Community Affairs Consultants

September 30, 2016

ASIA:

One Year of Russian Slaughter of Syrians, including Children

Nine-hundred-and-six Syrian children have been killed by Russia in Syria in the last year. These innocent children were slaughtered among 3,804 civilians killed by the forces of Vladimir Putin since Russia moved into Syria one-year-ago today, to prop up the failed regime of Bashar al Assad.

According to figures released by the London based, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, and published by the Associated Press(AP) earlier today, Russian forces have killed a total of 9,364 people in Syria in a year's time. Of the deaths by Russian bombs, 3,804 were civilians, including an alarming 906 children. Russia is also credited with killing 2,746 members of the Islamic State(IS) and 2,814 members of other groups fighting the regime of Bashar al Assad.

More than 100 children have died in and around Aleppo, Syria, in the past week, as attacks by Russian and Assad forces targeted medical centers, bakeries and other installations.

Humanitarian conditions have deteriorated in and around Aleppo since Assad's regime announced as failed a ceasefire agreement between the United States(US) and Russia. Assad and his allies have seized upon the opportunity since the broken ceasefire to launch air and ground attacks upon rebel held areas in Aleppo.

The United Nations(UN) health agency, the World Health Organization(WHO), has decried as, "unfathomable", the situation for medical care personnel in parts of rebel-held Aleppo. WHO's Dr. Rick Brennan, director of emergency risk, has categorized as too dangerous the situation in eastern Aleppo for outside medical workers to enter, the AP reported. WHO has appealed for permission to evacuate the sick and injured. Dr. Brennan has confirmed that there are 846 wounded civilians in eastern Aleppo, including 261 children, who are in need of care.

Adding to the compounded humanitarian tragedy that is still unfolding in Syria, the WHO has also confirmed that fewer than 30 doctors remain in eastern Aleppo to service 250,000 people.

Factually, the deaths of Syrians via the hands of Russia continue after one year of Putin's intervention to help Assad. Conditions could get even worse unless a 48-hour humanitarian ceasefire is permitted to allow for the evacuation and the delivery of aid to trapped civilians in Aleppo.

September 29, 2016

ASIA:

The Constricting Death of Aleppo by the Forces of Assad and Russia

The bombing of the last remaining bakery in the town of Anadan, just north of Aleppo, Syria, confirms a deliberate act by the forces of Bashar al Assad and Russia to constrict the life out of the people on Syria as part of a continued systematic attack that threatens the survival of some 250,000 residents, including 100,000 children.

This morning's destruction of the last remaining bakery in Anadan by the forces of Bashar al Assad has been confirmed by activists on the ground in Syria. As reported by the Associated Press(AP), the bakery was destroyed after it delivered bread to the 2,000 remaining people in the town and nearby villages. Similarly, on Wednesday, the forces of Assad and his allies attacked another bread distribution center in Aleppo, killing six, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed.

Moreover, additional medical facilities have been attacked in and around Aleppo forcing delicate medical operations such as brain surgery to be conducted on a hospital's bare floor. That only 35 doctors are left to treat 250,000 people in Aleppo underscores the deepening humanitarian tragedy Russian and Assad forces are creating in Syria.

A threatened United States(US) ban on communicating with Russia in respect to matters of Syria because of the havoc Russia has created, has done nothing to ease the constricting death of Aleppo. Diplomacy with Russia appears to be a failure.

Therefore, some form of military action by western nations becomes necessary if Aleppo is to be saved. At the very least, the people of Aleppo should be given the military means with which to defend themselves from their approaching annihilators.

September 28, 2016

ASIA:

The Damnation of Aleppo - the Promotion of Radicalization in Syria

Men and women become radicalized not solely via the advocacy of some fiery ideology, but additionally through life experiences and the witness of unconscionable suffering of their peers at the hand of others.

The punishing bombardment of Aleppo, Syria, by the forces of Bashar al Assad and by those of his allies, has damned the besieged people of Aleppo to suffering while exposing them to the easy promotion of radicalization in light of the non humane conditions facing some 250,000 residents including 100,000 children.

Reports of an impending ground assault on rebel held areas of Aleppo appear imminent as does the continued and prolonged suffering of people trapped under Russian and Assad bombs.

However, given that the United States(US)-Russia ceasefire - declared failed by Assad's regime, has not protected the innocents of Aleppo, the free world must not now standby and impotently witness the slaughter of more Syrians.

