Editorial

Metalworker's shop.
Metalworker’s shop.
A woman cries in frustration as she searches for her missing relatives among the bones in shrouds that fill the gymnasium of the local sports center in Al-Musayab, Iraq. The center is now the home of an Iraqi human rights organization which is overseeing the exhumations of bodies from local mass graves. People come from all over to check the clothing and ID cards of the bodies, looking for relatives.
A woman cries in frustration as she searches for her missing relatives among the bones in shrouds that fill the gymnasium of the local sports center in Al-Musayab, Iraq. The center is now the home of an Iraqi human rights organization which is overseeing the exhumations of bodies from local mass graves. People come from all over to check the clothing and ID cards of the bodies, looking for relatives.
A Vista Grande Hotshot firefighter pauses to assess his surroundings during a night burning operation at the Station Fire near Los Angeles.
A Vista Grande Hotshot firefighter pauses to assess his surroundings during a night burning operation at the Station Fire near Los Angeles.
Men point to their missing relatives in street display of faces of Iraqis arrested and disappeared by Saddam Hussein's regime in the 1980's and 1990's.
Men point to their missing relatives in street display of faces of Iraqis arrested and disappeared by Saddam Hussein’s regime in the 1980’s and 1990’s.
An ethnic Albanian rebel soldier leads a journalist out of a Serb shoeshop he has been looting immediately after the end of fighting, in Prizren, Kosovo.
An ethnic Albanian rebel soldier leads a journalist out of a Serb shoeshop he has been looting immediately after the end of fighting, in Prizren, Kosovo.
A skeleton in the morgue in Orahovac/Rahovec, Kosovo, being examined for a war crimes case, shows signs of torture and murder: a bullet through the head, a shattered leg, broken ribs, and shrapnel from a hand-grenade.
A skeleton in the morgue in Orahovac/Rahovec, Kosovo, being examined for a war crimes case, shows signs of torture and murder: a bullet through the head, a shattered leg, broken ribs, and shrapnel from a hand-grenade.
A rally of the UBP, the government party, in Lefkosa/Nicosia, Northern Cyprus.
A rally of the UBP, the government party, in Lefkosa/Nicosia, Northern Cyprus.
A demonstrator at Occupy Oakland pauses to rest on a crosswalk next to Frank Ogawa Plaza.
A demonstrator at Occupy Oakland pauses to rest on a crosswalk next to Frank Ogawa Plaza.
Bones in shrouds fill the gymnasium of the local sports center in Al-Musayab, Iraq, now the home of an Iraqi human rights organization which is overseeing the exhumations of bodies from local mass graves. People come from all over to check the clothing and ID cards of the bodies, looking for relatives.
Bones in shrouds fill the gymnasium of the local sports center in Al-Musayab, Iraq, now the home of an Iraqi human rights organization which is overseeing the exhumations of bodies from local mass graves. People come from all over to check the clothing and ID cards of the bodies, looking for relatives.
People rushed to rescue the injured at the bombing of the Neve Salom synagog in the Galata neighborhood of Istanbul, Turkey. Windows were shattered up to 800m away, and the streets are filled with broken glass. There were about six bodies on the street outside, and about five bloodied people were being rushed away from the synagog and the shops nearby. The interior of the synagog was not damaged, but the entrance was devastated.
People rushed to rescue the injured at the bombing of the Neve Salom synagog in the Galata neighborhood of Istanbul, Turkey. Windows were shattered up to 800m away, and the streets are filled with broken glass. There were about six bodies on the street outside, and about five bloodied people were being rushed away from the synagog and the shops nearby. The interior of the synagog was not damaged, but the entrance was devastated.
The husband of an ethnic Albanian woman Krushe e Madhe is one of over 100 men who still missing and presumed dead.
The husband of an ethnic Albanian woman Krushe e Madhe is one of over 100 men who still missing and presumed dead.
Iraqis search a mass grave site for remains using a large digger in a frantic search to find long-missing relatives near Hillah, Iraq. The chaotic digging caused such destruction of evidence -- of both crimes against humanity and of identity -- that Human Rights Watch began a campaign to embarass the U.S. military into closing the site.
Iraqis search a mass grave site for remains using a large digger in a frantic search to find long-missing relatives near Hillah, Iraq. The chaotic digging caused such destruction of evidence — of both crimes against humanity and of identity — that Human Rights Watch began a campaign to embarass the U.S. military into closing the site.
Corpses lie on the ground in a dry ice mist, keeping cool, while volunteers take a rib for DNA samples, at the Yan Yao temple in Thailand where forensic scientists are working on the identification and storage of the dead. Most of the bodies are Thai, but occasionally a foreigner is found.
Corpses lie on the ground in a dry ice mist, keeping cool, while volunteers take a rib for DNA samples, at the Yan Yao temple in Thailand where forensic scientists are working on the identification and storage of the dead. Most of the bodies are Thai, but occasionally a foreigner is found.
