Slavery

(copyright Monte Wolverton) Slavery was officially abolished worldwide at the 1927 Slavery Convention. Article 4 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms”. Slavery is illegal everywhere and yet it still exists everywhere. Experts estimate that today [...]

Yep just like the olden days. All those slaves, walking around, getting paid more money in one week than most of us will see in our entire lives, to do something they love, with the devoted backing of literally millions of fans, with huge companies bombarding them with yet more obscene amounts of money, all whilst being surrounded by many many beautiful women, while being backed up by a team of pe

Slavery In Modern AmericaThe conviction and sentencing of Mahender and Varsha Sabhnani, for the torture and enslavement of two Indonesian maids, has once again brought to the forefront the issue of slavery in modern America. This case, which made international headlines, in part because of the International cast of characters as well as the reported wealth of the perpetrators, was colored with s

Muttontown, New York - It is hard to believe that people still practice slavery all over America and the world. Today Central Islip N.Y. Varsha Sabhnani, 46, was convicted of forced labor, conspiracy, involuntary servitude and harboring aliens. The two women from Indonesia were beaten, tortured, starved and made to sleep on a mat in the kitchen. Sabhnani received 11-year prison sentence as he

Hundreds of people have been arrested and 21 children rescued in what the FBI is calling a five-day roundup of networks of pimps who force children into prostitution. The Justice Department says it targeted 16 cities as part of its "Operation Cross Country" that caps off five years of similar stings nationwide. In all, authorities arrested 345 people — including 290 adult prostitutes — during

The 13th Amendment is actually the act that abolished slavery as anything legal permanently in the United States, although the Emancipation Proclamation made it clear to the South that slavery was no longer to be tolerated. The horrendous mistreatment of black slave people in the United States is in fact noteworthy, although slaves are not noted to have been well treated by anybody on Earth, perha

To get back to American slavery: the first record of enslavement of Africans by colonial Americans is from Virginia, in 1619. A Dutch ship called “The White Lion” had captured 20 enslaved Africans in a battle with a Spanish ship that had been taking them to Mexico. This Dutch ship, after being damaged in a storm, came to shore in Jamestown, Virginia. The first English colony in America was in

The blog of jonnyob has some interesting thoughts on the economic system. My point with this digression into history is that there will always be oppressors and the oppressed. Like many young people I had assumed that feudal and class systems were a thing of the past. However, the more I studied finance the more I [...]

Although outlawed in nearly all countries today, slavery is still secretly practiced, in a kind of shamefaced subterranean way, in many parts of the world. It has been opposed for as long as it has existed, as it deprives enslaved people of basic human, civil and legal rights, and oppresses entire huge groups over time. The Bible mentions it frequently like it’s something good, which it is not.

In this series of articles, I will attempt to relate the conditions which led to the racism that was so prevalent in the America South during the 1960s, which led to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s successful attempts to combat racial segregation by basing his program in Birmingham, Alabama. Although he was finally assassinated in Tennessee, Alabama was truly his base of operations for his program

In a recent interview with the Associated Press, New York Senator and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton invoked references to the abolition of slavery in making the case for the seating of Florida and Michigan delegates. "This work to extend the franchise to all of our citizens is a core mission of the modern Democratic party," she said. "From signing the Voting Rights Act and fighting racial

Product Details * Amazon Sales Rank: #1993803 in Books * Published on: 1998-03 * Number of items: 1 * Binding: Paperback * 159 pages Customer Reviews Points out many inconsistencies regarding the Donaldson case4 In his book, Psychiatric Slavery, Szasz makes the comparison of involuntary institutionalization and slavery. The book primarily discusses the case of Kenneth

Dear friends, the link below is a report (in Arabic) stating that Kuwait is not advancing with re-writing the (anti-)Salavary laws. I am trying to translate it into English, but here is the PDF in Arabic: Please pray that his Highness can issue an Urgent new law to cancel the sponsorship laws and modify the laws that should [...]

