KONY 2012 is a film and campaign by Invisible Children that aims to make Joseph Kony famous, not to celebrate him, but to raise support for his arrest and set a precedent for international justice.
Human Rights
In Sudan, Seeing Echoes of Darfur
Nicholas Kristof: "A great humanitarian catastrophe and vicious ethnic cleansing is unfolding here in the remote and impoverished region where Sudan and South Sudan come together. For some in the Nuba Mountains, living in thatch huts far from electricity or paved roads, the sharpest acquaintance they are making with 21st-century technology is to be bombed … Continue reading In Sudan, Seeing Echoes of Darfur
Syrian siege of Homs is genocidal, say trapped residents
Guardian: "Residents inside the besieged city of Homs claim they are under "genocidal attack" from a Syrian regime apparently deaf to international opinion and determined to "bomb, starve and shoot" them into submission."
For Somali Women, Pain of Being a Spoil of War
NY Times: "The Shabab militant group, which presents itself as a morally righteous rebel force and the defender of pure Islam, is seizing women and girls as spoils of war, gang-raping and abusing them as part of its reign of terror in southern Somalia, according to victims, aid workers and United Nations officials. Short of … Continue reading For Somali Women, Pain of Being a Spoil of War
Vaclav Havel, 1936-2011
NY Times: "Vaclav Havel, the Czech writer and dissident whose eloquent dissections of Communist rule helped to destroy it in revolutions that brought down the Berlin Wall and swept Mr. Havel himself into power, died on Sunday."
Kim Jong Il, North Korean tyrant, is dead at age 69
Washington Post: "Kim Jong Il, the North Korean leader who threatened the world with his nuclear weapons ambitions and suppressed his own people with imprisonment and isolation, left in the wake of his death Saturday an antiquated country with a power vacuum."
Christian Bale roughed up attempting to visit Chen Guangcheng
Daily Mail: "Hollywood actor Christian Bale was manhandled and roughed up by Chinese security guards as he tried to visit a blind legal activist whose detention has sparked international outcry. Bale, joined by a camera crew from CNN, was confronted by four men dressed in plain clothes as he tried to visit Chen Guangcheng who … Continue reading Christian Bale roughed up attempting to visit Chen Guangcheng
Syria's War Against Children
Max Fisher: "The violence in Syria has worsened dramatically and consistently since August. Shadia's story, typical of late summer and early fall violence there, was documented in a report by Human Rights Watch, one of several human rights reports that tell many such stories from the government's crackdown against civilians, often whether they are protesters … Continue reading Syria's War Against Children
Evangelicals and the Case for Foreign Aid
Richard Stearns: "Then there are the lives saved. Our aid programs don't have an unblemished record, and waste and corruption need to be rooted out. But Pepfar, for example, is now providing lifesaving drugs to three million people living with AIDS, mostly in Africa. It also provides care and support to another 2.5 million orphans … Continue reading Evangelicals and the Case for Foreign Aid
Fighting Back, One Brothel Raid at a Time
Nicholas Kristof: "It’s partly because of grass-roots activists like Somaly, both in the United States and abroad, that human trafficking is increasingly recognized as a central human rights challenge. A U.N. agency estimates that more than 12 million people are engaged in forced labor, including sexual servitude."
The Whole Life Democrat 