Sergeants Exchange Vows Via Teleconference.
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. - The bride wore camouflage and combat boots. The groom, 7,000 miles away in Qatar, forgot the ring. But nothing could stop the wedding.hahaha. Nice.
Air Force Staff Sgts. Courtney Reynolds, 26, and Christopher Bowden, 25, exchanged vows via teleconference Friday, kissing the video monitors when a chaplain pronounced them married."I always said I was going to be untraditional," said Reynolds, who wore a white veil along with her uniform. She said she decided to forgo a wedding dress because she knew Bowden would be wearing camouflage.
The couple, both members of the 21st Security Forces Squadron, had dated for five years, and with deployments threatening to keep them apart for several more months, they decided to marry over the phone.
The bride's mother from Florida and sister from New Jersey joined her in a conference room at Peterson Air Force Base, the headquarters for U.S. Northern Command where Reynolds works. Her other sister listened in by cell phone.
Following the ceremony, Bowden cut into a cake and Reynolds tossed her bouquet to her best friend, Staff Sgt. Barbara Brooks.
"This is probably one of the happiest days of my life next to, I don't know, Atlanta losing the Super Bowl," Bowden said. "I love you, sweetheart."
Several days late, but I just ran across this...
Veterans Day: Just a word to you cake eating civilians out there… You don’t say Happy Veterans Day. You don’t say Merry Vets Day. But just because you don’t have a meaningless Seasons Greetings for it doesn’t mean you don’t say anything. This isn’t some fat bunny in a sled passing around Jack O’Lanterns because it’s Santa’s birthday… This isn’t about some old fable-become-tradition. Veterans Day is a day for those that are still alive, and for those who are dead… those who died for your freedom to flip soldiers the bird and to call them baby killers and spit on them in the airport. Veterans Day is for the guys that died fighting for your personal independent liberty… It’s for that Veteran that walks with just a slight limp and seems otherwise fine, but he doesn’t have a spleen because an enemy of our country blew it out his back with an AK-47 so you can get 15% Off that new leather fat-a** reclining couch that your going to sit on to mock the President from while watching your 42 inch plasma TV flipping through the channels trying to find some Friends rerun. Veterans Day is for the guy that came home while all his friends didn’t. Veterans day is for the woman who gave up the best years of her young adulthood so she could press her hands over the sucking chest wound of some guy from her own home town 6 thousand miles away from home. Veterans day is for that old woman over there that raised 2 kids alone because when she was young she sent her handsome young husband off to fight for your freedom and came back as a flag folded into a triangle. That’s what Veterans day is for… and what do you say to those people who served? You just say “Thank You”.
Via Bridget:
I love it.Here's an idea: instead of the Secret Service, let Bush be protected by this cool Mongol. Or better yet, like the Brits have the Nepalese Brigade of Gurkhas, let's create a U.S. Brigade of Mongols. Dispatch the Mongol brigade outside of Bush's Crawford ranch at Thanksgiving, and watch Cindy Sheehan run down the road screaming. Need an air marshal that will really dissuade terrorist hijackings? Put a Mongol in seat 8C. And Chirac -- don't grab Laura Bush like that again or the Mongol security detail will open a can on you.
Last allied witness of WWI Christmas truce dies.
LONDON (Reuters) - The last known surviving allied veteran of the Christmas Truce that saw German and British soldiers shake hands between the trenches in World War One died Monday at 109, his parish priest said.One by one, it seems of late, we're losing these treasured defenders of freedom.Alfred Anderson was the oldest man in Scotland and the last known surviving Scottish veteran of the war.
"I remember the silence, the eerie sound of silence," he was quoted as saying in the Observer newspaper last year, describing the day-long Christmas Truce of 1914, which began spontaneously when German soldiers sang carols in the trenches, and British soldiers responded in English.
"All I'd heard for two months in the trenches was the hissing, cracking and whining of bullets in flight, machinegun fire and distant German voices. But there was a dead silence that morning across the land as far as you could see.
"We shouted 'Merry Christmas' even though nobody felt merry. The silence ended early in the afternoon and the killing started again."
Troops in the trenches swapped cigarettes, uniform buttons and addresses and even played football in one of the most extraordinary episodes of the war.
