How Has it Come to This?

By Dahr Jamail
August 22, 2010

The scene is post-apocalyptic. Under a grey sky, two families play in the surf just off the beach in Grand Isle, Louisiana. To get to the beach, we walk past a red, plastic barrier fence that until very recently was there to keep people away from the oil-soaked area. Now, there are a few openings that beach goers can use. The fence is left largely intact, I presume, for when they will need to close the beach again when the next invasion of BP’s oil occurs...

Click Title for full article

Long-Awaited Cluster Bomb Ban Enters Into Force; US Straggles Behind

Inter Press Service
By Esther Banales
July 30, 2010

The US, China, Israel and Russia are dragging their feet, why?

...Cluster munitions explode in mid-air to release dozens - sometimes hundreds - of smaller "bomblets" across large areas. Because the final location of these scattered smaller bombs is difficult to control, they can cause large numbers of civilian casualties.

Bomblets that fail to explode immediately may also lay dormant, potentially acting as landmines and killing or maiming civilians long after a conflict is ended. Children are known to be particularly at risk from dud cluster munitions since they are often attracted to the shiny objects and less aware of their dangers...

click Title for full article