Author: Darlene Mitchell

Global Sex Trafficking: Part IV-Latin America

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GLOBAL SEX TRAFFICKING:

PART IV – LATIN AMERICA

By Trevor K. McNeil

The Big Picture

Drugs and sex trafficking provide billions to crime gangs

Drugs and sex trafficking provide billions to crime gangs

Drugs and sex trafficking of children add up to big money for gangs & cartels in Latin America. While not as prevalent as in other parts of the world, more of the focus being on the drug trade, Latin America is dealing with its own growing sex trafficking issues. Particularly of young children. Corrupt governments throughout the region have moved at centipede speed in reaction to the crisis.

Comings and Goings

Much of the sex trafficking trade relies on the immigration system. Organized crime groups such as Coyotes and street-level groups like MS-13 work with sex traffickers, to exploit the flow of migrates as cover. This makes it easier to get sex trafficking victims across borders without being detected. Victims are moved to large cities and tourist spots that have brothels, sex tourism bars, strip clubs and pornography centers where traffickers require victims to take part in prostitution and sexual slavery.

Stats

South America is one of the biggest sources and destination locations for human traffickers. About twenty percent of sex trafficking victims are children. Shipped out of their native country and abused by criminals in the United States, Spain, Italy, Canada and the Netherlands.

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Kamala Harris, The Prosecutor

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Kamala Harris: The Prosecutor

By Megan Wallin

An American Dream

She carries herself like a leader. She doesn’t isolate listeners with simplistic statements when she speaks. Her  back story is proof of the American dream. An ethusiastic 20,000 supporters came out in Oakland, Ca to hear her announce her intention to make a run for the presidency. That, and according to Lisa Lerer of The New York Times, Harris “matched Senator Bernie Sanders’s record by raising $1.5 million from 38,000 donors in the first 24 hours of her campaign”. All in all an impressive campaign roll out.  Kamala Harris’ decision to run for president is an obvious threat to other Democratic candidates.

Prepared to Change the Status Quo

As a prosecutor Harris went to crime scene

As a prosecutor Harris went to crime scenes

In an interview with Mother Jones writer Jamilah King, Kamala Harris gives more of her story, her views, and how her education and work has prepared her to change the status quo. She tells King, “This is about my training as a prosecutor. I like to go to the scene, and I do that with almost [any] project. I need to see it and I need to hear it—I need to feel it, almost, so that I can have some intuitive sense, as well as some theoretical or intellectual or academic sense, of what’s going on.”

Something Meaningful

At first glance, Kamala Harris’ background as a prosecutor doesn’t seem like the type of preparation that would lead to being not just a senator, but a social leader, maker of history, and presidential candidate. But Harris grew up watching her parents forge ahead into unknown territory, and—by her own admission—her yearning for something meaningful started at a young age.

Education and Activism

Harris’s mother Gopalan immigrated from Chennai, India, to study at the University of  California-Berkeley for her doctorate in nutrition and endocrinology. She met and fell in love with Donald Harris, a Jamaican-born economics major earning his Ph.D. Rather than returning home to marry someone of her family’s choosing, Gopalan stayed in the United States. Together Harris and Gopalan had two daughters. They raised their daughters nurtured within two combined cultures and instilled them with a respect for activism and academia.

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Killers, Victims and Bystanders

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Killers, Victims and Bystanders

By D. S. Mitchell

Research dog

Screaming Mad

I have spent the last couple of years figuratively and in real-time screaming my head off. I do it on Twitter, on my blog, sometimes just at the television screen, and yes, even at those I love.  I cannot accept what is going on in the Trump administration and my frustration just boils over.

Nefarious Means

I was doing a search through www.calamitypolitics.com archived blog articles when this piece from 2/25/17 came up. It just reminded me that I need to keep screaming and banging the drum of outrage. I grew up with kids from dozens of different backgrounds, of various colors, and a multitude of religious faiths and I learned so much. We as a country are so much better than the Orange George Lincoln Rockwell that has seized the White House by foul and nefarious means.

