Archive for category World
Am I My Brother’s Keeper? Thoughts on Giving
Posted by Joe Reciniello in World on January 29, 2010
NEW YORK (YBH.ME) – In 2007, news broke that the Haitian people were so poor that they were eating dried yellow dirt “cookies” to sustain themselves. Yes, you read that right. Three years ago the Haitian people were so poor, they were actually eating dirt. The recent earthquake has merely added to the horror of daily life in Haiti, where the poor number in the millions, basically a majority of the 6 million-plus population.
The poor in Haiti will continue to suffer. Above a man collects dried mud cookies to sell in Cite Soleil in Port-au-Prince.
The promised land for Haitians looking for escape is not the nearby Dominican Republic or Cuba, but 700 miles away, in the United States. Illegally or legally, they mostly come to Florida, Miami in particular. On Lincoln Boulevard in South Beach Miami, a can of Coke can cost you north of $10.00. As you sip the Coke, please consider that a fellow human being 700 miles may be eating dirt to survive. I know I do. Read the rest of this entry »
Theocracy Pays: Iran’s Government Multi-Millionaires List Leaked On Internet
Posted by John Romano in News and Analysis, World on January 11, 2010
WASHINGTON, D.C. (YBH.ME) – A list of the foreign bank holdings of some of Iran’s most influential political and religious leaders has been posted on the internet. The list, first posted over at CNN’s iReport, has caused a stir on blogs and websites that support freedom and revolution in Iran.
The list is not credited to a specific source, and it isn’t clear where it came from. Unrest has been growing in the Persian Gulf nation since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was reelected in 2009, in what many observers see as a tainted election. The list, if accurate, is likely to lead to further unrest as the mostly unelected leadership in Iran, at least in terms of raw power, acquired their authority via religious decree.
Religious leader in Iran, Ahmad Jannati, reportedly holds $1 billion overseas.
Among those of note on the list are Mohammad-Hossein Saffar-Harandi, the former Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance in Iran, who reportedly has over $58 Million is overseas holdings and Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel the former chairman of the Iranian Parliament who is also reported to have $58 million in overseas accounts. Those figures are small when compared with others on the list, like the reputed $500 million-plus held overseas by Iran’s Armed Forces Chief of Staff Hassan Firouzabadi, and the nearly $1 billion held in the name of Guardian Council member Ahmad Jannati. The Guardian Council acts as a clearing house for legislation, candidate selection, and religious edicts in Iran. Read the rest of this entry »
Chavez Seizes Another Hilton Hotel
Posted by Laura Glendinning in World on October 14, 2009
LOS ANGELES (YBH.ME) – Hugo Chavez’s Venezuelan government moved to seize the Hilton resort on the Caribbean island of Margarita, a posh hotel recently visited by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe. The hotel is owned by a local company that is in trouble with the Chavez government. Hilton manages the hotel.
On September 27, Chavez and his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met at the hotel, along with more than 30 leaders from South America and Africa for a summit about regional trade issues, particularly the petrochemical market. At one point during the meetings Mr. Chavez mused that the government could nationalize the hotel.
Iranian Cleric Takes on Regime
Posted by John Romano in World on September 15, 2009
NEW YORK, NY (YBH.ME) – The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) reports tonight that Iranian dissident cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali Hossein Montazeri, has called on Iran’s senior clerics to protest openly against the rule of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamene’i and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Hosein-Ali Montazeri to speak out against President Ahmadinejad
Montazeri, a key figure in the Islamic revolution of 1979 that led to the disposition of the Shah and installed Iran’s current theocratic leadership, was once first in line to the “throne” of Iran behind deceased spiritual leader, Ayatollah Khomeini. Montazeri was effectively demoted in 1989 over public comments deemed anti-regime. In 1997 he was placed under house arrest for speaking out too forcefully against Iran’s ruling cabal. Read the rest of this entry »