Group items tagged

"A land mine is a target (person or vehicle) triggered explosive weapon . Their non-explosive predecessors (caltrops, stakes and spikes) have been used on the battlefield since ancient times. Landmines were designed to be used to deter, channel, delay and kill an enemy. They have been used in various formats, for centuries and have featured in all major conflicts. Land mines are force multipliers , meaning that they may increase the efficiency of a force without requiring more personnel. The name originates from the practice of mining , where tunnels were dug under enemy fortifications or forces. These tunnels ("mines") were first collapsed to destroy fortifications above, and later filled with explosives and detonated. Land mines generally refer to devices specifically manufactured for this purpose, as distinguished from improvised explosive devices ("IEDs"). The use of land mines is controversial because they are indiscriminate weapons, harming soldier and civilian alike. They remain dangerous after the conflict in which they were deployed has ended, killing and injuring civilians and rendering land impassable and unusable for decades. To make matters worse, many factions have not kept accurate records (or any at all) of the exact locations of their minefields, making removal efforts painstakingly slow. These facts pose serious difficulties in many developing nations where the presence of mines hampers resettlement, agriculture, and tourism. The International Campaign to Ban Landmines campaigned successfully to prohibit their use, culminating in the 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, known informally as the Ottawa Treaty . As of 2007, a total of 158 nations have agreed to the treaty. Thirty-seven countries have not agreed to the ban, including China , India , Israel , Pakistan

An amazing website which allows you to scroll through history and pull up information on conflicts (info taken from Wikipedia) -- and to click on a world map to explore conflicts

excellent visual of wars and locations. USE IT

Home What's New About Contribute Submissions Rainforests Mission Introduction Characteristics Biodiversity The Canopy Forest Floor Forest Waters Indigenous People Deforestation Consequences Saving Rainforests Amazon rainforest Borneo rainforest Congo rainforest Country Profiles Statistics Works Cited For Kids For Teachers Photos/Images Expert Interviews Rainforest News XML Feeds Chinese French Japanese Spanish Other Languages Pictures Books Links Newsletter Education Mongabay Sites Kids' site Travel Tips Tropical Fish Madagascar Contact About this site Providing tropical forest news, statistics, photos, and information, rainforests.mongabay.com is the world's most popular rainforest site. [more] Deforestation in the Amazon DEFORESTATION IN BRAZIL: 60-70 percent of deforestation in the Amazon results from cattle ranches while the rest mostly results from small-scale subsistence agriculture. Despite the widespread press attention, large-scale farming (i.e. soybeans) currently contributes relatively little to total deforestation in the Amazon. Most soybean cultivation takes place outside the rainforest in the neighboring cerrado grassland ecosystem and in areas that have already been cleared. Logging results in forest degradation but rarely direct deforestation. However, studies have showed a close correlation between logging and future clearing for settlement and farming. [Português | Español | Français] Deforestation by state Deforestation Figures for Brazil Year Deforestation [sq mi] Deforestation [sq km] Change [%] 1988 8,127 21,050 1989 6,861 17,770 -16% 1990 5,301 13,730 -23% 1991 4,259 11,030 -20% 1992 5,323 13,786 25% 1993 5,751 14,896 8% 1994 5,751 14,896 0% 1995 11,220 29,059 95% 1996 7,012 18,161 -38% 1997 5,107 13,227 -27% 1998 6,712 17,383 31% 1999 6,664 17,259 -1% 2000 7,037 18,226 6% 2001 7,014 18,165 0% 2002 8,260 2

