Table of Contents

Letter from the Editor

2004: The International Year of Rice
Child Beggars: The Need to Find a Way Out
Tear Gas and Crowd Control

Get Involved: Make Water a Basic Human Right

Comment: Trafficking of Persons and the UN's Inactivity

Remember: send all comments, editorials, questions, and submissions to feedback@fiveminutestomidnight.org!

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Letter from the Editor

As a new year rolls around, many people's minds are filled with new questions and new hopes. What will 2004 bring on a global level? Looking back at 2003, one can picture the immensity and power of change as it happened throughout the length of one entire year.

If we were to ask this same question at the end of January 2002, our answers would likely be different from anything we've experienced this year. Who could have foreseen the war in Iraq and as many as 15 million people standing up against the USA, chanting and singing, "No." Moreover, it was in this same year that the roadmap to peace between Israel and Palestine was introduced and unfortunately, seemed to fail miserably. 

2003 also saw human rights issues brought home to Canada: Maher Arar and William Sampson are two issues that quickly spring to mind. It is normal - almost a daily occurrence - for Canadians to hear about human rights abuses to happen "over there", and yet they found out how "over there" can be as near as next door or in our very own backyards. Indeed, it was a year that brought human rights issues home to people who've never considered them before.

Will 2004 be any different? Let's hope so. Although it won't see the end of most conflicts, it is possible that the Iraq will move from US hands to an official government and the intifada between Israel and Palestine will begin to die down. All eyes, however, will focus on the last few months of the year, when the US has its presidential election. This election will be one that will affect the world for many years to come, as it will decide whether President Bush continues to be president. While it is true that millions upon millions of people do not support Bush, it is also accurate to say that most of them do not have an actual say in this election.

Predictions for this year run rampant and range from mild to uncanny. The most imaginative I've seen are the thoughts of John Titor, a supposed time traveler from the 2030s, who says that the presidential election in 2004 will lead to an American civil war, an eventual third world war, and the death of as many as three billion people. It is, however, backed up by a few facts and is an interesting read, though chances are the events in 2004 will be less drastic than those outlined by Titor.

Every year sees pivotal events occur, however, and 2004 will be no different. No one can say whether this will be the presidential election or something completely surprising. The one prediction that holds true will be that whatever will happen, will happen, and it will be reported on constantly for a few weeks by media conglomerates, and may or may not change our lives. Vague, yes... But no one can truly predict the future.

The same uncertainty lies with Five Minutes to Midnight. There are many plans currently being worked out regarding its growth and how to expand it... These plans may or may not work, though we hope they will. As this letter is being written, plans are under way for a possible book deal, visiting other countries, and dropping by at a school near you! We hope 2004 will be as kind to both ourselves and our readers as the previous year was.

So enjoy this issue and the eleven others coming this year, and if you have any suggestions or ideas, please e-mail us at feedback@fiveminutestomidnight.org.

            Thanks for reading,
                               Wojciech Gryc

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2004: The International Year of Rice by Wojciech Gryc 

In 2004, the United Nations will be celebrating the International Year of Rice (IYR) by having the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) spearhead projects linking UN agencies, non-governmental organizations, governments, and even the private sector to work together to support the growing global rice industry and bring about changes that will support developing nations and improve the quality of life for millions upon millions of people.

The International Year of Rice is a very special occasion, as it stands out among other years by being dedicated to a single crop. Such a case, however, is more than warranted. Rice is one of the most important agricultural products in the world: more than half the world's population depends on it as a source of food, and its potential to alleviate poverty and hunger is a quality that should not be overlooked. Originally suggested by the International Rice Research Institute, this year's specific theme focuses on "Rice is life." The reason for this, aside from rice being a fundamental part of most people's diets, is its potential to improve the quality of life for millions of people.