Parish priest Neil Gardner of Anderson's Alyth Parish Church in Scotland said he had died in his sleep and was survived by a large family, including 18 great grandchildren and two great great grandchildren.
"He was a wonderful old man: he was gracious, gentle, he had a great sense of humor and a fine sense of wisdom from his experience spanning three centuries," said Gardner, who also served as chaplain to Anderson's regiment, the Black Watch.
This is gonna be shweeeeeet. Al-Zarqawi's Jordan Family Renounces Him.
AMMAN, Jordan - Family members of Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi renounced the terrorist leader Sunday after his al-Qaida in Iraq group claimed responsibility for the Nov. 9 suicide attacks on three Amman hotels that killed 59 people.I can't just hear the Dhimmicrats now: "He only commits
The family of al-Zarqawi, whose real name is Ahmed Fadheel Nazzal al-Khalayleh, reiterated their strong allegiance to Jordan's King Abdullah II in half-page advertisements in the kingdom's three main newspapers. Al-Zarqawi threatened to kill the king in an audiotape released Friday."A Jordanian doesn't stab himself with his own spear," said the statement by 57 members of the al-Khalayleh family, including al-Zarqawi's brother and cousin. "We sever links with him until doomsday."
The statement is a serious blow to al-Zarqawi, who no longer will enjoy the protection of his tribe and whose family members may seek to kill him.
"As we pledge to maintain homage to your throne and to our precious Jordan ... we denounce in the clearest terms all the terrorist actions claimed by the so-called Ahmed Fadheel Nazzal al-Khalayleh, who calls himself Abu Musab al-Zarqawi," the family members said.
"We announce, and all the people are our witnesses, that we — the sons of the al-Khalayleh tribe — are innocent of him and all that emanates from him, whether action, assertion or decision."
The statement said anyone who carried out such violence in the kingdom does not enjoy its protection.
You're goin' DOWN, Zarqawi.
2 year old Kelsey Briggs died right before her daddy came home from Iraq.
Briggs died at two years and nine months, and the report analyzes the last nine months. It started Jan. 10 when a physician reported that bruises on the girl were not accidental and were the result of abuse.H/T: Eric, who not only has video, but says what I cannot say.It continued on Jan. 17 when the Department of Human Services was contacted and was informed of bruises on the girl's face and body and abrasions on her bottom and neck. On Feb. 3, the report indicated that the mother admitted to spanking Kelsey on her diaper and her hand but denied having seen the reported bruises. On Feb. 23, the Lincoln County district attorney filed court documents saying Briggs had been physically abused.
Eventually, Briggs' legs were both in casts -- caused by intentional breaks, according to doctors.
This pattern of reporting and ruling continued through October, when Kelsey eventually died -- the cause of blunt trauma to the stomach, according to the Oklahoma medical examiner.
(Still not back from my unannounced self-imposed hiatus, but a quick post.)
I hope they use the term "historian" loosely: Historian Charged With Denying Holocaust.
VIENNA, Austria - British historian David Irving was arrested last week in southern Austria on a warrant accusing him of denying the Holocaust, the Interior Ministry said Thursday. Irving was arrested Nov. 11 in Styria province, said police Maj. Rudolf Golia, an Interior Ministry spokesman. He was transferred to a prison in Graz.What do you mean "such a charge"???Irving was detained on a warrant issued in 1989 under Austrian laws that make Holocaust denial a crime, Golia said. The accusation stemmed from speeches Irving delivered that year in Vienna and in the southern town of Leoben.
[...] If formally charged, tried and convicted on the charge, Irving could face up to 20 years in prison, said Otto Schneider of the public prosecutor's office.
But he said it was unclear whether there were sufficient legal grounds to continue holding Irving on such a charge so many years after the alleged offense was committed. A decision was expected by the end of next week on how to proceed, Schneider said.
Meaning "such a superficial charge"???
There's a reason denying the Holocaust is (rightfully considered) a crime in some Euro-nations... because it's dangerous to let people like Irving run around giving his little Jew-hating speeches.
Charge the creep and throw him in the hole.
Philippians 1:3: "I thank my God every time I remember you..."