TROPICAL RAINFORESTS: Deforestation in Brazil Click Here Home What's New About Contribute Submissions Rainforests Mission Introduction Characteristics Biodiversity The Canopy Forest Floor Forest Waters Indigenous People Deforestation Consequences Saving Rainforests Amazon rainforest Borneo rainforest Congo rainforest Country Profiles Statistics Works Cited For Kids For Teachers Photos/Images Expert Interviews Rainforest News XML Feeds Chinese French Japanese Spanish Other Languages Pictures Books Links Newsletter Education Mongabay Sites Kids' site Travel Tips Tropical Fish Madagascar Contact About this site Providing tropical forest news, statistics, photos, and information, rainforests.mongabay.com is the world's most popular rainforest site. [more] Deforestation in the Amazon DEFORESTATION IN BRAZIL: 60-70 percent of deforestation in the Amazon results from cattle ranches while the rest mostly results from small-scale subsistence agriculture. Despite the widespread press attention, large-scale farming (i.e. soybeans) currently contributes relatively little to total deforestation in the Amazon. Most soybean cultivation takes place outside the rainforest in the neighboring cerrado grassland ecosystem and in areas that have already been cleared. Logging results in forest degradation but rarely direct deforestation. However, studies have showed a close correlation between logging and future clearing for settlement and farming. [Português | Español | Français] Deforestation by state Deforestation Figures for Brazil Year Deforestation [sq mi] Deforestation [sq km] Change [%] 1988 8,127 21,050 1989 6,861 17,770 -16% 1990 5,301 13,730 -23% 1991 4,259 11,030 -20% 1992 5,323 13,786 25% 1993 5,751 14,896 8% 1994 5,751 14,896 0% 1995 11,220 29,059 95% 1996 7,012 18,161 -38% 1997 5,107 13,227 -27% 1998 6,712 17,383 31% 1999 6,664

Highly adaptable, tigers range from the Siberian taiga, to open grasslands, to tropical mangrove swamps. They are territorial and generally solitary animals, often requiring large contiguous areas of habitat that support their prey demands. This, coupled with the fact that they are endemic to some of the more densely populated places on earth, has caused significant conflicts with humans. Of the nine subspecies of modern tiger, three are extinct and the remaining six are classified as endangered, some critically so. The primary direct causes are habitat destruction and fragmentation, and hunting. Their historical range, which once reached from Mesopotamia and the Caucasus through most of South and East Asia, has been radically reduced. While all surviving species are under formal protection, poaching, habitat destruction and inbreeding depression continue to be threats.

"While in Sierra Leone a couple of summers ago, I visited Grafton Camp, a facility for recently demobilized child soldiers operated by UNICEF and local partners. Many of the boys, ranging from nine to 16 years of age, had killed people as they fought in a civil war that paused with a fragile cease-fire in 1995. The camp director said that when the youths had been given drugs-most likely, amphetamines-while soldiering, they "would do just about anything that was ordered." Some, he added, were proud of having been effective killers. These boys, who had shortly before been willing to kill and who had never received an adequate foundation of moral development, danced with enormous energy and played cooperative games under the supervision of the camp's counselors. As I watched, it was sobering to think that under certain conditions, practically any child could be changed into a killer. But today, it is even more sobering to see once again how easily children who have been denied education and trained for fighting are manipulated by local political leaders. Fighting has resumed in Sierra Leone following a May coup, and many of the combatants are under 18. They have become part of a continuing cycle of violence. A soldier at seven The nature of armed conflict has changed greatly in recent years. The end of the Cold War ushered in an era of ethnopolitical conflicts that are seldom fought on well-defined battlefields. Conflicts are increasingly internal, and they are characterized by butchery; violence against women, and atrocities sometimes committed by former neighbors. More than 80 percent of the victims are noncombatants, mostly women and children. Increasingly children serve as combatants or as cooks, informants, porters, bodyguards, sentries, and spies. Many child soldiers belong to organized military units, wear uniforms, and receive explicit training, their lethality enhanced by the widespread availability of lightweight assault weapons. Other children participa

"Hello, I'm a Mac, and I'm helping fuel the war in the Congo -- the deadliest war in the world. So are PCs, cell phones, digital cameras and other electronics. That's what Apple's famous ads don't tell you. So actor/activist Brooke Smith and cinematographer Steven Lubensky teamed up with actors Joshua Malina and John Lehr to create a version that sets the record straight. To learn more about conflict minerals and how you can help end war in the Congo, visit www.raisehopeforcongo.org."

news website for conflicts and issues around the globe

Very useful for research!

Hey guys,\nA description of a Football War? Very strange!

"An ugly paradox of the 21st century is that some of our elegant symbols of modernity - smartphones, laptops and digital cameras - are built from minerals that seem to be fueling mass slaughter and rape in Congo."

good website