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luckangeloja

Antigua and Barbuda - 0 views

www.state.gov/...222680.htm

ONDCP Antigua and Barbuda Drugs Money Laundering Gaming (Online Not Online)

shared by luckangeloja on 19 Oct 16 - No Cached
  • An increase in drug trafficking, a large financial sector, and a growing internet gaming industry likewise add to its susceptibility. Antigua and Barbuda’s Office of National Drug Control and Money Laundering Policy (ONDCP) continues to strive to eradicate transnational drug trafficking, money laundering, and the financing of terrorism through a three-pronged approach in the areas of financial intelligence and investigation, AML/CFT compliance, and counternarcotics operations. The ONDCP’s analysis in 2013 shows that criminals exploit the financial system as financial institutions often fail to apply sufficiently rigorous due diligence investigation to suspicious transactions.
  • The Government of Antigua and Barbuda receives approximately $3,120,000 per year from license fees and other charges related to the internet gaming industry.
  • luckangeloja on 19 Oct 16
     
    This article discussed the control that the Office at National Drug Control and Money Laundering Policy (ONDCP) of Antigua and Barbuda has over problems involving drugs and money laundering. From this article, I was able to take away that the problems involving online and non-online gaming takes away from the focus of drug trafficking, which is a major problem in this country.
runlai_jiang

OAS mission issues preliminary statement on the general elections in Antigua-Barbuda | ... - 0 views

www.caribbeannewsnow.com/-in-Antigua-Barbuda-21569.html

shared by runlai_jiang on 02 Nov 16 - No Cached
  • OAS mission issues preliminary statement on the general elections in Antigua-Barbuda
  • electoral observation mission issued the following preliminary statement on the general elections In Antigua and Barbuda:
  • n Antigua and Barbuda congratulates the people of Antigua and Barbuda for their extraordinary commitment to the electoral process, reflected in a high voter turnout and a peaceful exercise of their franchise during the Election Day.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • recognizes the efforts made by both the Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission and the Supervisor of Elections in the preparation of this election, enabling them to overcome several of the problems experienced in 2009.
  • collaborating to ensure a peaceful voting process.
  • runlai_jiang on 02 Nov 16
     
    On the June 12th, 2014, the OAS issued a electoral observation mission to supervise and reflect the voter turnout on the Election Day. A team of 16 members went to observe on the Election Day. Security was present to ensure a peaceful voting process. The team's purpose was to supervise the Election and enabling them to prevent the problems experienced in 2009. Finally, the election was very successful and smoothly. Women and all the people had the chance to vote. 
runlai_jiang

OAS probes Antigua's voting problems - News - JamaicaObserver.com - 1 views

www.jamaicaobserver.com/...obes-Antigua-s-voting-problems

shared by runlai_jiang on 03 Nov 16 - No Cached
  • 10 per cent of the polling stations in mainland Antigua were unprepared to facilitate voting before noon, six hours late.
  • Yesterday was a day of shame for Antigua and Barbuda. Never in our history of free and fair elections has there been this disgraceful experience of polling stations which should legally be opened from 6:00 am until 6:00 pm, failed to do so for at least four hours and in some cases for six hours.
  • said that the problems associated with the failure for timely opening of polling stations was "most regrettable, and quite irregular for elections in Antigua and Barbuda".
  • runlai_jiang on 03 Nov 16
     
    During the 2009 Antiguan Election, the OAS observers report that 10 percent of the polling stations in mainland Antigua were about six hours late to facilitate voting before noon.The head of the OAS observer mission, Ambassador Albert Ramdin sid the failure of being on time was "most regrettable, and very irregular for elections in Antigua". The good thing about the election was that it took place peacefully and orderly. 
g-dragon

Antigua and Barbuda - 1 views

www.state.gov/...78876.htm

shared by g-dragon on 12 Jun 16 - No Cached
    • g-dragon
      g-dragon on 12 Jun 16
       
      Antigua and Barbuda is a diplomatic government with laws, but sometimes those laws are not followed well. Some problems are excessive force by police, bad prison conditions, sexual abuse of children, and discrimination and violence against women. There are been reports of police brutality, corruption, and discrimination against gay people. Prisoners are treated poorly by prison guards and children are held in the same prison as adults. There are not a lot of women in the government. There are 1/17 in the House of Representatives, 2/17 in the Senate and none in the cabinet. There are also no minority members in parliament or cabinet. On the bright side, both speaker of the House and president of the Senate are women. Another problem is the violence and abuse towards women. Since women do not testify against their harassers, the government has had trouble addressing this issue however they have been trying to increase women's awareness of their rights and providing a safe place for women and children.  - Daniel Lin
    • g-dragon
      g-dragon on 12 Jun 16
       