When the end came to World War I, November 11, 1919 was set aside to commemorate the sacrifices made by American soldiers to gain a lasting peace for the world. Called Armistice Day, soldiers who survived the war marched in parades through their home towns. Dignitaries and veterans made speeches and held ceremonies of thanks for the peace that had been won. Had WWI been the "war to end all wars," we would probably still observe Armistice Day today. After WWII, Armistice Day continued to be observed, but Americans realized that there was a need to recognize those who had made sacrifices in other conflicts.
The History of Veterans DayIn 1954, President Eisenhower signed a bill proclaiming November 11 as Veterans Day, and called upon Americans everywhere to rededicate themselves to the cause of peace. He issued a Presidential Order directing the head of the Veterans Administration, now the Department of Veterans Affairs, to form a Veterans Day National Committee to organize and oversee the national observance of Veterans Day. November 11 was designated as Veterans Day to honor veterans of all U.S. wars. In 1971 President Nixon declared it a federal holiday on the second Monday in November, but it became apparent that November 11 was too historically significant to bypass, so in 1978 Congress formally returned the observance of Veterans Day to the customary date of November 11.
Let us solemnly remember the sacrifices of all those who fought so valiantly, on the seas, in the air, and on foreign shores, to preserve our heritage of freedom, and let us reconsecrate ourselves to the task of promoting an enduring peace so that their efforts shall not have been in vain.
--Dwight D. Eisenhower
The Department of Veterans Affairs has an awesome collection of previous Veterans Day posters. Go check 'em out!
Ex-Peruviian President Arrested in Chile.
SANTIAGO, Chile - Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori was arrested early Monday, hours after he defied an international arrest warrant and flew from Japan to Chile, police said.Este imbécil es increíble.
Shortly after Fujimori's presence in Chile was confirmed Sunday, the Peruvian government asked Santiago to arrest him while a request for his extradition was filed.Police arrested the 67-year-old at his hotel early Monday.
Local media said lawyers for the former Peruvian leader were already appealing the arrest, which had been requested by the Peruvian government as a first step to seek his extradition.
Fujimori, who fled Peru in 2000 amid a growing scandal affecting his decade-long regime, faces 21 charges in Peru stemming from alleged corruption and his alleged support of a paramilitary death squad.
He resigned the presidency in a fax sent from Tokyo.
Bush and Che: different concepts of freedom.
BUENOS AIRES – In the birthplace of Ernesto "Che" Guevara - one of the 20th century's great icons of liberation - and in a nation where most adults remember life under a brutal military dictatorship, you might think there would be greater appreciation for a world leader who champions freedom through prosperity and democracy. But no. [...]So...we've basically just established the well-known (at least, it's not a secret to most, I don't believe...) difference between socialism and capitalism."Che's liberty was not individual freedom, it was the independence of countries and the liberation of the collective poor of those countries," says Manuel Mora y Araujo, director of Ipsos-Mora y Araujo, a prominent public-opinion analysis agency here. "But for Bush it is about individual freedoms. He is the archetype of the conservative, whereas Che was the archetype of the socialist."
That does not mean Argentines wish to emulate Guevara's political and economic ideology, experts explain. "The admiration for El Che no longer extends to his politics and ideology, certainly not to his Marxism," says Martin Krause, dean of the Graduate School of Economics and Business Administration in Buenos Aires and a longtime analyst of Argentine society. "It's a romantic idea of one man going to battle against the windmills, he's a Quixote."
Several years ago, when there was fresh intrigue about where Guevara's remains were buried, Mr. Krause wrote that the socialist icon's spiritual tomb is Cuba. "That's where his ideas found their final resting place," he says, "and it's a disaster." [...] [And don't you forget it! --ed.]
Today, what remains of Guevara in pop culture is often a figure stripped of political ideology, an "icon of rebellion," Krause says, which explains why youth wear his face on shirts and put his poster on college dorm walls.
Ricardo López Göttig, a young Argentine historian, says Guevara was basically about "freedom from" - from the survival-of-the-fittest nature of capitalism, from the crushing wearing-down of poverty - while Bush is about "freedom to" - to make one's own life.