While western nations have been reluctant and uninterested in sending ground forces into Syria, the least these nations could now do for Aleppo is to arm its fighting men so that they may with honor defend their lives, their families, their homes and their land from the onslaught of Russia and Bashar al Assad. A fighting chance should be accorded to the rebels at Aleppo so that the prevalence to radicalization becomes diminished as exposed people defend themselves against against a failed government and its nuclear-armed ally.

September 27, 2016

ASIA:

That 38 children were among the 327 war dead from air strikes in and around Aleppo, Syria, in the last week, and that half the casualties being treated in bombed-out and ill equipped medical centers are children, and that some 100,000 children remain in the middle of the conflict, are all indicative of a new hell which has widened over the fate of Syria's children as war crimes in the form of air strikes launched by Russia and by the Bashar al Assad regime, continue upon civilians in Syria.

Some 250,000 civilians are trapped within Aleppo as Russia and Assad continue to drop bombs upon the sector. Britain's Permanent Representative to the United Nations(UN), Matthew Rycroft, according to a BBC-News report, has said that the attacks had "unleashed a new hell on Aleppo" which he categorized as war crimes.

Of the dire condition of the Aleppo children, Save the Children's spokeswoman, Caroline Anning, admonishes:"Across the board things have never been worse for Syrian children." While the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that 38 children have died of 327 deaths from air strikes across Aleppo in the last week, sadly, there appears to be no end in sight.

The war in Syria has claimed more than 250,000 deaths in the last five-years and has displaced more than 11 million Syrians. Diplomatic attempts by western nations to end the conflict have been vetoed before the UN by Russia with the backing of China on more than two occasions.

Syrians are dying in the conflict, not Russians. Syria to Russia, has obviously become a contest to retain a friendly warm-water port over any other cause of humanitarian concern. Hence, Syrians, with assistance of western nations, are the only ones vested to conclude the prolonged conflict of death to so many children.

September 26, 2016

ASIA:

Peace Comes to Colombia - Ending the Last Armed Conflict in the Western Hemisphere

Peace has come to Colombia after 50-years of armed conflict between the government and guerrillas.

Later this afternoon in the Caribbean city of Cartagena, Colombia's government will sign a peace accord with the largest rebel group on the South American country, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia(FARC), hereby signifying the end to armed conflict in the Western Hemisphere and a final peace to Colombia.

Since the 1960s, armed rebel groups concerned about the unequal distribution of land and subsequent cocaine producers, have led a violent conflict in Colombia. Over the years, as reported by Associated Press(AP), some 220,000 Colombians have been killed in the armed conflict and some eight million people have been displaced.

Co-sponsored by Cuba and by Norway, talks to Colombia's peace started in Oslo, Norway, in 2012 and then moved to Havana, Cuba. The successful sponsorship of peace talks will later this afternoon witness Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos, sign a 297-page accord with FARC Commander Timoleo Jimenez, in the presence of United Nations(UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon; United States(US) Secretary of State John Kerry; and the heads of 15 Latin American nations.

Witnesses to the signing are being asked to wear white as a sign of peace - an event which President Santos has called the "last armed conflict in the Western Hemisphere."

After today's signing, the peace accord will be placed before the Colombia electorate in referendum on October 2. Once approved by the people, rebels who lay down their arms and admit their past offenses will be spared jail time and will be allow to make reparations to their victims by conducting development work in areas hardest hit by the conflict, the AP reported.

Also after the passing of the referendum by Colombians, FARC's 7,000 fighters are expected to begin to move to 28 designated zones, where over the next six-months, they are to turn in their weapons to UN-sponsored observers.

The Colombian peace accord also calls for the government to address decades-long unequal land distribution grievances and to work with former rebels to provide alternative development to tens of thousands of families who depend on the cocaine trade for livelihoods.

And so a five-decade-old conflict ends in Colombia thus ushering in an era of total peace in the Americas. Here's to the success of Colombia's peace.

September 25, 2016

ASIA:

The Blasting of Aleppo - Confirmation of Continued Conflict in Syria

Russian and Bashar al Assad forces continue to bomb areas in and around the city of Aleppo today, hereby confirming that the Syrian war is still in full blast with no end in sight or of any hint of solace to the thousands of civilians, including many children, still trapped in the battle-ravished city.

Reuters reported this morning that Russian planes continued their pounding of residential parts of Aleppo, with whole buildings flattened, rebels and residents confirmed. The battle for Aleppo, where more than 250,000 residents are trapped, has the potential to greatly aggravating and escalating the casualty count in Syria, where more than a-quarter-million people have perished in five-years of war and where some 11 million people have been displaced.

