Photo: Edwin Huffman / World BankWhat is called for is an international code for the public's access to a guaranteed supply of water as a basic human right.

The Corporate Crusade to Commodify Water

Water has been characterized as the oil of the 21st century. Blue gold. It is essential to life, and yet humanity faces a growing water crisis as a result of severe mismanagement in water and sanitation, which will be exponentially exacerbated in the coming decades by population growth combined with declining resources.  read more »

Photo: Getty ImagesYesterday the American Medical Association came out against a public option for health care. And yesterday the President reaffirmed his support for it. The next weeks will show what Obama is made of - whether he's willing and able to take on the most formidable lobbying coalition he has faced so far on an issue that will define his presidency.

And make no mistake: A public option large enough to have bargaining leverage to drive down drug prices and private-insurance premiums is the defining issue of universal health care. It's the only way to make health care affordable. It's the only way to prevent Medicare and Medicaid from eating up future federal budgets. An ersatz public option - whether Kent Conrad's non-profit cooperatives, Olympia Snowe's "trigger," or regulated state-run plans - won't do squat.  read more »

Photo: The Ant FarmThis week's NOW on PBS: Behind the food we love: secrets that giant food companies don't want you to know.

Watch the show online Watch the show online RIGHT NOW.  read more »

Trust in government - essential to a democracy - depends greatly on whether citizens believe the government's dealings are conducted honestly and above board. In the United States, the means of verifying that is the Freedom of Information Act, a law laying the ground rules for access to federal records, passed in 1967 and strengthened twice since then.

But a new Scripps Howard News Service/Ohio University survey finds that Americans are deeply skeptical of how well government abides by the law, with 61 percent believing that federal agencies "only sometimes, rarely or never" obey the law.  read more »

AP PHOTO/MARCO UGARTEWASHINGTON -Two federal agencies are being faulted for not coordinating their efforts against border gunrunners, a failure one lawmaker says made it easier for Mexican drug cartels to smuggle illegal weapons from the United States.

The Government Accountability Office criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for not working together to stop the flow of guns into Mexico.  read more »

AP – Honduras' President Manuel Zelaya,SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras – The Organization of American States voted by acclamation on Wednesday to revoke the 1962 measure suspending communist Cuba, overturning a landmark of the Cold War in the hemisphere.

"The Cold War has ended this day in San Pedro Sula," said Honduran President Manuel Zelaya immediately following the announcement. "We begin a new era of fraternity and tolerance."

The action doesn't mean Cuba will return to the 34-member body that helps coordinate policies and mediates disputes throughout the Americas.  read more »

(photo: AP / Sandro Perozzi)TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras - A powerful earthquake toppled dozens of homes in Honduras and Belize early Thursday, killing at least six people and injuring 40 as terrified residents spilled from their homes across much of Central America.

The magnitude-7.1 quake struck at 2:24 a.m. (4:24 a.m. EDT; 0824 GMT) off the Caribbean coast of Honduras, 80 miles (130 kilometers) northeast of the beach town of La Ceiba, according to the U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colorado.  read more »

(reuters photo/ENRIQUE DE LA OSA)WASHINGTON - With Latin American countries pushing hard for Cuba's re-entry into the Organization of American States, or OAS, U.S. officials said on Wednesday they would be willing to talk about the move if the communist state adopts democratic principles.

The suggestion, included in a resolution submitted to a council meeting of the hemispheric group, reaffirmed a long-standing U.S. position on Cuba but also offered hints of the growing willingness for a dialogue with Havana.  read more »

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration's new drug czar says he wants to banish the idea that the U.S. is fighting "a war on drugs," a move that would underscore a shift favoring treatment over incarceration in trying to reduce illicit drug use.

In his first interview since being confirmed to head the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Gil Kerlikowske said Wednesday the bellicose analogy was a barrier to dealing with the nation's drug issues.  read more »

Talk has begun to turn to the new economy that will emerge from the present collapse. General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt has suggested that the current crisis is not just a recession but a fundamental "reset" of how business gets done. And Time magazine has taken up this theme with a reset cover story. But there has been little discussion of exactly what changes - in principles and practices -- should be made so that we rebuild our economy on firmer foundations. As we celebrate Earth Day this week, it is a good time to commit to "sustainability" as a centerpiece of a revitalized regulatory system.  read more »