Search

The influence of war and conflicts on the work of Dutch professionals in the field of safety and security: In this contribution is reflected on the consequences of conflicts abroad for professionals working in the fields of law enforcement, safety and security in the Netherlands. It is demonstrated how, for example, victims and offenders of honour-based violence and human trafficking have also been influenced by conflicts in war zones before coming to the Netherlands. Next to that, war criminals might also be encountered in the Netherlands. Professionals and students as future professionals should be aware of the damaging influence of these conflicts abroad on the mental state and welfare of victims they professionally encounter in the Netherlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the evolution of the QAnon conspiracy movement and its influence on mainstream culture. It highlights how QAnon gained traction through viral successes on social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube, and how it expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic. The article specifically focuses on two instances, the Wayfair and Balenciaga panics, where QAnon-inspired conspiracy theories about child trafficking and pedophilia spread widely. It also explores how QAnon's paranoid thinking has influenced people beyond the conspiracy theory itself, leading to a widespread fear of pedophilia and the targeting of various individuals and organizations. The article concludes by discussing the connection between QAnon's obsession with protecting the traditional nuclear family and conservative ideologies. [Extracted from the article]

The article shares the inspiring story of Obaidul Kader, who rose from challenging beginnings to become a successful entrepreneur. Topics include Obaidul's early life in a children's home for the children of sex workers, the systemic and societal challenges he faced due to his background, and his determination to give back to the community that shaped him, highlighting the impact of resilience and opportunity on personal transformation.

The article focuses on the conclusion of the Backpage trial, marked by the suicide of co-founder James Larkin and the sentencing of Michael Lacey. Topics include the long history of Lacey and Larkin's fight for First Amendment rights, the role of political and legal pressures in their prosecution, and the broader implications for free speech and online platforms amid rising concerns over sex trafficking.

The article discusses recent actions taken by international organizations to combat human trafficking.

The article focuses on Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar's meeting with Myanmar Deputy Prime Minister Than Shwe, discussing Myanmar's instability, narcotics, arms smuggling, and democratic transition in 30 words.

This article from Writer's Digest provides public speaking tips for indie authors. It emphasizes the importance of communication skills in both writing and speaking, and highlights the benefits of public speaking for self-published authors, such as personal branding and connecting with readers on a deeper level. The article offers advice on how to pitch speaking engagements, emphasizing the need to find venues that align with the author's expertise and target audience. It also emphasizes the importance of tailoring presentations to the specific interests of the audience and incorporating a powerful story that ties the entire talk together. The article concludes by encouraging authors to practice both writing and speaking skills to become effective communicators. [Extracted from the article]

This article provides an overview of modern slavery as an ongoing human rights challenge globally, including in Australia. It highlights various forms of modern slavery, such as forced labor, human trafficking, and child slavery, and emphasizes the scale of the issue, with an estimated 50 million people enslaved worldwide. The article also discusses the association of modern slavery with certain industries and imported goods. It mentions international legal responses to modern slavery and the importance of enacting and enforcing domestic laws. The Australian government has implemented the Modern Slavery Act, requiring companies to report on their efforts to combat modern slavery in their supply chains. While the Act has had minimal impact on global slavery rates, Australian companies are taking their obligations seriously. Australia also has criminal legislation prohibiting slavery, and a recent case highlighted the severity of the issue. Overall, modern slavery remains a significant human rights issue, but Australia is actively working to address it. [Extracted from the article]

In 2000, Congress enacted the Trafficking Victims Protections Act. Since then, all fifty states have enacted anti-trafficking legislation to assist in the fight to eradicate the highly dangerous, clandestine crime of human trafficking. While the media portrays human trafficking in a certain light, these depictions actually make it more difficult for the general public, law enforcement, and victims themselves to identify human trafficking. Two forms of human trafficking exist: sex and labor trafficking. Although labor trafficking is equally as serious as sex trafficking, it remains widely misunderstood and largely under prosecuted. Even the federal government acknowledges the United States’ lack of labor trafficking prosecutions despite its pervasiveness. Considering this, instances of human trafficking tend to increase during major events that attract large crowds, including sporting events. The recent labor exploitation atrocities that occurred in FIFA’s 2022 Qatar [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Francia Márquez, an activist and politician, was elected as the vice president of Colombia in 2022, alongside President Gustavo Petro. Her election marked the first left-wing presidential administration in Colombia and made her the country's first-ever Black vice president. Márquez has a history of fighting for women's rights, racial equality, rural representation, environmental sustainability, and other causes. She faced challenges such as death threats, sexism, and racism throughout her career but persevered to become a powerful symbol of progressive change. Márquez's activism and grassroots organizing helped her gain political support and ultimately rise to power. [Extracted from the article]