The Russian-Assad offensive on Aleppo has intensified since the Syrian regime declared the United States-Russia ceasefire agreement as failed. Bashar al Assad has insisted that all lost territory must be restored to his failed regime. With the help of his protector, Russia, Assad has continued his reign in Damascus as many Syrians die and are displaced each and every passing day.

At the current rate of blasting upon Aleppo and the forthcoming Russian-Assad ground assault on the city, a much deeper humanitarian crisis in Syria appears to be on the horizon.

September 24, 2016

ASIA:

To End Child Starvation in Yemen - to End Two Years of War

That children have starved to death in Yemen while another 370,000 are slowly wasting away from starvation after two years of war and a Saudi-led blockade, is preposterous and clearly indicative of yet another failing of humanity.

No child should starve to death. No parent should have to helplessly witness a child wither before their eyes unable to remedy a child's fate because of the consequences of war. Yet in Yemen, children are dying and sad hopeless mothers are clinging to the frail bodies of their dying loved ones unable to save their lives.

Child deaths from starvation and other consequences will continue in Yemen because of the conflict there. To end the starvation of Yemeni children, the war and the Saudi-led blockade must stop.

Yemen represents another blemish on the brow of modern humanity. If the tireless work of medical and social humanitarians in Yemen cannot save the 370,000 children at risk of starving, then an even larger number of children could eventually become additional victims of yet another conflict.

September 23, 2016

ASIA:

The Police and Minorities in America - a Non-Settled Relationship

The stark truth about the relationship between police and minorities in America is that it has never been a good one. Too many police agencies have on their employment rolls too many white policemen with racist inclinations and with memberships into some hate groups.

Moreover, too few minorities are employed by police forces across the United States(US), while the few minority officers who join large forces, soon succumb to the culture of profiling their own people as possible offenders under a peer pressure scheme to honor the police code as a higher responsibility than that of service to the community and upholding equal protection under the law.

More recent shootings of Black males by police across America, especially the Tulsa, Oklahoma, shooting death of an unarmed father, underscore the rancid relationship police have with minorities. It is preposterous to adopt any policy that allows an average or less than average intelligent person to kill another because he/she claims a fear of life.

Allegedly well trained officers, have taken the jurisdiction upon themselves to make assessments to kill or not kill - skills way too far beyond their levels of intelligence, yet they continue to execute such with the blessings of politicians and courts because they claim service under a presumptive badge of honor and of community service. That honor has been tarnished, that community service has been cheated far too often.

The time for a new beginning, a reboot and a rethinking of the power placed into the hands of police officers, has dawned. The relationship between police and minorities has to improve. Minorities are the communities and they will not worship the police as police enjoyed during Jim Crow. If police treat minorities with respect and as equals to all others, then a settled relationship could begin.

September 22, 2016

ASIA:

Toward the Safeguard and the Rescue of Children of Conflicts

All ongoing conflicts are inhumane, unfair and unjust not alone in their executions, but more so based upon the identity of the actual victims of the violence - the children.

As a result, humanity has been failing millions of children from Syria to Yemen, to Iraq, to Central Africa Republic, to Nigeria, to Democratic Republic of the Congo, to Libya and elsewhere. While aid agencies and humanitarian groups have stretched and extended assistance to many child victims and other civilians, not enough children are being saved.

If one child becomes a victim of a conflict, then that one child represents too many falling victims in any conflict. The dire conditions of Syria's children, Nigeria's children, South Sudan's children, Central Africa Republic's children and many others, are well known. Yet, today, humanity is confronted by another festering tragedy of conflict as hundreds of thousands of Yemeni children suffer starvation and malnutrition because of the civil war in that country. Some 370,000 Yemeni children are in danger of starving, according to a report by the BBC-News.

Humanity must find the onus and the priority to safeguard and to rescue each and every child from the pangs of war. Children must never be held responsible for nor be punished for the failings of adults. Humanitarian access, operation and evacuation must be safely allowed in all zones of conflict. Yemen's children deserve a chance.

September 21, 2016

ASIA:

The Hope and the Reality for Peace on this World Peace Day 2016

Today is the United Nations(UN) declared International Day of Peace.

On this day, we hope that ceasefires will be adopted, be sustained and be honored in all conflict zones. We also hope on this special day for the safe and the unimpeded humanitarian delivery of aid to all who are desperately in need from Syria, to Iraq, to Yemen, to Libya, to South Sudan, to the Democratic Republic of Congo, to Nigeria, to Central Africa Republic, to Ukraine, to Ethiopia, to Haiti, to Venezuela and wherever else human beings might be in need.