Specifically, the FAO has outlined many different goals and plans of action for this year, many of which are included on their IYR website. One of the most important aspects, however, is the ability that proper cultivation of rice has to help alleviate hunger, poverty, and environmental damage around the world; issues that are central to the Millennium Development Goals. First and foremost is world hunger. Over two billion people suffer from malnutrition in today's world and without a proper plan of action this will only increase as the population grows. Rice, however, can change all that. Although it is not viewed as a highly nutritious source of food, proper preparation of rice can, in fact, deliver nutrients like fiber, fat, protein, zinc, iron, and B vitamins. Through selective breeding and even genetic modification of certain rice species, the ability of rice to act as a nutritious staple jumps to unprecedented levels.

The Millennium Development goals, however, also strive for sustainable development and making sure farmers and corporations adopt environmentally friendly attitudes. According to the FAO, the fundamental objective of the IYR is to "Promote and help guide the efficient and sustainable development of rice and rice-based systems now and in the future." The clearest goal for such an objective is to raise awareness and educate farmers on improving their methods regarding rice cultivation.

By educating farmers on topics like biodiversity and using natural methods to solve problems, it is possible to reduce the amount of harmful pesticides and fertilizers being used in rice fields and consequently polluting the surrounding environment. Indeed, some solutions to common problems regarding rice farming can actually benefit the ecosystem! The use of Azolla, an aquatic fern that grows in rice fields, for example, helps increase the amount of nutrients in rice through a safe and natural process.

At the present time, rice farming methods are incredibly diverse and many are very inefficient. Most rice fields yield about four to six tonnes of rice per hectare and compared to an average potential of around ten or eleven tonnes, this is unacceptable. Many rice farms are, however, small-scale operations that incorporate farming techniques which have been passed down from generation to generation and lack the agricultural know-how that can help increase the production level of a rice field. By educating farmers on natural solutions and how to take biophysical factors like climate and soil conditions into consideration when farming, crop yield can become much more efficient than current levels. Moreover, an increase in crop yield will mean that expanding rice fields for growing demand will not be necessary, thus preventing the degradation of the environment surrounding the farms.

Two other important and difficult goals are also outlined in the IYR agenda, the first being the minimization of the technological gap between rice farmers. Some rice farmers use inefficient traditional methods for growing rice, while others have the ability to use high-tech solutions for problems that cannot be solved otherwise. Investigating the potential of genetically engineered rice is another aspect of the technical side of rice cultivation.

The second important goal, however, is pressing governments to support their rice farmers through funneling funds into research and development, as well as adopting policies that will be beneficial to farmers in general; trade liberalization in the rice industry is usually frowned upon, as this can threaten the farmers within one's own country, but like farm subsidies affecting other types of farmers, many policies focusing on rice farmers can actually hurt them rather than help them. The FAO actually goes as far as to state that some of the rice policies adopted by governments, such as those dealing with land tenure, actually derogate from the crop yield rice farmers end up with.

If a fraction of the goals set forth for the International Year of Rice are met by the FAO and others involved, rice farmers and those depending on rice as a source of food and nutrition will be just some of the people that benefit. Today, rice is a means to a livelihood for more than 100 million people, most of which are small-scale farmers. By developing more efficient ways of rice farming and educating farmers, it is possible to not only raise the quality of life of those farmers, but to also help alleviate a nutritional problem plaguing about one third of the world! 

Supporting such ambitious goals is of the utmost importance: their success can change the lives of millions of people and help developing nations become self-sufficient. As the world's population grows at an unprecedented rate, inefficient farming methods will serve to simply make a large problem even worse; the International Year of Rice - 2004 - aims to change such farming practices and set a trend for sustainable development and growth. Such is a noble cause, and one that should be worked towards not only in 2004, but in every year to come.

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Child Beggars: The Need to Find a Way Out by Joshua Concessao

If prostitution ranks as the world's oldest profession, then begging manages a close second. Whether you find yourself in the more developed corners of the world or in a third world country, begging is as universal as the fact that you will find air to breathe. Undoubtedly, it is a trap that manages to snare people from all walks for life and of all ages; unfortunately, children are no exception to this sad fact.