      Part Two  The few schools that the government provided often has shortages and the parents often provide the chairs, tables, and books. There is a huge problem with child abuse like rape and men having sexual relationships with young girls. Contrary to other sources, this one states,"girls and boys have equal access to health care and other public services." They also state that there are no reports of discrimination against people with disabilities considering that there is not a law that prohibits discrimination against the handicapped. - Daniel Lin
lenaurick

2010 Human Rights Reports: Antigua and Barbuda - 0 views

www.state.gov/...154490.htm

human human rights politics latin america foreign policy economy

shared by lenaurick on 28 Aug 16 - No Cached
  • Antigua and Barbuda is a multiparty, parliamentary democracy with a population of approximately 100,000.
  • There were human rights problems in some areas, including excessive use of force by police, poor prison conditions, some limits on press freedom, societal discrimination and violence against women, sexual abuse of children, and discrimination against homosexuality.
  • There were no reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings.
  • ...30 more annotations...
  • Nonetheless, there were occasional reports of police brutality, corruption, excessive force, discrimination against persons on basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, and allegations of abuse by prison guards.
  • Prison conditions were very poor. Her Majesty's Prison, the country's only prison, was overcrowded, did not have toilet facilities, and slop pails were used in all 122 cells
  • Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors, were permitted religious observances, and had reasonable access to complaint mechanisms and the ability to request inquiry into conditions.
  • Security forces consist of a police force, the small Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force, and the Office of National Drug Control Policy, which coordinates law enforcement and prosecutorial action to counter narcotics trafficking. The police force had approximately 750 officers.
  • The constitution provides that criminal defendants should receive a fair, open, and public trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. Trials are by jury. Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence, have timely access to counsel, may confront or question witnesses, and have the right to appeal. In capital cases only, the government provides legal assistance at public expense to persons without the means to retain a private attorney
  • There were no reports of political prisoners or detainees
  • The constitution provides for freedom of speech and of the press, but the government respected these rights on a somewhat limited basis
  • There were no government restrictions on access to the Internet or reports that government monitored e-mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. There were 75 Internet users per 100 inhabitants, according to Internet World Statistics.
  • The constitution provides citizens with the right to change their government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of universal suffrage.
  • Members of the Organization of American States observer group reported that the elections were generally free and fair.
  • There were two women in the 19-seat House of Representatives and five women appointed to the 17-seat Senate. The governor general, the speaker of the House of Representatives, and the president of the Senate, all appointed positions, were women. There were two women in the cabinet.
  • The Freedom of Information Act gives citizens the statutory right to access official documents from public authorities and agencies, and it created a commissioner to oversee the process. In practice citizens found it difficult to obtain documents, possibly due to government funding constraints rather than obstruction.
  • The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, sex, creed, language, or social status, and the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
  • The Directorate of Gender Affairs, part of the Ministry of Labor, Public Administration, and Empowerment, established and publicized a crisis hotline for victims and witnesses to sexual assault, and managed a sexual assault center that coordinates responses to sexual assault. When rape cases are reported to the police, a female police officer accompanies the victim for both questioning and medical examinations at the center. Once the doctor's report is completed, an investigation commences.
  • n situations where the victim did not know her assailant, the cases rarely came to trial.
  • Violence against women, including spousal abuse, was a problem. The law prohibits and provides penalties for domestic violence, but many women were reluctant to testify against their abusers.
  • Sexual harassment is illegal, but it was rarely prosecuted. According to the Labor Department, there was a high incidence of sexual harassment incurred by employees in both the private and public sectors. However, only approximately 20 cases were formally reported during the year; the small number was believed to result from concerns about retaliation.
  • Women in society enjoy the same rights as men under the law. However, economic conditions in rural areas tended to limit women to home and family, although some women worked as domestics, in agriculture, or in the large tourism sector. Despite these limitations, women were well represented in the private and public sectors. There was no legislation requiring equal pay for equal work, but women faced no restrictions involving ownership of property.
  • Citizenship is acquired by birth in the country, and all children were registered at birth
  • Child abuse remained a problem. The press reported regularly on the rape and sexual abuse of children.
  • Statutory rape is illegal; the minimum age for consensual sex is 14. Despite a maximum penalty of 10 years to life, authorities brought charges against few offenders, and those convicted did not serve long jail terms due to lack of witness cooperation
  • Homosexual acts for both sexes are illegal under indecency statues, and some male homosexual acts are also illegal under anal intercourse laws.
  • Some LGBT persons claimed that homophobia impairs the willingness of HIV-positive persons to obtain treatment; however, there were no reports of violence or discrimination directed toward persons with HIV/AIDS.
  • Workers have the right to associate freely and to form labor unions. Approximately 60 percent of workers in the formal sector belonged to a union. Unions were free to conduct their activities without government interference
  • Labor law prohibits retaliation against strikers, and the government effectively enforced this prohibition.
  • he constitution prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children.
  • The law stipulates a minimum working age of 16 years, which corresponds with the provisions of the Education Act. In addition persons under 18 years of age must have a medical clearance to work and may not work later than 10 p.m.
  • The minimum wage was EC$7.00 ($2.59) an hour for all categories of labor, which provided a barely adequate standard of living for a worker and family. In practice the great majority of workers earned substantially more than the minimum wage.
  • The law provides that workers are not required to work more than a 48-hour, six-day workweek, but in practice the standard workweek was 40 hours in five days
  • While not specifically provided for by law, in practice workers could leave a dangerous workplace situation without jeopardy to continued employment.
  • lenaurick on 28 Aug 16
     