As we cherish our optimistic hopes that the forces acting against humanity would soon cease and then allow for the recuperation of peace and stability, we are however shockingly reminded of the reality of the violence of war and conflict as another humanitarian medical facility came under attack, in Syria, overnight. Three nurses and two ambulance drivers died in the attack upon a mobile medical team outside of Aleppo. Russian or Syrian regime forces bombed an aid convoy earlier this week killing 12 humanitarian workers.

The reality of this World Peace Day emphatically finds many conditions aglow for further conflict. Yet, should the detractors to peace want to, they could join humanitarian groups and free nations in advocating peace, thus sparing the globe more deaths, sufferings and displacements through war.

September 20, 2016

ASIA:

Deliberate Attacks upon Humanitarian Services in Conflict Zones are War Crimes

Yesterday's attack upon an aid convoy around Aleppo, Syria, which left 12 people dead, must be construed as a war crime. Moreover, if the Syrian regime willfully "bombarded" the humanitarian convoy as it was pulled up to a warehouse to deliver aid, then the action was deliberate, intentional and revengeful by Bashar al Assad's forces.

Therefore, the actions by the Assad regime in Syria affirms that no peace process could be sustained as long as Assad sits in Damascus. Assad must be held accountable for crimes against humanity for the killing and gassing of innocent children and civilians during his execution of the Syrian war. Also the Syrian regime must be held accountable for the deaths of 12 drivers and Red Crescent workers killed in yesterday's attack upon a humanitarian aid convoy in Uram al-Kubra, Syria, just west of Aleppo.

That the Syrian regime declared the United States(US)-Russia ceasefire as failed prior to the attack upon the aid convoy, clearly confirms the complacency of the regime in attacking humanitarian efforts. Also, that the convoy was blatantly attacked suggests revenge for a mistake air strike upon Assad's forces last weekend.

Now, Syria's peace is again threatened by the same regime and leader who have executed the Syrian conflict at an unprecedented onslaught upon humanity. Thus, peace cannot come to Syria during the presence of Bashar al Assad.

September 19, 2016

ASIA:

A Shuffling World - 65.3 Million People Displaced

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR) has described as, "unprecedented", the world's 65.3 million displaced people - the most since World War II.

This alarming high number of people counted at the end of 2015, represents a five-million increase over the numbers of the previous year. The figure is indicative of the effect of conflicts, economic and social conditions in regions across the world including Syria, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Somalia, Nigeria, North Africa and elsewhere.

The humanitarian crisis created by the stark number of displaced people has forced the first ever United Nations(UN) summit on Refugees and Migrants to take place in New York City, New York, today. Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants is the topic of discussion as the world seeks to provide a more coordinated and humane response to the crisis, the Associated Press(AP) cited in a report earlier this morning.

Of the 65.3 million displaced people, 21.3 million are refugees, 3.2 million are asylum-seekers and 40.8 million are migrants. The 193-member states of the UN will attempt to forge pledges from each other to sharing the obligation of the displaced. United States(US) President Barack Obama will hold discussions with other world leaders and the top executives of some 50 companies in order to engage more help for the world's displaced.

Yet, 65.3 million displaced people worldwide denotes a shuffling world's population, which movement cannot not be sustained at current levels without considerable and dire strains upon all world resources.

However, ending conflicts and improving the socio-economic conditions of millions of people could combat the displacement of the world's people.

September 18, 2016

ASIA:

Toward Peace: in Honor of World Peace Day

The United Nations(UN) declared International Day of Peace this year will be celebrated on Wednesday, September 21, 2016, during the 71st session of the UN General Assembly.

Wednesday is as good a day as any to look toward peace in celebration of World Peace Day. Continuing conflicts and agitations in 2016 in Syria, Iraq, Libya, South Sudan, Sudan, Nigeria, Ukraine and elsewhere, underscore the necessity for peace.

Therefore, before Wednesday, now would be an opportune time for conflicting parties to put their differences on hold and to rededicate themselves specifically to the ideal of the absence of war and violence, while promoting ceasefires in combat zones to allow for the peaceful supply of humanitarian aid to deserving regions.

So, toward achieving a lasting peace and in honor of World Peace Day, warring factions should put their weapons down in ceasefires in recognition of the humanitarian obligation to peace and stability to all the world's people.

September 17, 2016

ASIA:

Humanity's Obligation - Security and Stability to all the People

Humankind has the obligation to providing security and stability to the peoples of the world. Yet, this charged task has been failing since conflict, social and economic conditions have contributed to hundreds of thousands of deaths and millions of human displacements in recent years.

