Archive for February, 2017

« Older Entries  |   Newer Entries »
16/02/2017

Teleworking May Seem Easier, But…

Human Wrongs Watch

Using smartphones, laptops and other technology to work from home can be a blessing – it does away with rush hour traffic, for example – but it also diminishes personal space and contact with colleagues, according to a new study released on 15 February 2017 by the United Nations labour agency and a private sector partner, which recommends how to address these work-life disparities.

.

A young woman checking her smartphone, Washington DC. , USA. Photo: World Bank/Simone D. McCourtie | Source: UN News Centre.

“This report shows that the use of modern communication technologies facilitates a better overall work-life balance,” said the Jon Messenger, co-author of the joint report by the UN International Labour Organization (ILO) and Eurofund.

read more »

Posted in Africa, Asia, Latin America & Caribbean, Market Lords, Middle East, Others-USA-Europe-etc., The Peoples | 1 Comment »

16/02/2017

The Algerian Emir Who Set a Protection of Prisoners Code in 1842

Human Wrongs Watch

ROME / OXFORD, UK, Feb 15 2017 (IPS) – As far back as the 1830s, Algerian Emir Abd el Qader el Jazairy was known for having introduced, among others, rules concerning the humane treatment of prisoners, which developed in 1842 into his Code for the Protection of Prisoners.
.

Abdelkader saving Christians during the Druze/Christian strife of 1860. Painting by Jean Baptiste Huysmans. Public Domain

Abdelkader saving Christians during the Druze/Christian strife of 1860. Painting by Jean Baptiste Huysmans. Public Domain

“The Emir’s Code prohibited mistreatment of prisoners and the killing of unarmed enemy soldiers or prisoners. In the Emir’s jails, there were no ‘enemy combatants’ prevented from enjoying basic human rights,” explained Idriss Jazairy, the executive director of the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue.

read more »

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

16/02/2017

Worst Drought in Decades Drives Food Price Spike in East Africa

Human Wrongs Watch

ROME, Feb 15 2017 (IPS) – The most severe drought in decades, which has struck parts of Ethiopia and is exacerbated by a particularly strong El Niño effect, has led to successive failed harvests and widespread livestock deaths in some areas, and humanitarian needs have tripled since the beginning of 2015, the United Nations warns.
Farmers in the Horn of Africa need urgent support to recover from consecutive lost harvests and to keep their livestock healthy and productive. Photo: FAO/Simon Maina

Farmers in the Horn of Africa need urgent support to recover from consecutive lost harvests and to keep their livestock healthy and productive. Photo: FAO/Simon Maina

read more »

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

16/02/2017

World Dumps the Equivalent of One Garbage Truck of Plastic in Oceans, Every Minute

Human Wrongs Watch

The world dumps the equivalent of one garbage truck of plastic into the ocean every minute, the United Nations on 15 February heard at the start of a two-day meeting to prepare for this June’s Ocean Conference that will aim to help safeguard the planet’s oceans and help them recover from human-induced problems.

Healthy oceans have a central role to play in solving one of the biggest problems of the 21st century – how to feed 9 billion people by 2050. Photo: FAO

Posted in Africa, Asia, Latin America & Caribbean, Market Lords, Middle East, Mother Earth, Others-USA-Europe-etc., The Peoples | Leave a Comment »

15/02/2017

‘Send Us to the Moon’

Human Wrongs Watch

By Ludek Stavinoha and Vanessa Marjoribanks*

14 February 2017 (openDemocracy)* – Trapped on a Greek island for more than 300 days, the story of a Syrian refugee’s peaceful protest against Europe’s oppressive border regime.
mjih-banner-6202x

Mediterranean journeys in hope seeks to humanise the debates on migration and question the delineation of refugees from other migrants by taking ‘hope’, a basic pathway for survival in the context of human mobility, as our starting point. Our aim is to reposition human rights as legal and political priorities, and to open a space for treating human mobility as both a symptom and a feature of global and regional geopolitics | openDemocracy

“Some people say Mohammad, you’re crazy, you’re stupid,” said Mohammad, a refugee on the Greek island of Chios.  “But look: I am human. Yes, maybe it won’t change a thing. But I’m no animal. I do think about my future. I do and I try.”

