Rachel Maddow explains why the European refugee crisis is “the world’s most serious issue”
A disturbing image of a young Syrian child lying face-down on a beach after the boat his family was fleeing to Greece on capsized, has jolted the world’s collective attention on the long-simmering crisis of refugees desperately fleeing the Syrian civil war and on Wednesday’s edition of her show, Rachel Maddow examined the different ways European countries have reacted to the arrival of thousands of families seeking refuge within their borders.
“It feels like it is breaking Europe,” Maddow admitted to her guest, David Miliband, the former British foreign secretary, and now president and CEO of the International Rescue Committee. The host noted the contrast between the governmental reactions of Europe’s first and second largest economies, Germany and England. Germany has agreed to take in 800,000 asylum seekers just in the remainder of 2015, while the British prime minister recently denied that taking in more refugees would be helpful.
The fact that the idea of a refugee, the status of someone who has a well-founded fear of persecution, which is the definition of a refugee and international law, that’s being muddied, that’s being diluted, it’s being undermined in this talk of — well, migrants who chose to come for economic reasons.
The number of Syrian refugees going to Europe has been rising but they are just one part of the worst refugee crisis since World War II, and wealthy countries have been criticized for not doing more to open their doors to asylum seekers.
A canned hunt is a trophy hunt in which an animal is kept in a confined area, such as in a fenced-in area, increasing the likelihood of the hunter obtaining a kill.
According to one dictionary, a canned hunt is a “hunt for animals that have been raised on game ranches until they are mature enough to be killed for trophy collections.”
There have been criticisms of this method of hunting from both hunters and animal welfare advocacy groups.
The death of a beloved lion named Cecil, at the hands of an American hunter in Zimbabwe, struck a nerve around the globe. The debate about the ethics of that hunt still provokes strong emotions.
On Wednesday, October 7th, MSNBC will focus on another side of the industry, the legal side. Blood Lions, a one hour documentary, takes viewers inside the seldom seen world of the “canned hunting” industry in South Africa.
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With the help of Ian Michler, safari operator and environmental journalist and Rick Swazey, an American hunter, viewers will see inside the breeding farms where lions are bred for a variety of exploitative revenue streams.
“Our film is an exposé,” says Blood Lions director Bruce Young, “most of the lions exist in appalling conditions, exploited at every stage of their lives. Even the people in South Africa do not know that lions are being bred for the bullet – and that it is totally legal. We want to show the world what is going on, who is involved, the impact on the animals and how much money is being generated by this industry.”
Also known as captive bred lion hunting, canned hunts allow hunters to select their lion ahead of time and complete a hunt in a matter of just three days. Canned hunts provide a cheaper, faster, and a surefire way of hunting predatory animals, compared to wild lion hunts which may last weeks with a much lower probability of success. Americans are largely fueling the industry, with 62% of the trophies being imported into the United States, according to Humane Society International.
The documentary includes the perspective of both proponents of this practice who say that hunting helps preserve Africa’s lion population and conservationists who are quick to dispute that claim.
Catch the premiere of Blood Lions, Wednesday October 7th at 10pm ET on MSNBC.
Currently, almost 8000 predators are being held in cages or confined areas, and none of this has anything to do with conservation. If we don’t act now, that number could well be over 12 000 within the next few years.
The Official trailer for Blood Lions, a documentary that exposes the terrible truth behind the predator breeding and canned lion hunting industries in South Africa. http://www.bloodlions.org/
“South Africa’s failure to address the canned hunting industry has emboldened those who make a living out of the death of lions bred, raised and slaughtered on a ‘no kill, no fee’ basis.
The canned hunting industry is unnatural, unethical and unacceptable.
It delivers compromised animal welfare and zero education.
It undermines conservation and creates a moral vacuum now inhabited by the greed and grotesque self-importance of those who derive pleasure in the taking of life.
Blood Lions lays bare the truth behind the canned hunting industry that, far from contributing to the future survival of the species, may, in fact, accelerate extinction in the wild, leaving behind a trail littered with rotting corpses of its helpless and hopeless victims.”
A war profiteer is any person or organization that profits from warfare or by selling weapons and other goods to parties at war.
The term has strong, negative connotations. General profiteering may also occur in peace time. One example of war profiteers were the “shoddy” millionaires who allegedly sold recycled wool and cardboard shoes to soldiers during the American Civil War.
The term ‘war profiteer’ evokes two stereotypes in popular culture: the rich businessman who sells weapons to governments, and the semi-criminal black marketeer who sells goods to ordinary citizens.
In English-speaking countries this is particularly associated with Britain during World War II. The image of the ‘businessman profiteer‘ carries the implication of influence and power used to actively cause wars for personal gain, rather than merely passively profit from them. In the aftermath of World War I, such profiteers were widely asserted to have existed by both the Left, and the Right.
If a child lives with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If a child lives with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive,
If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves,
If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy.
But do not despair …
If a child lives with tolerance, they learn to be patient.
If a child lives with encouragement, they learn confidence.
If a child lives with praise, they learn to appreciate.
If a child lives with fairness, they live with justice.
If a child lives with security, they live to have faith.
If a child lives with approval, they learn to like himself.
If a child lives with acceptance and friendship.
they learn to find love in the world.
I’m learning many things since I’ve started this blogging journey almost three years ago.
One of the things I’ve noticed is that, even though I consider I had a complete and thorough education, many topics were ignored or very lightly covered.
I learn new things every day.
I think that both the internet and social media have been vehicles in this learning journey of mine.
I’m thankful for that. I’m forever in a quest for knowledge.
This is one of the topics that I didn’t know much about.
I know it’s a controversial one but no one can hide the facts when they are there … in our face.
This situation is a total violation of human rights and the extermination of a race by those with more power.
