Janessa Schilmoeller

Janessa Schilmoeller is a Mint Press correspondent and staff writer based in Southern Africa. Janessa has worked with intercultural education programs for several years and focuses on topics of international relations, social change and human rights. She has previously lived in Jordan and has traveled to various countries in the Middle East. Janessa is currently reporting from Southern Africa where she coordinates study abroad programs focused on nation building, liberation theology and decolonizing the mind while reporting on social and political issues in the region. Follow her on Twitter at @jschilmo

Foxconn, Apple Announce Improved Factory Conditions, Workers Not Convinced

(MintPress)-Apple supplier, Foxconn, plans to improve working conditions after a report released on Thursday by the Fair Labor Association (FLA) confirmed overworked employees and unsafe working standards in its Chinese factories. The announcement seems to be a foot forward for Apple, which was hit with protests and petitions over inhumane working conditions at Foxconn factories that […]

Janessa Schilmoeller
By Janessa Schilmoeller
A cardboard cutout of Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs portrayed with devil's horns and paper figures symbolizing Chinese workers are placed by protesters outside a Foxconn's annual general meeting during a protest in Hong Kong Tuesday, June 8, 2010. Protesters picketed Foxconn's annual general meeting in Hong Kong on Tuesday, accusing both the Apple Inc. supplier and computer giant of poor corporate ethics after a recent spate of suicides at Foxconn factories in mainland China. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

(MintPress)-Apple supplier, Foxconn, plans to improve working conditions after a report released on Thursday by the Fair Labor Association (FLA) confirmed overworked employees and unsafe working standards in its Chinese factories. The announcement seems to be a foot forward for Apple, which was hit with protests and petitions over inhumane

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Report blames “Vacuum of Responsibility” for 63 migrant deaths in Mediterranean

(MintPress)-The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted a report on Thursday, outlining a “catalogue of failures” that led to the deaths of 63 people fleeing Libyan conflict by sea last year, putting into context a broader range of issues regarding the failure of international bodies to communicate and take responsibility for search and […]

Janessa Schilmoeller
By Janessa Schilmoeller
Mask-wearing rescuers put empty coffins on the Lampedusa's dock following the death of twenty-five African migrants who tried to reach Italy from Libya, Monday, Aug.1, 2011. The migrants died in the hold of a rickety boat so packed with people that the migrants could not get out as they struggled to breathe, officials said Monday after the bodies were found below deck. The 50-foot (15-meter) boat was carrying 296 people, including women and children. Hundreds of migrants fleeing unrest and conflict in Libya and across North Africa are believed to have died since the beginning of the year in desperate journeys across the Mediterranean. (AP Photo/Alessia Capasso)

(MintPress)-The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted a report on Thursday, outlining a “catalogue of failures” that led to the deaths of 63 people fleeing Libyan conflict by sea last year, putting into context a broader range of issues regarding the failure of international bodies to communicate and take responsibility for

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Israeli’s Use Facebook To Spread Peace Movement with Iranians

(MintPress)-The anti-war movement is picking up steam in Israel, as demonstrated through recent protests in Tel Aviv and a viral people-to-people peace movement, leaving the world wondering who actually supports Netanyahu’s push for a military strike against Iran? Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spent the past few months solidifying support from Israelis as well […]

Janessa Schilmoeller
By Janessa Schilmoeller

(MintPress)-The anti-war movement is picking up steam in Israel, as demonstrated through recent protests in Tel Aviv and a viral people-to-people peace movement, leaving the world wondering who actually supports Netanyahu’s push for a military strike against Iran? Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spent the past few months

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US World Leader in Executing Prisoners

(MintPress)-Amnesty International released its annual Death Sentences and Executions report on Tuesday, once again proving that the United States is a global leader, not in protecting human rights, but in violating them. The United State ranked 5th among countries with the most executions in 2011, following China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. At least 20 […]

Janessa Schilmoeller
By Janessa Schilmoeller
execution room

(MintPress)-Amnesty International released its annual Death Sentences and Executions report on Tuesday, once again proving that the United States is a global leader, not in protecting human rights, but in violating them. The United State ranked 5th among countries with the most executions in 2011, following China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and

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Obama administration assures petitioners – “We’re listening. Seriously”

(MintPress)-The White House responded on Thursday to a petition claiming that the Obama Administration fails to take seriously petitions submitted through its We the People online platform. The e-petition, titled “Actually take these petitions seriously instead of just using them as an excuse to pretend you are listening,” received 37,167 signatures, prompting the Obama Administration to […]

Janessa Schilmoeller
By Janessa Schilmoeller
A screenshot from from the White house "We the People" petition webpage.

(MintPress)-The White House responded on Thursday to a petition claiming that the Obama Administration fails to take seriously petitions submitted through its We the People online platform. The e-petition, titled “Actually take these petitions seriously instead of just using them as an excuse to pretend you are listening,” received 37,167

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Election Observers in Myanmar May Distract from Continued Human Rights Abuses

(MintPress)-The United States was “encouraged” on Wednesday after Myanmar’s president, U Thein Sein, invited American and European observers to monitor by-elections on April 1, marking the country’s latest step towards democratic reforms after decades of military dictatorship. However, the disputed efficacy of international election observer missions and Myanmar’s continued human rights abuses against various Burmese […]

Janessa Schilmoeller
By Janessa Schilmoeller
Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni, front center right, accompanies to Myanmar President Thein Sein, center left, as they walk on the red carpet after a welcome meeting in Cambodian Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, March 21, 2012. (Heng Sinith)

(MintPress)-The United States was “encouraged” on Wednesday after Myanmar’s president, U Thein Sein, invited American and European observers to monitor by-elections on April 1, marking the country’s latest step towards democratic reforms after decades of military dictatorship. However, the disputed efficacy of international election observer

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Push for Expedited Pipeline Construction May Have Little Effect on Gas Prices

(MintPress)-Under pressure to lower prices at the pump, President Obama is expected to announce in Cushing, Oklahoma on Thursday his plans to expedite a permit to TransCanada Corporation for the southern portion of the Keystone XL pipeline that will stretch from Oklahoma to Texas. Obama’s stop in Oklahoma is part of a four-state tour to […]

Janessa Schilmoeller
By Janessa Schilmoeller
President Barack Obama discusses his oil and gas policies during a visit to a drilling site Wednesday, March 21, 2012 in Maljamar, N.M. (AP Photo/Odessa American, Mark Sterkel)

(MintPress)-Under pressure to lower prices at the pump, President Obama is expected to announce in Cushing, Oklahoma on Thursday his plans to expedite a permit to TransCanada Corporation for the southern portion of the Keystone XL pipeline that will stretch from Oklahoma to Texas. Obama’s stop in Oklahoma is part of a four-state tour to

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