I sold my sister for 300 dollars.

http://www.alternet.org/world/i-sold-my-sister-300-dollars?paging=off&current_page=1#bookmark

This article talks about how conflict in Damascus has forced people to leave their home and go to the refugee camps nearby. The problem is that these camps are over populated, therefor they cannot satisfy the needs of everyone of their refugees. The few who get their hands on basic things like food and blankets often sell them, by doing this they have created a type of black market. To get money to be able to purchase these items in the black market there are certain jobs but with extremely low pay, and to feed a family when only one member provides money is very difficult. This has lead up to the sale of virgin women. Jordanian, egyptian, and saudi men are constantly on the look out for a young virgin bride. The familys in order to be able to feed themselves and purchase other essential objects, have began to sell the virgins in their family in exchange for a sum of about 300 dollars. This sale even though inhumane, permits the bride to leave the camps, something that many people wish to do but are not permitted to do so.

I believe that this is a position that turns to the instincts of human survival. The refugees are put in a position that forces them to take these types of measures. Now civil war is not exactly a reason to blame only the government because the opposition also creates the violence, but it is this violence between the two sides that forces people to move to the camps. Now the camps are controlled by the government and are supposed to have certain standards, but these don't even obey some of the basic human rights. First of all it doesn't allow the people to leave the premises, which is a violation of their right to freedom. Second of all it is over populated, it has exceeded three times its limit, now this creates a lot of discomfort and it is un healthy, apart from the fact that it is located in the middle of the dessert and disease spreads quickly among the refugees. Only some of the refugees get enough food and blankets in order to fulfil their basic needs, the others are forced to beg and search for even a minimal amount of food to prevent themselves from dying. This obviously reflects on the government because it shows that they are forcing these people to leave, but yet they do not fulfil their basic needs in the camps where they are supposed to be safe, healthy and supported by the government. This can also create violence in the camps because of the battle for food and money between the people.

Danish blasphemy law questioned by church minister

http://www.secularism.org.uk/news/2013/11/danish-blasphemy-law-questioned-by-church-minister

This article talks about how the church wants the abolition of the blasphemy law in Denmark. They argue that this law is a violation to the human right to express their thoughts. They made the comparison to someone who criticised the government, and that it would only affect the people who supported that form of government. The last time someone was trailed because of that law was in 1946 so it is obvious that it has not been an issue and by abolishing the law it will prevent issues with human rights. By abolishing this law people might possibly begin to take drastic actions against the church, something similar to the pussy riot.

I believe that the law should be abolished because it is limiting the right to peoples expression. People have the right to express their religious beliefs in a peaceful way, and if a law prevents it people might have to show their thoughts in more rebellious ways. This is related to what we have seen in class because it shows how laws can sometimes limit peoples rights. It also shows how the government still intervenes in religious matters. The judicial branch should analyse the law to see if it truly limits the human right to expression and if so they should abolish it or make changes.

Afghan schoolgirl scarred in acid attack now a teacher

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-11-01/rest-of-world/43592046_1_acid-makeshift-classrooms-several-other-pupils

This article talks about how Shamsia Husseini was hurt for going to school. In 2008 Shamsia was going to school when a man approached her, and asked her if she was going to school, he lifted her vail and sprayed her face with acid. Out of her rage for these people and her strong belief in education , she returned to school. She is now one of the teachers in Afghanistan, she claims to be doing it because she wants to show that education will prevail. he president Hamid Karzai claimed to persecute the attackers and have them hanged, but they where later on freed.

I believe that this is connected with inequality. First of all because women were victimised for wanting an education. Everyone has an equal right to an education no matter the race, gender or economic status, and no one has the right to take it away. The second thing is that these men who harmed Shamsia should be punished, they violated the human right to protection, to safety, to express themselves freely as long as it doesn't affect anyone, and education doesn't affect anyone negatively. This is the responsibility of the judicial branch, to pursue and condemn the criminals for their crime. Allowing these men to roam the street is a flaw in the judicial branch because clearly they committed a hideous crime.

Russia quashes Halifax couple's hopes of adopting a child- CBC news

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/russia-quashes-halifax-couple-s-hopes-of-adopting-a-child-1.2159683

This article talks about a couple that was hoping to adopt a child from russia and was already finishing the long two year process and hoping to go get their toddler this fall. It turns out that russia decided to suspend all adoption to countries which legalised gay marriage, such as Canada. The couple was devastated since the adoption was only a few months away from being completed. UNICEF estimated that there are about 740,000 children in russia waiting to be adopted and only 18,000 russian adopters.

This article is related to what we have seen in class because it talks about one of the leading issues now a days which is gay marriage and gay adoption. I believe this is also connected with tyranny of the majority because this conflict between the LGBT society and the people against them ends up affecting people like Pam and Adam webber. This also in a way affects the child's right to a family because it limits the people that can adopt a child, no matter weather the couple is gay or not. I believe that if russia didn't want its children to be adopted by gays then they should pass a law that states that children can't be adopted by gay couples, but not block out entire countries just because they legalised gay marriage.

German filmmaker imprisoned for exposing dire Qatar World Cup worker conditions

http://rt.com/news/qatar-german-cup-workers-265/

This article is the continuation of a previous blog post I made. It talks about the Qatar world cup preparation, and the horrible working conditions and salaries. A german film director was the one to bring attention to the subject. Peter Geisel, the director was put in prison without any accusation due to the revelation of this inhuman treatment. The FIFA president stated that he would talk toQatar  authorities, but still the one who has to take care of the situation is the country.  The workers often do not get paid for long periods  of time and have their passports taken away from them and in that way they can't leave the country.

