Bush First, Obama Second

After more than three months' deliberation, President Barack Obama has finally decided to commit more than 30,000 US troops to the Afghan war. The ‘Afghan surge’ is to be fast tracked over the next six months with a large bulk of the troops arriving before Christmas. The deployment will cost approximately $1 million dollars per soldier, per year, some $30 billion overall. This price tag is on top of the considerable costs (running into the hundreds of billions of dollars) of keeping over 100,000 US soldiers ‘in-country’, while maintaining other US global military operations as well as the on-going fiasco in Iraq. The combined deployment of US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan is close to 250,000 service personnel, which is augmented by the greatest number of private military contractors/mercenaries ever seen (some 100,000 in Iraq alone).

Related Links:
Response to obama Statement "Guantanamo will not close by January 2010" | Award of Nobel Peace Prize to President obama | Vid/Photoes/Report-61 Arrested at White House on 8th. Anniversary of Invasion of afghanistan | Refuelling War ongoing at Shannon airport | Making War through Shannon airport | Open letter to new Ambassador to Ireland Dan Rooney

OPIM men at the meeting in their headquarters,
Jane Jones from Tlachinollan in the foreground
and two Peace Brigades accompaniers
who are delegated to OPIM on the far right

David Salgado was a seasonal agricultural worker who died in the course of his work as a 'jornalero', that is a seasonal migrant worker on an industrial farming operation. His death occurred in Sinaloa state in northern Mexico in January 2007. Deaths in farming are all too frequent worldwide but this case was different, David , who hailed from Guerrerro one of Mexico's poorest states, was eight years old.

Extra Information:
What is the Tlachinollan Human Rights Center?
Tlachinollan Human Rights Center is a non-governmental organization based in Tlapa de Comonfort, in the state of Guerrero, Mexico. For more than 13 years, we have stood by the Nauas, Na savi (Mixtecos), Me' Phaa (Tlapanecos) and Amuzgo indigenous peoples, as well as other poor communities, in their struggle for justice and full respect of their human rights. Two years ago, we expanded from La Montaña to Costa Chica, set up an office in Ayutla de Los Libres, and started working in La Costa Grande and the state heartland. We have a staff of 23 full-time, dedicated people. Fore more, click here.

What is OPIM?
OPIM was founded in 1994 in the Costa Chica region of Mexico’s Guerrero state, in response to grave human rights violations by the controlling Mexican army, including extrajudicial killings, forced sterilizations, rape, torture, and illegal detentions. In addition to human rights defense, OPIM works to transform the causes of poverty and social exclusion that affect the Mepha’a people through community organizing and grassroots community development. For more, click here.

The view of the National Graves Association on the wearing of the poppy.

Related Links: National Graves Association | Royal British Legion website | Indy article (1) | Indy article (2) | Killing fields of WWI (independent article + pics) | The battle of the Somme | A potted history of Ireland during WWI | Another potted history of Ireland during WWI | Royal dublin fusilliers association | Shot at dawn campaign | Waterford county museum articles | G.A.A. site, bloody sunday | Wikipedia on WWI | WWI tourism | Alternative theory for causes of WWI (>10 mins in, watch it for a bit!!) :-) | The FinalCut - pink floyd (wikipedia)

Raul with some of the Cards from Ireland

At the invitation of Guerrero based ´Tlachinollan Human Rights Centre´ I had the inspiring opportunity to witness an historic event last Wed (18th nov 2009): Two indigenous women, both former Amnesty International prisoners of conscience left their communities once more to make a trip to a Mexican Jail. This time however instead of being accompanied by their arresting officers, they went along with a group of local, national and international human rights organisations to make a solidarity visit to another indigenous activist and Amnesty International prisoner of conscience, Raul Hernandez.

Related Links:
More info on Raul | More info on Jacinta | More Info on Obtelia | More Info on Magdalena

View of Mathare built in a quarry

The 21st of November marks the United Nations ‘World television Day’.

Television can be a tremendous force for good. It can educate great numbers of people about the world around them. It can show us how much we have in common with our neighbours, near and far. And, it can shed light on the dark corners, where ignorance and hatred fester.

The television industry is also in a unique position to promote mutual understanding and tolerance -– with content that tells the stories not just about the powerful, but about the powerless, and not just about life in the world’s richest pockets, but also in the developing countries that are home to the majority of the world’s population’.

Slum TV: by Paula Geraghty