Green Valentine

Valentine's Day is coming. Traditionally, we associate the red color to this day. Red is the colour of the heart. Is the colour of love.

But this year, we can turn red into green. Green is also a colour of love, the love for our planet.

So, here's a few suggestions for your Green Valentine's Day:

• Buy your gifts made with recycled material and from local artists. Buying local cuts the costs (environmental and financial) of transporting;
• Better, make your own gifts wjth recycled material. Use dried flowers, for example;
• Wrap your gifts with recycled paper;
• Instead of buying roses, plant them for your loved one;
• For your valentine dinner, buy local products. If you going to have candles, make sure their are eco-friendly. Beewax candles are biodegradable and smoke-free;
• If you're going to have sex with your partner, turn off the lights or do it during the day;
• Afterwards, take a bath together. You'll be saving some water.

Happy Green Valentine Day!

Surgical castration in the EU

The Czech Republic, a EU member since 2004, is practicing surgical castration in sex offenders.

According to the Czech government, it reduces repeated offences and prisoners have to request the intervention and it has to be approved by a committee of experts. The castration is considered for those who cannot manage their sexual instintcs and are aggressive.

A report published by the Council of Europe's Anti-Torture Committee claims that some patients said that the treatment sexologist indicated them that this was the only option available and that the refusal would mean a life detention. It was also reported that some "significantly" mentally retarded were also subject to this intervention. It's "invasive, irreversible and mutilating", said the Anti-Torture Committee. It condemned the practice as "degrading".

You can read a news story about this at CNN: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/02/05/czech.castrate/index.html?eref=edition

Obama signs executive order to close Guantanamo Bay

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/22/guantanamo.order/index.html?eref=edition

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Barack Obama issued four executive orders Thursday to demonstrate a clean break from the Bush administration on the war on terror, including one requiring that the U.S. military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay be closed within a year.

A second executive order formally bans torture by requiring that the Army field manual be used as the guide for terror interrogations. The order essentially ends the Bush administration's CIA program of enhanced interrogation methods.

A third executive order establishes an interagency task force to lead a systematic review of detention policies and procedures and a review of all individual cases.

A fourth executive order delays the trial of Ali al-Marri, a legal U.S. resident who has been contesting his detention for more than five years as an enemy combatant in a military brig without the government bringing any charges against him.

The detention facility at Guantanamo Bay became a lightning rod for critics who charged that the Bush administration had used torture on terror detainees. President George W. Bush and other senior officials repeatedly denied that the U.S. government had used torture to extract intelligence from terror suspects.

Obama's move will set off a fierce legal struggle over where the prison's detainees will go next.

Officials said new White House Counsel Greg Craig briefed congressional Republicans Wednesday afternoon about the three upcoming executive orders

"The key question is where do you put these terrorists," House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said in a statement issued Wednesday. "Do you bring them inside our borders? Do you release them back into the battlefield?"

Don't MissOpen or closed, 'Gitmo hurts U.S.,' ex-detainee says Guantanamo judge hints at changes under Obama Blog: CNN Security Files Rep. Bill Young of Florida, the top Republican on the Defense Appropriations Committee, said Wednesday the executive orders "will leave some wiggle room for the administration."

Young said he has "quite a bit of anxiety" about transferring detainees to United States facilities.
"Number one, they're dangerous," he said. "Secondly, once they become present in the United States, what is their legal status? What is their constitutional status? I worry about that, because I don't want them to have the same constitutional rights that you and I have. They're our enemy."

He said he asked Craig what the government plans to do with two recently built facilities at Guantanamo, which he said cost $500 million. He said Craig had no answer, but pledged to discuss the issue further.

Young said he suggested reopening Alcatraz, the closed federal prison on an island outside San Francisco, California -- in Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's district.
"Put them in Alcatraz, where supposedly they can't escape from," Young said, but added the suggestion "didn't go over well."

The revelation coincided with a judge's decision on Wednesday to halt the September 11 terrorism cases at the behest of President Obama. On Tuesday, he directed Defense Secretary Robert Gates to ask prosecutors to seek stays for 120 days so terrorism cases at the facility can be reviewed, according to a military official close to the proceedings.

Humanitarian access to DRC displaced

In November, thousands of people crossed the Democratic Republic of Congo's border to Uganda, running away from the conflict in that region. Many had been robbed of abducted by armed group fighters.

Humanitarian workers are trying to help displaced people, but are often subject to violence and harrassment. According to Amnesty International, on 15 December a congolese humanitarian worker was killed by unidentified gunmen.

Amnesty International is calling for an end to attacks against humanitarian workers in DRC. You can help by visiting AI's website, at http://www.amnesty.org/en/appeals-for-action/humanitarian-access-drc-displaced-hindered-attacks and sending a letter to several DRC leaders, calling them to allow humanitarian help to displaced populations.

