Slate: US aid vs. Afghan insurgency — no-win? - Slate.com - msnbc.com: "KHOST, Afghanistan — When people hear about the U.S. military doing development work in Afghanistan, they think about 'winning hearts and minds' through humanitarian aid or building schools. The idea is that if Americans do nice things for Afghans, they will be so grateful they will begin to support the counterinsurgency.
But these days, heart and minds is a phrase that will get you nothing but a lot of sighs from members of the military. 'I'm sure someone meant well by that, but it's evolved into something that's dissonant with what we're trying to do here,' said Capt. Steve Deal. 'I think when you say you're winning hearts and minds, you're trying to win people over to your way of thinking. We're not going to change Pashtunwali [the Pashtun tribal legal system and moral code]. We're not going to change Afghan people and the way they live.' Other cultures have come to Afghanistan throughout history and tried to win hearts and minds, explained Deal, but despite money, military might, and promises of modernization, they've always been rejected by Afghans."
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Nigerian 'baby factory' raided, 32 teenage girls freed - Yahoo! News
Nigerian 'baby factory' raided, 32 teenage girls freed - Yahoo! News: "LAGOS (AFP) – Nigerian police have raided a home allegedly being used to force teenage girls to have babies that were then offered for sale for trafficking or other purposes, authorities said on Wednesday.
'We stormed the premises of the Cross Foundation in Aba three days ago following a report that pregnant girls aged between 15 and 17 are being made to make babies for the proprietor,' said Bala Hassan, police commissioner for Abia state in the country's southeast.
'We rescued 32 pregnant girls and arrested the proprietor who is undergoing interrogation over allegations that he normally sells the babies to people who may use them for rituals or other purposes.'
Some of the girls told police they had been offered to sell their babies for between 25,000 and 30,000 naira (192 dollars) depending on the sex of the baby.
The babies would then be sold to buyers for anything from 300,000 naira to one million naira (1,920 and 6,400 dollars) each, according to a state agency fighting human trafficking in Nigeria, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP)."
'We stormed the premises of the Cross Foundation in Aba three days ago following a report that pregnant girls aged between 15 and 17 are being made to make babies for the proprietor,' said Bala Hassan, police commissioner for Abia state in the country's southeast.
'We rescued 32 pregnant girls and arrested the proprietor who is undergoing interrogation over allegations that he normally sells the babies to people who may use them for rituals or other purposes.'
Some of the girls told police they had been offered to sell their babies for between 25,000 and 30,000 naira (192 dollars) depending on the sex of the baby.
The babies would then be sold to buyers for anything from 300,000 naira to one million naira (1,920 and 6,400 dollars) each, according to a state agency fighting human trafficking in Nigeria, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP)."
AP IMPACT: US declines to try half Native crimes - Yahoo! News
AP IMPACT: US declines to try half Native crimes - Yahoo! News: "WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. – There was swelling on the little girl's skull and hemorrhages around her brain. There was a tear between her right ear and scalp. The scars on her 36-pound body were consistent with burns from a space heater, a curling iron and hot noodles.
The mother said she had accidentally rolled over onto her daughter in bed, smothering her. The medical examiner concluded that the brown-eyed toddler with the wavy dark hair had been beaten, declaring her death a homicide.
Had 2-year-old Kiara Harvey died elsewhere the case likely would have been handled by the county sheriff or police, and the local district attorney.
But Kiara was a Navajo and she lived on the expansive Navajo Nation. On tribal lands, only federal prosecutions can lead to serious penalties for major crimes involving Native Americans. Those prosecutors, however, end up declining to pursue half of the cases nationally."
The mother said she had accidentally rolled over onto her daughter in bed, smothering her. The medical examiner concluded that the brown-eyed toddler with the wavy dark hair had been beaten, declaring her death a homicide.
Had 2-year-old Kiara Harvey died elsewhere the case likely would have been handled by the county sheriff or police, and the local district attorney.
But Kiara was a Navajo and she lived on the expansive Navajo Nation. On tribal lands, only federal prosecutions can lead to serious penalties for major crimes involving Native Americans. Those prosecutors, however, end up declining to pursue half of the cases nationally."
Another Woman Attacked on the Upper East Side - Yahoo! News
Another Woman Attacked on the Upper East Side - Yahoo! News: "UPPER EAST SIDE — A 25-year-old woman narrowly escaped being raped on the Upper East Side last week, just a few blocks away from where an 85-year-old woman was sexually assaulted on Monday, police told DNAinfo.
Witnesses heard the terrified young woman screaming just before 5 a.m. on May 22 after a man grabbed her as she pulled out her keys in the doorway of her building on East 90th Street, close to Lexington Avenue.
'Call 911, he's attacking me!' the 25-year-old woman screamed in the predawn darkness, witnesses said.
'I heard her scream … and I called 911,' said witness Sarah Bramwell, 31. 'He grabbed her from behind and threw her down and was trying to pull her dress up.'
Luckily, a doorman in a building across the street heard the attack and raced to help the woman — sending the attacker fleeing."
Witnesses heard the terrified young woman screaming just before 5 a.m. on May 22 after a man grabbed her as she pulled out her keys in the doorway of her building on East 90th Street, close to Lexington Avenue.