While not a major problem in countries like Canada, the number of child beggars has been steadily increasing in countries such as India, Thailand, and Saudi Arabia. Children are often targeted and recruited by criminal gangs to pan handle on the streets; and thus begins a life of unimaginable hardship, suffering, and at times unbelievable cruelty. There is no set age at which these children are forced into begging. They are often born into it and grow up to know nothing better. It is a common sight to see a four year old carrying a baby, as he or she goes from person to person pleading for spare change. Such is the reality of life for those unfortunate enough to be born under such circumstances.

To the impoverished farmers living in the poverty stricken villages of India, big cities such as Bombay and New Delhi are like shining beacons of hope. To them, the opportunities found in the cities represent a chance to crawl out of steep debts and to possibly find a better life for themselves and their families. Parents are often approached by strangers claiming to have jobs for their children in the city. These strangers, however, are most likely involved in criminal gangs that specifically prey on the misfortunes of such people. Of course, illiteracy and poverty make it extremely easy for these people to be fooled into believing such tales. In the end, parents, driven by a need to provide for their family, will often send their child with the stranger thinking that a job awaits them once they get to the cities.

Once in the cities, the children are immediately put to the streets as prostitutes or panhandlers. In many cases, the children are purposely mutilated by the criminal gangs before being sent to the streets. The rationale behind such actions is that a blind child or a child missing their fingers or limbs is sure to move a passerby, whereas a relatively healthy child will not draw as much attention, and will therefore bring in more money. All the money that these children receive is then taken by their respective gangs and they are given an extremely small amount for themselves; very rarely do these children have enough to feed themselves properly. 

In other cases, very young children are usually paired up with older beggars who then spin elaborate stories of abandonment and suffering to get people to spare their change. However, in order to appear more believable, the children are often given opium or heroin so that they actually look sick. In turn, the children become addicted to these drugs at a very young age and are often unable to quit the street life despite a deep desire to do so.

Saudi Arabia is another place that attracts a large number of child beggars every year during the Hajj, a pilgrimage to Mecca made by most Muslims. In most cases, these children are recruited in the villages and taken to Saudi Arabia disguised as pilgrims. Once there, they are given the job of begging for alms. During the Hajj, Muslims are required to donate a certain amount to the poor in tithes, and so the children manage to make quite an amount in this way. However, hardly any of this money is ever seen by the children, as the agents who recruit them reap the profits. During their stay in Saudi Arabia, these children are often underfed and kept in unsanitary conditions. If they are lucky, they come back home to their families after the Hajj is over, though most continue begging for the remainder of their lives.

The children who find themselves in such situations are unfortunate victims of circumstance. Often, they are either sold to "agents" by their families who are desperate for a little cash, or in other cases kidnapped of the streets. What follows can only be described as atrocious. Those who survive life on the streets have little to look forward to. At best they can expect to wither away, all the while dependant on the quick release provided by drugs. Along the way, they endure disease, poverty, and hunger, all the while fending off sexual advances by their "care takers". Many who manage to escape their original captors begin to recruit children themselves, and so the cycle continues.

However, there is hope. There are many institutions that constantly work to take the children away from the streets and give them a proper childhood. This is at best a hard job. Often the children who have grown accustomed to the ways of the street find it a challenge to get used to their new life and feel compelled to return to begging. Compounding this problem is the severe symptoms of withdrawal experienced by those who are addicted to drugs like heroin, opium, cocaine, etc. In the end, however, there have been many children who have successfully overcome their past and gone on the live productive lives.

The solution to this problem lies in creating awareness. It is only when the truth about child begging is brought to the forefront in the villages and small towns will there be hope for an end to the suffering endured by these children. However, that in itself is not an end: most families who do send their children on such "jobs" do so out of a desperate need for an income. The goal for governments and NGOs should be to help people find new sources of income and help them adjust to changing times.

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Tear Gas and Crowd Control by Allison Martell

In 1999, thousands of activists arrived in Seattle, Washington to protest the meetings of the World Trade Organization. Many say that today's anti-globalization movement was born in Seattle, and if this is true, it was born into a haze of tear gas that has yet to dissipate. Since Seattle, countless anti-globalization protests have taken place, and countless protestors have been introduced to tear gas; an experience colourfully referred to as "sneezing fishhooks". Even those who disagree with the politics or tactics of anti-globalization activists cannot deny that their movement is a major force in the world today. Riots in Seattle, Quebec City and beyond have raised questions about the authority of the government and police forces to control political dissent, and the amount of force that is appropriate in doing so. The risks and benefits of tear gas are an important
part of this debate.