Considering recent legislation in favor of reparations to blacks from corporations that have profited from financing slavery like JP Morgan Chase, Aetna and others, do you agree or disagree that modern African Americans deserve an apology for the wrongs committed against their ancestors during the slave trade in America?  Would you consider what happened to the slaves and those 6 million or more that were lost in the Atlantic during the Diaspora a genocide?

Abraham Lincoln's 1864 anti-slavery letter was auctioned at $3.4 Million at Sotheby's auction house on March 28, 2008. This letter was the president's response to children asking that he free "all the little slave children".Lincoln's hand-written reply to a petition by children to free "all the little slave children in this country" surpassed the previous record for a Lincoln manuscript -- the $3.1 million for a document sold by Christie's in March 2002.It was purchased by an American collector bidding by telephone, Sotheby's said."Please tell these little people I am very glad their young hearts are so full of just and generous sympathy, and that, while I have not that power to grant all they ask, I trust they will remember that God has, and that, as it seems, He wills to do it," Lincoln

Essay on slavery is an assignment close to a History research paper and an English term paper. You will have to apply your writing skills while describing different historical processes. So, your essay on slavery is basically a combination of the papers.   Here are some useful essay tips for you to complete your essays on slavery: Your [...]

By Walter Williams - Townhall   Both chambers of the Commonwealth of Virginia’s General Assembly passed a resolution saying government-sanctioned slavery “ranks as the most horrendous of all depredations of human rights and violations of our founding ideals in our nation’s history; and . . . the abolition of slavery was followed by . . . systematic [...]

Human rights organizations, as well as political and social ones, are condemning what they are calling a new form of inhumane exploitation in the United States, where they say a prison population of up to 2 million - mostly Black and Hispanic - are working for various industries for a pittance. For the tycoons who [...]

Montesquieu’s most influential work divided French society into three classes (or trias politica, a term he coined): the monarchy, the aristocracy, and the commons. Montesquieu saw two types of governmental power existing: the sovereign and the administrative. The administrative powers were the legislative, the executive, and the judiciary. These should be separate from and dependent [...]

I know must people sees the title and think when blacks were slaves. What I really want to say is that today, we are all slaves!The reason why I say this is because I have come to realise that no matter how much money we make, we will forever be unhappy (the most of us anyway). I strongly believe that this is deliberate. The few up power have come up with a way to make is think and behave as modern slaves.Back in the day, slaves had to work very hard and be content with a roof over their heads and a little food to eat. Today, that would be unacceptable. Instead, you groomed to fit the middle class stereotype. In this class, you work long hours and barely have time to spend with your family. All this to be content with a small % of what all your hard work produces. Here's a little example.

The New Jersey Assembly approved a resolution today to make a formal apology for the practice of slavery within the state until it was abolished in 1846.Ok, folks. 1846 was 162 years ago, unless I've forgotten even the most rudimentary math skills. 162 years ago. This gestures goes way beyond symbolic and into the realms of flat-out absurdity.Were YOU alive 162 years ago when the last slave in New Jersey was freed? You weren't? Really? Neither was I. Going based on average generation length - 25 years - that was more than 6 generations ago. Can you tell me what in the hell this apology NOW does for someone's great-great-great-great grandmother or grandfather?If you answered "nothing", you win the prize. It really seems like politicians in this country have been stricken with an un

Yesterday, I happened to watch a documentary on slavery in Coco Cultivation in W.African States esp. Ivory Coast on BBC world channel. People especially children are forced to work in the coco fields day and night while there counterparts in Asia and America can enjoy chocolate! They are abused, tortured and face starvation. Many leaders in fact plead ignorance over this issue! The prices of

Yesterday, I happened to watch a documentary on slavery in Coco Cultivation in W.African States esp. Ivory Coast on BBC world channel. People especially children are forced to work in the coco fields day and night while there counterparts in Asia and America can enjoy chocolate! They are abused, tortured and face starvation. Many leaders in fact plead ignorance over this issue! The prices of

