A little cash never hurt anybody? US questions Iran’s cash donations to Afghani government.

Do as I say, not as I do.  NYC Mayor Bloomberg supports two term restriction AFTER he has started his THIRD term.

Does it ever get easier for Haiti? Cholera epidemic expected to grow in Haiti and possibly expand to the Dominican Republic.

The African Union summit in Uganda ended recently without making a decision regarding their troops in Somalia. Uganda, which was bombed due to its troops being part of the African Union mission in Somalia, advocated for strengthening the mandate from peacekeeping to peace enforcing, but others want to wait for more funding before making the change.

Asia

Survivors of the genocide in Cambodia have mixed feelings about the first conviction of Kaing Guek Eav (also known as Duch), a major Khmer Rouge figure. Duch was found guilty of crimes against humanity and received a 35 year prison sentence that was later reduced to 19 years. Many say that Duch, whose actions condoned the torture and murder of 14,000 people, should receive a life sentence, while others are glad that those involved in the genocide are finally being punished.

Europe

A six year old in Ireland has a huge allowance. 7,500 Euros to be exact, which comes out to $9,748.27. He came into the money after suing a grocery store for defamation of character, false imprisonment and assault after a store employee falsely accused the boy of stealing a bag of chips.

Latin America

Haiti’s next president might be someone you already know! Wyclef Jean of The Fugees is considering running for president in his home country. Wyclef has been very involved in Haiti, especially after the devastating earthquake, starting the Yele Haiti Foundation.

Image courtesy of the Huffington Post.

Just a month ago a 7.0-magnitude earthquake devastated the island of Haiti killing up to 230,000 people. Now another deadly earthquake with 1000 times the force wrecked havoc, this time in Chile.

The early assessments of damage are less frightening than those experienced in Haiti (which has routinely been the poorest country in Latin America). Unfortunatley, the death toll has been steadily rising, reaching over 700.

While most of Chile’s new infrastructure was built to withstand earthquakes (or terremotos, as they’re known in the Spanish language), many old buildings were destroyed and the country’s main highway was severed.

The hit was in the city of Concepción. This city is seismically active and was destroyed by another earthquake in the late 1930s.

Damage is estimated to have reached $30 billion, or 30% of Chile’s GDP. Public Works Minister Sergio Batar believes it will take months to heal the damage the country faces. President Michelle Bachelet declared a “state of catastrophe.”

The earthquake has affected over 2 million people in Chile, a country that now faces a broken water supply and the issue of looting.

The force of the quake set off tsunami-like waves that threatened many countries over the expanse of the Pacific.

No doubt with the two disaster in such close proximity, there will be the natural temptation to compare the two events and contrast the rebuilding efforts.

Prior to its earthqauake, Haiti had a poor national infrastructure and non functioning government. These burdens will clearly make recovery efforts more challenging.

We at USDemocrazy will be keeping an eye on these disasters and keeping you informed about developments.

And letting you know how you can help.

Your thoughts and observations are welcome.

Thanks to nhop.ca!

Haiti’s having a pretty hard time right now, since the massive earthquake earlier this month.

Fortunately, a lot of good people from around the world are trying to help… with food, money, kidnapping… KIDNAPPING?!?!

Ten U.S. Baptist missionaries were charged with kidnapping 33 Haitian children and trying to take them across the Haitian border to the Dominican Republic.

The Haitian Prime Minister, Max Bellerive, states,

It is clear now that they were trying to cross the border without papers.  It is clear now that some of the children have live parents… And it is clear now, that they knew what they were doing was wrong.

According to ABC News, children were drawn to follow the missionaries with pictures – pamphlets, actually – that showed pools, large houses, and clothes.

The children, although allegedly being taken to an orphanage, were not orphans.

Human trafficking* is a serious world wide problem.

Like these children, victims of trafficking are tricked with offers of work or money in a different country. Upon arrival, the traffickers will hide important documents, threaten the victims families, and force them into work, usually hard labor or sex slavery.

In Haiti, these trafficked children are called restaveks.

