THE WORLD
From Issue #19
GLOBAL ISSUES
World News Briefs
Read, contemplate, comment, discuss
USA, WISCONSIN- U.S Kitten Killers Rejoice
Residents of Wisconsin voted to legalize the hunting
of feral (i.e., homeless) cats. By feral they mean any cat
or kitten not wearing a collar that does not seem to show
“friendly” behaviour. Wisconsin is estimated to have two million
wild cats. A large group of hunters want to change the law so that
anyone with a small game hunting license can shoot the cats. It’s
hard to imagine what sick joy these people get as they pull the
trigger to shoot a cat. Shooting wild cats has been legal for
decades in other states such as Minnesota and South
Dakota. The cat is America’s favorite pet, with an
estimated population of 74 million.
USD, VIRGINIA - Spam this, Jeremy!
30 year-old Jeremy Jaynes, considered one of the top
ten spammers in the world, has been convicted under new
anti-spam laws. A jury recommended he serve nine years in
prison. He plans to appeal the sentence. Prosecutors said his
spam business sent out 10 million e-mails every day and his
operation made US$750,000 a month. It is estimated that of the
31 billion e-mails sent daily, 40% or 12.4 billion e-mails are
actually spam. The two biggest generators of spam are the
U.S. and China.
PARAGUAY - Indian Tribe Facing Extinction
The government of Paraguay has refused pleas
by conservationist groups to protect a forest area
where a virtually isolated native tribe lives. Many fear this
will likely lead to the end of the tribe, the Ayoreo, nomadic
hunter-gatherers. Their forest lands are being cut down and
converted into cattle ranches. Over the last few decades many
Ayoreo have been hunted out of the forest by American
Christian missionaries trying to convert them to
Christianity. Many of the converted died at the mission
camp from diseases to which they had no immunity.
The Ayoreo word for white people translates
to “people who do strange things.”
ROME - One Pope Leads
To Another
Roman Catholic tradition holds that the apostle
St. Peter made his way to Rome and became the first
“Bishop of Rome”, the formal title of the Pope (which simply
means “father”), thus beginning 2000 years of popes and the
Roman Catholic Church. Today, the Pope is the spiritual leader of
the world’s 1.1 billion Catholics. Polish-born John Paul II was the
second longest serving Pope (26 years) ever, out of an
estimated 261 Popes. He also was the most-traveled, visiting
125 countries during his 104 trips outside of Italy. The new
Pope will enjoy the strong growth of Catholics in Third
World countries, but faces plummeting church
attendance in Europe and
North America.
ANGOLA - Deadly Virus Outbreak
in Africa
Already burdened with AIDS, the country of
Angola struggles to contain the worst outbreak of
Marburg fever the world has ever seen with hundreds
dead. Highly lethal, with no vaccine or treatment, the disease
is killing nearly everyone who gets it. The virus causes severe
flu-like symptoms, internal organs deteriorate and profuse
bleeding occurs inside and out. Biohazard-suit-wearing
medical teams from the World Health Organization,
including many Canadian doctors, are trying to
quarantine and treat the victims. Some of the
medical teams have been attacked by local
residents who accuse them of causing
the outbreak.
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Camel Jockey Slaves
Racing camels is a traditional sport in the Arabian
Gulf region. A winning camel needs a light rider aboard
to steer it. For hundreds of years, young boys from India
were bought from slave traders to ride the rich Arab families’
camels. According to human rights groups, up to 40,000
South Asian boys are still enslaved where some are as young as
four, and underfed to keep their weight down. Finally giving in to
international pressure, the United Arab Emirates, a small Gulf
nation, has agreed to ban child jockeys under the age of 16
and replace them with robots which will be controlled
remotely by the camel’s trainer.
SOUTH KOREA - Testing Robot Soldiers
The South Korean Defence Ministry is planning to
use rifle-wielding robots to help patrol its landminestrewn
250km border with North Korea. The world’s most
heavily fortified border, it is already patrolled by one million
North Korean soldiers on one side and 600,000 South Koreans
troops and 37,000 U.S. troops on the other. The two Koreas
fought a bloody war in 1950-53 and have never signed a
formal peace treaty. The robots will have sensor-activated
alarm systems and TV cameras on board. The project is
being tested this year and if successful will likely
lead to troop reductions on the front line.
INDONESIA - Enough already!
December brought Indonesia one of the largest
earthquakes on record, 9.3 on the Richter scale, causing
a tsunami in which over 300,000 lives were lost in the
region. March brought another massive 8.7 earthquake which
killed hundreds more. April saw a 6.7, a 6.4 and a 6.3: all
considered major earthquakes plus dozens of smaller ones.
Scientists warn of the possibility of at least another huge quake
in the coming months. If that wasn’t bad enough, all this
quaking has woken up some of Indonesia’s 130 active
volcanoes. Over 25,000 people fled one volcano that
started spewing hot ash, and a day later a second
volcano came to life threatening to erupt.