    This article is about common issues that countries face, and how Antigua and Barbuda deals with these issues. For the most part, it seemed that Antigua and Barbuda was a relatively developed country with a strong and fair government, rights for children, good working conditions, and unrestricted access to internet. However there were also areas where Antigua and Barbuda needed improvements. For example their prisons are overcrowded, women continue to be victims of sexual assault, and homophobia is acceptable. Overall this article helped me to get a better sense of where Antigua and Barbuda stands on major issues.
lenaurick

Children of Antigua and Barbuda | Humanium - Together for Children's Rights - 1 views

www.humanium.org/...antigua-and-barbuda

children human rights policy education

shared by lenaurick on 12 Jun 16 - No Cached
    • g-dragon
      g-dragon on 12 Jun 16
       
      There is a huge problem concerning children's rights in Antigua and Barbuda. First of all, the country does not have enough schools and the ones there are are overcrowded. Higher education schools usually require a fee AND and entrance exam. This means that if you have no money or could not go to school, higher education is basically impossible. Third, the law system there is troubling. Eight year olds can get the same penalties as adults in court and any person under the age of eighteen can be imprisoned in the same jails as adults for life for a murder. Fourth, there is a problem of discrimination in this country. Girls, children born out of non- married parents, people in poverty, and the handicapped children face great discrimination. - Daniel Lin
  • Antigua and Barbuda, a small country made of two islands, has made great efforts in the protection of children’s rights
  • Even though a number of steps have been taken, like providing free schoolbooks and uniforms, access to education remains very unequal in Antigua and Barbuda.
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • Antigua and Barbuda must therefore continue with its efforts towards universal access to education by promoting free schooling at all levels.
  • A law on corporal punishments still exists in these islands, and it authorizes physical punishment of children at home as well as in more official locations, such as school.
  • The United Nations has thus been advising Antigua and Barbuda since 2004 to put an end to laws that authorize any form of violence against children.
  • Any child 8 years of age can be called before the court and risks the same penalties as an adult. Similarly, a minor (an individual under 16 years of age) may receive the same punishment as an adult if charged with a crime. In this way, it is possible for a person under 18 years of age to be imprisoned for life for a murder.
  • Once the minors are tried, they do not have any special conditions on retention: they are locked up in the same prisons and sections as adults,
  • Girls, children born out of wedlock, and those living in poverty experience differences in access to basic services.
  • Another source of discrimination stems from the absence of physical systems to accommodate handicapped children; t
malonema1

Environmental Sustainability Opportunities in Nicaragua - 0 views

www.fsdinternational.org/...envopps

nicaragua environment environmental sustainability opportunities

shared by malonema1 on 02 Nov 16 - No Cached
  • As both the largest country in Central America and the least populated, Nicaragua has the opportunity to enforce environmental protection laws and conserve a relatively large amount of natural resources
  • In response to a variety of environmental issues, interns, volunteers, and donors work with FSD partner organizations to:
  • malonema1 on 02 Nov 16
     
    This article helps people understand Nicaragua's problems with environmental sustainability
jblackwell2