"Che wanted a return to a simpler, communitarian life where there was no property and the individual was absorbed in a protective, collective whole," Mr. Lopez says. "Bush stands for a freedom for the individual, but it is a freedom exposed to competition, conflict, and without protection from failure. At a time of globalization and increasingly complex living," he adds, "the discourse of Che Guevara has a certain attraction."
Choose your pick... Cuba... or the U.S.?
Child-sex ring uncovered in Winnipeg, police allege.
Winnipeg police say they are investigating one of the largest sexual exploitation rings ever seen in the city, allegedly involving more than 30 children ranging in age from 18 months to 17 years.
Sgt. Kelly Dennison said about 20 girls – aged 12 to 17 – were sold into prostitution.Dennison said the other children younger than age 12, including a baby of only 18 months, weren't necessarily forced to perform sexual acts but may have been exposed to them because they lived in the houses where they were taking place.
So far, police have charged two women with procuring children for the purposes of prostitution, living off the avails of prostitution and corrupting children.
The corruption charges stem from the plight of the younger children, Dennison explained.
"A minor can be corrupted if they're subjected to constant abuse, constant alcoholism, if they're in an environment where they have nowhere to go other than to observe certain things going on," he said.
Police said more arrests could be made as the investigation continues.
"Just by sheer number, it's probably the largest, or one of the largest, investigations we're doing," Dennison said.
The children involved in this case have been removed from three homes in Winnipeg's West End.
Jane Runner – who works with New Directions, an organization that helps women and children escape sexual exploitation – said the case isn't as uncommon as people would like to believe.
Runner estimated that only 10 per cent of prostitution happens on the street, where it is visible to the public.
She said the case highlights the importance of addressing the root problems that make children vulnerable to sexual exploitation: poverty, homelessness and addiction.
"If younger children are witnessing this, and this is all they're seeing, it becomes normalized, it becomes the way of life," Runner said.
"Those kids who are growing up in this kind of environment need to understand this isn't a normal behaviour, activity."
This is most excellent news: US/European Leaders Unite to Protect Children From Predators.
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Nov. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Top officials from the U.S. and 21 other countries adopted an aggressive 17-point action plan to eliminate commercial child pornography worldwide by 2008; establish new national centers in Europe patterned after the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) in the U.S. and Child Focus in Belgium; create a universal three-digit phone number for reporting missing children; establish an expanded database of convicted pedophiles; and develop a system to track child traffickers across borders.Click here and scroll down a bit to read the 17-point action plan.The action plan was adopted last week by the attendees at the first U.S./European Summit on Missing and Exploited Children held in Buonas, Switzerland. The meeting, sponsored by the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children in partnership with Child Focus, was hosted by Swiss healthcare company, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd.
Margarida Barroso, wife of the President of the European Commission, said, "More than ever, Americans and Europeans must stay close together in the defense of the most vulnerable. But the task is so urgent and so immense that all actors must mobilize." She added, "The good news is that we already have the appropriate framework. The International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children has already united Europeans and Americans in common action."
Juan Miguel Petit, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, said "Our challenge is to reach the problems before the problems reach us ... we need resources and political will from governments and international organizations, but we also need a map, a plan, to show that we not only have sensitivity and good will, but the capacity of developing strong action."John Walsh, co-founder of NCMEC, host of "America's Most Wanted," and father of an abducted and murdered child, said, " ... 24 years ago, there was nothing. I never dreamed that a meeting like this was possible, or that we could unite to help children everywhere." Walsh was joined by other victim parents, including Michel Bruyere of Belgium and Colleen Nick of the U.S. Participants in the Summit included government leaders, non-governmental organizations, business executives, law enforcement officials, judges, prosecutors, researchers and physicians. Among the organizations represented were the European Commission, the Council of Europe, the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the United Nations.
Army Chaplain Sentenced For Sodomizing Troops.
BAMBERG, Germany -- A U.S. Army chaplain has been sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to three counts of forcible sodomy against enlisted men.Disgraceful and disgusting.Capt. Gregory Arflack, a 44-year-old Roman Catholic priest, apologized at his court-martial in Germany. He sobbed and said, "I've had a lot of time to pray and consider what I've done as a priest and an officer and I'm ashamed."
