As the Occupy Wall Street Movement makes its way into the New Year, it does not seem to be losing any steam. The phenomenon continues to unabashedly grow and evolve. What began as a small protest has become an historic movement not only for the United States, but for the international community as a whole. Many have found themselves directly involved in the movement, making their way to Zuccotti Park in Manhattan, where the Occupy Movement made its first stand. Others have made their way to one of the many Occupy sites around the world to add their voice to the chorus shouting “We are the 99%!” As this goes to press, Occupy Nigeria is leading protests in Lagos and other cities that some believe have the potential to blossom into a full-blown revolution. And still others, like me, have watched (or occupied) from a distance, lending support where we can, and tracking the story as if it were the moon landing.
North Korea’s Not-so-Secret Prison Camps
Cross posted on the World Policy Blog and The Mantle.
On May 3, 2011, Amnesty International released a report detailing the extensive political prison system in North Korea (DPRK). In line with the estimates of the South Korean government, as well as prior US State Department reports, Amnesty estimates North Korea is currently holding somewhere around 200,000 political prisoners in what are being likened to Soviet-era Gulags.
Peace Revolutionaries in the Path of Violence
It is no secret that in this new era of intra-state conflict, rape has increasingly become used as weapon of war. Sadly, the women of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) know this all too well. This past week a new report was released in the American Journal of Public Health, which takes an in-depth look at rape statistics in the DRC. The article reports some incredibly staggering numbers. Read more…