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A wealthy New York couple were found guilty on Monday of forced labor charges after being accused of keeping two Indonesian women as slaves in a dramatic verdict that resulted in the wife fainting. Indian-born Varsha Mahender Sabhnani, 35, and Mahender Murlidhar Sabhnani, 51, were convicted of charges including forced labor, harboring illegal residents and conspiracy in what prosecutors dubbed a "case of modern-day slavery." Varsha Sabhnani and one of the couple's daughters fainted after a jury in federal court in Central Islip, New York, found them guilty of 12 counts, a court official said. They each face up to 40 years in prison. The judge ordered the jury to return Tuesday so each juror could be individually polled to confirm the verdict. Both Varsha Sabhnani and her daughter were taken to hospital for treatment. Prosecutors said the couple, both U.S. citizens, brought two women, identified only as Samirah, 51, and Enung, 47, to the Uni

The maid, wearing rags on her back, had been tortured for more than five years when she wandered into a Dunkin' Donuts on Mother's Day morning. Wounds oozed from her ears; her body was covered with scars. Her story of painful, degrading abuse was corroborated by a co-worker found later that day, cowering in a small closet under the basement stairs of an elegant Long Island mansion. Both women received medical treatment. It was the woman who inflicted the abuse on the maids who ended up in the hospital Monday. After guilty verdicts against her and her husband were read, Varsha Sabhnani fainted and collapsed to the courtroom floor."This did not happen in the 1800s," Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Lesko said in closing arguments. "This happened in the 21st century. This happened in Muttontown, New York."In his closing argument, Lesko said the poorly educated women barely eked out a living in Indonesia and came to the U.S. to work as housekeepers for $100 or $150 a month — all of which

For those who doubt if slavery still exists today read this, Simon Deng was a slave, his is a terrifying, fascinating story. As far as I can tell Islam is the only religion that advocates slavery, if I am wrong please let me know.

Omg it's Sunday morning, I can't believe I woke up this early at 830am even though i turned in at about 3am plus last night! Oh yes, last night I went town man…and then for supper with friends. I MISS SG SO MUCH LA. I MISS CHUSSSS….That's why I just had to go out. Drove to town with Dog, then picked up Wenquan at his Starhub roadshow, then we went off to West Coast McD because I miss the McSpicy burger! I'm so sorry everything has gotta do with missing. Lol. I really wasn't kidding when I said I missed home. I even got homesick in Malaysia! Well right now, I'm downloading my photos from my camera to my PC. 284 photos will take SOME time. Oh and plus some other photos on my sister's camera too. Man, these compilations WILL take some time. And worse still, I am due for reservist from the 10th to the 26th December. YES, the 10th starts TOMORROW, a Monday. Arghhh…How bad can things get. I don't get to enjoy my short holiday in th

Islam has a long history of slavery, in fact many of the africans sent to America were captured by moslem slave traders and sold to the shipping agents. Slavery still exists today in northern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. The justification for slavery is as follows. (more...)

The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, 2 December, recalls the date of the adoption in 1949 by the General Assembly, of the United Nations Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others [resolution 317(IV) of 2 December 1949].Abolition of the slavery in all its forms remains major priority for the Humanity. Slavery was, in a very real sense, the first international human rights issue to come to the fore. It led to the adoption of the first human rights laws and to the creation of the first human rights non-governmental organization. And yet despite the efforts of the international community to combat this abhorrent practice, it is still widely prevalent in all its insidious forms, old and new.Contemporary slavery takes various forms and affects people of all ages, sex and race. Human Trafficking, the exploitation of the prostitution, child abuse, child work and many others kinds of slavery and slavery-like pra

Is there such a thing as maintenance free gardening? No. Is there such a thing as easy gardening? No. Is gardening hard physical labor? Sure is.... so why do it? Why expend all that effort?Because of love. That's right, we are love-slaves to our gardens.It is because of the many things that a garden can satisfy within us that we gladly serve it. A closeness with the earth... there is no place where you can intimately know things about nature more than in a gardened place. It satisfies the curiosity to observe the seasons, the life cycles of insects and birds...sometimes other visiting animals, and the ever changing panoply of the plants themselves. It connects you with something larger than yourself, and teaches you about lessons that man-made life leaves out: that we don't have all the control. That alone is worth the price of admission to the gardened life.Then there is creativity and beauty. As humans we long for beauty, our eyes are never satiated with enough beauty, and our soul

