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10 Dec 2011 09:53

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World: Three women — two Liberian, one Yemeni — accept Nobel Peace Prize

  • Three examples of strong female peace-fighters: On Saturday in Oslo, the three winners of this year’s Nobel Peace Price — from left, Yemeni Tawakkol Karman, Liberian activist Leymah Gbowee and Liberian president Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf — accepted their honors. The three women were chosen together as a reflection of women’s rights at large. Karman’s case is particularly of note — at 32 she is not only the youngest winner of an award, but also the first Arab woman, one reflective of this year’s Arab Spring movement. Gbowee, meanwhile, led an anti-rape campaign in her country; and Johnson-Sirleaf went a long way in easing tensions by leading the country past a long civil war. Congrats to all three. (Photo via AP) source
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07 Oct 2011 12:46

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World: Is the Nobel Peace Prize’s approach to the Arab Spring the right one?

  • We have included the Arab Spring in this prize, but we have put it in a particular context. Namely, if one fails to include the women in the revolution and the new democracies, there will be no democracy.
  • Nobel Prize Committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland • Explaining how the committee worked the Arab Spring into the Nobel Peace Prize while giving it a broader context — the repression of women. One of the three winners, Yemen’s Tawakkul Karman, has been a leader the anti-government protests in that country. The other two, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and fellow Liberian Leymah Gbowee represent different parts of the issue — Sirleaf is Africa’s first freely elected female leader, while Gbowee led a successful campaign against the usage of rape as a weapon during Liberia’s civil war. As the Arab Spring has plenty of moments which might be considered problematic for giving out a Nobel Peace Prize (such as war and violence), this is a compromise that de-emphasizes all that, while focusing on a quite-important issue. Think it’s the right approach? source
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15 Mar 2011 11:26

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World: Israel captures weapons-loaded ship with Liberian flag, blames Iran

  • Iran is the source of all evil in this region. It finances, supports, encourages and supplies all the terrorist organizations operating here.
  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu • Pointing the finger after the Israeli military found a ship headed from Turkey to Egypt loaded with weapons, which the Israeli government believes was headed to Gaza. “The source of the weapons is Iran, which is trying to arm Gaza,” Netanyahu said in a text message (which is apparently how Bloomberg interviews all of its sources these days). The ship had a Liberian flag. So, let’s see … a ship heading from Turkey to Egypt, with a Liberian flag on it, has ties to Iran? Wait, what? Last month, an Iranian ship headed through the Suez Canal to Turkey – the first time that’s happened since 1979’s Islamic Revolution. Also worth noting – Israel says that Turkey is completely uninvolved in the current incident. source
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09 Feb 2011 10:31

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World: Ex-Liberian leader Charles Taylor plays hooky from war crimes trial

YOU SAY I MISSED THE DEADLINE TO SUBMIT MY CASE SUMMARY BY THREE WEEKS? Well, I’m just not going to go to the trial today. How about them apples, United Nations? source
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25 Dec 2010 21:59

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World: Ivory Coast’s presidential instability leading to mass exodus

  • 14,000 people headed for Liberia, stat source
  • » To emphasize: This is not a trip one takes lightly. The people evacuating the country have been walking for hours and days to reach a river dividing the two countries. At that point, they have to make an arduous journey on a barge to reach Liberia. The level of work they’re putting in to leave the country suggests that something bad’s about to go down.
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09 Aug 2010 09:35

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World: Mia Farrow’s blood diamond testimony contradicts Naomi Campbell’s

  • She said in the night she had been awakened by men knocking at her door and they had been sent to her by Charles Taylor, and they had given her a huge diamond.
  • Mia Farrow • Testifying in the war crimes trial against Charles Taylor – you know, the one Naomi Campbell testified at last week. Campbell claimed she was given “dirty little rocks.” But Farrow’s testimony, which completely contradicts Campbell’s on a key fact, could be very dangerous for the supermodel. source
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05 Aug 2010 09:57

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World: Naomi Campbell’s blood diamond testimony loaded with innuendo

  • I opened the pouch the next morning when I woke up … I saw a few stones in there, they were very small dirty-looking stones.
  • Supermodel Naomi Campbell • Discussing the gift that she took from ex-Liberian leader Charles Taylor at a Nelson Mandela dinner party way back in 1997. Twitter is laughing about the “dirty-looking stones” comment, because, well, it’s funny and odd. But what she said could prove damaging to Taylor, because it implicates him in the blood diamond trade. Campbell had no idea (at least at first) that the stones were diamonds, but her testimony contradicts interviews she’s given in the past. source
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14 Jul 2009 08:35

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World: Facing war crimes charges, a Liberian ex-president remains defiant

  • People have me eating human beings. How could they sink so low as to think that of me? Haven’t they had their pound of flesh yet?
  • Former President of Liberia Charles Taylor • On the 11 war crimes charges he faces for alleged conduct in Sierra Leone, including rape and murder, in pursuit of the money to be made from diamonds. For those unaware of the details of the case, Kanye West wrote a song about it. Taylor isn’t afraid to defend himself, saying in regards to the push to prosecute him, “This whole case has been — Let’s Get Taylor!”  • source
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