Over 250,000 deaths including thousands of children and women during the execution of the Syrian war underscores the travesty of humanity's failing. Also, as reported by the United Nations Refugee Agency(UNHCR), that one in every 113 people on earth is an asylum-seeker, internally displaced, or a refugee, clearly confirms humanity's failing of the people it is supposed to protect.

The responsibility of hosting and housing each and every refugee is humanity's obligation - it is the duty of the entire globe and not any sole nation. That Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan hosted 27 percent of all refugees worldwide at the end of 2015 demonstrates the need for many more nations to share in the responsibility of aiding their brothers and sisters.

So, in the next week when world leaders gather in New York City, New York, at the 71st Session of the United Nations General Assembly(UNGA), governments, civil groups, businesses, non-governmental agencies, activists, scientists and humanitarians will have an opportunity to roll out a plan of action to fulfilling humanity's obligation to all the people of the world.

September 16, 2016

ASIA:

Stabilizing Aleppo - a Key to the Syrian Ceasefire and Final Peace

Before a sustainable ceasefire could take hold and before any final peace could come to Syria, its largest city of Aleppo, in the north, must be stabilized. If Aleppo remains volatile and besieged, then Syria's war will not end.

Therefore, while it remains optimistic that humanitarian aid could finally reach thousands of besieged needy people in many rebel-held neighborhoods of Aleppo by this afternoon, the report of Syrian regime soldiers being replaced by Russian troops along Castello Road, a main artery in rebel controlled sections of Aleppo, might not fit well for any lasting ceasefire in Syria. There were some 46 violations across Syria on Thursday to the United States(US)-Russia ceasefire agreement that went into effect on Monday and which also calls for the delivery of humanitarian aid.

According to the Associated Press(AP), Rami Addurrahman of the Syrian Observatory has reported that Russian troops have replaced Bashar Assad's forces along the road into Aleppo. Within Aleppo, activist Bahaa al-Halaby has denied that Assad's forces have withdrawn. Whatever the case, the activist confirmed that "Humanitarian conditions are very difficult. There are wounded people and others who need food," the AP reported.

The Russian military announced yesterday that Assad's forces had begun withdrawing from Aleppo but it did not confirm the replacement by Russian troops. However, a Syrian Opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition has rejected "Russian occupation" on the road to Aleppo and it has suggested that United Nations(UN) peace keepers should lead stabilizing efforts around Aleppo.

Nevertheless, Aleppo - a pulverized city, an occupied city, a besieged city, a rebel-held city and a nightmare city to the displaced, wounded and hungry, holds the key to any success to a ceasefire and to a final peace to Syria. Its stabilization is crucial to the future security of Syria.

September 15, 2016

ASIA:

International Day of Democracy - Toward more Inclusive and Participatory Societies

Today, September 15, 2016, is International Day of Democracy as celebrated by the United Nations(UN).

The theme of this year's celebration is fittingly: "Democracy and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" - a plan to achieving a better future for all the world's people along a 15-year path toward ending extreme poverty, fighting inequality and injustice and to protecting planet Earth.

Democracy, its promotion and its implementation, will determine the success of many societies to reaching the Sustainable Development Goals. The close, inclusive and participatory nature of governments, civil societies and institutions, along with the principle of holding periodic free and fair elections by universal suffrage, are all key to the success of attaining the Sustainable Development Goals.

Moreover, access to justice for all and the building of effective, accountable and inclusive institutions are key benchmarks to reaching the Sustainable Development Goals and to bringing the ideal of democracy into a reality to be enjoyed by all everywhere.

So on this day, as we toast the freedom, the equality and the rule of law of democracy, we offer special hopes that the tenets of liberty and justice could soon touch all peoples.

September 14, 2016

ASIA:

Five Oceans - One Future

To inspire future generations of leaders, scientists, entrepreneurs and civil society to identify solutions and to commit to actions to protect and to conserve our ocean and its resources, Our Ocean Conference opens here in Washington, DC, tomorrow and runs until September 16.

United States(US) Secretary of State John Kerry will host this 2016 Our Ocean Conference that seeks an unwavering emphasis on commitments for action by participants and other people of the world to protecting and preserving the five oceans, the State Department's website posted.

Our Ocean Conference should focus on:

Sustainable fisheries

Marine Pollution

Climate related Impacts on the Ocean

Marine Protected Areas

That there is a conference underscores the necessity and the urgency to encourage action on the environment and especially on the oceans that control our future, while they cover some 71 percent of our planet. Here's to healthy ocean solutions at this year's Our Ocean Conference.