A Chinese national, Hoang Thi Diu, has been acquitted by a Nairobi court of charges related to wildlife trafficking. The court found that the evidence presented was contradictory, tainted, and not challenged, leading to the conclusion that the verdict was not incorrect. The case began with the discovery of wildlife trophies, including ivory, rhino horn, and lion's teeth, in the apartment of a deceased Chinese national. The investigation raised questions about the deceased's identity, his relationship with Hoang Thi Diu, and the involvement of another individual, Ali Hussein. The trial process was marked by unusual circumstances, including changes in magistrates and the omission of certain evidence from the inventory. The case highlights the challenges faced by the criminal justice system in addressing transnational organized wildlife crime. [Extracted from the article]

Millions of people worldwide are trafficked. Members of the Alliance to End Human Trafficking, an organization founded by Catholic sisters, discuss their ongoing work and advocacy for survivors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transnational crime is a complex issue that involves crimes crossing national borders, such as cybercrimes, scams, human exploitation, and smuggling. The Australian government has implemented strategies to combat this type of crime, including partnerships with the IT industry and international cooperation. Operation Ironside, a joint effort between the US FBI and the Australian Federal Police, successfully infiltrated criminal gangs using an encrypted messaging app, leading to the arrest of 224 offenders and the seizure of illegal weapons, drugs, and cash. The article also discusses extraterritorial jurisdiction, which allows the Australian government to prosecute its citizens or residents for crimes committed abroad. The Australian government is actively working to combat transnational crime through legal and educational responses and international cooperation. [Extracted from the article]

The article focuses on the rising threat of illegal chrome mining in South Africa, emphasizing its impact on the economy, environment, and community safety. It discusses the challenges faced by authorities in regulating the industry, the involvement of syndicates and the dangers posed by uncontrolled mining activities. Topics include illegal chrome mining, syndicate involvement, regulatory challenges, environmental risks and community safety.

This article explores the growing number of state statutes focused on expungement and sealing of criminal history records. These laws have been amended in many states to make it easier for rehabilitated offenders to have their records cleared, recognizing the negative impact of a criminal record on various aspects of life. The article also highlights the disproportionate effect of criminal records on people of color and the potential economic benefits of removing barriers to employment. It discusses the complexities and variations in these laws across different states, as well as the challenges individuals may face in the process. The article concludes by emphasizing the need for further research on the effectiveness of these laws. [Extracted from the article]

The article focuses on the troubled history of the Refuge Ranch, a faith-based residential facility in Texas intended to help survivors of sex trafficking. Topics discussed include allegations of misconduct, regulatory violations, and the challenges faced by sex trafficking survivors in such residential programs.

A common Jewish Argentine creation story begins in 1889, with 824 Russian Jews disembarking in Buenos Aires and ushering in three decades of massive Jewish migration to that city. In six key themes, this article expands the parameters of that story chronologically, spatially, culturally, and politically. It focuses on the Jewish gaucho (skilled horseman) as an iconic representation of the intersections of Jewish and non-Jewish Buenos Aires; the meanings of neighborhood; the tragedy of 'white slavery'; cultural institutions; Sephardic porteños (Buenos Aires residents); and the Jewish anarchists and socialists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A few weeks ago, the hawala money transfer system made headlines in South Africa when Daily Maverick published an article entitled "#MotiFiles: Inside VBS's R1.3 bn gold-fuelled 'hawala'". This was not the first time that the hawala system made the headlines for the wrong reasons. In 2020, warnings were issued that this ancient payment system poses modern risks, while the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) published a research report in 2023 warning about its operations and misuse by opiate traffickers and migrant smugglers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the role of Yemen's Houthi rebels, also known as the "Southern Hezbollah," in Iran's extended deterrence system. It discusses the Houthi rebels' relationship with Iran and their similarities to Lebanese Hezbollah. The article highlights the military capabilities of the Houthi movement, including their development of long-range strike systems provided by Iran. It suggests that the United States should develop a pragmatic policy to contain and diminish Houthi power in Yemen. The article also discusses the potential impact of the Houthi rebels on Iran's deterrent calculus and proposes various strategies to counter the Houthi threat, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive approach to address the conflict in Yemen. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses two recent developments related to gun trafficking. Firstly, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the sentencing of two individuals for gun trafficking charges. One person was sentenced to 23 years and four months in prison, while the other received a sentence of five years and eight months. Secondly, a bill called the Caribbean Arms Trafficking Causes Harm (CATCH) Act was introduced in Congress. The purpose of the bill is to combat illicit firearms trafficking from the U.S. to the Caribbean and increase oversight of the Coordinator for Caribbean Firearms Prosecutions. The article also mentions ongoing efforts to hold gun manufacturers and dealers accountable for gun trafficking, including a recent ruling by a U.S. District Court in Arizona allowing Mexico to continue its lawsuit against five gun dealers. [Extracted from the article]