Brown Bodies

As I read it through my old post from 2/25/17 I thought it was valuable enough for us to take a look at it again. In 2017 Trump told the country that the asylum seekers were those brown “criminals” and “terrorists” from Syria. Today Trump’s rhetoric of hate is directed at the brown “criminals”  and “terrorists” at our southern border. He must be talking about those diapered and shoeless babies running from the tear gas. There is a consistency to Trump’s message. Unfortunately, it is an ugly message that offers no benefit to us as a country. It seems to me the Syrian refugees may have been the lucky ones in this story.

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Just My Opinion:The Respecter-In-Chief

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OPINION:

The Respecter-in-Chief

By Ross Turner

 

The Respecter-in-chief

“President” Trump is well-known for his combative and bigoted rhetoric.  His campaign announcement speech infamously declared of Mexican immigrants: “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”  Classy!  And yet, somehow, not all Americans were united or inspired by such presidential prowess.  They needed more.  Sure, he “has a great relationship with the blacks,” and clearly “love[s] Hispanics!”, but what of Native Americans?  After such dignified displays of respect, was there any even left for the indigenous peoples of this country?  A silly question.  Our Great President oozes respect, like a slimy, lurching slug of virtue, a trail of honor ever in his wake.

“Pocahontas” Warren

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has experienced this trademark respect firsthand.  Beginning on Twitter in 2014, Donald Trump has referred to Warren as “Pocahontas” at least 26 times.  Whether at rallies, in the press, or in governmental meetings, the slur has become easily his favorite insult toward the progressive senator.  Warren earned this distinction both by talking about her family history and criticizing Trump’s policies.  Citing family stories passed down and told to her as a child, Warren has long maintained that a tiny portion of her ancestry is of Native American origin.  She never gained from this professionally or politically, but what are facts except Playdough in Trump’s tremendous, powerful hands?  Not one to let an opponent’s personal history go un-respected, Trump weaponized “Pocahontas” to mock and discredit Warren’s claimed heritage, and in the process, all Native Americans.

He Said What?

We’ve all come to expect as much from the Stable Genius-in-Chief.  But surely, the President of the United States wouldn’t be so tone-deaf, so immature, and so callous as to use this slur at a ceremony honoring Native American WWII veterans.  Imagine a president calling a political opponent “Anne Frank” at a Holocaust memorial, or “Harriet Tubman” at a Civil War commemoration; preposterous!  It beggars belief.  But why believe before you see for yourself?: “You’re very very special people. You were here long before any of us were here.  Although we have a representative in Congress who they say was here a long time ago. They call her Pocahontas. But you know what. I like you. Because you are special.”  Surely, the words of Lincoln and FDR are the rantings of madmen before the oratory of President Donald J. Trump.  With leadership like this, do we even need the rest of government?  Has not the great American experiment all led up to the crowning of this messiah?  Somebody give him more power immediately so that we may unleash the full strength of his titanic, muscular brain.

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Global Sex Trafficking: Part III-Europe

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GLOBAL SEX TRAFFICKING:

PART III – EUROPE

By Trevor K. McNeil

More Than Meets the Eye

Europe is not the first place that comes to most people’s minds when they hear the term “sex trafficking”. Europe is generally seen as a bastion of civility and progressive politics. Particularly by those who live outside of it. In the minds of many, the UK, The Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Norway are Western Europe. However, the continent is huge and varied

Lots of Space to Hide

Russia is among the worst nations in Europe for sex trafficking. The Russian Federation is a massive nation made up of millions of people. The Federation covers 11 time zones and 2 continents. It is also characterized by decades of severe austerity and deep corruption. All of which make it a ripe spot for international sex trafficking. The secret nature of sex trafficking skews the statistics. Sex traffickers moved over half-a-million women and girls from Russia between 1992-2002. The average cost of each woman, $5,000.

Changing World

Corrupt officials, Russian mafia, globalization and the inter-connectedness of that phenomenon, technological advances, cell phones, internet, and fast travel merged to facilitate human trafficking. The changing world has allowed the growth of an international network of criminals who use lies, drugs, imprisonment, debt bondage, exploitation, and abuse to create a criminal empire that rakes in billions of dollars annually through sex trafficking.