September 13, 2016

ASIA:

Limitations on the Effectiveness of Shared Diplomacy in Solving the World's Problems

Shared diplomacy is often useful and very effective in dealing with humanitarian responses to disaster preparedness and to disaster management. However, in the arena of international peace and security, human rights, counter terrorism and countering violent extremism, shared diplomacy experiences limitations on its effectiveness to solve world problems.

As the United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) opens its 71st session in New York City, New York, today, with most dignitaries, including United States(US) President Barack Obama, set to address the meeting next week between September 19 and 23, much attention will be focused on the conceptually fitting, yet reality difficult topic of shared diplomacy as a tool to solving humanity's ills.

While kind words such as tact, sensitivity, discretion, finesse, delicacy, prudence, judiciousness and savoir faire will be employed in attempts to forge cooperation on problems, the 71st session of the UNGA could learn that these words only work well on disaster preparation and management policies but not on peace and security, human rights, counter terrorism and countering violent extremism issues.

Diplomacy being: peaceful persuasion through negotiations - becomes problematic on the difficult and on the hard problems. Historical cooperation among nations on difficult issues have often been compromised by rogue nations and despots seeking to exploit shared diplomacy to enhance their autocratic ways and ambitions upon their people. As a result, civil nations seeking needed shared diplomacy with rogues on difficult issues are often forced to compromise their high morals, thus appearing hypocritical, for the mere cause of sustaining a face of unity.

Moreover, rogues are often eager to join a shared diplomatic feat on peace and security, counter terrorism and countering violent extremism because they find these endeavors as easy ways to camouflage their bad human rights records as they hide under the banner as partners on hard and difficulty world issues.

There must be a limit to any shared diplomacy western nations may advocate as means to solving world problems at the 71st session of the UNGA. Yet, western nations may find that shared diplomacy works best among themselves because of their shared common tenets of freedom, equality, human rights and the rule of law.

September 12, 2016

ASIA:

Mercy to those Inevitably Radicalized

Not all radicals set out to become radicals nor to become extremists. Yet, many become radicalized through a series of systematic events that are beyond their control and out of their cognitive abilities to decide differently.

Therefore, across Syria, Iraq, Nigeria and elsewhere, those who have become inevitably radicalized, are in dire need of mercy and of compassion because of the forced conditions of radicalization under which they have found themselves. Moreover, the determination that deems these individuals as radicals are not tagged by these folks themselves, but rather, they are branded by others foreign to the life experiences of each and every inevitably radicalized person.

So, considerable mercy and compassion should be extended to persons like the Syrian "extremists" who have lost entire families in five-years of war and whose pain and circumstances have led them to groups such as the Islamic State(IS). Also, due consideration should be given to kidnapped boys and girls who have been brainwashed by Boko Haram in Nigeria.

Each and every determined radicalized person should be accorded justice on a case by case basis with appropriate weight given to their life experiences and the existing fitting conditions that allowed for their easy radicalization. Humanity owes each person due process and mercy.

September 11, 2016

ASIA:

That We May Never Forget...

That we may never forget the victims of the September, 11, 2001 terror attacks in New York City, New York, in Arlington, Virginia and in Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania; on this the 15 anniversary of the tragedies, we rededicate our resolve to punish and to eradicate terror.

That the tragedies have plunged these United States into a generational-long war against terror, clearly underline the resolve of the people, of the victims and of the survivors, to fight terror. Moreover the resolve of the nation and of the people insist that such tragedies not ever happen here again.

To the victims of the 911 tragedy, your deaths were not in vain. To the loves ones of those victims, the resolve to justice and to sustained solace will never waver. May God continue to Bless the United States of America.

September 10, 2016

ASIA:

A Joint United States - Russia Plan on Syria

The United States(US) and Russia have agreed to coordinate their efforts to combat radical jihadists in Syria, toward reducing the violence there, after five-years of war.

The agreement ironed out by US Secretary of State John Kerry and by Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov following talks in Geneva, Switzerland, would usher in a cessation of hostilities at sunset on Monday, followed by a coordinate US-Russian alliance for air strikes on radical jihadists, including the Islamic State(IS), starting seven days from Monday.

According to the agreement, forces of Bashar al Assad's regime would halt military missions in specified rebel areas also starting on Monday. The armed political Syrian Opposition said it welcomed the deal "if it is going to be enforced." A spokeswoman for the High Negotiations Committee, Bassma Kodmani, responded: "We hope this will be the beginning of the end of the civilians' ordeal," the BBC-News reported.