When one gets a complete grasp of the picture, the tragic absurdity of our hopeless position is almost incredible, but there it is.The money scam is so humongous that it's hard to conceive; it's the cornerstone of our slavery.Money nowadays (i.e. the fiat currency we have learned to identify as money) is nothing more than debt.And this for the mere reason that 95% of the money supply (i.e. the total amount of money in the economy) is created out of thin air by the commercial banks as debt whenever a new loan or mortgage is signed.Banks don't lend money; they simply create it as debt.However, it is much more significant to note that whilst the Bank of England is now state-owned the fact is that our money supply is once again almost entirely in private hands, with 97% of it being in the form of interest bearing loans of one sort or another, created by private commercial banks.Indeed this is now where the real power resides -- with commercial banking.The Bank of England is now essentia

An Indonesian woman, one of two who were allegedly enslaved and tortured by a wealthy Muttontown couple, testified yesterday about her contented life before she came to work as their housekeeper in the United States.Speaking through a court interpreter at the trial of the couple in the U.S. District Court in Central Islip, the 51-year-old woman named Samirah -- who appeared to be no more than four-and-a-half feet tall and weighing about seventy-five pounds -- talked positively about having a bed, time off, and pay when she worked as a maid in Saudi Arabia and as a rice vendor in her Indonesia.The Muttontown couple, Mahender Sabhnani and his wife, Varsha, also are accused of harboring Samirah, and the other Indonesian woman, named Enung, as illegal immigrants. Many Indonesian use only a single name.Federal prosecutors Demetri Jones and Mark Lesko have said the Sabhnanis deprived the two women of an adequate diet, forced them to sleep on mats, gave them no time off and no direct pay, and

When I first moved to this small, conservative, Dutch-Reformed, Western Michigan town, it was hard to adjust to some of the longtime residents customs. Our first big run in with the neighbors occurred about 3 weeks after we moved in. On a fine sunday afternoon, after lunch with the family I was instructed to go and mow the lawn. Where I used to live this would be no problem at all. I grew up in a predominantly catholic town, which was about 25 minutes outside of Chicago. It was a fairly large town, with good people and amazingly good times. Back to the story, so I grabbed the lawnmower and started it, and proceeded to mow the lawn. About 10 minutes into my task a neighbor came by and asked me what I was doing, I looked at him like he was a moron, so he went and knocked on the door and asked for my mother.  He then proceeded to tell her, in a fashion that i found out later to be typical dutch reformed snobbery, that in this town we don’t do “manual labor” on

Slavery AbolishedOriginally uploaded by El Marco.A tip of the turban to Dymphna at Gates of Vienna for pointing us to this Power Point Presentation on the Early Native Americans Muslims. One of her readers says this presentation was given at an Islamic school in New Jersey. The presentation conveniently ignores the fact that Islam institutionalized slavery: Answering-Islam.org, SLAVERY IN ISLAMHowever, few people in the west know about Islam and slavery. Most would be surprised that Islam authorizes the taking of slaves as spoils of war. From the days that Muhammad drew his sword to rob and conquer non-Muslims to this very day, Muslims have been taking non-Muslims, and even other black Muslims, as slaves. Muslims were enslaving black Africans long before any slave ships sailed for the New World. Muslims were taking and making slaves all over the lands they had conquered. Later, when slave ships were loaded with black slaves, often, a Muslim slave broker had the human cargo all ready

Australian film crews stumbled upon a shocking discovery while filming a documentary on Algerian refugees. The findings will be presented to U.S. based human rights groups, legislators, and media.You really want to know what is sad about all this? O.k. liberals, brace yourselves:This area is monitored by the United Nations!!!!