One of the victims, whom Arflack had been counseling about homesickness and family troubles, told the court, "I don't understand how a person of the cloth could do something like that."
He added, "I didn't believe God would allow something like that to happen."
Arflack confessed to plying three soldiers -- ages 18, 19 and 20 -- with alcohol and making unwanted advances. He forced oral sex on one soldier in the bathroom of a bar and on the other two at his home, where they had passed out on his sofa.
Absolutely shameful.
Peru Claims Fujimori Seeking Re-Election.
TOKYO - Peruvian ex-president Alberto Fujimori is attempting to forge a three-group political alliance, the Peruvian Embassy in Tokyo said Wednesday, as part of his effort to win re-election to lead the South American nation.Silly bastard. He just doesn't learn, does he?
Fujimori, who fled to Japan in November 2000 as his 10-year-old government crumbled amid corruption scandals, came to Peruvian consular offices in Tokyo on Wednesday to validate his signature on a document joining his political movement with two parties, officials said.The consular office notarized his signature, but affixed a stamp saying that it did not recognize the document, since Fujimori is barred from political activity because of the myriad of charges against him, the officials said.
"We legalized the signature, but not the content of the document," said Hector Matallana, Peruvian consul general in Japan.
The former leader wasn't immediately available for comment. Calls to his office Thursday morning went unaswered.
Fujimori faces 21 charges ranging from abuse of power to sanctioning a paramilitary death squad. The Peruvian Supreme Court dismissed a 22nd charge against him, of corruption, two weeks ago, citing a lack of evidence.
Fujimori has vowed to return to Peru to run for re-election in next April's elections, despite the charges against him and a standing congressional ruling, upheld by Peru's Constitutional Tribunal, prohibiting him from holding public office until February 2011.
The PSC dismissed the charge of corruption due to a lack of evidence?
That's just goofy.
MP tears strip off Liberals, Feds continue to allow exploitation, Tory says.
The Liberal government is "complicit" in the trafficking of women with a visa policy that fast-tracks foreign strippers and lap dancers, a Conservative MP charged yesterday.Diane Ablonczy accused the government of misleading Canadians last year when it claimed to be "cancelling" the controversial policy of issuing temporary work permits to exotic dancers based on a labour market opinion from the Human Resources department.
But the "sordid truth" is that the welcome mat is still rolled out to foreign strippers, she told the House, citing a Sun story over the weekend.
"Canadians made the mistake of believing the Liberals. Now it comes out this government is still sanctioning the recruitment of vulnerable women, knowing full well many of them will be abused and exploited," she said.
NO 'BLANKET APPROVAL'
Human Resources Minister Belinda Stronach defended the government's practice, insisting there is no "blanket approval" for exotic dancers. Since the government changed its policy last December, her department assesses requests from employers on an "individual case-by-case basis."
"We are required to issue a labour market opinion for any legal profession in this country," she told the Commons.
Canada's stripper visa policy has come under fire from the U.S. and international anti-trafficking groups for opening the door to the exploitation of women.
(Prishtina, DTT-NET.COM*)-A former official of UN mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) was sentenced on Monday to three years in prison for sexual abuse of a minor.*DTT-Net.com has ridiculous registration requirements so don't even bother with the link.Pakistani national, Rashidoon Khan - a former official for United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in UN administrated province of Kosovo - was arrested in January. He was found guilty of abuse of a minor under the age of 16.
By the end of August three UN police officers and four foreigners have been arrested for involvement in human trafficking in the UN administered province of Kosovo, but were released by an international judge because of lack of evidence.Since the UN begun ruling Kosovo after the war ended in June 1999 civilian international officials and soldiers of international NATO-led peacekeeping force (KFOR) have been involved in several cases of sexual abuse and human trafficking.
According to the Amnesty International (AI) the presence of international peacekeepers in Kosovo has been fuelling the sexual exploitation of women and encouraging trafficking. The human rights group claims that UN and NATO troops in the region are using the trafficked women and girls for sex, and that some have been involved in trafficking itself.
Girls as young as 11 from Eastern European countries are being sold into sex slavery, according to Amnesty International.
The [AI] report includes harrowing testimonies of abduction, deprivation, and torture, including beatings and rape.
