Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi isn’t intimidated by police force. When her human rights group’s office was shut down by Iranian police last year, she told them, “You might have closed my apartment, but you can’t shut my mouth.”
Ebadi, 61, has kept her word. In light of the recent controversial Iranian election, she has called for peace, saying that she expects “the international community to prevent the pursuit of violence by the government.” (more…)
Following a week-long major disaster risk reduction conference this week, 1,800 people from more than 300 organizations and governments came together to ask world leaders to reduce the number of human deaths by natural disasters by 50%. They are requesting that this goal be met by 2015.
Given that last year alone saw 300 natural disasters taking the lives of 236,000 people, the goal is a vital one to be met. (more…)
Six decades of victims of sexual and physical abuse took to the streets this week after the recent Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (CICA) report came to light in Ireland. After nine long years of hearings and investigation, an enormous five-volume, 3,000-page account of these sadistic practices in Irish religious schools now bears witness as proof of the horrors thousands of children have undergone at the hands of those they were supposed to be able to trust. (more…)
Remember the old bumper sticker, “Sure you can trust the government; just ask a whale or an Indian”? As much as we’d like to think that the adage no longer applies, sadly, it still does in many places worldwide–including America.
And the United States doesn’t perpetuate land consumption and culture elimination simply within its own lands; no, it does so around the world as well, through many means. In the case of Peru, it’s through a free trade agreement.
Though following the Holocaust the world proclaimed “Never again,” while heartfelt, the sentiment has been proven to be untrue. Genocide is far from dead in our world. Rwanda, Congo and Sudan are just three modern-day examples of genocide–the latter two of which are still engaged in destruction this very second.
And now, following the declaration of “peace” that was made in May, Sri Lanka has been added to this list.
When President Obama asked Americans to start giving back–to their country, to their planet–in order to foster a climate of community service, he mentioned the Peace Corps as a viable and effective vehicle for such efforts. And it seems that his words did not fall on deaf ears.
Peace Corps applications are up 40%, and officials are saying it’s because of the “Obama Effect.” Enrollment itself is up 16% as well–7% of which is coming from people over 50, a demographic that typically accounts for only 4% of volunteers. (more…)
Normally, house parties bring to mind shattered glass, stained sofas and unidentified stomach contents regurgitated into houseplants. The mess, destruction and waste combine to create the opposite of environmentalism. This isn’t one of those parties.
Today people all across the country will be holding house parties to end global warming. And as President Obama tries to push new global warming legislation forward–while being met with criticism–the time has never been more ripe for action. (more…)
This Saturday, June 6, will be the 42nd anniversary of the Israeli occupation of Gaza. People all over the world will be holding vigils, peace rallies and protests willing Israel to leave the area.
During this past winter, over 1,200 Palestinians were killed during what is now known as “The Gaza Massacre.” And while the city was completely demolished, Israel will not allow any building materials to be sent in to rebuild. (more…)
After being barraged with so many horrifying stories of what both U.S. soldiers and Iraqi civilians go through on a daily basis, it’s news like that that makes us continue to have faith in humanity.
A massive blanket drive for people living in Northern Iraq has been created by combat medic Spc. Steve Stephens of Portland, Oregon. He and his fellow soldiers have decided to help people who have been displaced by the fighting and have no electricity or heat. (more…)
Sri Lanka has been at war for nearly thirty years, a conflict that arose between the country’s government and the country’s Tamil minority. This month marks a likely end to the conflict, following what Sri Lanka’s government is calling a victory–the death of the Tamil Tigers leader, Vellupillai Prabhakaran, and his senior officers. However, the issues of the Tamil people will still need to be addressed–especially the masses of Tamil people who have been displaced from the conflict. (more…)