The article features the Amara Legal Center, a nonprofit legal services organization dedicated to providing free, trauma-informed legal services to sex trafficking survivors and individuals involved in the commercial sex industry in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Topics discussed include services offered by the Amara Legal Center, one of the most significant challenges in anti-trafficking work, and human trafficking training sessions being offered by the center.

An excerpt is presented from the book "Borderline: Defending the Homefront" by Vincent Vargas who discusses the dangerous job of a border agent, national security in the U.S. and policies needed to balance humanitarian issues against national defense.

The article discusses the highlights of the 2023 American Physical Therapy Association House of Delegates deliberations which underscored the House's commitment to stewardship of the profession for the next generation of physical therapists (PT), PT assistants and students. Also cited are the motions that were presented and adopted during the House of Delegates, such as the motions related to the profession and association and the motions related to societal health.

To comprehend and frame our understanding of human trafficking, four distinct but sometimes overlapping strategies are typically used by stakeholders, wittingly or not, to understand its nature and scope: criminal justice, public health, human rights, and economic analysis. In the United States, research on the phenomenon of human trafficking is growing apace with increased public interest. Human trafficking is now widely recognized by advocates, law enforcement, and researchers as a complex and multi-faceted phenomenon that merits study. The negative impact of trafficking on its victims is profound and can be overwhelming for anyone seeking to intervene or learn more about its dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The estimation of prevalence has been an important part of the process of bringing the crime of modern slavery and human trafficking to wide public and policy attention. The only large-scale estimate of modern slavery, presented with considerable background detail, is provided by the Global Estimates of Modern Slavery (GEMS), produced by two United Nations agencies together with Walk Free, an international charitable human rights group. Measuring the scale of modern slavery is a tough and complicated task. Modern slavery abuses are often hidden, or they may occur in countries where collecting data is difficult due to political instability. Given the challenges in estimating the prevalence of modern slavery, this article discussed some aspects of the estimation process, and reflect on issues it raises more generally for statistical analysis in difficult and important areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Respondent-driven sampling (RDS) is both a sampling strategy and an estimation method. It is commonly used to study individuals that are difficult to access with standard sampling techniques. As with any sampling strategy, RDS has advantages and challenges. This article examines recent work using RDS in the context of human trafficking. We begin with an overview of the RDS process and methodology, then discuss RDS in the particular context of trafficking. We end with a description of recent work and potential future directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the rise and fall of various pedophiles in South Africa, focusing on Gerhard Ackerman, a massage parlor owner and late advocate Paul Kennedy, who targeted young boys and ran child sex rackets. It states that following a courageous 16-year-old's reporting of their activities to the police, their operations came into the public eye. Ackerman faced charges related to child sex abuse, including possession of child pornography.

The article discusses the decline of American conservatism due to the leftward shift of the ruling class, a shift in political stance towards the Constitution, capitalism, and family. It highlights the impact of schools teaching contempt for America, promoting female equality, and the federal government's failure to protect borders and combat drug and human trafficking.

"If you want to kill someone, or to beat the s*#t out of him, we are the right guys," the Besa Mafia site, on the dark web, reads. In February 2016, a user with the username "dogdaygod" contacted the site as he wanted Amy Allwine dead and wanted to make it look like a vehicle accident. He was quoted a price of $6000 for the hit and then provided information about the target's travel plans. After going back and forth, Besa Mafia informed "dogdaygod" that their hitman had been arrested and that since he was in police custody, the job was delayed. The group asked for another $12 000. But in May 2016, the site was hacked and Besa Mafia's customer list was published. The hacker revealed that the site was a fraud. "Dogdaygod" never got what he paid for and moved onto Dream Market, another dark web marketplace to buy scopolamine (a sedative) (Cox, 2017). We all know that it is illegal to arrange a "hit" on someone's life - but this highly unethical activity is only one of the many illegal activities, such as drug trafficking, firearm trafficking and trading, and human trafficking that have found a place on the dark web. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