However, if all things remain equal as desired under the US-Russian plan, will Russia be successful in getting Bashar al Assad to relinquish his poisoned leadership in Damascus? No sustainable peace could come to Syria as long as Assad remains in power. Yet, the US-Russian plan is a positive start to a long awaited peace to the people of Syria.

September 09, 2016

ASIA:

"Fanatic Recklessness" - North Korea Shakes Asia with a Bomb

It measured comparably to a 5.0 magnitude earthquake, yet the effect of the reclusive and the unpredictable regime of North Korea's detonation of a nuclear device earlier today, has carried farther and has greater global ramifications that any natural earth tremor.

South Korea's President Park Geun-hye described the North's action as "fanatic recklessness" as she reacted to Kim Jong Un's dangerous directive to explode yet another nuclear bomb in flagrant violation of United Nations(UN) resolutions and in provocation to the world.

The atomic test by North Korea is its fifth atomic detonation and its second in eight months, according to the Associated Press(AP). Moreover, the atomic test underscores the rapid militarization by the rogue North Korean regime, which has fired some 33 ballistic missiles since Kim Jong Un came to power in 2011, compared to 16 during the 17-year-rule of his father, Kim Jong Il.

North Korea's military testing and experimentation with nuclear weapons represent a clear and present danger to the world. While concerned nations continue to rebuke and to condemn the actions of the rogue regime, this most recent explosion confirms that economic sanctions are obviously not sufficient to deter Kim Jong Un's recklessness.

September 08, 2016

ASIA:

The Struggle to Better Times

The path to better days must be won since that road is not unimpeded from the hindrances already erected and some being built to block the forthcoming better days.

Extremism, authoritarianism and right wing agitations pose the greatest threats to a better tomorrow. Seeds of agitations are being cultivated by fallible ideologies and by desperate political candidates that would say or do anything to win a vote.

Yet, ideologists and desperate politicians appear not to comprehend the abyss they are digging along the way to better days. The folly and migrant-phobia perpetrated by right-wing leaning political candidates are intent on creating a broad divide in societies that were making leap and bound head ways to community unity and harmony.

Therefore, to allow for the furtherance of a better tomorrow, the next year will demand that rational leaders spend large amounts of time and policies in bridging the divide created by agitators in their failed fallible runs for extremism and for social segregation.

September 07, 2016

ASIA:

A Transition Plan for Syria

The High Negotiations Committee(HNC) - the umbrella group of Syria's political and armed opposition parties, has unveiled a plan for a political transition to end five years of war in Syria.

As reported by the BBC-News earlier this morning, the HNC has proposed holding six-months of negotiations with the Bashar al Assad government which would be coupled by a full ceasefire.

The Syrian Opposition then plans Assad to hand over power to a unity government that would govern Syria for 18 months and organize new elections. However, the peaceful transfer of power from Assad remains a major variable to the plan Syrian transition for Assad and Russia apparently have had no inclination nor plan to relinquishing control over Damascus.

Therefore, for the HNC plan for a political transition in Syria to work, Western nations might have to boost military support to the rebels. Whatever steps are needed to ensure a political transition of power in Syria should be taken in order to end the execution of the Syrian war and the prolonged embarrassment to modern humanity.

September 06, 2016

ASIA:

Abandon Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines to the Current of the South China Sea

Having insulted United States(US) President Barack Obama and all of the American people, Rodrigo Duterte and the Filipino people who continue to support him, should be abandoned to the current of the South China Sea.[Duterte's insult will not be repeated on this Blog.]

The US has never needed the Philippines. The Philippines needs the US. Thus given the derogatory comments the Philippines president has claimed against the mother of US President Barack Obama, maybe the US should determine that a better ally on the East China Sea is more civil and kinder than a brute on the South China Sea who will always have natural and non-natural disasters to navigate and to survive.

Filipinos could save themselves from the damnation Duterte is bringing by rebuking and rescinding his rule.

September 05, 2016

ASIA:

Celebrating Charity - Promoting Humanity

The United Nations(UN) celebrates International Day of Charity, today, September 05, and in doing so, we should all promote humanity - the banding together to make our planet Earth a better and a more livable place for all peoples.

Each person has a role to fulfill in making the world better, therefore, let us resolve to show more empathy to those less fortunate and let us pledge to treat each person as we wish to be treated. Here's to a re-boot of the human will, spirit and fraternity.