Update on this story: Mauritania's parliament has unanimously passed legislation making the practice of slavery punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The new law also stipulates that anyone found guilty of promoting or being an apologist for slavery could face two years in jail. A Mauritanian anti-slavery group, SOS Slavery, welcomed the law as a victory for the people of Mauritania. ... SOS Slavery says there could be up to 600,000 slaves - many of them used as bonded labour - in Mauritania. Source: "Mauritanian MPs pass slavery law," BBC News, August 9, 2007 Technorati tags: bad thinking • Mauritania • slavery

It is hard to believe that in this day and age, slavery is alive and well all across the globe. This often is practiced with the complicity of government officials and business leaders. Today I am going to look at this horrid practice in relation to just one issue- chocolate.The stage- the Ivory Coast in Western Africa. The scene- thousands of children plowing away as slave labor in large cocoa plantations wielding machetes as they work countless hours. The year- 2007! The result- the chocolate you consume in the forms of candy bars and other delectable pleasures. Yes, that’s right. That glass of chocolate milk at breakfast or those candy bars that your kids sell at school for the latest fundraiser are the products of slave labor. Not a pleasant thought, huh?This sad saga is nothing new. Unfortunately, though, to date nothing substantive has been done about it. Oh there was the ‘outrage’ expressed way back in 2001 by the US Congress. There was the threat to require chocolate ma

Download This is the VOA Special English Development Report. The United States has accused several of its Arab allies of being among the worst offenders of human trafficking. The State Department last week released its "Trafficking in Persons Report" for two thousand seven. The report rates efforts by one hundred sixty-four countries and territories to end modern-day slavery. It

الكويت على لائحة الاتجار بالبشر بسبب نظام الكفيل الكويت على لائحة الاتجار بالبشر 13/06/2007 – القبس ادرجت الخارجية الاميركية الكويت ضمن 16 دولة في العالم على اللائحة السوداء للاتجار بالبشر. وقال مدير مكتب مراقبة ومكافحة الاتجار بالبشر في الخارجية الاميركية مارك لاغون ان الكويت وقطر وسلطنة عمان حلت في اللائحة السوداء محل زيمبابوي واللاوس وبيليز، مشيرا بذلك الى ان دول مجلس التعاون الست باستثناء الامارات ضمن لائحة الدول المعرضة لعقوبات فيما يتعلق بالغاء المساعدات الاميركية. وتحدث التقرير عن ابرز ممارسات الاتجار بالبشر منها الاستعبادية والاستغل

John Dominic Crossan in his latest book God and Empire: Jesus Against Rome, Then and Now demonstrates that there were at least three "Pauls" in the New Testament, four if you count the Paul of Acts. This is from the fourth chapter of Crossan's book, "Paul and the Justice of Equality." Of the 13 letters attributed to Paul, seven are authentic by scholarly consensus. Three are disputed, probably not Paul. Three are certainly not Paul. Crossan labels them in order, radical, liberal, conservative (reactionary):The seven authentic, certainly Paul letters (Radical)RomansI Corinthians (except I Corinthians 14:33b-36)II Corinthians GalatiansPhilippiansI ThessaloniansPhilemonThe three disputed letters, probably not Paul (liberal):EphesiansColossiansII ThessaloniansThe three certainly not Paul, even anti-Paul (conservative/reactionary):I TimothyII TimothyTitusTo illustrate, here is a passage from the authentic Paul (Galatians 3:28) 28There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer sla

A millionaire couple accused of keeping two Indonesian women as slaves in their luxurious home for years and viciously inflicting abuse for perceived offenses have been indicted on federal slavery charges.Varsha Mahender Sabhnani, 35, and her husband, Mahender Murlidhar Sabhnani, 51, who operate a worldwide perfume business out of their Long Island home, were arrested last week after one of their servants was found wandering outside a doughnut shop on the region's so-called Gold Coast.One of the women also told authorities she was cut behind her ears with a pocket knife and both were forced to sleep on mats in the kitchen. They were fed so little, they claimed, that they were forced to steal food and hide it from their captors.The women legally arrived in the United States in 2002; the Sabhnanis then confiscated their passports and refused to let them leave their home, authorities said. Identified in court papers as Samirah and Nona, the women said they were promised payments of $200

