Archive for August 21st, 2014

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21/08/2014

Eyeless in Gaza

Human Wrongs Watch

By Uri Avnery*, 18 August 2014,  TRANSCEND Media Service

Uri Avnery

Uri Avnery

THE TROUBLE with war is that it has two sides.

Everything would be so much easier if war had only one side. Ours, of course.

There you are, drawing up a wonderful plan for the next war, preparing it, training for it, until everything is perfect.

And then the war starts, and to your utmost surprise it appears that there is another side, too, which also has a wonderful plan, and has prepared it and trained for it.

When the two plans meet, everything goes wrong. Both plans break down. You don’t know what’s going to happen. How to go on. You do things you have not planned for. And when you have had enough of it and want to get out, you don’t know how. It’s so much more difficult to end a war than to start a war, especially when both sides need to declare victory.

That’s where we are now.

HOW DID it all start? Depends where you want to begin.

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Posted in Middle East, Others-USA-Europe-etc., The Peoples, War Lords | Leave a Comment »

21/08/2014

Ebola Rap Song: “Take away the fear, don’t hide yourself. People can still survive from Ebola"

Human Wrongs Watch

August 2014 — “Take away the fear, don’t hide yourself. People can still survive from Ebola,” so say the lyrics of the Ebola Rap, a song written by Charles Yegba, a Liberian artist seeking to raise awareness about the virus in his community.

Liberian rap artist Charles Yegba has written a song to spread the word about ebola

WHO/M. Seeger

But Charles did not always think that way. He is one of the many Liberians who, at the beginning of the outbreak, did not believe that the disease existed.

“I thought it was a lie (invented) to collect money because at that moment I hadn´t seen people affected in my community,” the singer says.

His opinion changed some weeks ago when a group of people blocked a street in Monrovia because a man was lying on the ground with symptoms of Ebola.

“At that moment, I started to believe. I began to see that other countries were being affected, that many people were starting to change their minds,” he says.

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Posted in Africa, The Peoples | Leave a Comment »

21/08/2014

East and Southeast Asia, World's Largest Markets for Synthetic Drugs — Major Drag on Development

20 August 2014 – East and Southeast Asia remain the world’s largest markets for synthetic drugs, and the methamphetamine problem is showing signs of accelerating, according to senior policy, law enforcement and justice delegates at a special regional conference organized by UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Global SMART Programme which started today in Yangon, Myanmar.

Image: UNODC

Image: UNODC

Growing demand in East and Southeast Asia for methamphetamine is being met by large-scale production in China, Myanmar and several other countries in the region. Information presented at the conference confirms continued high, and rising, demand and supply of methamphetamine.

“Organized crime groups are well positioned to take advantage of regional integration agreements to expand the trafficking of synthetic drugs and precursor chemicals” said Jeremy Douglas, UNODC Regional Representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

“Capacities to ensure the rule of law vary greatly across the region, and this evolving and growing threat diverts increasing amounts of scarce state resources away from efforts to develop and improve governance. It can’t be ignored that the billions generated for organized crime exceed the size of several national economies in the region. Where is the money going?” added Douglas. 

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Posted in Asia, Market Lords, Mother Earth, The Peoples | 3 Comments »

21/08/2014

Food Security Is Still "Touch-and-Go" in Arid, Conflict-torn Somalia

Human Wrongs Watch

Thanks to a decent harvest and a strong response from the international humanitarian community, the United Nations declared an end to famine in southern Somalia in early 2012. More than two million people are currently food insecure, down by about 17 percent from early 2012 estimates, UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports*

franknyakairu/FAO

franknyakairu/FAO

But conditions are still touch-and-go in this arid, conflict-torn country – one of the poorest in the world. If people cannot produce and sell their own food and have the wherewithal to withstand shocks, gains made in improving their food and nutrition security could slip away with the next disaster.

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Posted in Africa, Market Lords, Mother Earth, The Peoples, War Lords | Leave a Comment »

21/08/2014

Restoring Dignity, Ensuring ‘Safe Space’ for Returning Nigerian Schoolgirls Critical – UN

Human Wrongs Watch

A United Nations official for Nigeria on 20 August 2014 said that restoring the dignity and integrity of returning schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram militants in Chibok is instrumental in reintegrating the girls back into a “safe space” in society.

Photo: UNESCO

Photo: UNESCO

“The UN family has not forgotten the girls,” said Rati Ndhlovu, the representative of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) in Nigeria at a Headquarters press conference.

Some 200 girls were abducted by Boko Haram militants as they attended school on 14 April. Despite efforts by the Nigerian Government and international outcry, most of the girls remain missing, while some who have managed to flee their perpetrators have been raped by lone men they meet on their way home.

Calling it a “double tragedy,” Ndhlovu stressed that the issue of sexual violence is very serious because the girls are threatened both by insurgents and by other men who will take advantage of a vulnerable situation.

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Posted in Africa, The Peoples, War Lords | Leave a Comment »

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