Polar bears creaking under the strain

http://www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/news/?uNewsID=154121

Toronto, Canada - Eight of the 13 Canadian polar bear sub-populations are either depleted or showing significant signs of stress, and future reduction of sea-ice in the Arctic could result in a loss of two-thirds of the world's polar bears within 50 years.

These facts form the backdrop to Friday’s federal Environment Minister’s National Roundtable on Polar Bears which presents a critical opportunity to ensure that Canada implements strong new measures to protect polar bears for their long-term survival.

Roughly 15,000 (two-thirds) of the world’s 20-25,000 polar bears live in Canada and face four main threats: climate change, which is reducing their sea-ice habitat; over-hunting; increasing industrialisation of critical habitats; and toxic chemicals in the Arctic food chain.

Of the eight sub-populations showing clear signs of ecological problems, five have declining numbers (western Hudson Bay, Baffin Bay, Kane Basin, Norwegian Bay, and southern Beaufort Sea), and a sixth (southern Hudson Bay) is showing clear biological signs of stress.

Two sub-populations in the central Arctic are increasing (McClintock Channel and Viscount Melville Sound) due to the cessation of past over-hunting, but are still below historic levels.

The Davis Strait sub-population may be increasing, possibly due to increased harp seal numbers. The remaining four sub-populations probably have fairly stable numbers.

“The facts are very clear, both from scientific research and from local knowledge, that climate change is occurring rapidly in the Arctic and is causing major problems for wildlife, and for northern peoples,” said Dr. Peter Ewins, Director, Species Conservation, WWF-Canada.

“The more information we gather, the more we realise that polar bears are in increasing trouble.”

WWF-Canada expects at least four major outcomes arising from this Friday’s meeting: a North American Conservation Action Plan for polar bears; strong leadership to reduce all main threats, including climate change; full protection of all critical habitats for polar bears; and major increases in resources to complete proper scientific research.

Convening a roundtable with stakeholders was the first of three key steps called for by WWF-Canada in a letter sent to Environment Minister Jim Prentice last November.

The remaining steps include working with the Nunavut government to ensure an immediate cessation of polar bear over-harvesting in the depleted Baffin Bay subpopulation until the population has recovered and a bilateral agreement with Greenland is in place; and implementing a Conservation Action Plan for Canada’s polar bears that addresses all main threats, including climate change.

“WWF completely agrees with former Environment Minister John Baird’s statement last April, when he said, ‘A declining polar bear population is not an option for Canada,’” said Ewins.

“With two-thirds of the world's polar bears, Canada has a major international responsibility to safeguard these animals and their habitats for future generations. We look forward to seeing these major outcomes and firm commitments from the Canadian government and the assembled roundtable participants. By working together effectively, we still can ensure a healthy future for polar bears.”

Time for a global response to global problems

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/feature-stories/time-global-response-global-problems-20081210

10 December 2008

by Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International

Terrorists go on a rampage of senseless killing in Mumbai. Exhausted and terrified refugees pour into Uganda to escape the fighting in eastern Congo. Ten people are executed in Iran. Three hundred thousand civilians are displaced in northern Sri Lanka.

Slowing rates of economic growth cast deep gloom around the world. Not a particularly auspicious moment to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Anniversaries are a time for reflection and review. It is true that in many respects the human rights situation today is vastly improved from that in 1948. The equality of women, the rights of children, a free press and a fair judicial system are no longer disputed concepts but widely accepted standards that many countries have achieved and others are aspiring to. But it is equally true that injustice, impunity and inequality remain the hallmarks of our time.

If there is one lesson to be drawn from recent events in Mumbai, it is that our liberties remain precious, under threat, and in need of constant vigilance and protection. Governments have a duty to protect people from terrorism, and they will be under pressure - as happened after 9/11 - to tighten security.

But in that process they must not repeat the mistakes of the US-led War on Terror. Detaining people indefinitely, holding them in legal limbo in prisons like Guantanamo camp, condoning or conducting torture, weakening due process and the rule of law are not the way forward.

Free societies are attacked by terrorists precisely because they are free. To erode our freedoms in the name of security is to hand victory to the terrorists.

It is not enough, though, simply to hold on to our rights. We must expand the benefits of human rights to all who are deprived, discriminated and excluded. The global financial crisis has shown how wrong was the assumption that unrestrained growth would inevitably lead to prosperity, and that the rising tide would lift all boats.

The tide has become a tsunami swallowing not only big financial institutions but also the homes and hopes of many poor people around the world. Millions of people are being pushed back into poverty even as billions of dollars are being invested in bailing out those very institutions that have brought us to this state.