A millionaire couple were arrested on federal charges that they kept two Indonesian women as slaves in their swank Long Island home for more than five years, beating and abusing them and paying them almost nothing.Authorities uncovered the alleged abuse after one of the women was found by police wandering outside a doughnut shop Sunday morning wearing only pants and a towel. The homeowners, Varsha Mahender Sabhnani, 35, and her husband, Mahender Murlidhar Sabhnani, 51, entered not guilty pleas Tuesday at their arraignment in U.S. District Court in Central Islip and were ordered held pending a Thursday bail hearing.Prosecutors said the women had scalding water thrown on them and were forced to repeatedly climb up and down stairs and take as many as 30 showers in three hours -- all as punishment for perceived misdeeds. In one case, prosecutors said, one woman was forced to eat 25 hot chili peppers at a time.One woman told authorities she was cut behind her ears with a pocket knife and b

In his classic work The Secret of Mary, St. Louis Marie de Montfort explains that, "..there are three kinds of slavery. There is, first, a slavery based on nature. All men, good and bad alike, are slaves of God in this sense. The second is a slavery of compulsion. The devils and the damned are slaves of God in this second sense. The third is a slavery of love and free choice. This is the kind chosen by one who consecrates himself to God through Mary, and this is the most perfect way for us human beings to give ourselves to God, our Creator." (The Secret of Mary, No. 32, Montfort Publications, p. 271).And, in The Love of Eternal Wisdom, Montfort says, "For exterior and voluntary mortification to be profitable, it must be accompanied by the mortifying of the judgment and the will through holy obedience, because without this obedience all mortification is spoiled by self-will and often becomes more pleasing to the devil than to God...By holy obedience we do away with self-love, which spoi

To the anonymous commenter who left a great article on slavery in the chocolate manufacturing industry and one man's effort to change it: The "anonymous" feature in "Comments" on these blogs is a... [[ Hi! This is a content summary only. Visit my site for the complete story, images, links, and other fun things. You'll be glad you did! ]]

Did you know that there are around 27 million people in slavery today? Many of those people are right here in the united states. Human trafficking is something that has been heavy on my heart for quite some time now, and I believe it is something heavy on the heart of our saviour. When we think of human slavery, it's easy to dismiss it as a problem only in the third world, but some experts are saying there could be as many as 2 Million people in slavery in the united states. Most of these people are young women who are forced into the sex trade and 50% are children. My heart breaks over this issue, and I hope you'll take a moment to read the article and take a look at the video I've attached. I, along with Tapestry (the church I pastor), will be getting heavily involved in this matter and I would encourage you to pray about what you can do.Short Documentary: http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/Trailer01.aspxTrailer (Not for sale Campaign): http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/Tr

I do not want to sound crude when I discuss the new apologies for slavery, but when it was discussed on the New Republic I felt it was an important issue to discuss.I agree that individual state governments and the federal government should pass resolutions expressing regret and apologies for the institution of slavery. However, I have overheard some discussion of "slavery reparations," I disagree with this idea for one main reason. I do not believe that there is one living individual who was enslaved. Families are able to trace their lineage to former slaves, however they did not suffer and they therefore do not deserve to be paid for others suffering.Our country and government has larger problems, and handing out money to families of former slaves is not going to change anything. I perso

Socialism is a system that depends on all individuals agreeing to work towards the common good of its community. This system is only possible if everyone cooperates willingly. Unfortunately for you there are individuals, like me, who disagree to work towards the good of the community. I wish to work to further my own selfish desires. There are only a couple of options for socialism to work. One is to form a small commune of individuals who agree with socialism, and all work towards the good of one another without interfering with the rest of society. The other option is to create a government system that forces individuals to comply with your philosophy. Any system, such as this, would have to force every individual to work for the good of everyone else. It is your individual choice if you wish to live your life for others, this is a right that is only taken away by force. Those of you who hold socialism as your own personal credo, you are not a concern. But those of you who use the g