Corruption in Colombia Could Derail FARC Peace Deal - 0 views

www.worldpoliticsreview.com/...a-could-derail-farc-peace-deal

politics colombia war peace corruption

shared by jblackwell2 on 02 Nov 16 - No Cached
  • Last month, the mayor of Colombia’s main port city, Buenaventura, was arrested on corruption charges
  • Corruption is a very big structural problem in Colombia. It permeates all levels of government and society, public and private.
  • Corruption is closely linked to other illegal and criminal activities, such as drug trafficking and illegal mining, which makes it much more difficult to tackle. Some surveys show that Colombians see corruption as the country’s main problem, even more than violence.
  • jblackwell2 on 02 Nov 16
     
    This article talks about the corruption in the Columbian government.
g-dragon

Antigua's volunteer medics on call around the clock - BBC News - 0 views

www.bbc.com/...world-latin-america-36152493

shared by g-dragon on 13 Jun 16 - No Cached
    • g-dragon
      g-dragon on 13 Jun 16
       
      Antigua is facing many problem now, but it is not just known for the challenges that it must face. A self donation based clinic helps injured people on the south side of Antigua and the workers there do no get paid. Many people who get into accidents there do not call the police because they know that it will take too long for them to get to them. The health clinic has also become a search and rescue team. Donations have gotten the ABSAC an ambulance, two boats, and a fire truck. The only problem is that as more people come there and expect treatment like a hospital, the clinic runs out of supplies. They also will need more devoted volunteers to work there.  - Daniel Lin
redavistinnell

Exclusive: leading candidate to be Commonwealth secretary general alleged to have recei... - 0 views

www.telegraph.co.uk/...ainst-Antiguan-government.html

leading candidate commonwealth fraud government politics foreign policy caribbean

shared by redavistinnell on 16 Jun 16 - No Cached
  • Exclusive: leading candidate to be Commonwealth secretary general alleged to have received $1.4m in fraud against Antiguan government
  • Sir Ronald Sanders, now the Ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to Washington, apparently received monthly payments of £10,000 while serving as High Commissioner in London, according to a report ordered by his country’s government but never subsequently published.
  • Sir Ronald served as High Commissioner to Britain from 1982 until 1987 and then again from 1996 until 2004. Soon after he returned to London, the Queen made him a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG). She proceeded to award him a knighthood in June 2002. Two years later, Antigua’s then government commissioned an investigation by Robert Lindquist, a Canadian forensic accountant, after a routine audit suggested the state was overpaying a loan.
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • The Lindquist report named Sir Ronald as a “person of interest” in this alleged fraud which cost Antigua $14 million (£9.3 million) between 1997 and 2006.
  • Mr Lindquist found that the monthly surplus of $203,594 – amounting to 40 per cent of Antigua’s total revenue from petrol sales tax - was shared between various beneficiaries, apparently including Sir Ronald. The architect of the alleged fraud was the late Bruce Rappaport, a S
  • A fax dated 28 November 1997 appears to show that Rappaport opened an account with the Bank of Bermuda called the “IHI Debt Settlement Co Account”.
  • The document says that “funds received monthly from the Government of Antigua” amounting to $403,334 were to be used to repay IHI to the tune of $199,74
  • Including funds that were channelled through Bellwood Services – a Panamanian company owned by Sir Ronald until 1996 – the Lindquist report says that he appeared to receive a total of $1,398,492 (£933,000).
  • But on 29 June 2015, Antigua’s police commissioner wrote to Sir Ronald’s lawyers saying this should never have happened, adding: “I hereby confirm that the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda has no interest in interviewing Sir Ronald Sanders and that there are no current or pending investigations that involve him in any way.”
  • Antigua's current government has described the Lindquist report as “riddled with hearsay, rumour and conjecture” and the result of a “partisan witch-hunt” launched by a previous administration. Sir Ronald has never been shown the report.
  • redavistinnell on 16 Jun 16
     
    This article shows the corruption with in the Antiguan government. There is an obvious gap between the government officials in Antigua and Barbuda and the people. One of the biggest problems facing Antigua's government is how corrupt it is.  
evanpitt14

ONCP Antigua and Barbuda | Organization of Drug and Money Laundering Control Policy - 0 views

ondcp.gov.ag

shared by evanpitt14 on 03 Aug 16 - No Cached
  • Determined to address the problem of illicit drug use and substance abuse among its citizens, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda with the assistance of CICAD/OAS drafted a five (5) year plan
  • The existing plan, which is a collaborative effort between the various Governmental and non-governmental organizations
  • Anti-Drug initiative
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • rafficking in Class A drugs such as cocaine continues to offer the criminal the highest profit margin
  • T
  • Financial Intelligence & AML/CFT Compliance Financial Intelligence & Compliance Most serious organised crime is about money. Therefore, tackling money laundering is an essential part of combating the threat of drug trafficking, organised crime, fraud and the financing of terrorism. Financial Intelligence Unit AML / CFT Compliance Policy on Drugs Determined to address the problem of illicit drug use
  • Most serious organised crime is about money.
  • tackling money laundering is an essential part of combating the threat of drug trafficking, organised crime
  • evanpitt14 on 03 Aug 16
     