Tear gas is the common name for a group of chemicals known as "chemical irritants", and can refer to one of a number of substances, including 10-chloro-5-10-dihydrophenarsazine, x-bromo-x-tolunitrile, w-chloroacetophenone (CN), and o-chlorobenzylidene malononitrile (CS). CN and CS are most widely used.

Tear gas has a number of applications, from "pacifying" mental patients, to halting domestic violence, to waging war. Along with rubber bullets and electric cattle prods, it is also part of an arsenal of so-called "non-lethal" weapons used to control crowds.

CN, or w-choroacetophenone was discovered in 1869. One of its earliest uses was in World War One. It made its next appearance in personal defense products around the 1920s. (It is most widely known under the brand name Mace.) For many years, it was also the standard crowd-control tear gas. Over time, dissatisfaction with its chemical instability and strength grew.

By the 1950s, the Chemical Defense Experimental Establishment in Porton, England had developed CS, or o-chlorobenzylidenemalononitrile, as an alternative to CN. CS is less toxic than CN, and generally considered to cause less long-term injury than other tear gases. It has become the standard riot-control chemical.

To place the use of tear gas in context, some of the theory behind crowd control must be examined. Typical police responses to political protests in North America have changed dramatically over the last fifty years. In the 1960s, police forces tended to respond to demonstrations with a strategy of "escalated force". Police fought back crowds with batons, electric cattle prods, and guns. These strategies often ended disastrously.
The most horrific example of this may be the Kent State Massacre, where student protestors were gunned down by police.

In the 80s and 90s, police forces began developing more sophisticated strategies for crowd control. Their tolerance for some illegal but peaceful activities (such as blocking traffic) increased, and they began communicating with protest organizers in advance of events. Today, march routes are cleared with police ahead of time and maintained by volunteer marshals sympathetic to the cause, rather than officers.

Anecdotal evidence also suggests that modern day police forces use intimidation to prevent violence. Rows of riot police stand in front of forbidden areas, head and shoulders above the crowd on their similarly armoured horses. They wear black from head to toe, and visors cover their faces.

So where does tear gas fit into this modern picture of crowd control? Some group tear gas in with cattle prods, batons, and other "dramatic shows of force". But in the 21st century, tear gas is clearly still part of the arsenal of sophisticated and informed riot squads around the world. As a non-lethal weapon, some argue, it safely keeps crowds under control and thereby protects the safety of everyone involved. Those who support the use of tear gas claim that though its effects are clearly unpleasant, they pose no long-term health risk. In the short term, tear gas causes one or more of a long list of symptoms:
intense irritation of the eyes, crying, temporary blindness, irritation of the nose, throat, and trachea, coughing, vomiting, diarrhea, and irritated skin. Most of these symptoms fade within minutes.

Tear gas is not, in fact, a gas. It is usually a fine powder which must be deployed with cartridges, grenades, or aerosol canisters. Unintended effects can include cuts from exploding tear gas grenades, and burns from contact with hot powder.

In a few very rare cases, heart failure and death have been reported. CS gas is metabolized to cyanide in some peripheral tissues, but in most realistic situations so little gas is inhaled that this does not pose a real problem. Some small-scale studies on mice have shown CS gas to be mutagenic (cancer-causing).

Research into the health effects of tear gas can be charitably described as minimal. In particular, little research has examined the effects of tear gas on pregnant women or people with respiratory illnesses such as asthma. Early claims that tear gas posed no risk to those with respiratory illnesses was apparently based on one study performed on exactly two bronchitic rabbits.