The State of Maryland has issued an apology for its role in slavery. Sort of. The resolution notes that slavery “fostered a climate of oppression not only for slaves and their descendants but also for people of color who moved to Maryland subsequent to slavery’s abolition.” I can get with that. The role played by the US government and its sovereign states in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade should be spoken about openly. It should be spoken about as commonly as Jamestown - and that includes how the US prospered as a result. You don't move forward by sweeping things under the rug....well, maybe dysfunctional families do but we all know America is not dysfunctional. O_o I think part of the ire felt by many Blacks is the practice of minimizing - minimizing bigotry, minimizing the effects of institutional racism, minimizing pain, minimizing experiences, minimizing humanity.So while this gesture is small it goes a long way toward acknowledging the humanity of its victims an

A SAUDI teacher in Samta Governorate has confessed to the police that she tortured an Indonesian house cleaner who was hospitalized and later died due to the severity of her injuries. The woman torched the cleaner and also struck her a number of times on the head; the cleaner suffered from broken ribs, a broken wrist and burns which had not been treated. According to a report published in Arab News last December, on its recent visit to the Kingdom, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) delegation received hundreds of calls from people about their grievances and a majority of those calls were concerned with maids and how they were treated.A colleague was reading yesterday's report on the tortured maid and he made a comment that is the essence of the problem, "It is about slavery," he said. And he was right; the same attitude and mind-set still exists in 21st-cenury Saudi Arabia. At a time when the Royal Academy of Art in London has mounted an exhibition dealing with the history of slavery,

Members of the Virginia General Assembly unanimously voted to express an apology for the state’s role in slavery, the Associated Press reports. Virginia is the first state to “apologize” for slavery, and Missouri is also considering passing a similar measure: RICHMOND, Va. - Meeting on the grounds of the former Confederate Capitol, the Virginia General Assembly voted unanimously Saturday to express “profound regret” for the state’s role in slavery. Sponsors of the resolution say they know of no other state that has apologized for slavery, although Missouri lawmakers are considering such a measure. The resolution does not carry the weight of law but sends an important symbolic message, supporters said. “This session will be remembered for a lot of things, but 20 years hence I suspect one of those things will be the fact that we came together and passed this resolution,” said Delegate A. Donald McEachin, a Democrat who sponsored it in t

To me the life of the businessman who eats his breakfast early in the morning, catches a train for the city, stays there in the dingy, dusty atmosphere of the commercial world, and goes back to his house in the evening, and after supper to sleep, is worse than the life of the galley slave. His chains are golden instead of iron. – Oscar Wilde Share This

Offered without comment. The Associated Press reports: RICHMOND, Va. — A state legislator said black people “should get over” slavery and questioned whether Jews should apologize “for killing Christ,” drawing denunciations Tuesday from stunned colleagues. Delegate Frank D. Hargrove, who is white and Christian, made his remarks in opposition to a measure that would apologize on the state’s behalf to the descendants of slaves. In an interview published Tuesday in The Daily Progress of Charlottesville, Hargrove, 79, said slavery ended nearly 140 years ago with the Civil War and added that “our black citizens should get over it.” The newspaper also quoted him as saying, “are we going to force the Jews to apologize for killing Christ?” [link added] (Hat tip: Huffington Post)

"Slavery is not dead. We've just stopped recognising it. When did you agree to be watched all the time? When did you allow others to decide for you? When did you forget that the only person who can help you... is you? It takes little to Reclaim your Life" ... and then some rockstar shrieks as an SUV wiggles at top speed... signifying liberty... breaking away from the shackles.

"We must show new energy in fighting back an old evil. Nearly two centuries after the abolition of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, and more than a century after slavery was officially ended in its last strongholds, the trade in human beings for any purpose must not be allowed to t (more)