    This page explains a 5 year plan with the OAS and CICAD to combat drug trafficking and to fight crime involving drugs. It says that most crime is about money so if they combat money laundering, they can prevent more crime involving drugs.
nataliedepaulo1

OAS :: OAS Drug Commission Publishes Report on Alternatives to Incarceration for Drug-R... - 0 views

www.oas.org/...press_release.asp

nicaragua alternatives

shared by nataliedepaulo1 on 18 Oct 16 - No Cached
  • he Executive Secretariat of the Commission for the Control of Drug Abuse (CICAD) of the Organization of American States (OAS) today released the technical report on "Alternatives to Incarceration for Drug -Related Offenses," which was presented to members states in its recent 57th regular session.
  • The OAS Secretary General, José Miguel Insulza, said that the proposals respond to the findings of the OAS Report on the Drug Problem in the Americas, which was drafted under his supervision in compliance with a mandate from the Heads of State at the Sixth Summit of the Americas in Colombia in April 2012. "The report concluded that there is a problem of prison overcrowding in nearly all the countries of the hemisphere due to drug enforcement taking place mainly through criminal sanctions," he said. In this respect, he said "the application of severe laws for drug offenses has generated negative consequences such as overloaded courts and prisons, and the suffering of thousands of people imprisoned for small drug offenses."
  • The shift in policy in the region and the beginning of the joint formulation of proposals of alternatives to imprisonment began, relates the report, with the approval of the member states of the OAS - through CICAD - of the 2010 Hemispheric Drug Strategy and its 2011-2015 Plan of Action agreeing to "explore the means of offering treatment, rehabilitation, and recovery support services to drug‐dependent offenders as an alternative to imprisonment, and in some cases, criminal prosecution."
  • nataliedepaulo1 on 18 Oct 16
     
    This article shows what the OAS has done so far for alternates of drug-related incarceration.
mikecoons

Antigua and Barbuda | Country report | Freedom in the World | 2013 - 0 views

freedomhouse.org/...antigua-and-barbuda

Democracy Freedom Antigua and Barbuda

shared by mikecoons on 28 Aug 16 - No Cached
  • The government of Antigua and Barbuda took steps in 2012 to reform the country’s financial regulatory environment in the aftermath of the discovery of a $7 billion dollar Ponzi scheme, which had exposed deep ties between foreign businesses and the government
  • Antigua and Barbuda, a member of the Commonwealth, gained its independence from Britain in 1981.
  • In the 2004 elections, the opposition United Progressive Party (UPP), led by Baldwin Spencer, defeated Prime Minister Lester Bird and the ruling Antigua Labour Party (ALP), ending the Bird political dynasty that had governed the country since 1976.
  • ...10 more annotations...
  • Fallout from the collapse of the Stanford Financial Group’s companies, which had been one of the main providers of jobs in the country, as well as the global economic downturn and the consequent decline in tourism, continued to impact Antigua and Barbuda’s economy in 2012.
  • Antigua and Barbuda is an electoral democracy. The 1981 constitution establishes a parliamentary system, with a governor general representing the British monarch as ceremonial head of state.
  • Parliament is composed of the 17-seat House of Representatives (16 seats for Antigua, 1 for Barbuda), to which members are elected for five-year terms, and an appointed 17-seat Senate.
  • Antigua and Barbuda generally respects freedom of the press. However, defamation remains a criminal offense punishable by up to three years in prison, and politicians often file libel suits against opposing party members.
  • The government owns one of three radio stations and the public television station. There are no restrictions on access to the internet.
  • The government generally respects religious and academic freedoms.
  • Crime continues to be a problem in Antigua and Barbuda, and the government has responded with increased community policing, the reintroduction of roadblocks, and stiffer fines for firearms violations. The United Nations Development Programme’s 2012 Caribbean Human Development Report reported that Antigua and Barbuda suffers from a high rate of property crimes, such as robberies, with a lower violent crime rate. The country’s prison is overcrowded and conditions are very poor.
  • The 2005 Equal Opportunity Act bars discrimination on the basis of race, gender, class, political affinity, or place of origin. However, societal discrimination and violence against women remain problems.
  • Women hold only 10 percent of the elected seats of the House of Representatives. Male and female same-sex sexual activity also remains criminalized under a 1995 law, and there have been cases of excessive force and discrimination of people based on sexual orientation at the hands of the police. Antigua and Barbuda serves as both a destination and transit country for the trafficking of men, women, and children for the purposes of forced labor and prostitution.
  • Antigua and Barbuda’s political rights rating improved from 3 to 2 due to a decline in corrupt foreign business influence over the government.
  • lenaurick on 28 Aug 16
     