For centuries there was no such conflict. In the 19th century the land of Palestine was inhabited by a multicultural population – approximately 86 percent Muslim, 10 percent Christian, and 4 percent Jewish – living in peace.
Zionism
In the late 1800’s a group in Europe decided to colonize this land. Known as Zionists, they represented an extremist minority of the Jewish population. Their goal was to create a Jewish homeland, and they considered locations in Africa and the Americas, before settling on Palestine.
At first, this immigration created no problems. However, as more and more Zionists immigrated to Palestine – many with the express wish of taking over the land for a Jewish state – the indigenous population became increasingly alarmed.
Eventually, fighting broke out, with escalating waves of violence. Hitler’s rise to power, combined with Zionist activities to sabotage efforts to place Jewish refugees in western countries, led to increased Jewish immigration to Palestine, and conflict grew.
UN Partition Plan
Finally, in 1947 the United Nations decided to intervene.
However, rather than adhering to the principle of “self-determination of peoples,” in which the people themselves create their own state and system of government, the UN chose to revert to the medieval strategy whereby an outside power divides up other people’s land.
Under considerable Zionist pressure, the UN recommended giving away 55% of Palestine to a Jewish state – despite the fact that this group represented only about 30% of the total population, and owned under 7% of the land.
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Current Conflict
There are two primary issues at the core of this continuing conflict.
First, there is the inevitably destabilizing effect of trying to maintain an ethnically preferential state, particularly when it is largely of foreign origin. The original population of what is now Israel was 96 percent Muslim and Christian, yet, these refugees are prohibited from returning to their homes in the self-described Jewish state (and those within Israel are subjected to systematic discrimination).
Second, Israel’s continued military occupation and confiscation of privately owned land in the West Bank, and control over Gaza, are extremely oppressive, with Palestinians having minimal control over their lives.
Thousands of Palestinian men, women, and children are held in Israeli prisons. Few of them have had a legitimate trial; physical abuse and torture are frequent. Palestinian borders (even internal ones) are controlled by Israeli forces. Periodically men, women, and children are strip searched; people are beaten; women in labor are prevented from reaching hospitals (at times resulting in death); food and medicine are blocked from entering Gaza, producing an escalating humanitarian crisis. Israeli forces invade almost daily, injuring, kidnapping, and sometimes killing inhabitants.
According to the Oslo peace accords of 1993, these territories were supposed to finally become a Palestinian state. However, after years of Israel continuing to confiscate land and conditions steadily worsening, the Palestinian population rebelled.
(The Barak offer, widely reputed to be generous, was anything but.)
This uprising, called the “Intifada” (Arabic for “shaking off”) began at the end of September 2000.
U.S. Involvement
Largely due to special-interest lobbying, U.S. taxpayers give Israel an average of $8 million per day, and since its creation have given more U.S. funds to Israel than to any other nation.
As Americans learn about how Israel is using our tax dollars, many are calling for an end to this expenditure.
In Racing Extinction, a team of artists and activists exposes the hidden world of extinction with never-before-seen images that will change the way we see the planet.
Two worlds drive extinction across the globe, potentially resulting in the loss of half of all species. The international wildlife trade creates bogus markets at the expense of creatures that have survived on this planet for millions of years. And the other surrounds us, hiding in plain sight — a world that the oil and gas companies don’t want the rest of us to see.
Using covert tactics and state-of-the-art technology, the Racing Extinction team exposes these two worlds in an inspiring affirmation to preserve life as we know it.
From the Academy Award® Winning Filmmakers of “The Cove”.
World Rhino Day is on September 22 and celebrates all five species of rhino: Black, white, greater one-horned, Sumatran and Javan rhinos.
World Rhino Day was first announced by WWF-South Africa in 2010. The following year, World Rhino Day grew into an international success, encompassing both African and Asian rhino species, thanks to the efforts of two determined women …
It all started with an email.
In mid-2011, Lisa Jane Campbell of Chishakwe Ranch in Zimbabwe was already planning ahead for World Rhino Day. She searched online for ideas and potential collaborators, and found Rhishja’s blog. Lisa Jane sent Rhishja an email, and the two found they shared a common goal of making World Rhino Day a day of celebration for all five species of rhino.
In the months that followed, they worked together to make World Rhino Day 2011 an international success, both online and offline.
World Rhino Day has since grown to become a global phenomenon, uniting NGOs, zoos, cause-related organizations, businesses, and concerned individuals from nearly every corner of the world!
“IOTD” is image of the day, a concept I came up with. I teach visual meditative therapy – or in easy terms – a mini mental holiday. For some people it is very difficult for them to get their image right. I post an image a day for people to use in their mini mental vacay. Some are serious, some are silly, and some are just beautiful!”
I am a writer, editor, and marketing/communications professional.
I will also volunteer my services for some non-profits.
I earned my master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University, worked as a reporter, and spent most of my career in public relations work for non-profits.
Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21 September. The General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples.
The theme of this year’s commemoration is “Partnerships for Peace – Dignity for All” which aims to highlight the importance of all segments of society to work together to strive for peace.
The work of the United Nations would not be possible without the initial partnerships that were active in its creation and the thousands of partnerships each year between governments, civil society, the private sector, faith-based groups and other non-governmental organizations that are needed to support the Organization in achieving its future goals.
Let peace begin with me
Let this be the moment now.
With every step I take
Let this be my solemn vow.
To take each moment
And live each moment
With peace eternally.
Let there be peace on earth,
And let it begin with me.
Dedicated to the United Nations’ International Day of Peace celebrated each year on September 21.
Join and spread the Spirit of Peace, because Peace can only prosper as a collective condition of human heart and mind, for the sake of all Children!
…. and the Dream of World Peace will become Reality!
"the Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord shine His face upon you and be gracious unto you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace"