The report also condemns the role of the international peacekeepers in furthering the problem, saying that the number of places in Kosovo where trafficked women and girls may be exploited, such as nightclubs, bars, restaurants, hotels, and cafes, has increased from 18 at the time of the arrival of the peacekeepers in 1999 to more than 200 in 2003.
According to the report, international personnel make up about 20 per cent of sex trafficking customers, though its members comprise only 2 per cent of Kosovo’s population.
Prostitution: Pope, Slave Traders Are Back.
(AGI) - Vatican City, Oct. 28 - Benedict XVI has pointed his finger at human trafficking, and above all that of women, who go to somewhere theyMany thanks to Pope Benedict for bringing much needed attention to this evil reality.
can improve their lives, or just survive.The Pope gave a very tough message on the World Day of Migration, saying that the great poverty in the countries of origin make it easy for the trafficker to offer his services to the victims, young women who often have no idea of what they are facing - exploitation as slaves and in the sex industry.
He called for a rescue programme.
Benedict devoted almost all of his first message on the subject of migrations to the plight of immigrants, which he called "a sign of the times". He said that in the past it was normally men who emigrated, but nowadays there are more and more women doing so and it is not infrequent that they become the prime source of income for their family. They often work in low waged industries. If men are vulnerable, women are even more so, working as home helps, looking after old people and sick people, and working in hospitals.
The Pope called for Christians to work for the just treatment of immigrants, for respect for their femininity and for the recognition of equal rights.
Activists 'outraged' over upgrading status of Sudan.
The State Department, headed by Rice, has upgraded Sudan’s slavery watch status from Tier 3 to Tier 2, meaning the problems with enslavement in the country will be monitored on the same scale as Switzerland, Israel, Chile, Hungary and Greece. The upgrading came as a result of the nation’s promise to end aspects of slavery, according to a Sept. 21 State Department memorandum explaining the president’s determination.“On the basis of positive actions undertaken by the Government of Sudan since the end of the 2005 reporting period, the Secretary of State has determined that the Government of Sudan does not yet fully comply with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, but is making significant efforts to bring itself into compliance,” states the memo, posted on the State Department Web site.
“This is the standard for placement on Tier 2 of the State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Report. The Secretary of State has placed Sudan on the Special Watch List because the determination that the Government of Sudan is making significant efforts is based on commitments by the country to take additional future steps over the next year. Sudan will remain on Tier 2 only as long as it continues to act on these commitments.”
The memorandum further explains that in June 2005, the State Department presented the Sudanese government with an action plan that outlined steps to combat trafficking. It gives a list of commitments and mandates that the Sudanese government has stated, including eradicating sexual violence against women, removing the legal requirement for rape victims to file a criminal report before receiving medical treatment and requiring that victims of sexual violence receive priority over other patients. But the memo also admits, “Violence against women remains a serious problem in the Darfur region.”
Tackling the sordid trade in EU sex slaves (reg. req'd --- use bugmenot.com).
PERHAPS the single most frightening fact about human trafficking and illegal immigration is that nobody knows the precise scale of the problem.Given the criminal nature of the organised gangs who try and profit through humans, it's only when police launch raids or people die, that any figures come to light.
The kind of rough guesstimates available are incredible - suggesting that over half a million people every year are trafficked into Europe. Another half a million are moved around the world.
The majority are women or girls, who will be sold onto brothels for sexual exploitation, claims UN research.
A separate report by the International Organisation for Migration warns that trafficking is now at alarming levels, especially from South-East Europe.
It warns that police are finding it even harder to track down the routes and even the methods, like arranged marriages and postal brides, which are used to hide the true intent.
I won't hold my breath on this one: Japan may crack down on sex trafficking.
TOKYO, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- Japan is expected to introduce legislation this week to crackdown on trafficking in women for sexual purposes.One thing the article does not cite is the role racism plays in Japan's sex industry. Thai women, for example, are considered inferior and therefore expendable to Japanese sex tourists.The Times of London reports Japan only recognized sex trafficking in July, and police have made little use of statutes allowing them to raid brothels.
In 2004, a U.S. State Department report harshly criticized Japan, concluding the country "has yet to make a significant effort to lessen the domestic demand for trafficking victims." Japan, the world's second-largest economy, was ranked with Belarus, Colombia Ivory Coast and other poor countries for its failure.