For the last 40 days he has chosen to enact a peaceful protest outside the gates of Vial, an abandoned aluminium factory now serving as the EU’s ‘hotspot’ on the island. This is where the fates of hundreds of refugees like Mohammad are being decided by Greek and EU asylum officers.

read more »

Posted in Africa, Mother Earth, Others-USA-Europe-etc., The Peoples, War Lords | Leave a Comment »

15/02/2017

International Network to Halve Maternal, Newborn Deaths in Clinics

Human Wrongs Watch

A health network is being created, with support of United Nations agencies, in nine countries – Bangladesh, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda – whose Governments have pledged to halve maternal and newborn deaths in health facilities by 2022.

A mother and her newborn baby at the Maternal and Child Health Training Institute for medically needy in Dhaka, Bangladesh. UN Photo/Kibae Park

Posted in Africa, Asia, Climate Crisis, Latin America & Caribbean, Market Lords, Middle East, Others-USA-Europe-etc., The Peoples | Leave a Comment »

15/02/2017

Synthetic Drugs Making Headway in (Liberated) Afghanistan

Human Wrongs Watch

Methamphetamine is increasingly being seized by law enforcement in Afghanistan, and there is also evidence that it is being produced in the country, according to the first of its kind assessment on synthetic drugs released on 14 February 2017 by the United Nations drug and crime agency.

.

Research shows that injecting methamphetamine is becoming more common. Photo: IRIN/Sean Kimmons | Source: UN News Centre

read more »

Posted in Africa, Asia, Latin America & Caribbean, Market Lords, Middle East, Others-USA-Europe-etc., The Peoples | Leave a Comment »

14/02/2017

Mistrust Hindering Global Solutions, Says UN Secretary General

Human Wrongs Watch

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage*

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 13 2017 (IPS) – The global lack of confidence and trust is undermining the ability to solve the world’s complex problems, said UN Secretary-General during an international conference.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Credit: UN Photo

The 5th Annual World Government Summit (WGS), hosted by Dubai from February 12-14, has brought together over 4000 participants from more than 130 countries.

read more »

Posted in Africa, Asia, Climate Crisis, Latin America & Caribbean, Market Lords, Middle East, Mother Earth, Others-USA-Europe-etc., The Peoples, War Lords | Leave a Comment »

14/02/2017

Evolving Democracy

Human Wrongs Watch

By Johan Galtung*

13 February 2017 – TRANSCEND Media Service – What is the essence of democracy?

galtung_side

Johan Galtung

“Rule with the consent of the ruled” implies two classes of people, Rulers and Ruled; concretely State and People, Statism. “Free and Fair Elections” implies voting for a Parliament; Parliamentarism.

Together, a three-tier power structure State-Parliament-People; with People controlling Parliament, and Parliament controlling State.

In 2016 some voting differed from what State-Parliament expected; leading to talk about elitist vs populist democracy–from statism and parliamentarism to peopleism. A crisis. And talk about post-democracy.

Another answer about democratic essence is “one-tier self-ruling units”; no rulers vs ruled, and decisions are made by general assemblies for all.   This is often referred to as Anarchism, “no structure”.

read more »

Posted in Africa, Asia, Latin America & Caribbean, Market Lords, Middle East, Mother Earth, Others-USA-Europe-etc., The Peoples, War Lords | Leave a Comment »

13/02/2017

The Seventh Art from Seven Nations

Human Wrongs Watch

By SAYDE TAWK*

Wall Street International – We employ diverse art forms to express our ideas, creativity, philosophy and so on, and cinema is the most widespread among them all. However, when directors venture beyond the entertainment purposes of movies, they effectively deliver groundbreaking messages that reach beyond language, culture, ideology and art itself. 

The Second Mother
The Second Mother | Image reproduced  from Wall Street International

read more »

Posted in Africa, Asia, Latin America & Caribbean, Market Lords, Middle East, Others-USA-Europe-etc., The Peoples | Leave a Comment »

« Older Entries  |   Newer Entries »