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Global Sex Trafficking: Part II-Asia

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GLOBAL SEX TRAFFICKING:

PART II – ASIA

 By Trevor K. McNeil

Denied

Human trafficking is quite simply the exploitation of a human being. Trafficked people typically have limited access to the basic necessities of food, sleep, hygiene, safety and medical care. Traffickers subject their victims to terrible physical and psychological abuse. Social isolation, being one of the worst. Violence and harsh exploitive treatment often leads to serious health risks including HIV/AIDS. Furthermore serious mental health issues result from such treatment. Anxiety, fear, stress, insecurity and trauma are common. The few studies done on the results of trafficking on its victims show high levels of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in formerly trafficked persons. The Trafficking experience can also lead to cognitive impairment, memory loss, depression, and even suicide.

Another Side Of Human Trafficking

Sex trafficking is an element of the globalized human trafficking trade.  The casual observer does not see the harmful consequences of the underground criminal trafficking business. Trafficked children are of course the most vulnerable.  Sadly, trafficking whether for labor or sex or a combination of the two will have a detrimental impact on a child’s emotional, physical, and overall psychological development. Human trafficking is slavery.  Slavery is at its greatest level in human history.

Human Costs

Human beings are social creatures. Social isolation is a devastating result of trafficking. A sex trafficker’s evil intent is to separate a slave from their family and support system. There is no mechanism for the enslaved to reach out for help. The traffickers send victims to international destinations cutting them off even further from empathetic social contacts due to language, geographic and cultural differences. Rescued sex slaves report facing stigma and isolation both during and after their trafficking experience, most hurtful from family and friends.

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Martin Luther King, jr. 1929-1968

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Quotes of Martin Luther King, Jr.

By D. S. Mitchell

Celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr.

The third Monday of each January we celebrate MLK Day. Today we celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. A man who died too soon. Today is a great day to re-read some of his most well-known quotes. Be inspired.

Quotes Of MLK

“The time is always right to do what is right.”

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

“So even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.”

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

“Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.”

“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”

“Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

“I am not interested in power for power’s sake, but I’m interested in power that is moral, that is right and that is good.”

“A right delayed is a right denied.”

“The moral arc of the universe bends at the elbow of justice.”

“Whatever your life’s work is, do it well. A man should do his job so well that the living, the dead, and the unborn could do it no better.”

“We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now.”

“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”

“I want to be the white man’s brother, not his brother-in-law.”

“There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.”

“If physical death is the price that I must pay to free my white brothers and sisters from a permanent death of the spirit, then nothing can be more redemptive.”

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

OPINION: Protecting Freedom Of The Press

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OPINION:

Protecting Freedom of the Press

“Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic media, especially published materials, should be considered a right to be exercised freely”. Wikipedia

By D.S. Mitchell, Jones William & David Shadrick

Bill Of Rights

The “right of the public to know” is among the fundamental principles of the American ideology. Freedom of the press is that guarantee.  Citizens in colonial times were allowed to print or say anything they wanted without censorship. Sounds like freedom of the press. The government, however,  could then prosecute you for what you said using the Seditious Libel law as their basis. The British government appointed Colonial officials to govern the English colonies. Those “colonial officials” made it common practice to punish the press for what they found inflammatory or negative to the crown. As friction grew and colonists increased resistance to British rule more than 1200 cases were brought against colonists for speaking their mind publicly, or in the press. Freedom of the press did not exist.

Madison Steps Up

After winning the Revolutionary war, the framer’s of the proposed Constitution met to define what free speech and other basic freedoms would actually be under United States law.  James Madison was assigned the task. His ideals would form the first ten amendments of the Constitution. British restrictions and unfair laws were still fresh in Madison’s mind. He had a core principle belief in freedom of the press and access to information. A government that allowed for an unrestrained and healthy flow of information must be guaranteed.

The First Amendment

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” That protection guaranteed by the First Amendment of the constitution meant that every American, poor or rich, regardless of religious or political belief could say or publish anything he or she wished without control by the federal government. Madison had protected free speech and freedom of the press.