Wealthier nations have resources and established safety nets to help those who fall behind in their country. The poor in poor and emerging economies have to fend for themselves. Those with the least margin of survival will pay the most for the greed of the bankers in Wall Street and the City of London.

Women working in a garment factory in Ho Chi Minh City in Viet Nam, miners hauling minerals from Mano River in West Africa, workers at an industrial estate in the Pearl River Delta in China, telephone operators at an outsourced office in Gurgaon, India will bear the heaviest brunt of the economic decline. If falling remittances and international aid force governments to cut back on social programmes and poverty eradication projects, the consequences could be disastrous.

In economic terms, growth is being wiped out. In human rights terms, the rights to food, education, housing, decent work and health are under attack. We face a dual challenge: fulfilling human rights in order to eradicate poverty and preserving human rights in the face of terrorism.

Human rights are universal – every person is born free and equal in rights and dignity. Human rights are indivisible – all rights, whether economic, social, civil, political or cultural - are equally important. There is no hierarchy of rights. Free speech is as essential as the right to education, the right to health as valuable as the right to a fair trial.

The tectonic plates of global power are shifting, and there is now realization among world leaders that they must work together if they are to deal with the economic maelstrom. The invitation recently extended by the US Administration to 20 leading economies of the world – including China, Saudi Arabia, India and Brazil - to plan a global response to the economic crisis is a concrete sign of the new drive to be inclusive.

Being inclusive does not only mean fitting more chairs around the existing table. It also means signing up to global values. The Universal Declaration provides those set of values.

In 1948, in the face of the enormous challenges, world leaders turned to the Universal Declaration as the affirmation of their common humanity and the blue print for their collective security. Today’s world leaders must do the same.

Landmark cluster bomb treaty signed in Oslo

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/landmark-cluster-bomb-treaty-signed-oslo-20081203

Ninety two states signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions - which bans the production, stockpiling, use and export of cluster bombs during a ceremony in Oslo on Wednesday.

Further signatories are expected on Thursday as the conference continues with civil society campaigners predicting at least 100 states eventually signing the treaty, which also requires states to provide adequate assistance to victims of these weapons. The treaty was negotiated in Dublin in May 2008. It must be ratified by 30 countries before it enters into force.

This treaty is a landmark victory for civil society campaigners. Hundreds of NGOs, including Amnesty International, and survivors of indiscriminate cluster bomb explosions, have supported the worldwide campaign and joined the Cluster Munitions Coalition (CMC) which was originally started in 2003.

The outgoing US administration boycotted the negotiations and has refused to sign the treaty. Russia, China and Slovakia have also refused to sign. However, Afghanistan which has followed the negotiations but stated that it would not sign the treaty has just been given a green light from Kabul.

"This treaty will help to stigmatise the use of these weapons and Amnesty International calls on the new US administration to sign up to the ban after taking over the White House", said Brian Wood, Amnesty International's arms control manager.

For more than 40 years, cluster bombs have killed and wounded innocent people, causing untold suffering, loss and hardship for thousands in more than 20 countries. These weapons cause death and injury to civilians during attacks and for years afterwards because of the lethal contamination that they cause when they fail to detonate on impact.

The weapon caused more civilian casualties in Iraq in 2003 and Kosovo in 1999 than any other weapon system. Israel's massive use of the weapon in Lebanon in August 2006 resulted in more than 200 civilian casualties in the year following the ceasefire. Alongside cluster munitions from the US, Chinese 122mm Type 81 cluster munition rockets and MZD-2 submunitions for such rockets were also found in Lebanon.

A cluster munition is a weapon comprising multiple explosive submunitions which are dispensed from a container. Cluster bombs hamper post-conflict rebuilding and rehabilitation and the dangerous work of cluster bomb clearance absorbs funds that could be spent on other urgent humanitarian needs. The appearance and size of cluster bombs make them look particularly interesting, and toy-like. It is estimated that 60 percent of civilian casualties are children.

"Amnesty International believes that, while the new treaty is not perfect, it will enable states to significantly reduce the risks of civilian deaths and injuries in conflict and post conflict situations," said Brian Wood, Amnesty International's arms control manager.

The formal ceremony will conclude with a speech by Richard Moyes from the Cluster Munitions Campaign – a clear sign of the strength of civil society's involvement in securing this victory.

First military execution since 1961 scheduled next month

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/11/20/military.execution/index.html?eref=edition

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A U.S. soldier convicted of rape and murder two decades ago will be executed December 10 in the nation's first military execution since 1961, the Army said Thursday.

Pvt. Ronald Grey has been held in Fort Leavenworth's death row since 1988.

Pvt. Ronald Gray has been on the military's death row at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, since 1988. A court-martial panel sitting at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, unanimously convicted him of committing two murders and other crimes in the Fayetteville, North Carolina, area, and sentenced him to death.

