Protecting and Honoring Victims

This week we look at human frailty with some fighting for law and order and others abusing it while disasters show no discrimination.

Law & Order

We begin in Hong Kong where tens of thousands marched at a pro-democracy rally marking the 18th anniversary of Britain handing the territory back to China but while some marched remembering their freedoms others were attacked in Turkey when police fired water cannons, rubber pellets and tear gas to disperse people at a gay pride event in Istanbul.

On the other side of the law this week saw an end to the New York prisoner escape when Richard Matt was shot and killed while the second fugitive David Sweat was shot and taken into custody. Australia saw one of it's largest prisons descend into chaos when a smoking bad was introduced causing prisoners to riot and finally we have a mother who admitted to killing her two children and leaving their bodies in her freezer.

Disasters

The week saw multiple disasters strike across the globe, we begin with an explosion in Taiwan at a water park which has claimed two lives and an explosion at a chemical plant in South Korea which killed 6 workers. In Indonesia a military aircraft crash claimed a staggering 144 lives while an army train accident in Pakistan saw 17 people die followed by 38 people dying when a Philippine ferry capsized.

We end the week with closure on some previous disasters with a report on the TransAsia crash claiming human error when the pilot pulled the wrong throttle shutting down the sole working engine causing the crash.

What Happened? 2014 Business News

Business experienced the usual ups and downs in 2014 but it was the actions of high powered individuals that impacted entire nations.

Politics

Russia suffered severe economic sanctions for it's involvement in Crimea but it was the falling oil price, due to OPEC's decision not to cut production, that was the final blow making the most impact on Russia's oil driven economy along with the Rouple. The US government had a busy year with Ben Bernanke being grilled about the decisions leading to the AIG bailout and politics narrowly avoided another shutdown when a $1.1 trillion bill was signed at the last minute. Protests in Hong Kong's business district nearly crippled the region and ended up costing retailers millions while in South America Argentina defaulted on it's loans for a second time ignoring a US courts ruling.

In the world of taxes Frances ridiculous 75% tax on millionaires was dropped while in the States over 30,000 IRS emails previously thought lost were found regarding the accusation that the IRS was targeting individuals based on their political views. Parts of Europe implemented what was termed the Google tax in an attempt to squeeze more from foreign companies operating in Europe and finally it seems European nations really had it out for Google trying to have the internet behemoth split.

Companies

Some companies probably wished for a quicker end to the year with not one but two high profile incidents, MH370 and MH17, Malasian airlines stock took a massive knock and had to be suspended at one stage. GM was on Capital Hill due to the large number of recalls due to safety issues with their vehicles. The hacking of Sony Entertainment's network caused havoc with confidential documents being released in droves bringing speculation of possible sales of assets while a previously targeted company, Target, faced a lawsuit over last years holiday hacks that saw 110 million customer details stolen. Not everyone managed to escape their fate with more former Madoff aides heading to prison and Uber was in the spotlight after an exec wanted to snoop on a journalist to discredit her work.

It wasn't all doom and gloom with the technology world seeing Alibaba make it's grand listing with the largest tech IPO ever. Apple had an interesting year with successful new products like the iPhone 6 and it's new smart watch which isn't available just yet but it also ran into issues with an Apple employee class action lawsuit and was the unwilling participant in many "die-ins" staged in protest of police brutality. Burger King successfully acquired Canada's Tim Hortons in a move to cut it's tax exposure and minimum wages made the spotlight with Walmart claiming to do away with it.

Banks

Years after they sent the world economy into a tailspin the European Central Banks conducted a health test and found everything to be fine. However things weren't over with banks still facing billion dollar fines from the US and UK for their involvement in the Libor scandal.

JPMorgan faced a class action lawsuit over $10 billion of mortgage-backed securities and finally Barclays faced a suit by the SEC over "dark pools".

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.

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.

Need to Know - Hong Kong Protests

This week saw an escalation from protestors in Hong Kong as students, with the support of many in Hong Kong, took to government offices and business districts objecting to political interference.

Students Fight Back

Protests began when mainland China reneged on the political promise made in 1997 often called "one country, two systems" opting instead for a new process requiring a committee to pre-approve candidates for election.

Since then there has been a wave of students occupying areas around government offices and business districts with police responding with tear gas and batons. At one point even school children joined university students to protest with many university students being arrested for occupying government buildings.

Financial and Technological Impact

The protests have had a major impact on business in Hong Kong resulting in banks shutting down offices and with no end in sight many Hong Kong stocks tumbled as markets took a hammering. Retailers suffered when the protests spanned China's Golden week holiday which normally results in an influx of shoppers from mainland China with an estimated loss of $2billion Hong Kong dollars.

As protests grew ugly the authorities blocked Instagram along with censoring of other internet services. However protestors have found ways around the censorship using mesh networks for phone to phone communication bypassing restrictions. The Chinese government has apparently used "main-in-the-middle" attack's on Yahoo allowing officials to snoop on communications along with blocking links. There have also been reports of sophisticated malware spying on protestors using Android and iOS devices.

Responses Near and Far

As protests grow more volatile the world has taken notice with the British government deciding to review it's policy of selling tear gas to Hong Kong after it's use on protestors. The website Occupy Central with Love and Peace (OCLP) was created for the international community to send messages of support to students protesting.

With power slowly slipping away the Chinese-state newspaper threatened protestors calling for them to cease immediately warning the end result would be "disastrous" and accusing the protestors of "blaspheming" the rule of law.

As it stands the current Hong Kong leader Chief Executive Leung has refused to step down but has instead offered to talk to protestors.