Iraqis search a mass grave site for remains in a frantic search for relatives at a mass grave near Hillah, Iraq. They check the bones and clothes for identification papers, jewelery, even cigaret packs, looking for something familiar. The destruction of evidence (of crimes against humanity and of identity) was so great that Human Rights Watch began a campaign to embarass the U.S. military into closing the site.
Iraqis search a mass grave site for remains in a frantic search for relatives at a mass grave near Hillah, Iraq. They check the bones and clothes for identification papers, jewelery, even cigaret packs, looking for something familiar. The destruction of evidence (of crimes against humanity and of identity) was so great that Human Rights Watch began a campaign to embarass the U.S. military into closing the site.
Many of the bodies recovered by the U.N. Missing Persons Unit are actually just pieces of people, such as this unattached skull found at a reburial site. The International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) reburied many of the bodies it used for its investigations against Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic in mass graves but without having properly identified the corpses.
Many of the bodies recovered by the U.N. Missing Persons Unit are actually just pieces of people, such as this unattached skull found at a reburial site. The International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) reburied many of the bodies it used for its investigations against Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic in mass graves but without having properly identified the corpses.
A forensic anthropologist puts together a spinal column in the Orahovac/Rahovec morgue in Kosovo. Body bags often contain more than one body, so the investigators must piece them together to see how many they have found.
A forensic anthropologist puts together a spinal column in the Orahovac/Rahovec morgue in Kosovo. Body bags often contain more than one body, so the investigators must piece them together to see how many they have found.
Wedding of Mischa and Cristina Berlinski-Lampieri.
Wedding of Mischa and Cristina Berlinski-Lampieri.
Burned houses in Krushe e Mahde, site of a Serb massacre of Kosovar Albanians, in Kosovo.
Burned houses in Krushe e Mahde, site of a Serb massacre of Kosovar Albanians, in Kosovo.
A German sniper's view into the Kosovo town of Prizren from the castle on the hill, two kilometers away.
A German sniper’s view into the Kosovo town of Prizren from the castle on the hill, two kilometers away.
At night, in many towns all over Turkey, the men sit and gamble and smoke in tea houses like this one in the eastern city of Diyarbakir.
At night, in many towns all over Turkey, the men sit and gamble and smoke in tea houses like this one in the eastern city of Diyarbakir.
Burned forest from the Station Fire forms a backdrop for the storage shed of a water depot in the Angeles National Forest. The demand to protect structures built in forests (the "urban interface") rather than environmental concerns determines a great deal of wildfire management policy.
Burned forest from the Station Fire forms a backdrop for the storage shed of a water depot in the Angeles National Forest. The demand to protect structures built in forests (the “urban interface”) rather than environmental concerns determines a great deal of wildfire management policy.
An Iraqi man looks at the shrouded remains of bodies from a mass grave in the desert near Al-Musayab, Iraq. The bodies are on display in a former sports hall, now the home of the local human rights group which is exhuming the grave site.
An Iraqi man looks at the shrouded remains of bodies from a mass grave in the desert near Al-Musayab, Iraq. The bodies are on display in a former sports hall, now the home of the local human rights group which is exhuming the grave site.
A man is overcome with emotion while collecting his brother's remains from the mass grave at Hillah, Iraq. The site may contain up to 20,000 bodies.
A man is overcome with emotion while collecting his brother’s remains from the mass grave at Hillah, Iraq. The site may contain up to 20,000 bodies.
The Occupy Oakland demonstration marched through downtown Oakland to protest police brutality.
The Occupy Oakland demonstration marched through downtown Oakland to protest police brutality.
The boxing club practices outside the destroyed sports complex in Pristina, Kosovo.
The boxing club practices outside the destroyed sports complex in Pristina, Kosovo.
Bones in shrouds fill the gymnasium of the local sports center in Al-Musayab, Iraq, now the home of an Iraqi human rights organization which oversees the exhumations of bodies from local mass graves. People come from all over Iraq to check the clothing and ID cards of the bodies, hoping to discover a long-lost relative.
Bones in shrouds fill the gymnasium of the local sports center in Al-Musayab, Iraq, now the home of an Iraqi human rights organization which oversees the exhumations of bodies from local mass graves. People come from all over Iraq to check the clothing and ID cards of the bodies, hoping to discover a long-lost relative.
Protesters marched from downtown Oakland to the port at 3pm. The marchers blocked cargo trucks in Oakland, California, effectively shutting down parts of the port in the evening.
Protesters marched from downtown Oakland to the port at 3pm. The marchers blocked cargo trucks in Oakland, California, effectively shutting down parts of the port in the evening.
Families of the missing protest against the lack of information about their relatives outside the parliament building. There is not much information to be had, and communications between the many groups involved in the search for the missing is poor.
Families of the missing protest against the lack of information about their relatives outside the parliament building. There is not much information to be had, and communications between the many groups involved in the search for the missing is poor.
Eqrem Hoti walks along the railroad tracks that run through the village of Krushe e Mahde in Kosovo, where more than fifty men were massacred by Serb paramilitaries in 1999.
Eqrem Hoti walks along the railroad tracks that run through the village of Krushe e Mahde in Kosovo, where more than fifty men were massacred by Serb paramilitaries in 1999.