Word: reports
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...entire nation that has given the automobile far too much right of way, the TFA report, titled "Dangerous by Design," makes it clear that Florida is a cautionary tale. It's especially relevant during the current recession, when the U.S. is also looking to alternative transportation projects like passenger rail to help jump-start the economy. "We're not saying paralyze traffic or penalize drivers," says TFA spokesman David Goldberg. "But we have to restore some balance in this country and fix this deadly situation, especially for the health and safety of our kids and senior citizens...
...This is not the kind of news the United Nations wants to hear. In fact, the report is an implicit condemnation of the recent strategy adopted by the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo, known by its French acronym MONUC. The operation began in 2000 as a way of monitoring the end of a five-year civil war in Congo, but the violence has dragged on for years and the U.N. has been unable to rid the region of insurgents, some of whom crossed the border from Rwanda after the genocide of the 1990s. After taking the lead role in fighting...
...most striking things about the U.N. report is what's missing. There is no discussion of the rebels' ideology, their goals, their prescription for a better future in Congo. What seems to be most clear is the extent to which the Congo insurgency has become a battle for resources, such as gold, timber and cassiterite, the chief component of tin. Congo estimates that about 40 tons of gold - $1.2 billion worth - is smuggled out of the country each year. Much of it goes through Uganda or Burundi and ends up being sold in the United Arab Emirates, according...
...Defense of the People, into the army. But that hasn't stopped the one-time rebel commanders from stealing arms and minerals or colluding with the very rebels they're supposed to be fighting against. It hasn't stopped other army units from doing the same thing, either. The report details how the U.N.-backed government troops allegedly raped and tortured civilians and forced children into military service. It reveals several cases in which army officers diverted or tried to divert assault rifles, grenades and ammunition to rebel groups. Sometimes, army troops warned rebels of their presence by firing into...
...doesn't escape blame, either. The report says that MONUC worked closely with a Congolese general named Bosco Ntaganda, nicknamed "The Terminator," who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes for enlisting child soldiers. Ntaganda's troops have taken control of several areas and are believed to reap about $250,000 a month in taxes on charcoal, timber and minerals, the report said. "It really does punch a hole in the argument that has been put forward by MONUC, which claimed that these military operations, while difficult and problematic, are bringing results," Anneke Van Woudenberg, a senior...