Publish At Your Own Risk

In the early days, the media consisted of printing presses, pamphlets, newspapers and books. Today, it also includes magazines, radio, films, television, video and the internet. Therefore, the press means any news functioning in any media. Essentially, the free media is a watchdog to inquire and report on government misconduct. It also is a spirited marketplace of ideas, a channel for common citizens to express themselves and gain knowledge on a range of opinions and information. There is an undisputed right to put what sentiments that pleases an individual before the public. That is freedom of the press. If a person publishes  what is later deemed mischievous, illegal, improper, or “secret” he will be subjected to the consequences of his foolish audacity,  and a free speech defense is worthless.

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Global Sex Trafficking: Part I-Africa

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GLOBAL SEX TRAFFICKING:

PART I – AFRICA

By Trevor K. McNeil

As Common As Sunshine

Sex trafficking is one of the most common and lucrative criminal enterprises. Sex trafficking is second only to narcotics trafficking in profit. It is no accident that the two take on similar attributes in terms of root causes and methods. One of the regions worst affected by sex trafficking, particularly involving children, is Africa.

A Matter Of Scope

It can be tempting to think of Africa as a sort of amorphous mass. There are even those in the present day who still mistake it for a country rather that a continent made up of 54 independent member nations. That said, one of the things common to nearly all of them is the tragedy of sex trafficking. International statistics show that 89% of African nations are challenged by the issue.

Economies Of Scale

The most obvious cause for sex trafficking in Africa is severe poverty in many of the member nations. Poverty is a reason both for the traffickers and those who give either themselves, or their children to the trade. At least in cases where choice is involved. The economic situation so dire in many member nations that even a relatively small amount of cash can be enough to induce someone with no previous inclination to get involved in sex trafficking.

Demand

Another major cause in all cases of sex trafficking and particularly on the African continent is supply and demand. A situation created in part by a large population of economically depressed people, combined with fear over the AIDS crisis, and shortage of females. There is a shortage of available women in many countries. This is due to the strong cultural preference for sons, leading to an imbalance of the genders. Similar to imbalances  found in China and other Asian countries.

Risks

Sex trafficking is a relatively low risk activity for the traffickers. Even in nations in which it is expressly illegal, this can also often be gotten around though the judicious careful use of bribes. It is no secret that many African governments suffer from core corruption. A fact which traffickers use to their advantage.

Effects

The physical and psychological effects on the victims is devastating. Sex slaves will often commit suicide to escape another day of rape and abuse. There are other, not so visible effects of the corruption that supports human trafficking such as funneling money into criminal gangs, making their syndicates more sophisticated, better able to payoff officials and better arm their private armies if things ever get nasty. Corruption this deep can have a devastating effect on the security and prosperity of a nation.

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JOE BIDEN: The Unsafe Safe Choice

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OPINION:

Joe Biden:

The Unsafe Safe Choice

By Megan Wallin

**This article was first published in January 2019, three months before Joe Biden announced his intent to run in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. 

Just What ‘Merica Ordered

The obvious: He’s an old, white, male, Catholic, political insider with almost 4 decades of experience in politics. He may be less interesting than Kamala Harris, less hip than Beto O’Rourke, and less compelling than Elizabeth Warren, but Joe Biden has had years to cement his reputation as one of the more trustworthy politicians—if only because he tends to speak his mind, often and for long durations. But even the occasional verbal gaffe seems to work in his favor, furthering his reputation as likable good old Uncle Joe, an “every man”.

Joe Biden is No Ordinary Joe

However, his history has made him everything but an “every man”. Not “every man” graduates from Syracuse University with a law degree while mostly pulling all-nighters and cramming test material. Not “every man” feels as comfortable on the campaign trail as they do on the Late Show. And not “every man” retains sanity in the midst of family tragedy—of which Joe Biden has seen his share.

History of Tragedy

His first wife, Neilia, and their daughter, died in an auto accident in December of 1972, less than a month before he would be sworn into office. Joe Biden was only 30, and one of the youngest senators to date. He was also reeling from the grief and left to care for two young sons.  Although he remarried Jill five years later, and later had another daughter, he would be revisited not only by memories of tragedy past but another death. His son, Beau, died of brain cancer at the age of 46. To this Joe Biden credits his decision not to run in 2016.

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