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Congestion Pricing in New York

"The best-laid schemes o’ mice an ‘men Gang aft agley, An’lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain, For promis’d joy!" Congestion pricing, a rollicking success story in London, Stockholm and Singapore, may have taken a massive hit yesterday when the NY State Legislature declined to advance the legislation necessary for New York City to proceed, […]

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Japan to join the International Criminal Court.

Japan to join the International Criminal Court.

Japan is expected to ratify the Rome Statute that created the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ratification with the United Nations coincides with World Justice Day, marking the anniversary of the opening of the Rome treaty on July 17, 1998. Japan will also become the Courts largest donor by contributing 19 percent of its annual […]

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UN team making progress on Hariri plot

UN team making progress on Hariri plot

Serge Brammertz, the Belgian prosecutor heading the UN investigation into political murders in Lebanon, released new information to the UN in his eighth report last week.  Focusing on the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister, Rafik Hariri, the report highlights the role of 22 individuals, cell phones used to track his movements, and possible motives […]

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Nigerian Kidnappings…Are Children the New Pawns of The Oil War?

Nigerian Kidnappings…Are Children the New Pawns of The Oil War?

Nigerian Militants (Photo from AFP file) Only days after the release of a 3-year-old British girl kidnapped in Nigeria, another child was kidnapped. The Nigerian kidnappers demand $78,600 for 3-year-old , the child a boy was taken on Thursday, July 12. Thankfully the boy was released the following day, unharmed, thanks to the payment of […]

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Catching Up

There are a slew of stories that I have been scanning while I've been working on some other projects.  Here are some of them now. "The Washington Post" says Report Warns of a Much Warmer Northeast – Effects Could Be Disastrous, Says Two-Year Study.  As someone who grew up skiing on the blue ice of Vermont, […]

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News Round Up – Africa

News Round Up – Africa

In the Republic of Congo the ministry of health has been successful in vaccinating 400,000 children under the age of five against polio. The campaign, is to help in preventing the spread of polio from neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC),and vaccinations took place in the administrative departments of Brazzaville, Pool in the south, Plateaux […]

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"The Economist" on Congress and Energy

This week’s “Economist” has a leader (BritSpeak for editorial) and an article on the state of play in Congress on the energy bills and their relationship to climate change legislation. They are not complimentary.  The editorial, A pale shade of green, is off base in several ways.  I agree with some of what’s being said […]

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"I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do. What I can do, I should do. And what I should do, by the grace of God, I will do." – Edward Everett Hale

"I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do. What I can do, I should do. And what I should do, by the grace of God, I will do." – Edward Everett Hale

You are only one person, as am I, but one person can do a great deal for humanity. Big or small we all have a voice, and we must use are voice whenever we can, and trust that we will be heard. Look back at history to see those who have not only changed and […]

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Anniversary of Srebrinca Genocide July 11-14

Anniversary of Srebrinca Genocide July 11-14

The war in Bosnia began in March 1992 and did not end until November 1995, the worst tragedy of the Bosnian war was the three day massacre in the city of Srebrinca, in eastern Bosnia, from July 11 -14, 1995. In April 1993, the United Nations declared Srebrenica a UN safe area, and it was […]

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The Hill

I must say that sometimes the workings of our federal government’s legislative branch, properly known as Congress, aka The Hill, escape me. Certainly there are disparities in the proportional representation in the Senate which complicate things. That Wyoming (pop. 515 thousand) or Vermont (pop. 624 thousand) have the same number of representatives in the Senate […]

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The 12th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre

The 12th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre

Warning: This post contains offensive language. Today marks the 12th anniversary of the massacre in Srebernica.  In July 1995, in the United Nations mandated "safe area' of Srebrenica, Serbian forces summarily executed some 8,000 Bosnian men.  The forces of the Army of Republika Srpska, led by General Ratko Mladic (still at large in Bosnia for […]

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Q&A with Julianne Duncan on Child Trafficking

Julianne Duncan is the Associate Director for Children's Services, with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Migration and Refugee Services. This Q&A is to follow-up with yesterdays posting, and bring you more from my interview with Ms. Duncan. If you have not read yesterdays post, please do so, Ms. Duncan has a great deal […]

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Family seeks to reinstate case against Caterpillar

Family seeks to reinstate case against Caterpillar

A family representing a human rights activist working in the Palestinian territories is seeking to pursue a case against Caterpillar for aiding and abetting human rights violations.  In 2003, Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old peace activist, was crushed by an Israeli bulldozer manufactured by Caterpillar as she tried to prevent the demolition of homes in the […]

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Child Trafficking in the United States…One Organizations Efforts to Combat Child Trafficking and Provide Services for Victims

Child Trafficking in the United States…One Organizations Efforts to Combat Child Trafficking and Provide Services for Victims

This week I spoke with Julianne Duncan, Associate Director for Children's Services, with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Migration and Refugee Services, about the issues facing child trafficking victims in the United States. The USCCB and the Catholic church have been a strong proponent of migrant rights since the early days of US […]

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Child Trafficking and Slavery Today

Child Trafficking and Slavery Today

Slavery is not a shameful part of our past…slavery is a shameful part of our past, we failed to learn from! One hears the word slavery and they think back 200 years ago, but sadly there are more slaves today. Child trafficking is child slavery, and it is not something happening in some far away […]

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