Deadly Repercussions

Death hung low over the world this week with many long awaited legal decisions interrupted by a growing body count.

Race Relations Deteriorate

We begin when the dark days that led to Ferguson, Missouri taking it's place in history were relived with another black man shot and killed by a white officer. The incident unfolded in North Charleston where Officer Michael Slager pulled over Walter Scott for a traffic stop. During the stop a bystander managed to record what happened next showing Walter Scott running from Officer Slager followed by 8 shots in his direction, 3 hitting him in the back. The officer claimed Walter Scott had reached for his Taser but the video footage shows Officer Slager walking back to the initial spot, pick something up, walk back and drop it next to Walter Scott.

Needless to say the response to the latest in a long line of shootings has been swift with condemnation coming from all fronts including North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey who said all officers would wear body camera's from now on while the attorney for previous victims, Martin and Brown, questioned progress made. The bystander who shot the video has since spoken out saying that Scott was trying to get away from the Taser. Another video, this time the dashboard cam from the officers vehicle has been released showing the initial stop. Since the shooting and video release Officer Slager has been arrested and is being held without bail.

Legal Trials

One of the biggest trials in years has found Dzhokhar Tsarnaev guilty on all 30 counts for his part in the Boston Marathon bombings, he now awaits sentencing.

Other trial's came to an end this week when blogger, Lacey Spears, was sentenced to 20 years for intentionally killing her 5-year-old son by poisoning him with salt in order to gain attention online; The judge claims Miss Spears was suffering from a rare mental condition and was spared the maximum 25 year sentence. Another case ended this week with 2 women sentenced to 8 years for their part in the death of a Mississippi black man and finally we end this week with a judge declaring that Craig Hicks, the man who killed 3 Muslim college students in North Carolina, can face the death penalty.

Terrorism on Trial

The week saw unsettled business take center stage with the beginning of the Boston Marathon Bombing trial along with various other worrying developments around the world.

Tackling Terrorism

We begin this week with the Boston Marathon Bombing trial which began after struggling to find jury members. The trial kicked off with opening statements with Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's attorney admitting his client had carried out the attacks but tried to push the blame onto his older brother. The trial continued with testimony from survivors recounting their experience on the tragic day with the trial expected to continue for weeks to come.

In other terror related news the Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram released a graphic video showing the beheading of two men believed to be spies while in the US, Twitter revealed that it had suspended over 2000 accounts used by ISIS in recruiting new members resulting in ISIS threatening Twitter staff.

Political Front Lines

Politicians were on the front line this week when a man armed with a razor attacked a US ambassador slashing his face and wrist in opposition to military drills by South Korea and the US. The military drills also received attention from North Korea who fired two short range missiles into the sea as the drills began.

In Russia a new video has surfaced of the assassination of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov last week, showing the bridge as the attack takes place. On the topic of high profile leaders, Ex-CIA chief Petraeus, has pleaded guilty to mishandling classified material with his mistress.

Blood on the Streets

In the world of drugs it was revealed that the Bali 9 were executed on a secluded island ignoring pleas from the Australian government while in Mexico police and troops made progress capturing Zetas cartel leader, Omar Trevino Morales, in a wealthy suburb of Monterrey.

Images were released which the police say confirms the homeless man shot by LAPD had tried to take an officers weapon. Finally we end the week with a Justice Department investigation into the Ferguson police which shows excessive use of force and unjustified arrests.

What Happened? 2014 Headline News

2014 wasn't an easy year for the world at large with tragedies and human suffering defining a difficult time for many. While governments struggled with conflict and people fought for their rights, nature reminded everyone who was in charge.

Tragedies

Tragedy struck with Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappearing on a route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with not a trace to be found of the 239 on-board. Things got worse when Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down over the Ukraine by pro-Russian rebels killing all 298 on-board. But it wasn't over when another aviation tragedy struck on the tail end of 2014 when communication was lost with Asia Airs Flight QZ8501 echoing the loss of MH370 with 162 on-board until search parties discovered parts of the wreckage and bodies of the crew and passengers.

South Korea suffered a national disaster when a Ferry carrying 450 people, mostly school children, capsized. Towards the end of the year another Ferry disaster struck in the Adriatic Sea when the ferry caught on fire killing 11 on-board. The year ended with 35 people killed in a New Years celebration's stampede.