In most countries, emergency services do not respond to calls from riot areas. This means, first of all, that little data is available on the health effects of tear gas. Additionally, it means that professional health care workers do not usually treat the victims of tear gas. At anti-globalization protests, teams of volunteer medics flush out people's eyes and mouths with a solution of Maalox and water. Websites geared towards
these medics, presumably written by people with some experience with tear gas, all state that though tear gas has no serious long-term health effects for healthy people, it should be avoided by those with respiratory illnesses.

In situations where tear gas is used appropriately (at the right concentrations, outside of enclosed spaces, some distance away from humans) it does not pose a serious risk to the average person. In many cases, however, tear gas is used improperly. The thoughtless use of tear gas in enclosed subway tunnels and the explosion of grenades in dense crowds presents a serious risk to the safety of everyone present.

Some argue that there are situations in which police must use any force necessary to subdue a crowd and prevent or halt a riot. Riots can cause serious property damage, and, more importantly, kill or injure human beings.

Methods of crowd control are often a point of tension between protestors and the state. While protestors may characterize the actions of police as repression, police may insist that they are trying to maintain law and order.

Many groups have a stake in these issues. Some political groups feel that their right to free speech is threatened by any restriction on public protest. They also worry about the long-term health effects of tear gas exposure. Governments feel that their stability can be undermined by riots. Police feel that their officers are at risk unless they are equipped with the proper weapons. Business owners feel that the state has a
responsibility to protect their property from the damage that accompanies riots.

The story of tear gas cannot begin and end with anti-globalization protests. Many, many incidents do not make the front page of the newspaper. A search on Google News (an online service that indexes current news stories all over the internet) for "tear gas" brought back 1140 results, reporting crowds broken up by tear gas in Haiti, South Africa,
China, and beyond.

What each of these 1140 articles describes is police using a weapon that has never been properly studied. Doctors would never be allowed to expose their patients to a chemical as untested as tear gas. Should police officers be given any more flexibility when it comes to the health of civilians? Lethal or not, tear gas is a weapon. As such, it deserves our careful attention.

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Get Involved: Make Water a Basic Human Right 
                by Troy Beharry and Bishara Gafour

An essential element for all life on earth, clean drinking water must be considered a basic human right. Today, one in six people worldwide, most of who live in Asia, Africa or Latin America, do not have access to safe water and are thus being denied one of the most basic human rights. As a result, some of the statistics are staggering. For example, did you know that every fourteen seconds, someone dies from a disease caused by contaminated water? This figure translates into over two million people dying a year, most victims being children. If nothing is done to help improve the equitable distribution of clean water between continents, the situation will continue to deteriorate between now and 2030.

As it stands, less than 1% of the earth's fresh water is usable. This would still be enough water to support the earth's population three times over, if used with care. There is no substitute for water. This essential liquid, which connects all life, is too precious to be left to market forces. The value of clean water to the common good must take priority over any possible commercial value. That is why millions of people around the world are working to stop the privatization of water services. 

Privatized water services earn profits for their shareholders at the expense of the poor. To ensure profitability, these private water companies drastically increase the cost of water. For instance, poor people in Asia, Africa and Latin America pay on average 12 times more per litre of water than their wealthier neighbours. Consequently, millions of poor people find themselves disconnected from the water system because of their inabilities to pay water bills. Since 1994, 10 million South African households have lost water services because they couldn't pay the water rates. As a result, poor people have no choice but to risk death or illness, and use unsafe water sources. 

As evident, privatization of water services is a real threat to the common good and to universal access to safe water. Fresh water is a collective responsibility that is without question, best managed for the benefit of all, through democratic, public control of water resources.

Among the growing wave of groups against privatization of water services stands Development and Peace, the official development organization of the Canadian Catholic Church. It was through Development and Peace that many in Brebeuf College High School in Toronto, Canada became aware of the issues surrounding the equitable distribution of water.

This organization's powerful message was the motivating factor that compelled us to join this global movement working to make accessibility to clean drinking water a reality for all. We decided to become advocates for the cause, promoting awareness within our very own high school. Development and Peace had drafted an online Water Declaration recognizing that water is a resource that should be used for the common good, rather than as commodity from which to earn escalating profits. We set out to obtain fifty or more people within the Brebeuf community to sign this Water Declaration in hope that it would help Development and Peace achieve its ultimate goal of making clean water available to all.

