Abhati blog

Valentines Day gifts from Hell [SLIDESHOW]

Let’s not kid ourselves: Valentine’s Day is torture. I’m not referring just to petulant “woe is me” single folk. Even happy couples consider Cupid’s holiday a nuisance.

In the aftermath of the holiday season, most people don’t have the creativity or desire to come up with exceptional Valentine’s Day presents for their significant others. Chocolate and teddy bears are safe choices across the board, but they’re also cop-outs.

Because we’ve surrendered to the reality that it’s damn near impossible to think up a clever, thoughtful, unique, and worthwhile Valentine’s Day gift, we’ve compiled the most atrocious Valentine’s Day presents that one could ever give or receive.

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US court revives lawsuit in Colombia coal killings

ATLANTA – A lawsuit claiming an Alabama coal company executive paid paramilitary forces to kill three Colombian union leaders was revived Thursday when an appeals court ruled the victims' children could sue in the U.S.

The mine operator, Drummond Company Inc., was cleared of any wrongdoing by jurors in Birmingham during a 2007 trial in a similar lawsuit brought by the union and the victims' widows.

The new complaint claims a witness who was previously in jail in Colombia can now testify that he saw a Drummond executive give a briefcase full of cash to an illegal right-wing militia to have two of the union heads killed.

The company did not immediately return calls and e-mails.

A lower judge had dismissed the children's lawsuit, saying they should have sued "on behalf" of their parents instead of seeking their own personal unspecified damages. A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit disagreed.

"The complaint alleges an intricate and vindictive plot, orchestrated by the defendants, that ultimately led to the assassinations of the children's fathers," the panel wrote. "If true, such conduct establishes a violation of international law sufficient for purposes of triggering" liability under the federal law.

The lawsuit was filed by eight children of Valmore Locarno, Victor Orcasita and Gustavo Soler, who all worked at Drummond's coal mine at La Loma. The children live in Colombia and Canada.

Locarno, a maintenance worker and president of the local union, and Orcasita, another union official, were taken off a company bus outside the mine in 2001 and shot to death, authorities have said. Soler, who succeeded Locarno as the union president, was killed seven months later in a similar fashion.

The new lawsuit hinges on the testimony of Rafael Garcia, who claimed he saw Drummond's top Colombian executive give the briefcase to an illegal right-wing militia. Garcia, who was in prison on corruption charges, has since been freed and is living in another country.

"I'm in touch with him and he is ready to testify," said Terry Collingsworth, an attorney for the children.

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Online:

UN chief criticized as soft on human rights

UNITED NATIONS – Human Rights Watch singled out U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for especially harsh criticism Monday as it took world leaders to task for what it called their failure to be tougher on rights offenders.

Ban's office rejected the criticism, insisting that the U.N. chief employs both quiet diplomacy and public condemnation with abusive governments after determining which method will prove most effective in each case.

Human Rights Watch's executive director Kenneth Roth also lambasted the European Union; the E.U.'s first high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Catherine Ashton; President Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

"The use of dialogue and cooperation in lieu of public pressure has emerged with a vengeance at the U.N., from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to many members of the Human Rights Council," Roth wrote in the introduction of the group's annual report.

Ban "has been notably reluctant to put pressure on abusive governments," Roth wrote.

"To deserve a second term he will need to be more outspoken and consistent," Philippe Bolopion, U.N. advocacy director for Human Rights Watch said Monday, referring to Ban's likely bid for a second four-year term later this year. Candidates for U.N. chief are nominated by the powerful 15-member Security Council and must be approved by the 192-member General Assembly of member states.

In the report, Roth cited in particular Ban's failure to publicly raise China's rights records or its imprisoned Nobel peace laureate, literary critic Liu Xiaobo, in a meeting with President Hu Jintao late last year.

At the time, Ban defended his handling of a meeting with Hu during an Asia trip, and told reporters upon his return that he spoke about human rights everywhere — including China.

Ban said then that he raised the issue of human rights publicly in Nanjing, Shanghai and Beijing and in private talks with Chinese leaders, whom he didn't name, insisting that diplomacy sometimes must be conducted "in confidence."

"The Secretary-General is a defender of human rights around the world," U.N. Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq said in response to Monday's report.

"Quiet diplomacy and public pressure are not mutually exclusive," said Haq, adding that Ban has used both methods to gain results with repressive governments.

Defending human rights is among the U.N.'s most important responsibilities, Ban said Saturday at Manhattan's Park East Synagogue, ahead of the next week's International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust. "As United Nations Secretary-General, I never forget this fundamental mission," he said.

Bolopion told a news conference later Monday that Ban had spoken out publicly on some rights issues, praising him for highlighting abuses in Tajikistan, and for calling all U.N. member states to drop laws that criminalize homosexuality.

Bolopion said Ban also has been outspoken recently on reported rights abuses in Ivory Coast by supporters of the incumbent president and internationally recognized loser of recent elections who refuses to cede power to his elected successor. "We hope this is a sign that he will become more forceful," the rights advocate said.

Top US senator mum on Mubarak support

WASHINGTON (AFP) – A top US senator called Egypt "an extremely important ally" on Wednesday but kept mum on support for President Hosni Mubarak after protests in Cairo modeled on Tunisia's uprising.

"All I could say this morning is that Egypt has been an extremely important ally of ours since Anwar Sadat, and we're all watching these developments in Cairo very carefully," said Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

"Beyond that, I think I will not comment this morning, but they are an extremely important ally of ours," he told MSNBC television.

His comments came after the White House in a statement late Tuesday urged Egypt's government to be "responsive" to its people's aspirations.

"The Egyptian government has an important opportunity to be responsive to the aspirations of the Egyptian people, and pursue political, economic and social reforms that can improve their lives and help Egypt prosper," the statement said.

"The United States is committed to working with Egypt and the Egyptian people to advance these goals," it added.

The strongly worded US statement also underlined US support for basic democratic freedoms in Egypt.

The unprecedented protests against Mubarak's 30-year reign were inspired by similar unrest in Tunisia which forced out president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali after 23 years in power.

FIRST CUTS: Media reacts to SOTU; Inside the mobile long-form journalism craze

Here's our list of headlines that should be on your morning media menu:

Dylan Stableford rounds up the media's reaction to President Obama's State of the Union address. ()

TechCrunch honcho Michael Arrington is throwing punches again -- this time at his own blog. ()

One hundred fifty-one newspapers folded in 2010 -- and 688 Patch sites launched, according to a new report. ()

Kat Stoeffel goes inside the app-enabled, subway-friendly, mobile long-form journalism craze. ()

Nomad Editions, a family of topical weekly , officially launches today. ()

Lawrence O'Donnell: "All men in makeup are playing a part." ()