This article relates to what we have seen in class because it is a true example of the negative aspects of certain governments.  If the workers where to protest they would have to file a complaint with the judicial branch since they are in charge of analysing the case and determining if someone is guilty. The problem is that since they are immigrants they might not get equal treatment on behalf of the government. We also see how the majority of the people benefit from the workers cheap labor because they construct the fascilities for the world cup  at a low cost.

New york times: In Indonesia, Environmentalists See a Disaster in the Making

 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/12/world/asia/in-indonesia-environmentalists-see-a-disaster-in-the-making.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=2&

The article I chose focuses on the environmental issue that is happening in Indonesia. Indonesia is one of the country's with very exotic flora and fauna. What is happening right now is that companies are illegally cutting down trees in supposedly protected forests. This creates many problems, first of all the animals who live there are forced to leave their habitat, making them more endangered than they already are.  It also shows that the country doesn't protect their reserves .

This relates with what we have seen in class because the lack of interest on behalf of the government affects the people that live there . The deforestation causes landslides and other natural disasters  so it affects the people negatively. Also it shows how countries that are not so developed  are targeted  by larger companies.  Many times the government is corrupt in this way since they get paid by the companies to turn their heads away to the illegal deforestation

Greatest threat to Muslim world is from within: Malaysia

http://www.australianherald.com/index.php/sid/217393078/scat/b8de8e630faf3631/ht/Greatest-threat-to-Muslim-world-is-from-within-Malaysia

In this article it talks about how people are using religion as an excuse to create violence. It is a war of muslims using islam to be violent. The Sunni VS. Shia. The government states that the extremists are the ones causing this conflict. It is a conflict that tears families apart and harms many innocent people. The prime minister of Malaysia mentioned he believed that  " the greatest threat to muslims today comes not from the outside world, but from within." 


Religion is usually based on peace and respect towards others, forgiveness and other good values. In this situation it is the motive of conflict and this itself goes against its values. It shows how people use every minimal difference they find to start a conflict for different reasons. I can relate this article to what we have seen in class so far because it shows how conflict rises in many places for many reasons, and how it violates the peoples rights. Everyone has a right to express themselves freely, to believe whatever they want and manifest it responsibly. What is happening in the middle east is showing how people are forced to believe in a religion they don't want to, or are abused of because they don't agree with their ideas. To me it is a type of racism since they believe they are not equal but instead one religion is more superior than the other. 

HOW MANY MORE MUST DIE FOR QATARS WORLD CUP? - The Guardian.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/21/qatar-human-rights-sport-cohen

This article talks about how the possibilities of their being a world cup in Qatar will cause the death of many people. The facilities needed for a world cup to take place there would have to be built or at least modified, and to do so they are bringing in people from india to do so. The workers face extreme conditions such as heat and working over 12 hours per day. They live in terrible conditions and are not given full health plans. People go to Qatar with the illusion of a modern, rich, hi-tech country, but when they get there they are placed in miserable conditions. The FIFA Organisation should take more interest in the situation since it is due to their requirements that this is occurring and they would be the ones to help establish good working conditions by influencing the government.

This article is related to the class because it talks about human rights. In the article you can clearly see how the immigrants right are violated and they cannot do anything about it. later on in the article it mentions how the football players are also victims of the Qatari royals. they live under constant manipulation of their contract and when they decide not to cooperate they are forbidden to leave the country. I believe that if this continues to happen and more people die, and people are informed about it FIFA will find another location to host the world cup, or the Qatari royals will improve the conditions and give the workers the benefits they deserve.

Yemen minister on child marriage: Enough is enough. CNN

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/15/world/meast/yemen-child-bride/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

This article talks about the death of a little girl. This case is very rare because she died due to internal injuries after having sex. Normally you would see this situation as rape, but in Yemen it is perfectly normal to engage in sexual activity since it was the girls husband who caused her these injuries. Rawan was an 8 year old girl who married a 40 year old man. There are still certain doubts that this happened and investigations are being conducted. still the government has decided to create a law stating that marriage should be for people both over the age of 18. Most countries have established that policy, making Yemen one of the few countries that allow child marriage. around 14% percent of the girls marry before the age of 15.

I believe that this article is related to what we have seen in class since it talks about human rights. Here the little girls right are violated in a way because she has no choice other than to get married. You can see that here it shows a conflict between certain branches of the government since some want to pass the law and some say it goes against religion. This is a perfect example of an issue that a government faces and has to take action quickly in order to prevent more deaths.

Major studies of war mortality, Iraq; the human cost.

http://web.mit.edu/humancostiraq/
I found this article very interesting, it shows the more direct side effects of the Iraq war, like the refugees. In the war everyone is affected, not only the good guys and the bad guys, but the innocent people who want no participation in it at all. The Iraq war consists on the united states government trying to take over Iraq, obviously in a more indirect manner. the war has been going since a while back, and it has had terrible effects not only on the Iraqis, but on the soldiers as well. Many of the soldiers suffer from PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder). The disorder has caused more deaths in soldiers by suicide than deaths in the war.

This article is connected to what we have seen in class in many ways. You can see how the government starts to give the war priority over the populations health which shows that the government is far more interested in power than the people. You can also see how the governments decisions affect everyone, for governments must rule with equality, some people may be treated more harshly than they deserve to be treated. The refugees are a perfect example of victims of the war who had no other choice, and you can see that in colombia with the guerrilla and other paramilitary groups that force the people out of the country side. Governments are necessary, yet they all have their flaws, in this case it is that the government gives priority to war and not to its people, when it should actually be the opposite.