'Call 911, he's attacking me!' the 25-year-old woman screamed in the predawn darkness, witnesses said.
'I heard her scream … and I called 911,' said witness Sarah Bramwell, 31. 'He grabbed her from behind and threw her down and was trying to pull her dress up.'
Luckily, a doorman in a building across the street heard the attack and raced to help the woman — sending the attacker fleeing."
Libya oil chief defects, NATO extends campaign - Yahoo! News
Libya oil chief defects, NATO extends campaign - Yahoo! News: "TRIPOLI/ROME (Reuters) – Libya's top oil official became the latest leading figure to desert Muammar Gaddafi on Wednesday, complaining of 'unbearable' violence and adding political momentum to a revolt against the leader's long rule.
In rebel-held eastern Libya, an explosion damaged two cars outside Benghazi's Tibesti hotel, a building that has been used in the past for news conferences by the rebels seeking to topple Gaddafi, Arab television stations reported. There was no immediate word of what caused the blast, or of any injuries.
The defection by National Oil Corp head Shokri Ghanem, who is also a former prime minister, came two days after the defections of eight army officers including five generals and those in earlier weeks of senior diplomats and former ministers."
In rebel-held eastern Libya, an explosion damaged two cars outside Benghazi's Tibesti hotel, a building that has been used in the past for news conferences by the rebels seeking to topple Gaddafi, Arab television stations reported. There was no immediate word of what caused the blast, or of any injuries.
The defection by National Oil Corp head Shokri Ghanem, who is also a former prime minister, came two days after the defections of eight army officers including five generals and those in earlier weeks of senior diplomats and former ministers."
Why the white working class is alienated, pessimistic - Yahoo! News
Why the white working class is alienated, pessimistic - Yahoo! News: "Almost no one noticed, but around George W. Bush's reelection in 2004, the nation crossed a demographic milestone.
From Revolutionary days through 2004, a majority of Americans fit two criteria. They were white. And they concluded their education before obtaining a four-year college degree. In the American mosaic, that vast white working class was the largest piece, from the yeoman farmer to the welder on the assembly line. Even as late as the 1990 census, whites without a college degree represented more than three-fifths of adults.
But as the country grew more diverse and better educated, the white working-class share of the adult population slipped to just under 50 percent in the Census Bureau's 2005 American Community Survey. That number has since fallen below 48 percent.
The demographic eclipse of the white working class is likely an irreversible trend as the United States reconfigures itself yet again as a 'world nation' reinvigorated by rising education levels and kaleidoscopic diversity. That emerging America will create opportunities (such as the links that our new immigrants will provide to emerging markets around the globe) and face challenges (including improving high school and college graduation rates for the minority young people who will provide tomorrow's workforce)."
From Revolutionary days through 2004, a majority of Americans fit two criteria. They were white. And they concluded their education before obtaining a four-year college degree. In the American mosaic, that vast white working class was the largest piece, from the yeoman farmer to the welder on the assembly line. Even as late as the 1990 census, whites without a college degree represented more than three-fifths of adults.
But as the country grew more diverse and better educated, the white working-class share of the adult population slipped to just under 50 percent in the Census Bureau's 2005 American Community Survey. That number has since fallen below 48 percent.
The demographic eclipse of the white working class is likely an irreversible trend as the United States reconfigures itself yet again as a 'world nation' reinvigorated by rising education levels and kaleidoscopic diversity. That emerging America will create opportunities (such as the links that our new immigrants will provide to emerging markets around the globe) and face challenges (including improving high school and college graduation rates for the minority young people who will provide tomorrow's workforce)."
NY rape victim leads project to catch predators - Yahoo! News
NY rape victim leads project to catch predators - Yahoo! News: "WEST SAYVILLE, N.Y. – Natasha Alexenko wants more rapists in prison.
A sexual assault survivor who waited 15 years to see her assailant brought to justice, Alexenko — who is featured in an upcoming HBO documentary on sex crime prosecutions — insists authorities often have the evidence to convict predators, but it goes untested for years. It happened to her.
The Long Island woman is the founder of and spokeswoman for the new Natasha's Justice Project, which seeks to advocate for rape victims and erase a nationwide backlog of untested sexual assault kits, also known as rape kits. The backlog could be in the tens of thousands, according to some estimates.
'You'd be surprised how many people are not aware of the fact that an individual is sexually assaulted, we have the DNA evidence, and yet the kit sits on a shelf going absolutely nowhere,' said Alexenko, 38, who recently resigned as head of the Long Island Maritime Museum to support the foundation."
A sexual assault survivor who waited 15 years to see her assailant brought to justice, Alexenko — who is featured in an upcoming HBO documentary on sex crime prosecutions — insists authorities often have the evidence to convict predators, but it goes untested for years. It happened to her.
The Long Island woman is the founder of and spokeswoman for the new Natasha's Justice Project, which seeks to advocate for rape victims and erase a nationwide backlog of untested sexual assault kits, also known as rape kits. The backlog could be in the tens of thousands, according to some estimates.
'You'd be surprised how many people are not aware of the fact that an individual is sexually assaulted, we have the DNA evidence, and yet the kit sits on a shelf going absolutely nowhere,' said Alexenko, 38, who recently resigned as head of the Long Island Maritime Museum to support the foundation."
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