Peace in Aceh


Aceh is coloured light green.

For 29 years the Free Aceh Movement has been fighting the Indonesian government for independence and this struggle may come to an end soon. On Aug. 15 in Helsinki the two sides signed a peace agreement. The deal hinges on rapid disarmament of the rebels and removal of half of the Indonesian troops in the disputed territory.

The Dec. 2004 earthquake and tsunami actually helped to bring about a peace accord. Having to deal with the crisis helped the sides look beyond their differences. Another factor that helped lead to the peace was the election of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who wants to stop the conflict.

Rich Americans Buy Greenhouses for Palestinians

$14 million has been raised to compensate Jewish settlers in the Gaza Strip who give up their greenhouses to the Palestinians. The donors are American and are techincally giving the money to the Aspen Group who will then redistribute the funds. Many Palestinians rely on jobs provided in the greenhouses, some settlers originally planned on disassembling the greenhouses because they felt that the Isreali government wasn’t giving them enough compensation.

The deal, brockerd by the former World Bank president James D. Wolfensohn, will ensure that the greenhouses stay and the Palestinians can contiune working in them. Ownership of the greenhouses will be transffered to the Palestinians which means that the greenhouses have the potential to become a large contriubution to the Palestinian economy.

Harry Potter the Environmentalist

This is somewhat old news, but it is still good news.

Raincoast Books is the company that is publishing the Harry Potter books for Canada is very eco-conscious. The books have been/continue to be printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper. 30,000 tress may be saved as a result. BoingBoing has more info.

From the link:

Raincoast isn’t the only publisher seeking to put a green tint on the wildly popular Potter books. Publishers from Germany, Italy, Britain, and Israel also comitted to printing Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on large percentages of recycled paper and/or “ancient forest friendly” paper.

Le incautan al dictador Pinochet un millón de dólares en Miami

El gobierno chileno incautó y transfirió a Chile un millón de dólares de una cuenta en Miami perteneciente al dictador Augusto Pinochet.

El pobre hombre tuvo una mala semana. Ayer fue procesada y arrestada su esposa, Lucía Hiriart, y el hijo menor de la pareja, Marco Antonio. La señora apeló a su edad y su estado de salud para ser dejada, por el momento, en libertad bajo fianza. Marco Antonio, en cambio, quedó detenido por ser considerado un peligro para la sociedad.

Luego de haber cometido miles de violaciones a los derechos humanos y ser responsable de tantos otros asesinatos, parece que Pinochet cada vez está más cerca de tener el mismo destino que Al Capone.

(Tomado de Argenpress.info)