    This article is a general description of the issues faced by Antigua and Barbuda, particularly political issues. This article also talks about the 7 billion dollar Ponzi scheme from 2012 that showed how foreign business and Antigua's government interacted. This article also talked about the elections, and in my opinion the government and its elections seemed fair. This article was helpful to my study of Antigua and Barbuda because it give me an overview of the countries government, and economy.
  • mikecoons on 18 Oct 16
     
    Political ratings have gone down in A&B.
nataliedepaulo1

Annual Reports | Managua, Nicaragua - Embassy of the United States - 0 views

nicaragua.usembassy.gov/arcotics_control_strategy.html

nicaragua

shared by nataliedepaulo1 on 18 Oct 16 - No Cached
  • Nicaragua continued to be a major drug transshipment point for South American cocaine flowing to the United States in 2011. Nicaragua‘s limited law enforcement capabilities and sparsely populated regions provide an enabling environment for drug
  • Drug consumption in Nicaragua rose in 2011, particularly on the Atlantic coast where the transshipment of drugs is highest.
  • U.S. assistance in Nicaragua is focused on enhancing the abilities of government law enforcement agencies to detect and intercept shipments, detain traffickers, stop the laundering of illegal profits from the drug industry, and support preventative programs to protect youth from drugs and recruitment into gangs.
  • nataliedepaulo1 on 18 Oct 16
     
    This article shows the drug issue in Nicaragua and why it is an increasing problem.
nataliedepaulo1

Releasing Drug Offenders Won't End Mass Incarceration | FiveThirtyEight - 0 views

fivethirtyeight.com/...rs-wont-end-mass-incarceration

nicaragua

shared by nataliedepaulo1 on 18 Oct 16 - No Cached
  • Releasing Drug Offenders Won’t End Mass Incarceration
  • But that’s not exactly the case. Serious prison reform — and shedding the dubious mantle of World’s Leading Incarcerator — will have to look far beyond just nonviolent drug offenders. Heavy prison sentences for drug crimes are only one of many reasons why the United States has by far the highest incarceration rate in the world.
  • Nicaragua
  • nataliedepaulo1 on 18 Oct 16
     
    This articles highlights the challenges of fixing this problem, and what can be done in the future.
nataliedepaulo1

Nicaragua Drug Addiction | Youth Drug Abuse Problems - 0 views

www.narconon.org/...nicaragua-drug-addiction.html

nicaragua

shared by nataliedepaulo1 on 18 Oct 16 - No Cached
  • Drug trafficking is heavier on the north coast of Nicaragua, the Caribbean side. On this side of the country, drug consumption is also heavier. One foundation that works on behalf of drug addicts estimated that there are 300,000 drug users in this country of less than six million people. This is a 300 percent increase in the last five years. Half of these drug users are found in the country’s high schools and universities.
  • icaragua, like most other Central American countries, lies directly on the route of scores of tons of Colombian cocaine making its way to North America and Europe. Much of this cocaine travels overland through at least part of Central America, though some may be repackaged for sea or air shipment at any point along the line.
  • Nicaragua’s social problems, such as untrustworthy law enforcement, few services for its citizens and widespread poverty mean that few Nicaraguans find publicly-funded addiction treatment programs when they become addicted. Non-government organizations funded by churches or foundations recruit volunteers to help those who need drug rehab.
  • nataliedepaulo1 on 18 Oct 16
     
    This article explains why drugs are an issue in Nicaragua, how the government helps continue this issue, and the affect it has on the young people there.
luckangeloja

