So much for the promised sanctions within “a day or two” by the U.N. in response to North Korea’s latest nuclear testing missions.  It’s now been over two weeks and a draft proposal has just now been announced.  In the meantime, North Korea has now had all this time to do whatever it is that’s making it so confident in their declaration of war should the sanctions be applied. 

For some reason, the White House is calling this threat “rhetoric “.  I’m not so sure.  It sounds as though the communist country means business, especially since any response to the imminent sanctions has been non-plussed.  The threats haven’t worked and now, it’s culminated to today’s promise by North Korea of a “merciless offensive” should these sanctions be passed. 

So what does the Security Council promise these sanctions will do?  They’ll bite.  Oh, wait…they’ll bite in a “meaningful way”.  The truth is, sanctions imposed in the past have done nothing to slow the development of these nuclear weapons.  North Korea simply isn’t intimidated.  The new sanctions promise to freeze North Korea’s business assets, expand the current arms embargo and North Korea will no longer be allowed any

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financial dealings with any other country on the planet.  These sanctions sound severe enough, but still, the most troubling aspect is the fact leaders in Pyongyang have yet to flinch.  In fact, the country as a whole seems no more concerned than Google is over its new competition, Bing.

The probability of these nuclear testing operations coming to a halt seems to be non-existent.  The country has adamantly refused to cease the tests.  Still, the five permanent nations believe this new resolution will pass on Thursday and are in hopes the sanctions will be enough to thwart North Korea’s plans for further testing. 

The draft includes language that suggests it’s no stronger than the one passed in 2006.  Countries will be prohibited from providing supplies or fuel to the country’s vessels only if reasonable doubts exist over what the vessel is carrying, such as weapons.  Force will not be authorized to ensure these vessels agree to on-board inspections. 

Only time will tell if the latest threats of war will come full circle.  Somehow, this just has a feeling of there being no need for too much time to pass.

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We’ve long since known the horrors of child prostitution, especially in areas such as Brazil (which is sad since Brazil offers some of the most beautiful beaches and is known as a favorite vacation resort, both for these beaches and the beautiful architecture exclusive to this region of the world). What you might not know, and what I certainly wasn’t aware of, are the faces of those abused as well as their family backgrounds and circumstances. Last week, a U.N. conference held in Sao Paulo, Brazil revealed the truth and it’s a picture of both horror and sadness. A statement by Brazil’s president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, says that as many factors there are that contribute to this international problem, it can’t be blamed on one factor and that the educated middle-class men should be targeted since they are the ones “who want to satiate their beastly appetites”. With Brazil being labeled a sex tourism destination with long-standing prostitution problems and specifically, child prostitution problems, it stands to reason this country has a lot to offer to the solution. One suggested remedy is finding a way to enable credit card companies and law enforcement agencies to work together in flagging those using credit cards for such purposes. That seems like an ideal solution, except when you consider this country’s Patriot Act. Designed to protect Americans, it could potentially throw a wrench into efforts of those wishing to single out suspicious charges related to illegal prostitution. Still, there has to be a happy medium, an ideal solution, for this potential weapon to be utilized for targeting these people. Another solution that’s already been signed into law is stricter prison sentences for child pornography in Brazil. It doubles the sentence, but the original law was only a two year maximum, so in essence, those involved are looking at only four years in prison. It’s a start.

Another solution that was suggested looks great on paper, but considering the demographics, it might not be a feasible option. Many lawmakers in several countries are encouraging educators to begin sex education classes as early as the age of ten. It’s a shame it has to be that way, but more importantly, many kids in the hardest hit countries have dropped out of school completely by the time they’re ten, if they ever attended at all. Then there are the parents. Some call them victims, and some call them predators in their own rights. It was pointed out that in Para, an Amazon region, parents prostitute their children for money to buy food for the rest of their families. And in another situation, an eleven year old girl was found living with a 72 year old man. Care to know what it cost him to purchase her? A sack of flour. And if these realities aren’t harsh enough, a fifteen year old girl who was arrested on petty theft was placed in a cell for weeks where she was raped and tortured by the 20-plus men who were in the same cell. She was only allowed to eat in exchange for sexual favors. Not that she had a choice, mind you.

And if you’re wondering how many kids this affects, the numbers shown at this UN meeting revealed more than 150 million girls and 73 million boys are sold or prostituted on an annual basis and many of these assaults are incredibly violent. These numbers reflect kids under the age of 18. Add to all of this the other sexual assaults that don’t include prostitution, such as rapes, child brides and abuse by parents, the numbers grow expeditiously. The common denominator in all of this is the adults who allow it, participate in it and/or encourage it. Therein lies the solution. Still, even knowing the source of the problem, there are no global remedies that will eradicate this social depravity. Bringing the majority of the countries together to throw out possible solutions to the ever-increasing numbers of kids who are victims will go a long way towards a permanent solution. But still, until and unless they invite me to attend, these adults who get away with this will continue to waste oxygen on this earth.

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As many of us are anticipating spending Thanksgiving with our families and friends, catching up on what the year’s brought and, if you’re from the south, justifying pecan pie, homemade fudge and seafood gumbo as a complete meal, we’re reminded that despite all of the gloomy news and ominous headlines of what the new year will bring, we are fortunate enough to live our lives with no fear of acid being thrown in our faces for simply wanting to obtain an education.

Atifa Bibi, 14 year old schoolgirl injured with acid

lies in a hospital bed, recovering from burns on her face and body. Kandahar’s governor, Rahmatullah Raufi, said the men would be tried in open court. That’s a start, but what the punishment will ultimately be is not yet known. If the president has his way, they’ll certainly be hung in public provided they’re found guilty (and it seems as though they’ve admitted to having done this). This case has caught the attention of the entire world and the UN is calling it a hideous crime. Even the First Lady has called these men cowards. This isn’t the first attack on girls who are attempting to obtain educations. Still, these girls continue to insist on going to school and say they won’t be frightened out of going, despite their injuries. If this isn’t a reminder to appreciate and give thanks to the freedoms we have in this country, I don’t know what is.

So, how do we feel about the acid toss prior to the hanging? Is it acceptable? We know it isn’t how things are done on American soil, but these men knew they risked losing their own lives if they were caught, whether their actions resulted in the death of any of these girls or not. The fact their only justification was to prevent these girls from bettering themselves makes it that much more despicable. According to UNICEF, there were over 230 attacks on schools in 2007 with the goal of forcing boys out of the classrooms and onto the battlefronts. This doesn’t include suicide bombings near school yards, kidnappings and threats to families who agree to allow their daughters to attend school. This has forced many from not being able to attend classes, simply because they fear the repercussions. The US Government says all of these attacks can be traced back to the Taliban. Since 2001, it’s been reported the Taliban grows weaker each day. Hopefully, there will be some way to eradicate this group of evil souls to the point that they are no longer a threat to anyone, except maybe themselves - they do seem to thrive on suicide bombings.

One thing about it, as we’ve learned over the past several years, punishment is swift and usually just to those breaking the laws in this region of the world. It’s not unrealistic to believe these men, again, provided they’re found guilty, will receive their punishments in a matter of days, versus America’s typical wait time on death row being measured in years. Attorneys aren’t even necessary, as justice is defined in different terms.

So as we anticipate the rest of this week and make our own battle plans for our 4 a.m. shopping trips Friday morning, stories like these are the very reason we shouldn’t take our own legal system for granted.