So, were these missionaries tricking kids? Or trying to help kids, all between the ages of 2 and 12?

Well, we’re not quite sure yet.  Either way, taking a child out of a country, a child who has parents, without papers or legal authority is just not ok.

Even before that catastrophe, Haiti had more than 300,000 orphaned or abandoned children vulnerable to exploitation by human traffickers masquerading as relief organizations or aid workers, and the country’s notoriously corrupt government too often turned a blind eye to the trade in human lives.

All of this sounds really scary…and it is.

What’s even worse is that there’s been a serious connection found between environmental tragedies and human trafficking.   Actually, environmental devastation usually impacts the most vulnerable the most, leaving them even more open to abuse.

The Huffington Post writes,

A recent report from SOS Children’s Villages points out that there is a correlation between humanitarian crises and spikes in sexual violence against women. In light of the number of orphaned children and displaced people, many organizations including UNICEF are concerned about a potential increase in trafficking in persons in the current chaos.

Haiti continues to need, and will continue to need, all of our help.  Follow any of these links to help Haiti through difficult times!

*Human trafficking is basically modern day slavery.  Humans are transported all across the world, for labor or sex slavery.  It’s a serious deal.  For more information, please follow this link.

Photo by flickr user DVIDSHUB

There are many pictures that have shown the extent of the damage in Haiti. But this week, we were touched by a moving picture by Petty Officer Daniel Barker. Barker captured this image of Ensign Adam Cole on the USS Normandy (which is helping provide relief in Haiti) holding hands with a Haitian girl.

Thanks to Wikicommons.

The price of rebuilding. Haiti seeks $3 Billion to rebuild itself.

Vatican 2.0. The Pope seeks to spread faith through the internet.

One more against Ben. Senator John McCain opposes the reappointment of Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke.

Here at US Democrazy, we watch the news A LOT. So the news correspondents that bring us our daily stories almost become our best buddies. Our buddies do not only share the news with us but sometimes SHAPE the news we see.

In the clip above, CNN’s Anderson Cooper stops his news reporting to help save a boy from a group of looters. The clip is somewhat graphic, yet it shows the chaos of the situation in Haiti without many words.

Anderson Cooper is not the only one reporting from dangerous parts of the world.

In the episode above, journalist Mariana van Zeller reports from Sri Lanka, on that country’s war on terror. One of the world’s most dangerous terrorist groups, the Tamil Tigers has caused chaos… but defeating them comes at a high cost.

This mini news documentary comes via Current TV’s Vanguard program.

Vanguard has also done interesting reports on contraband rings in US prisons, the prescription drug problems of South Florida, factory outsourcing, and the Somali pirates (just to name a few).

Have you ever viewed something during a typical news broadcast that made you think twice?  Send us your thoughts and send us a link of anything you find interesting.

Redjeson Hausteen Claude, 2, is rescued from the rubble in Haiti.

Haiti experienced a big aftershock on Wednesday, but thankfully, no one was hurt and rescuers managed to save more people.

Scott Brown’s victory in Massachusetts has Democrats scrambling to save their health care plan.

Skip those French Fries! Air France might not let you on their planes if you’re obese.

Haitian Coat of Arms- Courtesy of WikiCommons

Boots on the Ground (earthquake-ravaged ground)… US troops arrive at Haiti National Palace to provide aid.

Political Junkies Rejoice… The Massachusetts election is a nail-biter.

This stuff happens in real life!?

A driver whose SUV plunged into a Northern California creek … escaped the sinking vehicle by blasting out the window with a handgun.

Mixing oil and water for a good cause. Former Presidents Clinton and Bush promote the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.

The best thing Frankfurt has made since the hot dog. Obama musical opens in Germany.

Audacious attack in Afghanistan, Militants strike hard in Kabul. Are we going to have another “green zone” fight on our hands?

We’ve told you the story of Google’s fight in China (also see cartoon below). Yahoo is backing them, and taking some heat for it to.

Talking Points Memo reader Bernard Avishai has an interesting insight into the Massachusetts special election.

What if you don’t have a prayer of shooting your target? The Pentagon will give you their blessing.