Comparative Criminology | North America - Antigua and Barbuda - 0 views

www-rohan.sdsu.edu/...antiguabarbuda.html

foreign policy Antigua and Barbuda Drugs U.S. Drug Enforcement

shared by luckangeloja on 19 Oct 16 - No Cached
  • Antigua and Barbuda is considered a minor transshipment point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe; more significant as an offshore financial center
  • The U.S. Government has maritime drug law enforcement agreements with all seven of the Eastern Caribbean states. A Protocol to amend and update the maritime agreements was submitted to each country in April 2003. The Protocol would permit hot pursuit of maritime drug traffickers into the territorial waters of an Eastern Caribbean state by U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) law enforcement detachments aboard third country ships (e.g., UK). The Protocol also would permit a law enforcement shiprider from any Regional Security System (RSS) member state (The seven Eastern Caribbean states comprise the RSS.) aboard a USCG or third country vessel to authorize drug law enforcement operations in the territorial waters of any RSS member state. Only Antigua and Barbuda has signed the Protocol. To date, none of these countries has signed the Caribbean Maritime Counterdrug Agreement, which would facilitate cooperation among themselves.
  • Most Eastern Caribbean officials regard marijuana production and trafficking as serious offenses, although the question of legalization or decriminalization is being discussed in some quarters. The U.S. supports and encourages eradication campaigns as a means to combat marijuana use in the Eastern Caribbean.
  • luckangeloja on 19 Oct 16
     
    This article discussed the involvement of United States drug enforcement in the Eastern Caribbean. It says that even though several eastern countries have agreed to receive enforcement from the U.S., they have not agreed to receive enforcement from each other. This could help the drug related problems in Antigua and Barbuda and other countries as well.
Javier E

One of America's top climate scientists is an evangelical Christian. She's on a mission... - 0 views

www.washingtonpost.com/...9-adf3-f70f78c156e8_story.html

christian religion climate change gop stewardship god

shared by Javier E on 16 Jul 19 - No Cached
  • “What was life like before the Industrial Revolution?” Hayhoe asked during a keynote address at the Citizens’ Climate Lobby conference in Washington, D.C. “It was short. It was brutal.” A woman’s work was an endless cycle of drudgery. Economies were built on the backs of children and slaves. “So I realized that I am truly and profoundly grateful for the benefits and the blessings that fossil fuels have brought us.”
  • They were clapping for fossil fuels because it was cathartic to acknowledge that, for all the damage done, coal and gas and oil had been gifts to mankind.
  • She knows how to speak to oilmen, to Christians, to farmers and ranchers, having lived for years in Lubbock, Tex., with her pastor husband. She is a scientist who thinks that we’ve talked enough about science, that we need to talk more about matters of the heart.
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • the climate problem, while understood through science, can be solved only through faith. Faith in one another. Faith in our ability to do something bold, together. Faith that the pain of change, that the sacrifices required, will lead to a promised land.
  • She sees herself more like Cassandra, who predicted the fall of Troy but was not believed, or Jeremiah, whose omens were inspired by selfish kings and cultish priests in ancient Jerusalem. “We are warning people of the consequences of their choices, and that’s what prophets did,” she said, over plates of samosas and grape leaves, and “you get the same thing that prophets have gotten throughout history.”
  • In the United States, nearly 40 percent of university scientists have a religious affiliation, according to new research by Rice University professor of sociology Elaine Howard Ecklund; for scientists working outside of universities, that percentage jumps to 77. And many agnostic or atheist scientists still see themselves as spiritual, according to Ecklund and Christopher Scheitle, assistant professor of sociology at West Virginia University.
  • Hayhoe has built followings on Twitter, YouTube and TED.com, where her talk on climate has racked up 1.7 million views. She is also a lead author on the U.S. government’s latest National Climate Assessment, which says that the climate effects we are already suffering from are going to get worse for our health and economy.
  • I would argue, from my research, that we talk about climate change as something demanded to be addressed by faith, not politics,” Ecklund says. Politics creates boundaries, she says, but “faith is extremely motivating to people.”
  • When she put the climate problem in terms of the heart and soul, not just the brain or politics, her family started to see. Taking care of the planet was another way to take care of people. Another way to love
  • In the beginning — if recent history is our beginning — climate change began to make winters milder and heat waves more frequent. In the east, it made storms wetter; in the west, it made droughts drier. Human infrastructure was strained by melting permafrost in Alaska and larger wildfires in California. It was happening now, and not enough people understood, or believed, that they had a role to play in what could happen next.
Javier E