Protests

The year saw people protesting across the world starting with the unfortunate killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson Missouri which sparked protests around police brutality. Things only got worse when a second man, Eric Garner, was killed in New York by a police officer using a choke hold. However the protests against police brutality were stymied after 2 police officers were executed in New York by a lone gunman and tension grew as more police became targets.

It wasn't only the US that saw people protesting as Hong Kong came to a grinding halt after protestors took over the main business district. With corruption and gang violence prevalent Mexico experienced protests after 43 students went missing and were believed to have been killed by gangs with government assistance. Protests were triggered in the Ukraine by politics resulting in the President being thrown out, but it didn't end there with things only getting worse.

Politics

After protests in the Ukraine erupted Russia invaded Crimeia outraging the international community and beginning the process of sanctions on Russia for it's actions. While some conflicts resulted in financial pain others were outright bloody with old enemies fighting in Gaza to a new foo the world learnt to fear with ISIS who resorted to beheading journalists as threats against the west.

North Korea flexed it's muscle with it's old adversary South Korea and challenged Sony when a movie about it's leader resulted in hackers believed to be from North Korea breaking into Sony's network and threatening terrorist style attacks if the movie was released. Even with blood in the streets it was what happened behind the scenes that brought about outrage when the CIA torture report was released detailing it's torture methods. Boko Harem in Nigeria resorted to kidnapping 273 school girls and selling them off into slavery triggering the campaign for #BringBackOurGirls.

Individuals

Some individuals shone bright making their names with the Nobel Peace Prize being awarded to Malala Yousafzai making her the youngest ever recipient while the entertainment world lost great entertainers with Robin Williams death shocking everyone.

The news wasn't great for everyone with Rob Ford caught in another video smoking crack less than a year after the first video emerged and the Oscar Pistorius trial which gripped the world. US President Obama had a tough year when the Democrats lost control after many cut ties to Obama and top officials like Eric Holder resigned.

Nature

For a year where man did his best to destroy nature wasn't going to be outdone with Earthquakes ravaging areas and Wild fires tearing through Northern California destroying everything in its path as it passed through, Hawaii had to call in the National Guard after a volcano directed a slow moving mass of lava into populated areas.

Over 900,000 people had to be evacuated after Typhoon Hagupit slammed into the Philippines all the while a deadly disease threatened to take down everyone in the form of Ebola which spread through West Africa claiming nearly 7000 lives.

When Breathing Isn't Guaranteed

The past few weeks have seen human rights issues across the world, however, it was in the United States with the killing of unarmed black men in public and the release of CIA documents revealing the hidden world of torture that showed no nation was immune.

I Can't Breathe

Just days after a court failed to indict Darren Wilson for the killing of Michael Brown the masses were thrown back into turmoil when Daniel Pantaleo was also allowed to walk free after the killing of Eric Garner by choke hold in New York.

With Ferguson still fresh in their minds crowds rallied across the country for days on end and staged "die-ins", including in the iconic Apple store, even congressional staffers staged a walk out in protest. And while most protests remained calm some turned violent with explosives being thrown at police. As the holidays neared protestors took a different approach and opted instead for new lyrics to popular Christmas carols.

It wasn't just the public standing up in protest but various celebrities and sports stars that supported the protestors with member from the NBA wearing t-shirts reading "I can't breathe".

CIA Torture Report

The US Senate Intelligence Committee revealed a 500 page summary report showing the extent of torture inflicted on detainee's at various black sites around the world. The report described various sexual threats and mock executions to torturing people to get information from family members. Since the reports release there have been increased fears of retaliation resulting in increased security at US embassies and bases around the world.

World Protests

The US was not alone with a court ordering that the main protest sites be cleared by police ending the weeks of protest in Hong Kong's financial district. However the peaceful nature of the Hong Kong protests was starkly different from protests in Haiti which turned violent with police firing tear gas into crowds who were demanding President Michel Martelly and Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe step down. Finally the remains of one Mexican students that had gone missing was identified triggering anger from an already exhausted population.

Where in the world? Ferguson, USA

The city of Ferguson erupted this week after the grand jury's decision to not indict Officer Darren Wilson for the killing of Michael Brown.

