Democracy & Civics

The Child Brides of Kandahar

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Human rights activists in Afghanistan say arranged marriages involving young girls under 16 still account for half of all marriages in some parts of the country, such as in southern Kandahar province. The tradition is perpetuated by poverty and illiteracy, say activists — problems that are just as systemic. Many young brides get married without a full understanding of their wedding vows, leading to situations where they sometimes betray their husbands and suffer the consequences. In Afghanistan a woman who elopes can lose her life. Source:
“Afghanistan: Widespread child marriage blamed for domestic violence”
IRIN (United Nations), October 18, 2007

Democracy & Civics

Iran: Dissent Crackdown Deepens

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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s government is in the midst of an unprecedented crackdown on civilians, criminals and dissenters. Experts suggest that the government is afraid a recent economic downturn will breed unrest across the country, and has resolved to “govern by fear.” At least 60 criminals convicted of murder, rape, drug trafficking or abduction have been convicted and hung since May, including 21 people on one day alone, reports the World Press Review. International human rights campaigners believe the trials are rigged, while the executions are carefully filmed and uploaded to the Web for all Iranians to see — some suggest as cautionary tales engineered by the state. Iranian police have also detaining about 122,000 people since April, most of them women, for flouting the Islamic dress code, according to All Headline News.

Democracy & Civics

U.S. Water Pollution Laws Routinely Flouted: Report

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For years, U.S. municipal governments, corporations, and even the EPA have circumvented Clean Water Act safeguards against industrial pollution. More than half of all city wastewater treatment plants and industrial facilities in the United States exceeded pollution limits, according to a national report released last week by the activist group U.S. PIRG. Fifty-seven percent of the 3,600 major facilities violated the Clean Water Act by dumping cyanide, mercury, coliform and other pollutants at least once in 2005 — and California is in the “top ten” list of violators. Environmentalists say the EPA has been lax in enforcing the law, which in its defense says it continues to fine violators. But questions persist as to whether a simple fine is enough to get a facility to clean up — and whether the agency itself is serious about enforcement.

Democracy & Civics

AIDS Bias Targets 11-Year-Old Boy

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An 11-year-old who received “regular blood transfusions” for years was diagnosed as HIV-positive, and later kicked out of a school in West Bengal 20 days after being admitted. School authorities were reluctant to enroll him, and kept him on a separate bench from the other students, who were told to “shun” him. Such discrimination is illegal, but officials have not intervened, despite efforts by local AIDS and health advocates. Source:
“HIV-positive student thrown out of Bengal school”
Indo-Asian News Service, October 12, 2007

Democracy & Civics

New Testimony in Indonesia Activist Death

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A “massive” dose of arsenic in an airline meal took the life of a prominent critic of the Indonesian government, and now may send a former airline executive to jail for decades. The Times of London reports that an off-duty Garuda Air pilot was initially convicted of the “agonizing” mid-flight death of Munir Said Thalib in 2004, who was en route to Amsterdam to present a report on military abuses in Indonesia’s Aceh and Papua provinces. The pilot made more than 40 phone calls to a director of Indonesia’s spy agency immediately prior to Thalib’s death, but was later acquitted by the Supreme Court for lack of evidence. Now, Indra Setiawan, former head of Garuda Air head, has testified that he received a letter signed by a deputy chief of Indonesian intelligence, requesting that the pilot serve as the security officer on Thalib’s last flight. Meanwhile, activists say Thalib’s wife since been targeted by death threats, and was sent a decapitated chicken along with a note not to implicate the military in her husband’s death.

Democracy & Civics

Families a Casualty of Kashmir Split

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As many as 50,000 Indian-Pakistani families have been divided by the disputed Kashmir province since 1989. Among them are several hundred women who have not seen their husbands in decades, and are subject to harassment and worse. According to Women’s E News, Hanifa Aktar has lived alone for years on the Indian-controlled side of the border, separated from her husband and daughter in nearby Pakistani territory. Although the official peace process has allowed some 2,000 people to reunite in Kashmir, Aktar’s petitions to cross have been repeatedly denied. The Web site reports that Indian authorities, convinced that her husband is a separatist, have registered her name on a computerized blacklist, confiscated her passport, block phone contact, and periodically raid her home.

Democracy & Civics

The World's Prison Crisis

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Overcrowding, poor hygiene and drug addiction aren’t just issues that affect U.S. prisons, but extend to those of other regimes worldwide. In Iraq, several prisoners in Interior Ministry facilities have been diagnosed with scabies — though it’s not clear whether the problem extends to U.S.-run prisons. The government denies that scabies are a problem, and refuses to accept medication from an Iraqi advocacy group, which is now calling for international intervention. “Bad management of prisons isn’t something new in Iraq but sometimes I think it is worse now than it was during Saddam Hussein’s regime,” said one Iraqi prison guard, speaking anonymously to the United Nations news service. In Zimbabwe, overcrowded prisons — crammed with 40,000 people, but designed for only 16,000 — are rife with filth, and have become home to a mass outbreak of dermatomyositis.

Democracy & Civics

French DNA Bill Stirs Anti-Immigrant Fears

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If a French bill becomes law, any immigrant seeking to join relatives in France will have the option of taking a DNA test to prove they are related. The controversial bill is described as voluntary, but opponents say they fear anyone who refuses will be discriminated against when they apply, and that the law has been proposed to stir up anti-immigrant sentiment ahead of municipal elections. The legislation also requires would-be immigrants to prove their understanding of the French language and cultural values, and that their family can support them and earn minimum wage. Sources
“France: Senate backs controversial migrant DNA tests”
ADNKronos, October 4, 2007

Democracy & Civics

The Death Sentence on Trial?

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Support for capital punishment may be on the wane, as the Supreme Court ponders a Kentucky case that pivots on the question of whether lethal injections constitute “cruel and unusual punishment,” reports the Globe & Mail in Toronto. In Texas, at least one inmate’s execution has been put on pending a decision in the case, according to the Houston Chronicle. Lawyers there are predicting that judges will begin placing a moratorium on all executions until the case is heard this winter. But Texas Governor Rick Perry wants the scheduled executions to move forward unabated. Legal observers say the Supreme Court’s decision will have no bearing on whether the death penalty is humane or not.

Democracy & Civics

A Nuclear "Renaissance"

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Although it is a long way from becoming a reality, pundits are already predicting a “nuclear renaissance” in America for the first time in 30 years, even as plans for new plants take shape around the world. A New Jersey company has filed an application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to built two nuclear power plants in Texas, and the NRC expects to receive applications to build 28 more reactors in the next 15 months, according to the Christian Science Monitor. The traditional arguments against nuclear energy — that it is dangerous, costly, offers terrorist attack targets and creates radioactive waste — have not changed. What has changed is the fact that the U.S. government is offering to guarantee investors against loan defaults, and the potential of nuclear power as an energy source with low greenhouse gas emissions. Given the history of nuclear power plants in the U.S. — many of which were never built, at huge cost overruns, after the Three Mile Island meltdown — many experts predict taxpayers will have to pay up when companies default on their loans.