People are often driven into slavery by sever poverty, sometimes this is based on a general belief that the child sold will bring money back into the family, or that they will have an honest attempt to escape the poverty of the family and community. Other times people are driven into slavery by economic or […]
Omar Ahmed Khadr, a 20 year old Canadian, was formally charged with war crimes by the US at the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Khadr faces a murder charge for the death of Sgt. 1st Class, Christopher Speer, with a hand grenade in 2002. Khadr also faces charges of attempted murder, conspiring with al […]
Not having seen this program, I am making no judgements. However, I have found Frontline to be consistently informative and to the highest journalistic standards. ************ “FRONTLINE and the Center for Investigative Reporting go behind the scenes to explore how bi-partisan political and economic forces prevented the U.S. government from confronting what may be one […]
Mike Bloomberg is a billionaire (see Forbes) and the mayor of the biggest city in the United States. He's in his second term of office , NYC has a term limit of two for municipal office , and he's come out with a very bold, far-reaching plan, PLANYC, for "A Greener, Greater New York." He […]
Memorials will be held today in California, Massachusetts, and Michigan marking the anniversary of the Armenian genocides that began in the Turkish Ottoman empire on this day in 1915. During World War I, hundreds of thousands, to millions of the Armenian community were forced on a death-march to Syria and Iraq. The Armenian diaspora in […]
Recent clashes between insurgents from the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) and Ethiopian troops backing Somali government forces have resulted in at least 291 civilian casualties in the Somali city of Mogadishu. Spokesmen from the Elman Human Rights Organization, a Somali based group, have said many of the victims were caught in crossfire. Six insurgents […]
What is slavery? A horrid word from our past, something we have struggled to forget for almost two hundred years? Its all, and none of those things, it is a plague currently among us! Would you believe me if I told you we have more slaves today, than that of our legal slave trading past? […]
There were a number of developments this past week worth noting. Here’s a rundown: U.N. Security Council – On Tuesday, Britain, holding the rotating presidency of the Security Council, brought the issue of climate change forward. (See this from “The International Herald Tribune” and this from the BBC.) The U.K.’s Foreign Secretary, Margaret Beckett, for five […]
By Josh White Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, April 21, 2007; Page A01 The Marine Corps chain of command in Iraq ignored “obvious” signs of “serious misconduct” in the 2005 slayings of two dozen civilians in Haditha, and commanders fostered a climate that devalued the life of innocent Iraqis to the point that their deaths […]
BBC: At least 113 civilians have been killed and more than 200 injured in three days of fighting in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, a human rights group says. The Elman Peace and Human Rights agency said it got the figures from hospitals, other humanitarian groups and counting bodies abandoned in the streets. Heavy fighting is […]
I went to a hugely informative event yesterday. It focused on the "carbon markets" and was organized by the non-profit Ecosystem Marketplace. The symposium was also geared as a promotional event for their new book: Voluntary Carbon Markets: A Business Guide to What They Are and How They Work. What's a carbon market you ask? […]
In Chile today, locals celebrate the feast of Saint Expeditus. Legend says that benevolence was granted to local pilgrims by officials after praying to the Saint. The recent history of the region, however, is not so seraphic. Chili's former dictator, Augusto Pinochet, faces continued investigations into atrocities committed at his hands, four months after his […]
In my last post I covered the effects of climate change and global warning on our world's children. However I wanted to take this time to add to that posting, and give more focus on the subject. I wanted to especially give more attention to Save the Children's Legacy of Disasters; Children Bear the Brunt […]
Branimir Glavas, an independent parlaimentarian in eastern Croatia, marched to prison in his general's uniform to face war crimes charges at a local court in Osijek, Croatia. He is being detained for ordering the killing of civilians during the 1991 Serbo-Croatia war. The charges allege that Glavas formed a paramilitary unit and operated as a […]
Macedonian War Crimes Tribunal Underway at The Hague On August 12th, 2001, 14 policemen in Macedonia destroyed several homes with hand grenades, fire, and shelling in retaliation for eight soldiers killed by a land mine. The activities resulted in the killing of seven men. This year, the deaths are the first case to go before […]