article of the day: El Dorado

El Dorado

El Dorado—Spanish for “the gilded man”—is the fabled city of gold and jewels believed by the 16th-century Spanish and other Europeans to exist somewhere in South America. The legend supposedly originated from the Chibcha people of Colombia, who each year anointed a chieftain and rolled him in gold, which he then ceremonially washed off in a sacred lake, casting offerings of emeralds and gold into the waters. Who were some of the explorers who searched for El Dorado, and where did they look? More… Discuss

US Authorities Rescue 168 Children in Sex Trafficking Sting

A weeklong Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) sting operation spanning the US has led to the arrest of 281 pimps and the rescue of 168 children from sex traffickers. Approximately 400 law enforcement agencies in over 100 cities took part in Operation Cross Country VIII, part of the FBI’s Innocence Lost National Initiative, which, since its inception in 2003, has recovered approximately 3,600 children and gained 1,450 convictions against those exploiting them. More… Discuss

News: PIRACY PAYS OFF FOR CRIMINAL UNDERWORLD

Piracy Pays Off for Criminal Underworld

A joint World Bank–UN Office on Drugs and Crime–Interpolstudy estimates that between 2005 and 2012 acts ofpiracy brought in $339 million to $413 million in ransompayouts. Most of this money goes not to the pirates themselves but to the financiers behind them. These kingpins then use their ill-gotten gains to fund both legitimate business activities as well as various criminal operations, including further piracy, human trafficking, and drug and arms dealing. More… Discuss