In Honduras, Deaths Make U.S. Rethink Drug War - NYTimes.com - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...-make-us-rethink-drug-war.html

foreign policy US drug central america

shared by Javier E on 13 Oct 12 - No Cached
  • Fearful that Central America was becoming overrun by organized crime, perhaps worse than in the worst parts of Mexico, the State Department, the D.E.A. and the Pentagon rushed ahead this year with a muscular antidrug program with several Latin American nations, hoping to protect Honduras and use it as a chokepoint to cut off the flow of drugs heading north.
  • the antidrug cooperation, often promoted as a model of international teamwork, into a case study of what can go wrong when the tactics of war are used to fight a crime problem that goes well beyond drugs.
  • “You can’t cure the whole body by just treating the arm,” said Edmundo Orellana, Honduras’s former defense minister and attorney general. “You have to heal the whole thing.”
  • ...15 more annotations...
  • A sweeping new plan for Honduras, focused more on judicial reform and institution-building, is now being jointly developed by Honduras and the United States. But State Department officials must first reassure Congress that the deaths have been investigated and that new safeguards, like limits on the role of American forces, will be put in place.
  • the new plan, according to a recent draft shown to The New York Times, is more aspirational than anything aimed at combating drugs and impunity in Mexico, or Colombia before that. It includes not just boats and helicopters, but also broad restructuring: several new investigative entities, an expanded vetting program for the police, more power for prosecutors, and a network of safe houses for witnesses.
  • The country’s homicide rate is among the highest in the world, and corruption has chewed through government from top to bottom.
  • The foreign minister, Mr. Corrales, a hulk of a man with a loud laugh and a degree in engineering, said he visited Washington in early 2011 with a request for help in four areas: investigation, impunity, organized crime and corruption.
  • Members of the Honduran police teams told government investigators that they took their orders from the D.E.A. Americans officials said that the FAST teams, deploying tactics honed in Afghanistan, did not feel confident in the Hondurans’ abilities to take the lead.
  • there were no detailed rules governing American participation in law enforcement operations. Honduran officials also described cases in which the rules of engagement for the D.E.A. and the police were vague and ad hoc.
  • the killing — along with the soaring homicide rate and the increased trafficking — sounded alarms in Washington: “It raised for us the specter of Honduras becoming another northern Mexico.”
  • Representative Howard L. Berman of California, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, wrote to Mrs. Clinton, “Unfortunately, this is not the first time the United States has come perilously close to an overmilitarized strategy toward a country too small and institutionally weak for its citizens to challenge the policy.”
  • Mr. Brownfield, the assistant secretary, said it was impossible to “offer a zero risk program for interdicting drugs in Central America.” He noted that the shootings during interdiction raids happened in the middle of the night, in remote locations that were hard for investigators to reach. Despite these challenges, he said that investigations were conducted and that he was “basically satisfied” that he knew what had happened.
  • From the moment the Honduran pilot departed in his aging Tucano turboprop, just before midnight, he was in radio contact with Colombian authorities, who regularly receive radar intelligence from the American military’s Southern Command.
  • Mr. Corrales, the foreign minister, and some American officials have concluded that the downed planes amounted to misapplied military justice, urged on by societal anger and the broader weaknesses of Honduras’s institutions.
  • Creating a stronger system is at the core of what some officials are now calling Anvil II. A draft of the plan provided by Mr. Corrales shows a major shift toward shoring up judicial institutions with new entities focused on organized and financial crime.
  • The D.E.A.’s role will also probably change. A
  • “It’s a tragedy; there is no confidence in the state,” she said, wearing black in her university office. The old game of cocaine cat-and-mouse tends to look like a quicker fix, she said, with its obvious targets and clear victories measured in tons seized.
  • “This moment presents us with an opportunity for institutional reform,” Dr. Castellanos said. But that will depend on whether the new effort goes after more than just drugs and uproots the criminal networks that have already burrowed into Honduran society.
malonema1

Nicaragua Has Lost 50% of its Forestland - Havana Times.org - 0 views

www.havanatimes.org/?p=121283

environment nicaragua people conflict

shared by malonema1 on 27 Oct 16 - No Cached
  • 7,225,300 hectares (17. 85 million acres) of forest in 1980. By 1990, the measure had shrunk to 6,314,300 hectares (15.6 million acres)
  • By 1995 there were only 5,566,900 hectares (13.75 million acres) left, and in 2000 the measure diminished to 2,395,523.64 hectares (5.9 million acres) of forestland
  • over 50% of the forestland has been lost in full view and tolerance of the governmental institutions and this presupposes a problem for the national water reserves
  • malonema1 on 27 Oct 16
     
    Many people of Nicaragua are furious over the deforestation occurring in their country. This is causing conflict within the country due to the loss of precious forrest land.
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