THE MONEY ISSUE FIELD OF SCHEMES B Molipur, a village of 5,200 in India's northwestern state of Gujarat, is not the kind of place where sporting dreams are made. Davda's Molipur cricket league was not a one-off caper, it turns out. To help, Misha would send Saifi and two Indian men who, like Davda, had played cricket in Russia: Jain and Ashok Chaudhary. When he returned to Molipur two months later, it was Misha - and, according to police reports, two Russia-based Pakistani men named Majid Khan and Mohammed Asif - who put Davda up to building his league. [Extracted from the article]

The Northeast India Women Initiative for Peace On April 29, four days before the fateful day that set Manipur ablaze, and around 500 kilometers away, women from Manipur and Northeast India were meeting for the fourth Northeast India Women Initiative for Peace in Guwahati, in the state of Assam. When Manipur celebrated India's Independence Day on August 15, armed groups belonging to the Kuki community wore military clothing and openly carried sophisticated weapons which are banned under Indian law in the hill areas of Manipur. The third colonization happened when the British took over Manipur in 1891 after the Anglo-Manipuri War, and the fourth took place when Manipur was made a part of the independent Union of India on September 21, 1949. Manipur - meaning "Land of Jewels" - is the oldest surviving state in Northeast India, tracing its history back to 33 AD. [Extracted from the article]

Clothing from SOSUSU Boutique: Staud Ramble Jumpsuit Adrinda "Drin" Kelly Executive Director, Black Education for New Orleans (BE NOLA) "Some of the best parts of who I am are because of New Orleans Black educators", says Drin Kelly. As a critical care nurse, Rena quickly recognized the potential for efficiency and excellence in healthcare operations, and she skillfully implemented strategies that elevated patient care while streamlining healthcare processes. Clothing from SOSUSU Boutique: Leo Lin: Cameron jumpsuit Dr. Claire Melancon Facial Plastic Surgeon Owner & Founder, Audubon Facial Plastic Surgery T his month, Dr. Claire Melancon celebrates the two-year anniversary of Audubon Facial Plastic Surgery. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses the successful joint operation "FLASH-WEKA" conducted by INTERPOL and AFRIPOL in May and June 2023, resulting in the arrest of several human trafficking and migrant smuggling perpetrators worldwide and the identification of thousands of victims. It mentions law enforcement and aimed to dismantle organized crime networks involved in these activities.It also mentions the importance of training and awareness in combating human trafficking and modern slavery.

The article discusses how corruption plays a significant role in enabling and perpetuating the illegal wildlife trade, especially in the Kruger National Park (KNP). It highlights that corruption occurs at various levels, involving government officials and private individuals, and undermines efforts to combat wildlife trafficking.It emphasizes the need for increased oversight and accountability to address corruption in the permit process and law enforcement agencies.

The article discusses the activism against the comfort women system or wartime sexual slavery practice by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II. Topics explored include the apology and compensation being sought by surviving comfort women from the Japanese government, the 1993 statement issued by then Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Kono Yohei regarding the military involvement in sexual slavery, and the historical responsibility of Japan to these women.

The article focuses on human trafficking activities involving pilgrims from Asia to Mecca onboard vessels under the British flag made possible by the opening of the Suez Canal. It details the experience of Captain Carter who had such pilgrims as passengers aboard his ship and was forced to abandon it due to violence by men on board. It offers information on Joseph Conrad's novel "Lord Jim" which was inspired by a real-life story.

The article reports that Justice Minister Naomi Long MLA has confirmed she will not challenge a court judgment declaring that the Justice (Sexual Offences and Trafficking Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 is "not compatible with human rights," following support from three Executive parties for the verdict.

The article discusses the Prostitution Reform Act 2003 and its positive impacts on sex workers in New Zealand. Topics include the increased protection and rights for sex workers, the contrast between New Zealand's model and those of other countries, and the evolution of the relationship between sex workers and law enforcement.

The release of documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case provided some new insights into his lifestyle and the people associated with him. The unredacted information included the names of two former presidents, a member of the UK royal family, and celebrities, although this information was largely known to those familiar with the scandal. The documents revealed details about Epstein's victims' encounters with magician David Copperfield, pop star Michael Jackson, and Prince Andrew. They also shed light on former President Bill Clinton's connection to Epstein, with one victim mentioning having dinner with Clinton at Epstein's villa. Hedge fund manager Glenn Dubin and his wife, Eva Andersson-Dubin, who were friends with Epstein, denied any knowledge of his crimes. The documents also provided information about Ghislaine Maxwell's involvement in recruiting Epstein's victims and her efforts to distance herself from him. Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking conspiracy in 2021. [Extracted from the article]