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Women's Day hears voice of "comfort women", WWII survivors/victims, for justice, compensation, apology. Japanese Gov denies all

Victim, former “comfort woman” Lee Yong-Soo: ‘This is a war crime, but the Japanese government continues to be deaf.’
Former “comfort woman” Lee Yong-Soo (L) stands beside her supporters holding portraits of Philippine, South Korean and Chinese comfort women who were sex slaves for Japanese soldiers during World War II, at a protest held in front of the Japanese parliament in Tokyo. Japan on 27 June 2007 brushed aside calls from US lawmakers for a fresh apology to wartime sex slaves, even as the former “comfort women” renewed their demands for Tokyo to acknowledge their plight. Japan said the US move to pass a resolution calling for an “unambiguous” apology from Japan for the coercion of women into army brothels during World War II would not damage relations between the two allies. Inset: Recruitment advertisements for comfort women in the Japanese Imperial Army.

surviving WWII ‘comfort women’ in Japanese Army’s “comfort battalions”
Top: Former comfort women want Japan to do more to apologize. Bottom right: Rangoon, Burma. August 8, 1945. A woman who was in one of the Imperial Japanese Army’s “comfort battalions” is interviewed by an Allied officer.

Former Filipino “comfort woman” Piedad Nobleza, 86, outside Japanese Embassy in suburban Manila
Former Filipino “comfort woman” Piedad Nobleza, 86, at a demonstration outside the Japanese Embassy in suburban Manila. Elderly Filipino women and their supporters demanded Tokyo’s clear-cut apology and compensation for wartime sexual slavery by Japanese troops.  read more »

US bailout tab: $3 trillion. Why not rescue Arizona's heritage of Nature? Prevent entire state parks to close due to budget cut

south face of Picacho Peak, Arizona, United States

Roper Lake SP, Safford AZ

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Arizona decides to close most state parks
Facing a multibillion-dollar shortfall, the state will shut 13 parks by June. Several had already been closed. Wrestling with a multibillion-dollar budget deficit, Arizona decided Friday to close nearly all of its state parks, including the famed Tombstone Courthouse and Yuma Territorial Prison. The State Parks Board unanimously voted to close 13 parks by June 3. Eight others had already been closed, and the decision would leave nine open -- but only if the board can raise $3 million this year. The action represents the largest closure of state parks in the nation, although several other states are considering similar moves.

Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park, Arizona

21 of 30 state parks will be closed: The Arizona State Parks Board voted unanimously Friday to begin shuttering state parks, a move that will leave the parks system with fewer than one third of its properties open by June 3  read more »

2010 International Year of Biodiversity. Ongoing extinction at 1000 times natural rate: most species to disappear in <100 years

2010 International Year of Biodiversity. In the logo, symbolizing biodiversity, include fish, waves, a flamingo, an adult and child, and a tree.
Top: baby harp seal. Bottom: green sea turtles
Green sea turtles, whose ancestors evolved on land and took to the sea to live about 150 million years ago, are one of the few species so ancient that they watched the dinosaurs evolve and become extinct.
Top: deforestation; Bottom: Ecuadorian Poison Frog, Epipedobates bilinguis, transporting its tadpoles.

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World's biodiversity crisis needs action, says UN. With species extinction running at about 1,000 times the "natural" or "background" rate, some biologists contend that we are in the middle of the Earth's sixth great extinction - the previous five stemming from natural events such as asteroid impacts.

The United Nations has launched the International Year of Biodiversity, warning that the ongoing loss of species around the world is affecting human well being. Eight years ago, governments pledged to reduce the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010, but the pledge will not be met.  read more »

Call to withdraw fr "futile & counter-productive war" as former USSR President Gorbachev ended Afghan war in 1988

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev, one of the leading statesmen of our time, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990

BNP leader Nick Griffin: "We want to present a moral choice between those parties supporting a futile and counter-productive war and one that says we should be out of there immediately."
Former USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev: "I believe that there is no prospect of a military solution. What we need is the reconciliation of Afghan society."
US Senate candidate Alan Khazei: "We've lost our way, strayed from our mission", "This isn't in our interest as a nation, and it's not fair to our troops."
Gordon Brown hopes to fix Afghan pullout date.

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Left: Alan Khazei; Center: BNP leader Nick Griffin MEP; Right: Gordon Brown delivers the traditional prime minister's foreign policy speech at the lord mayor's banquet in the City of London

calling for immediate withdrawal from Afghanistan, from a futile and counter-productive war

British National Party leader and parliamentary candidate, Nick Griffin -  read more »

Asterix turns 50: France's popular cultural hero born under influence of friendship, desperation & a great deal of alcohol

Asterix, Obelix & their dog Idefix are the characters of a very popular cartoon

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A little-reported ceremony took place a few days ago outside a nondescript apartment block in the Paris suburb of Bobigny. An old man unveiled a plaque to mark the birthplace of one of France's greatest cultural heroes: Asterix.

On 29 October 1959, the first adventure of the diminutive warrior Asterix appeared in the comic magazine Pilote. It was the work of the Italian-born artist Albert Uderzo and his script-writer friend René Goscinny.

Asterix's co-creators Albert Uderzo (left) and René Goscinny with an early drawing of Obelix and Asterix

According to one of their creators, the small, wily Gaul Asterix and his oversized, clumsy friend Obelix were born under the influence of friendship, desperation and a great deal of alcohol. They met at Uderzo's apartment in the Paris suburb of Pantin to dream up a story and some characters for a comic strip to be published in the first edition of the weekly magazine Pilote. At the time, aside from the Belgian strips Tintin and Spirou, French newspapers carried primarily American comics. The founder of Pilote wanted French children to be able to read stories in which their own culture dominated. 'The Gauls,' they thought, 'liked to have a good laugh, to talk big and were bon vivants. I think we've got something there.'  read more »

Boston Under Water action: International climate day, Oct. 24, 2009; Flooded Iowa: water up to roof

Flooded homes in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, June 14, 2008. Days after it rose out of its banks on its way to record flooding, Cedar River has forced at least 24,000 people from their homes.

3,900 homes were evacuated from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where rescuers removed people with boats, officials estimated 100 blocks were underwater, and a railroad bridge over the flooded Cedar River collapsed.

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For years, scientists have talked about rising sea levels due to global warming - both from warm water expanding and the melt of ice sheets in Greenland and West Antarctica. Predictions for the average worldwide sea rise keep changing along with the rate of ice melt. Recently, more scientists are saying the situation has worsened so that a 3-foot rise in sea level by 2100 is becoming a common theme.

An aerial image of downtown shows flood-affected areas June 13, 2008 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  read more »

Merrier and freer on car-free days. "In town without my car!" European Mobility Week in over 2000 cities & towns

European Mobility Week: opportunity for European cities and towns to participate to the most widespread event on sustainable mobility

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After the organization of two successful "In town without my car!" events in the whole of Europe, the year 2002 marked the start of a new initiative, the European Mobility Week! From 16 to 22 September 2009 the European Mobility Week was the opportunity for European cities and towns to participate to the most widespread event on sustainable mobility. A full week of events dedicated to sustainable mobility has been organized in more than 2000 cities and towns.

car-free week, Graz, Austria

European Mobility Week: Vilnius, Lithuania

car-free week, Requena, Spain

European Mobility Week: Budapest, Hungary

Swansea, United Kingdom - European Mobility Week 2009  read more »

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