September 04, 2016

ASIA:

An Albanian Nun Ascends to Sainthood - Mother Theresa is Canonized

"Her heart, she gave it to the world. Mercy, forgiveness good works. It is the heart of a mother for the poor"...the fitting remarks of Charlotte Samba, of Gabon, a pilgrim to the canonization of Mother Theresa at Vatican City, earlier today.

And with a declaration today from Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church, at St. Peter's Square, an Albanian nun born Agnese Gonxha Bojaxhiu, who gave her heart to the poor, to the rejected, to the homeless and to the motherless, ascended to Sainthood.

Saint Theresa of Calcutta spent her life in the service of the needy and the poor in India. Nineteen-years after she was born, she joined the Irish order of Loreto and was sent to Darjeeling, India, in 1929. She moved to Calcutta(now Kolkata) in 1946, according to the BBC-News, to help those destitute and after a decade, she started a hospice and a home for abandoned children. She founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950 which today has some 4,500 nuns in service to humanity.

Saint Theresa's work with India's poor is widely known. For her work, she won a Nobel Peace Prize and for her devotion and faith she has been canonized. Though she had some critics, no science, logic nor religion could ever detract from the accomplishments and the devotions of the feeble-looking woman in service to her God and to humanity.

Born a subject of the Ottoman Empire to ethnic Albanian parents in 1910, she also became a subject of Serbia, a subject of Bulgaria, a subject of Yugoslavia, a citizen of Yugoslavia, a subject of India and a citizen of Indian. Yet, she remained a devout Catholic in service to the poor. Humanity salutes Saint Theresa of Calcutta.

September 03, 2016

ASIA:

"Far-Sighted, Bold and Ambitious": U.S. - China Ratify the Paris Climate Agreement

Describing the Paris Climate Agreement as the "single best chance that has to deal with a problem that could end up transforming this planet", United States(US) President Barack Obama, in a speech in Hangzhou, China, before the meeting of G20 leaders, confirmed that the US and China had ratified the planet-saving agreement as he declared: :History will judge today's effort as pivotal."

Signed last December at Paris, France, the Climate Agreement, among other things, seek to cut CO2 emissions to a rate that would keep global temperature rises below 2 degrees Celsius.

United Nations(UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said both President Obama and China's Xi Jinping had been "far-sighted, bold and ambitious" in ratifying the Paris Agreement, which could combat the adverse effects of climate change.

Before the US and China ratified the Paris Climate Agreement, according to the BBC-News, 23 nations had done so accounting for just one percent of emissions. With the signing of the US and China, who are responsible for 40 percent of the world's emissions, the Paris Climate Agreement has now passed an important threshold toward its final implementation.

September 02, 2016

ASIA:

An Attempt at Amends - Georgetown University Seeks to Atone over its Slavery Role

Georgetown University(GU) in Washington, DC, a Jesuit institution of higher learning, has apologized for its role in the slave trade and it has offered to make amends through preference admissions to the descendants of the 272 slaves the university sold in 1838 to pay its debts.

In a move described in an article in the Washington Post Newspaper as:"...one of the most aggressive responses to date among the universities trying to make amends for the horrors of slavery", GU's president, John J. DeGioia, said the university would extend to the descendants of slaves owned by Maryland Jesuits the same privilege it extends to the children of faculty, staff and alumni per admissions.

Moreover, the institution plans to rename a residence hall on campus after a 65-year-old slave named Isaac, who was sold along with another 271 slaves in 1838. Most of the slaves were taken to Louisiana splitting families apart.

While Georgetown's overtures for its slave dealing past appear credible and acceptable; how appropriate is it for wrong doers to set their own punishment and means of atonement?

September 01, 2016

ASIA:

Toward Mending Humanity - Small Steps to Big Victories

In advancing humanity's best days that are coming, small needed steps are being taken to reverse the adverse impacts of horrifying events upon humanity that have been brought to wrought by extremism.

UNICEF and other humanitarian agencies including the World Food Programme are continuing the perpetual work of salvaging and promoting the means, conditions and materials needed to sustain civilization in many places.

In Nigeria, the bloody violence inflicted upon Borno State by the extremist group Boko Haram has led to mass displacement and a humanitarian crisis. Also in Nigeria, according to UNICEF, some 244,000 children are at risk from malnutrition while the country sits in the top ten of nations with the highest out-of-school rates, where 40 percent of children, are not accessing basic education.

UNICEF and other humanitarian groups continue to work with nations and communities to bridge gaping humanitarian shortfalls with a view to mending humanity through small steps leading to the big victory of life, liberty, equality and the rule of law for all persons.