Stories about Humanitarian Response from April, 2006
Sudan: genocide
Weichegud!ET Politics comments on Darfur, Rwanda and the failure of the West and Africa to act – in the case of Darfur we have been warned over and over yet still nothing happens. We as Africans also need to take responsibility…”Excuse me. 400,000 people have died. When do we start...
Belarus: Chernobyl Neglect
TOL's Belarus Blog notes that when it comes to Chernobyl awareness and aid distribution, Belarus is neglected: “70% of all the radioactive fallout landed in Belarus. And yet, in mass-media world-wide everyone talks only about Ukraine. Belarus is lucky if it’s getting 5-10% of the coverage and 5-10% of the...
Ukraine: One Man's Chernobyl 20 Years On
Stefan at Dykun writes about a Ukrainian relative who was sent to work in Chernobyl 20 years ago: he's in his 40s now but walks with a cane. “Mykhajlo wears what must count as the thickest glasses ever worn by a human being–they should definitely find a place in a...
Russia: NGOs Under Attack, Anti-Fascist Killed
Sean Guillory reports on one day's news out of Russia's capital: “Soldiers’ Mothers, HIV/AIDS NGOs Under Attack & Anti-Fascist Murdered in Moscow.”
Helping Russian Orphans
On March 19, a group of wonderful, kind people from Moscow took presents acquired on donations from ordinary Muscovites to an orphanage in Ivanovo, home to 122 children (o to 4 years old), most of whom have various disabilities. The effort – one of the many – was coordinated online...
China: Prisoners’ organs harvested?
A report mentioned today on the Chinese Law Prof Blog links Chinese prisons, executions and conveniently-timed organ donations. “The first comprehensive report on this issue of which I am aware is Human Rights Watch, China: Organ Procurement and Judicial Execution in China (August 1994). The research behind this report is...
Landing at the Iraqi Blogodrome
As a postscript to the 1970 Gil Scot Heron poem ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised‘, There will be no highlights on the eleven o'clock news… The Revolution Will Not Be Televised The revolution will be no re-run brothers; The revolution will be live. The revolution will be blogged. And...
Ukraine: Coalition Building and AIDS Project Suspension
LEvko of Foreign Notes and Dan McMinn of Orange Ukraine both write about the treacherous world of Ukrainian politics. Dan also has this item, unrelated to the post-election coalition building and thus most likely doomed to be soon forgotten: “Bad news: The World Bank suspended a big AIDS project in...
Iran: Nuclear & Safety
Inja va Aknoun (means Here & Now) writes about nuclear technology & security related questions (Persian). He says nobody in Iran talks about the safety of people who live in the neighbourhood of nuclear enrichment buildings.
Russia: Funding to Hamas
Tim Newman of White Sun of the Desert reports that Russia is planning to provide financial aid to Hamas: “For the last few years, much of Russia’s foreign policy has been a two step process: 1) See what the US is doing. 2) Do the opposite.”
China: Microsoft in collusion
When Chinese president Hu Jintao stops over for dinner at Bill Gates’ house and Microsoft centers research in Beijing, bloggers start to wonder: “Bill Gates, Jerry Yang, Eric Schmidt and the other executives should be challenging repressive regimes,” says Jeff Chester from Digital Destiny, “by refusing to operate in countries...
China: Correspondents receive Pulitzer
Lian Yue's Eighth Continent blogger makes mention of New York Times correspondents Jim Yardley and Joseph Kahn who, as announced Monday, have been awarded a Pulitzer prize for their recent series Rule by Law.
Views from the Horn of Africa and Sudan
Ethiopia is one of only four African nations that were never colonies of a European power. Though independent, Ethiopia was subjected to Italian occupation from 1936 to 1941. ethiopundit takes us back in history—110 years ago—to the Battle of Adwa, in which Ethiopian forces defeated the technologically superior Italian colonialists:...
China: Documented human rights abuses
Ten years in the making, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights’ ‘Report on China Mission of Special Rapporteur on Torture‘ came out last month. Donald C. Clarke of the Chinese Law Prof blog gives a review and two links. “It is a sober and comprehensive treatment of many aspects...
Sri Lanka: Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation is an ongoing process in Sri Lanka. Sarvodaya on a project in which “Thirty houses in Galle district were ceremonially handed over to Tsunami-affected families in the villages of Akurala and Kahawa.”
Pakistan: Islamic Relief
Yasmine profiles the work of Islamic Relief -“sponsoring a series of six dinners around the United States, in order to raise funds for continuing support for the victims of last October's earthquake in South Asia”
China: Unexplained deaths
The Opposite End of China gathers coverage of last week's discovery of 121 skulls in a forest in northwestern China's Gansu province which tests show belonged to women and children. “So, what's the deal?” asks the blogger. “Is there a psychotic serial killer on the loose in northwest China? Is...
China: Death compensation
Are the lives of urban Chinese worth more than those of their rural counterparts? chinablawger tells us what the Chinese government's current stance is and how that might change.
Somaliland: Arab League
Inside Somaliland points to an article in the Sudan Tribune which asks “Will the Arabs dare to listen to Somaliland?” referring to the Arab League's failure to act on other issues such as Sudan and Darfur.