Gray's execution by injection will be carried out by Fort Leavenworth soldiers at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana, the Army said in a news release.

Gray was convicted of raping and killing a female Army private and a civilian near his post at Fort Bragg. He was also convicted of the rape and attempted murder of another fellow soldier in her barracks at the post.

Both military and civilian courts found Gray responsible for the crimes, which were committed between April 1986 and January 1987. Gray pleaded guilty to two murders and five rapes in a civilian court and was sentenced to three consecutive and five concurrent life terms.

The general court-martial at Fort Bragg then tried him and in April 1988 convicted him of two murders, an attempted murder and three rapes.

In July, President George W. Bush approved the Army's request to execute Gray.

"The president took action following completion of a full appellate process, which upheld the conviction and sentence to death," the Army said in the news release. "Two petitions to the U.S. Supreme Court were denied during the appellate processing of Pvt. Gray's case."

Members of the U.S. military have been executed throughout history, but just 10 have been executed with presidential approval since 1951 under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the military's modern-day legal system.

The Army also sought Bush's authorization to execute another condemned soldier, Pvt. Dwight Loving, who was convicted of robbing and killing two cab drivers in 1988.

The last U.S. military execution was in 1961, when Army Pvt. John Bennett was hanged for raping and attempting to kill an 11-year-old Austrian girl. Bennett was sentenced in 1955.

The U.S. military hasn't actively pursued an execution for a military prisoner since President John F. Kennedy commuted a death sentence in 1962. Nine men are on military death row.

President-elect Obama recommits to closing Guantánamo and ending torture

US President-elect Obama said in an interview on Sunday that he will take "early action" on closing the detention centre at Guantánamo Bay and ensuring that the USA does not resort to torture. He told the CBS programme 60 Minutes on Sunday: "I have said repeatedly that I intend to close Guantánamo, and I will follow through on that. "I have said repeatedly that America doesn't torture. And I'm gonna make sure that we don't torture." Amnesty International said on Monday that President-elect Obama's statement is an important a step in the right direction. "Amnesty International urges him to seize the initiative after taking office in January and to prioritize ending all internationally unlawful detention and interrogation practices by the USA," said Rob Freer, Amnesty International's researcher on the USA. "We urge president-elect Obama to turn his words into action within the first 100 days of his presidency and demonstrate his commitment to meeting the USA's international obligations, including by signing an executive order prohibiting torture and other ill-treatment, as defined under international law. "President George W. Bush also said that the USA would not torture, but the use of "waterboarding" and other "enhanced interrogation techniques" against detainees held in secret CIA custody and the torture or other ill-treatment of detainees in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantánamo have told a different story. "They reveal the sad and disturbing fact that the USA has authorized and justified the use of torture and other unlawful practices in the name of national security," said Rob Freer. Amnesty International is also calling on the President-elect to support an independent commission of inquiry into all aspects of the USA's detention and interrogation practices in the "war on terror", and to ensure full accountability for human rights violations committed in that context. The organization has written to President-elect Obama to urge him to ensure that closing Guantánamo, ending torture and other ill-treatment, and supporting a commission of inquiry, are among his priorities for his first 100 days in office.

Sudan president calls cease-fire in Darfur

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/11/12/darfur.ceasefire/index.html

Sudan's president has agreed to an immediate, unconditional cease-fire in the Darfur region where government forces have waged a bloody war against militias that international critics have characterized as genocide.

Sudan President Omar al-Bashir, who was charged with war crimes, is under pressure to end the war in Darfur.

President Omar al-Bashir agreed to the truce, which was one of several recommendations that came out of a month-long meeting with hundreds of tribal and rebel leaders from Darfur, according to Mohamed Hussein Zaroug, a Sudanese diplomatic official in London, England.

Sudan's state-run news agency confirmed that the president agreed to the cease-fire, which he announced in a speech on Wednesday morning in Khartoum.

Al-Bashir is under pressure to end the fighting, particularly since he was charged with genocide by the International Criminal Court earlier this year for the government's campaign of violence in Darfur.

Fighting in the western region of Darfur broke out in 2003, when rebels began an uprising and the government launched a brutal counter-insurgency campaign.

Sudan authorities armed and cooperated with Arab militias that went from village to village in Darfur, killing, torturing and raping residents there, according to the United Nations, Western governments and human rights organizations. The militias targeted civilian members of tribes from which the rebels draw strength.

In the past five years, about 300,000 people have been killed through direct combat, disease, or malnutrition, the United Nations says.

Another 2.7 million people have been forced to flee their homes because of fighting among rebels, government forces, and allied Janjaweed militias. In Arabic, Janjaweed means a man with a gun on a horse. These Arab militias are notorious for raping and killing villagers in Darfur.