Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Sheryl WuDunn on Colbert Report

Sheryl WuDunn is the coauthor of Half The Sky (also married to the other co-author, Nicolas Kristof) was on The Colbert Report. Check it out:

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Sheryl WuDunn
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full EpisodesPolitical HumorMichael Moore

Monday, September 21, 2009

Somaly Mam's Story

Thanks to Rochelle who sent me this, I give you Somaly Mam's story. You can also read her story in her book The Road Of Lost Innocence.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Half The Sky

I can't wait to get this book and start reading it. Half The Sky is about the oppression of women worldwide and how a village, a community, a nation can improve the quality of life for all its people by empowering the women that live there.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Cooperation Between U.S. And Cambodia To Continue.

This is awesome news.

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Cambodia and the US will continue to expand cooperation to fight against human trafficking amid the global financial crisis, as vulnerable women and children, especially the poor, can still fall victim to traffickers, US Ambassador Luis Cdebaca director of office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.

“I visited Malaysia and Thailand where also had Cambodian workers there. They have worked at underground economy and we also have concerned about the human trafficking cases and we do not sum up the data or clarified Cambodia in list yet,” he said at a press conference in the US embassy to Cambodia. “We need to further cooperation in combating human trafficking and we have to work team with cooperation other partners including non-governmental organizations,” he said.

“In working with the Cambodian Government, we also sent back home three Americans involved with pedophiles in Cambodia earlier this week,” he said, adding that his visit to Cambodia has been very productive. He met several government officials and other civic partners in fighting human trafficking.

“We need to cooperate the with Justice and Interior Ministries, and law enforcement agencies to strengthen the law, and we need to select specific cases to upgrade cases in fighting against human trafficking. We are concerned about women in failing into sex slavery or brothels.

Ambassador Luis Cde Baca, was appointed by US President Obama to direct the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons at the State Department, where he serves as senior advisor to Secretary of State Hilary Clinton.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Sex Tourists Arrested

This makes me happy - that these men were caught. Hopefully this becomes something that happens more often to deter others from doing so.


Three American men have been arrested in Cambodia and are being transported back to the United States under allegations that they were “sex tourists” having sex with children. They were arrested in Cambodia on charges related to child sexual exploitation, and they are charged in the U.S. under the PROTECT Act. The PROTECT Act allows federal authorites to prosecute Americans who travel to foreign countries to engage in illicit sex with children.

The arrests were a part of “Operation Twisted Traveler,” which involved the cooperative efforts of the Department of Justice, and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to identify and prosecute child sex tourism in Cambodia. The three defendants were identified as a result of information provided to ICE investigators for Action Pour Les Enfants (APLE) and International Justice Mission (IJM).

The three defendants, arrested in separate incidents, are all convicted sex offenders with prior convictions in the United States. They were arrested in Cambodia on charges related to child sexual exploitation, and are expected to appear in court on Tuesday. They are Ronald Gerard Boyajian, 49, of Menlo Park, California; Erik Leonardus Peeters, 41, of Norwalk, California; and Jack Louis Sprich, 75, formerly of Santa Monica, California, and now a resident of Sedona, Arizona.

Boyajian was arrested by the Cambodian National Police (CNP) in February, where he allegedly engaged in sexual activity with a 10-year-old Vietnamese girl in an area popular with child sex tourists known as “Kilo 11,” outside Phnon Penh. Peeters is accused of sexual activity with at least three Cambodian boys, allegedly paying them $5 to $10 for sex. Sporich is alleged to have sexually abused at least one Cambodian boy, and is alleged to have driven down the streets of Siem Riep dropping money to attract children.

At a press conference, United States Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien and Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for ICE John Morton announced the prosecutions and indicated that more prosecutions are likely to follow.

“The men charged in this investigation apparently thought they could pursue their abhorrent desires by leaving the United States to prey on children in another country, but they were sadly mistaken,” said United States Attorney O’Brien. “We are now working closer than ever with officials in other nations and concerned private parties to take every effort we can to identify and prosecute sex tourists, as well as to provide every protection we can to the world's children.”

Assistant Secretary Morton stated: “Sexual predators cannot escape justice simply by traveling overseas to exploit, violate and abuse children. Working closely with our partners overseas, ICE will identify people who travel for illicit purposes. We must protect children from sexual exploitation, whether in the United States or abroad. Today's announcement should send a message that traveling overseas to exploit children will not be tolerated and will not go unnoticed.”

From The Examiner.