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Month: April 2018

‘Compromising journalism. Compromising a young woman’s right to be herself. Compromising the nation.’

Bridge Agents

Trinidad and Tobago (GV) – Sprinter Michelle Lee Ahye became the first woman to bring home a gold medal for Trinidad and Tobago when she won the 100m Commonwealth Games title on April 9, 2018. The country was overjoyed, with huge coverage in mainstream media and messages of appreciation and congratulations flooding social media. Three days after Ahye’s win, Justice Devindra Rampersad accomplished another “first” when he delivered his decision in the case of Jason Jones vs. the Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago, ruling that sections of the country’s…

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8-year-old Asifa’s heinous rape and murder in India fans the flames of nationalism

Bridge Agents

Screenshot from YouTube Early in January 2018, Asifa, an 8-year-old Muslim child from the nomadic Bakarwal community in Kathua, Jammu and Kashmir in northern India, was gang-raped and murdered, as reported by Global Voices. Much of India’s local news coverage relegated the heinous story to its back pages due to its religiously-charged content. Asifa hailed from a Muslim community while her perpetrators come from a predominantly Hindu community backed by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with sloganeering and rallies in the Jammu region. After three months and countless struggles faced…

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The US is Stingier With Child Care and Maternity Leave Than the Rest of the World

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United States (Conversation) – In most American families led by couples, both parents are in the workforce. At the same time, nearly 1 in 4 U.S. children are being raised by single moms. Yet child care is generally unaffordable and paid leave is not available to most U.S. parents. Around the world, however, most employed women automatically get paid maternity leave. And in most wealthy countries, they also have access to affordable child care. These holes in the national safety net are a problem for many reasons, including one I’ve…

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The Trump Administration’s New Migratory Bird Policy Undermines a Century of Conservation

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United States (Conversation) – The Trump administration has announced a position on protecting migratory birds that is a drastic pullback from policies in force for the past 100 years. In 1916, amid the chaos of World War I, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson and King George V of Great Britain signed the Migratory Bird Treaty. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) wrote the treaty into U.S. law two years later. These measures protected more than 1,100 migratory bird species by making it illegal to pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill or sell…

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Protecting Environmental Defenders This Earth Day

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  (HRW) – Last month, Latin America and Caribbean countries adopted a landmark regional agreement on environmental rights – the first to offer specific protections for people who stand up in defense of their right to a healthy environment. On Earth Day, the effort is a good reminder of the dangers and challenges that still face environmental defenders around the region. March 26, 2018 Report Amazonians on Trial Judicial Harassment of Indigenous Leaders and Environmentalists in Ecuador The treaty, adopted in Escazú, Costa Rica, will require states that ratify it…

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Which States House the Harshest Laws on Alcohol?

Bridge Agents

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, drunk driving is responsible for a third of all fatalities that occur in road accidents. In a bid to reduce the number of deaths which occur as a result of drunken driving, different states have come up with DUI and DWI laws and corresponding penalties. There are some states which are seen to have very tough laws and high conviction rates, while others have less stringent regulations and lower conviction rates.   Arizona The state of Arizona is ranked to have the…

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Lebanon: Mass Evictions of Syrian Refugees

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  (HRW) – At least 13 municipalities in Lebanon have forcibly evicted at least 3,664 Syrian refugees from their homes and expelled them from the municipalities, apparently because of their nationality or religion, while another 42,000 refugees remain at risk of eviction, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The 57-page report, “‘Our Homes Are Not for Strangers’: Mass Evictions of Syrian Refugees by Lebanese Municipalities,” documents inconsistencies in the reasons municipalities have given for expelling Syrians and the failure of the central government to protect refugees’ rights….

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How to grow cannabis? With modern science and technology

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Canada (Conversation) – In Canada and around the world, legal cannabis producers face many challenges: Varying government regulations, high security requirements and a lack of reliable information on how to grow their crops. Growing cannabis has been illegal for so many years that scientific research on how to best produce this crop is limited. Much of the knowledge on how to grow cannabis lacks validation, is clouded in secrecy and is mostly connected to hidden and illegal production facilities of the past. In contrast, researchers have been improving production practices…

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Magdalene Magazine Gives a Platform to Women and Other Marginalized Sectors of Indonesia

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Indonesia (GV) – Since 2013, Magdalene has been publishing articles that speak to adolescent girls and women, members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, and religious minorities in Indonesia. This online publication was launched to offer a space for writers who wanted to tackle taboo topics in a country where Islamic hardliners have been aggressively pushing authorities to enforce their religious beliefs in society. Indonesia is the largest country in the world with a Muslim-majority population. Its founding principles as a nation include the promotion of pluralism,…

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Lockheed Martin ‘Ready to Assist’ With More Missiles for US After Syria Strike

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US (Sputnik) – The joint US-UK-France missile strikes on targets in Syria last Friday featured the debut of the US Air Force’s newest extended-range joint air-to-surface standoff missile (JASSM-ER), a weapon the US military is planning to buy in bulk. The company said it stands “ready to assist” the Pentagon should it need more missiles following the attack on Syria. “While we do not comment on the nature or circumstances of those operations, we stand ready to assist our customers in their efforts worldwide. Lockheed Martin is proud to partner with the DoD to equip them with advanced weapon systems, such as JASSM, to conduct…

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