We urge you to join the growing wave of people working to have water recognized as fundamental human right, by signing the online Water Declaration at www.devp.org. We hold the power for change in our hands!

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Comment: Trafficking of Persons and the UN's Inactivity by Kaley Kennedy

To most of those living in the developed world the word "slavery" is a distant one; a word seldom heard and an idea rarely thought of. Although many people continue to believe that slavery and the sale of persons is a crime long buried in history, it is an unfortunate misconception. To this day, over a million people are involved in the trafficking of persons throughout the world, most of them women and children and generating an estimated $7 billion for the organized crime industry annually. 

Women are often lured away with false promises of a better life, false ads for domestic help, or even sold by close family members without consent. The women are then forced into the sex trade, hard labour, marriage, or any combination of thereof. They are often held under the notion that they owe their captors/patrons money for room, board, "security," travel expenses, and must, therefore, give up a large portion of their wages. Due to the meager wages, the debts increase exponentially as time goes on, even if she is working up to eighteen hours a day. For instance, Russian prostitutes have been found making an estimated $7,500 a month in the German sex industry but were forced to give up $7,000 or more to the owner of the brothel, while women in Japan have been sold for up to $20,000. 

The tactics used to recruit children are slightly more inclined to the "selling" of young children by relatives under the pretence that the children will learn a trade, be educated, and be taken care of. In many economic situations, this is the only option for parents and guardians. The parents do not realize that their children are often taken to do dangerous or tedious labour or to fight as child soldiers. The children are often kept under the same notion as women: that they must re-pay an endless debt, or fear of their family being harmed. In Asia, there is also a growing practice of abducting children to sell on the black market. There are even suspicions that this was the motive for the recent abduction of a young Asian girl in Toronto, Canada.

One of the most unbelievable aspects of trafficking of persons in today's age is how far-reaching and truly worldwide it has become. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimates that between 45,000 and 50,000 women of the over 700,000 women trafficked each year are transported into the United States. The problem seems to be growing fastest in Eastern and Central Europe, especially in Russia and other post-USSR countries; however, it is still a pressing issue throughout Asia and Africa. The Triads, the Yakuza, and the Mafia are all suspected to be involved in the Trafficking of persons, using high-tech electrical equipment to globalize their criminal networks. Although these are the true criminals in this situation, it is usually the victims who are prosecuted even though any crimes they committed were out of fear or in an attempt to survive. Many governments choose to ignore the role organized crime plays in trafficking and target the victims. Due to this, some victims who escape their captors and seek help from the authorities are just running into another form of imprisonment.

It would seem that a problem as large, far-reaching, and utterly atrocious as this would be a high priority for the United Nations, the world-wide organization who is supposed to oversee such problems. While it appears as though the UN is attempting to deal with the issue their strategy is not quite up to par. December 25th marked a great day in the struggle against trafficking; it saw The United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children come into force. This news is truly good news. Upon the discovery that the protocol was adopted by a resolution over three years ago, however, one begins to realize that there is much more that could be done. Using the UN's own estimates, approximately 2.1 million women may have been trafficked in the time it took their resolution to come into effect.

In addition, many of the countries that have ratified the protocol have chosen to opt-out of a clause that would turn over traffickers to the International Court of Justice or have chosen to declare that they will have the ability to over-ride anything they have agreed to in ratifying the protocol, meaning they can choose to just disregard their promises any time they wish. Sadly, this is fully accepted and even worse, had it not been accepted, the protocol would have most likely never gotten its required number of ratifications to come into force.

It is obvious to say that the trafficking of persons is an appalling crime, yet it is distressing to say that the lack of immediate action by the UN, the governing body that is entrusted to try to solve these problems, is also appalling. The UN needs to begin looking at its procedures and realize that the processes being used currently are too slow and inactive for the pressing issues in the world. Until then, crime will continue to grow and the UN will always be too slow to catch up.

