Sierra Leone Diamond Conflict

The "Blood Diamond" conflict has been an ongoing concern for Sierra Leone and opposing countries. The conflict in Sierra Leone has children working in dimly lit mine shafts working countless hours...ALL just for a piece of carbon that will be worth and mean nothing to them. People have been raped, had limbs amputated and permanently scarred due to rebel groups mainly the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). The RUF has become tainted by those just seeking a profit for diamonds regardless the cost...Even if that cost is a LIFE.

As a global citizen is it not the responsiblilty of All countries to place some effort to save humanity for the innocent?...Several celebrities have made an effort for this world issue to become known. Fo instance, rapper Kanye West wrote in his song about how the diamonds he has shine, but do we know what happened to the innocent lives for this luxury. Additionally, the movie Blood Diamond -starring Leonardo DiCaprio was made and perfectly depicts the true reality of conflict diamonds.

Kanye's Video:
http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play?p=Sierra+Leone+diamond+&n=21&ei=utf-8&fr=yfp-t-501&tnr=21&vid=1308017556

Blood Diamond:
http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play?p=Blood+Diamond&n=21&b=1&ei=utf-8&fr=yfp-t-501&tnr=20&vid=1116558637

Women as Suicide Bombers

Today, it is not uncommon for women to be the front of terror. The first female suicide bomber in the Palestinian -Israeli conflict was Wafa Idris. Middle Eastern terrorists are using suicide bombers more commonly today because they are inexpensive, lrequire little to no technology, and a low risk weapon loss. The success of suicide bombers depends on the tactic used and the vulnerablilty of their targets. It's easy to be fooled by these women bombers because they can impersonate a pregnant woman, or a victim of the Palestine/Israeli conflict, in which many soldiers lose their lives.

Suicide bombers are said to believe that God sends them on their missions, and by the time they are ready to be stopped with explosives, they had reached a hypnotic state.

Source: (http://www.israelinsider.com/channels/security/articles/sec0049.htm)

Whereas, it is stated that suicide is in fact forbidden in Islam.

Fighting oppression is commendable, harming innocent bystanders, even in times of war, was forbidden by the prophet Muhammad.

(www.israelinsider.com/channels/security/articles/sec0049.htm)

Lastly, suicide bombers are never justified in their actions. Most suicide bombers are said to have been affluent, well educated and from middle class backgrounds and not motivated by psychological imbalance but by the foreign policies of the countries they attack. The women who give their lives to support an unjust cause will have to suffer for thier actions. Some of these women do this to bring back dignity and honor upon thier families in the conflict.

Below is a link to a video that shows how unjust these acts are: (Material may be innappropriate)
This 1st video is about 6:58mins long
http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play?p=women+suicide+bombers&n=21&ei=utf-8&fr=yfp-t-501&tnr=21&vid=1159681818

2nd:

http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play?p=women+suicide+bombers&n=21&ei=utf-8&fr=yfp-t-501&tnr=21&vid=1159680418

Drug Culture-Colombia

-- The effectiveness of the multibilliondollar U.S. anti-drug campaign in Colombia is being questioned by many. People want to know if this fight on drugs in Colombia is worth the U.S. dollars. The U.S.-Colombia strategy, which targets cocaine production at its source, is aimed at reducing supply and driving up prices and thereby discouraging consumption in the United States according to sfgate.com

Colombia's Problems:
*Drug trafficking
*Coca Cultivating
*Colombia’s role in the international drug trade has shifted from a grower/exporter of marijuana in the 1970s to a processor/shipper of cocaine in the 1980s to a major grower/processor/transshipper of coca and heroin today. (http://www.fpif.org/briefs/vol4/v4n30colo.html)

--The mainthreats to the environment are deforestation caused by clearingthe fields for cultivation, soil erosion caused by severalfactors, and chemical pollution from insecticides and fertilizers.

--Additionally, the process of converting coca andpoppy into cocaine and heroine has adverse effects on theenvironment as well.
If there is no progress in Colombia's Drug War, why should we continue to spend U.S. dollars on a growing war that could go towards the U.S. education system, Social Security, and Health Care?

Killing, an Honor?

When you hear about people killing, it's unlikely they think it's an honor. However, the reality is many muslim countries participate in honor killings. An honor killing is almost exclusively associated with the killing of females by close family members with the aim of undoing the dishonor upon the family name caused by offensive behavior. Chiefly in terms of sexual immodesty, including adultery, refusal to accept arranged marriage, being a victim of rape. If victims are male, then the male is likely to be the family of the woman with whom the victim is accused of having a relationship. Unfortunately, sons, fathers and male family are often forced to rape their own mothers, sisters, and daughters as a form of punishment. Today, their are organizations that are trying to improve the life of women, and little girls in middle eastern countries. The murder of females in the Middle East is an ancient tradition. Prior to the arrival of Islam in AD 622, Arabs occasionally buried infant daughters to avoid the possibility that they would later bring shame to the family. Many women are killed and buried in unmarked graves and along with their untimely death... their very existence is removed from the community and records. The fact that so many murders go unreported is a strong indication of the status of women and the role of culture in fundamentalist Islamic countries.

Below is a video that gives a better insight!
http://www.youtube.com/swf/l.swf?video_id=sQQFjvcYefk&rel=1&eurl=http%3A//video.search.yahoo.com/video/play%3Fframe%3Dtop%26vid%3D1290147374%26vw%3Dg%26p%3Dhonor%2Bkillings&iurl=http%3A//i.ytimg.com/vi/sQQFjvcYefk/default.jpg&t=OEgsToPDskLxxUk3xZZsLyffp7Ds9QTv

Street Children: Brazil

Street children in Brazil and several other countries has been an ongoing problem for many years. There are 2 types of street kids: The first are called children on the street. They actually live with their parents, usually in a slum or shack, but they work all day in the streets begging, or finding odd jobs. Then there are the children of the street, who live here day and night. Many of them are runaways, escapees of abuse, or drug users. Many steal to survive or to support their addictions. It is common in Brazil for the kids to get high off of glue and other potential fatal inhalants. Sadly, some of the street children are targets for the rebel governments to seek out and kill these children unless they join these rebel groups. As a global citizen, the responsibilities of these lives should be in everyone's hands.

Below is a link to a video that is 9mins and 4 secs long that talks about Street Children in Brazil, which gives a better insight of the problem.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPu_cQ11TbO

Advocate for World Issues

Welcome, to my advocate blog spot. I'll be addressing world issues dealing with child soldiers, gangs, and other worldly issues affecting "us" as global citizens. Issues may be distrurbing, however these world issues are not always noticed by the ordinary citizen(s) and should be discussed.