Keiko Otsu, who runs a shelter for women in Tokyo, said women who are trafficked are often victimized a second time by the Japanese authorities if they manage to escape.
She said those who come to the shelter are "genuinely terrified, often trembling uncontrollably."
"They know that they can't go to the police because they have no visas," she said. "They fear that if they are spotted coming to the shelter they will be killed, or that their families back home will be hurt by thugs."
*NOTE: Article excerpts are extremely graphic in detail, as are images in full text version.
China’s Forced Labor Camps Sexually Abuse Falun Gong Practitioners.
Recently, overseas media have exposed many officials involved in sexual abuse cases against Falun Gong practitioners in detention centers and forced labor camps in mainland China.Photos showing festering burns on a female practitioner’s breast, made by shocks from electric batons, have aroused attention internationally. Some scholars commented that the reason why such terrible things could happen in China is because the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s gangster-style party culture has destroyed their humanity and devastated the most basic respect towards human beings.
According to reports from Minghui.net, in the beginning of 2003, police electrically shocked Wang Yunjie, a Falun Gong practitioner from Liaoning province, on her breast using an electric baton with a several thousand volt charge. The police shocked her for several hours and caused her entire breast to fester.
Guards in the Dalian Forced Labor Camp bound three practitioners: Ms. Fu Shuying, 60 years old, Ms. Cheng Hui, 27 years old, and Sun Yan, 30, spread-eagled on tables. Then the guards and a so-called “reform educator” inserted broomsticks into their vaginas and twisted forcefully. The women bled severely and suffered excruciating pain. All of them suffer ongoing abdominal pain as a result.
[...] International human rights organizations commented that the torture methods used in China’s forced labor camps are far crueler than those used in the fascist concentration camps, far less humane, and the extent of brutality is beyond normal people’s imagination.
Since the CCP seized power, from Zhang Zhixin to Lin Zhao to tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners in China’s forced labor camp, the CCP has trampled the most basic dignity of mothers, wives, and sisters. The CCP has deliberately sunk itself beneath the deepest depths of human immorality.
SIX-YEAR-OLD Aisha loves the clothes her new guardian has bought for her, what she doesn't realise is this woman just bought her for $1500 and intends to make her into a prostitute. Other children in the area are being bought up by pimps who will pay twice that.The woman, who claims she is a distant relative who bought the girl from her grandmother, says the girl's virginity could rake in as much as $4700 once she reaches puberty and if the girl won't work for her she will sell her to a pimp.
According to welfare agencies many orphans are being targeted by gangs who want to turn them into beggars or prostitutes. The govt. of Pakistan is so concerned it has placed armed guards at hospitals and placed a ban on adoptions.
...but will New Delhi listen? Now listen to vote Delhi says.
Delhi spoke, and how. No less than 91% respondents to our poll want prostitution legalised. Are the authorities listening?Cramped rooms, dimly-lit staircases and the business of living. Five days ago, we went to the red light area of the city — GB Road — and met the sex-workers who are fighting poverty and AIDS while they live on the fringes of society.
They are demanding legalisation of prostitution, not just for themselves but also for their children. "Atleast, I will be able to give my 10-year-old daughter a respectable life," says Sadamma, a 35-year-old sex worker who is HIV positive.
We brought the plea of scores like her to the public forum. The start was made in Mumbai where 84.4 per cent people came out in the support of legalising prostitution in the 8888 poll.
But it was Delhi where the results were truly staggering. No less than 91 per cent people want prostitution legalised. The figures in the 8888 poll say it all... Delhi is hankering for a change.
"Awareness has to be created about the issue. After all, it's a matter of life and death. This campaign has to be built up with a vengeance," says entrepreneur Kalyani Chawla.
And it all begins with the rehabilitation of the sex workers. "To control AIDS, these women need to be a part of the mainstream society. Only then can health and welfare schemes for them be launched," says anchor Roshni Chopra.
Adman Dilip Cherian emphasises that when prostitution is formalised "the set of rules should be simple. Also, awareness needs to be spread about the health and economic problems of these people."