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Sources for "2004: The International Year of Rice"

"International Year of Rice 2004." Food and Agriculture Organization. 29 December 2003. <http://www.fao.org/rice2004/>

"International Year of Rice 2004: Concept Paper." Food and Agriculture Organization. 30 October 2003. 29 December 2003. <http://www.fao.org/rice2004/en/f-sheet/concept.pdf>

"Millennium Development Goals." United Nations. 29 December 2003.  <http://www.developmentgoals.org>

Sources for "Child Beggars: The Need to Find a Way Out"

"Child Beggars in Asia". Nation Herald. 25 July 1999. 31 December 2003.
<http://www.globalmarch.org/cl-around-the-world/child-beggars-in-asia.php3>

Rashid Husain, Syed. "Beggar menace increasing in Saudi Arabia - survey". 
Gulf News. 13 August 2003. 31 December 2003. <http://www.yaislah.org/pressrev/enews.htm>

"Interviewing beggars in Kabul". Revolutionary Association of the Women of 
Afghanistan (RAWA). 31 December 2003. <http://www.rawa.org/beg-e.htm>

"Nobody to LOVE". The Hindu. 13 November 2003.  31 December 2003.
<http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2003/11/13/stories/
2003111301370100.htm>

Sources for "Tear Gas and Crowd Control"

Durrheim, K. and Foster, D, "Technologies of social control: crowd management in liberal democracy." Economy and Society 28, 1: 56-74. 

Hu, H. "Tear Gas - Harassing Agent or Toxic Chemical Weapon?" Journal of the American Medical Association, 262. 15 November 2003. <http://www.phrusa.org/research/chemical_weapons/chemjama.html>

Kauffman, L.A. "A no-win situation." Salon. 19 November 2003. <http://www.pwdistributing.com/OC Eye Test.htmlhttp://www.salon.com/news/feature/1999/12/02/riots>

Lee, R. J., Yolton, R.L., & Yolton, D.P. "Personal defence sprays: effects and management of exposure." Journal of the American Optometric Association, 67(9). 19 November 2003. <http://www.pwdistributing.com/OC%20Eye%20Test.html>

"Mace vs. Pepper Spray." 18 November 2003. <http://www.peppersprayinc.com/mace_vs_pepper_spray.htm>

McPhail, Schweingrubler and McCarthy (1998). "Policing Protest in the United States." Policing Protest: The Control of Mass Demonstrations in Western Democracies. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

"O-chlorobenzylidenemalononitrile." IPCS INCHEM. 19 November 2003. <http://www.inchem.org/documents/icsc/icsc/eics1065.htm>

"Protestor First Aid." The Protestor's Web Guide. 19 November 2003. <http://www.mts.net/~slord/FIRST%20AID.htm>

Reuters. "Killing me softly: No one can be sure that the latest crowd-control weapons are safe." New Scientist 2303: 10-13.

Sources for "Get Involved: Make Water a Basic Human Right"

"Development and Peace." Development and Peace. 31 December 2003. <http://www.devp.org/>

"Earth Charter Initiative." The Earth Charter Initiative. 31 December 2003. <http://www.earthcharter.org/>

"International Year of Freshwater." International Year of Freshwater 2003. 31 December 2003. <http://www.wateryear2003.org>

"United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization." UNESCO. 31 December 2003. <http://www.unesco.org>

"Water resources in the United Nations system." United Nations. 31 December 2003. <http://www.un.org/partners/civil_society/m-water.shtml>

Sources for "Comment: Trafficking of Persons and the UN's Inactivity"

"Initiative Against Trafficking in Persons." International Human Rights Law Group. 30 December 2003. <http://www.hrlawgroup.org/initiatives/trafficking_persons/default.asp> 

"Report of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of a Convention against Transnational Organized Crime on the work of its first to eleventh sessions." United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. 1 November 2001. 30 December 2003. <http://www.unodc.org/pdf/crime/final_instruments/383e.pdf>

"Trafficking in Human Beings." United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. 30 December 2003. <http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/trafficking_human_beings.html>

United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women. 30 December 2003. <http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/>