Announcement

President Obama called for protests to be peaceful ahead of the grand jury announcement however things would soon turn sour with Attorney General Eric Holder being asked to intervene once again.

During the trial Officer Darren Wilson claimed that he followed his training and that Micheal had attacked him resulting in him firing at Micheal. In his first interview since the trial Darren Wilson claims he wouldn't do anything different and his attorneys say he has accepted that his career in law enforcement is over.

After the verdict was handed down Michael Browns mother broke down crying, she would later speak out saying she felt as if she had been shot.

Response

Protests sprung up across the states after the judgement was handed down with thousands flooding the streets of Los Angeles and New York, there were even protests as far a field as London consisting of several thousand. As protests grew more violent a police car was set on fire and another was flipped over outside of Ferguson City Hall. During protests a driver was caught on camera driving into a group of protestors dragging a women in front of the car.

With a second night of protests planned an anti-government militia travelled to Ferguson and said they would be willing to use lethal force to protect the city's business. The National Guard was called out by Missouri Governor to guard against fresh riots with over 400 people being arrested.

While outrage turned to violence in Ferguson many celebrities took to social media with Rihanna to Lena Dunham giving their condolences. Towards the end of the week as protests began to dwindle an uneasy calm fell on Ferguson with no one knowing what will trigger the next outburst.

Big Brother or Big Bully?

What happens when the people given power turn on you? The world has seen protests flaring up as police brutality and political interference impeded progress and grow ever more violent.

Hong Kong

The recent protests in Hong Kong (previously blogged about here) were reignited with outrage after video footage of demonstrators being assaulted by police was released resulting in 6 officers being suspended. It is also rumored that thugs were hired to break up protests.

The violence began when police started removing barriers trying to clear protest sites. Police continued clearing protest sites across Hong Kong over the week with violence often following. With the clean up operations under way and violence prevalent Hong Kong leaders have said they are willing to meet with students.

St. Louis and Ferguson

Protests erupted when another young black man was shot and killed by a white police officer in St. Louis resulting in police in riot gear and armed with pepper spray emulating the pattern seen in Ferguson (previously blogged about here) just a few short months earlier.

Police began blocking their radio communication ahead of "Ferguson October" after activists, protestors and media listened in on them via scanners. 50 protestors were arrested in Ferguson after descending on the police station where the original shooting took place.

Mexico

Thousands turned out to protest over the disappearance of students by gangs supposedly backed by police. The students that disappeared were believed to have been found when five mass graves were discovered, however, none of the bodies were of the 43 college students that went missing after clashes with police.

Ferguson & Foley, Stories Bigger than the Individual Tragedies

Human tragedy has plagued the news recently with individuals suffering horrific atrocities and in the process bringing attention to even bigger problems.

Ferguson, Missouri

Protests have been raging in Ferguson, Missouri since early August when a young black man, Michael Brown, was shot by a white police officer. An autopsy, one of many to be carried out, would later reveal that Michael had been shot 6 times including 2 to the head.

Police used tear gas and rubber bullets on protestors in what would be the start of endless protests against police brutality. As time passed and anger grew police resorted to smoke bombs and tear gas to disperse crowds. Police even arrested and detained journalists exacerbating the situation as news agencies called into question the police response.

Days into the protest thousands gathered across the US for a moment of silence for victims of police brutality. President Obama called for calm as State Troopers took over security with the commander of the State Troopers joining protesters as they marched in hopes of avoiding more unrest.

However progress was short lived after the disclosure by the officer responsible for the shooting and accusations that Micheal had been involved in an earlier store robbery. As the situation deteriorated once again police began imposing curfews and fired smoke canisters and tear gas into the crowds.

With growing unrest Missouri has called in the National Guard to help and used armoured vehicles to disperse crowds while President Obama has sent Attorney General Eric Holder to Ferguson as protests continue.

James Foley

American journalist James Foley was executed on camera by ISIS militants in retaliation for US airstrikes in Iraq. The execution is believed to have been carried out by a British citizen according to British Prime Minister David Cameron. James was abducted on 22 November 2012 and held captive until the video of his execution. The US government has admitted there had been a failed rescue attempt earlier in the year.

ISIS have since threatened to kill another journalist, Steven Joel Sotloff, who was briefly shown at the end of the video with an ISIS member stating "The life of this American citizen, Obama, depends on your next decision"