower production in an effort to bolster prices, which have declined 12 percent this year to about $25.10 a barrel in London. The prospect of a further cut in supply when OPEC meets in June suggests oil inventories may not rise from ``precariously tight'' levels, the IEA said.

Crude oil and fuels inventories held by oil companies in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development nations are an ``unprecedented'' 260 million barrels lower than year-ago levels and 186 million barrels lower than in 2001.

The SARS outbreak will likely reduce demand in China, the third-largest oil consumer, this quarter by 5.5 percent to 5 million barrels a day. The report assumes that the disease will be contained by the middle of the year.

Production Drops

World oil production in April averaged 78.42 million barrels a day, 1.4 million barrels less than the average in March, as the U.S.-led attack on Iraq halted the Middle East nation's exports and field maintenance reduced supplies from the North Sea.

Output from the 10 OPEC countries bound by quotas was 25.9 million barrels a day, up 167,000 barrels from March, led by increases in Venezuela and Kuwait, the agency said. Iraq, a founding member of OPEC, has no quota.

OPEC last month pledged to reduce oil supply by 2 million barrels a day to 25.4 million as of June 1 and said members may cut further at a meeting on June 11. Given the decline in inventories, further steps may not be warranted, the IEA said.

``Tough decisions lie ahead when Iraqi supply returns, but if stocks remain tight through mid-year, the extent of further cuts needed from OPEC in June may be limited,'' the report said.

Last Updated: May 13, 2003 04:53 EDT