Education is the one sure ticket out of poverty for millions of children around the world. Yet while we know that knowledge is power, there are still 72 million children globally who do not have access to quality schooling. However the power behind education is not just found in …
The legal and cultural battle of whether or not Muslims should be able to wear a headscarf, hijab, in educational or other government facilities has been a well-publicized, contentious debate in such places as Turkey and France, both either straddling or inside the West, but this issue is also starting …
The LA Times has an interesting Q and A up today with Farhad Khosrokohavar on his work interviewing inmates in a French prison who were detained for terrorism.
Federal Efficiency Initiative – As I think I’ve noted before, DOE and EPA have often struggled mightily against political headwinds and still managed to get some heroic work done. (They’ve also, to be sure, caved, on more than a few occasions over the years, to pressure from on high, abdicating …
Perhaps the benefit of a lame-duck Presidency is the knowledge that, in a few months time, your actions will no longer have an impact on the future administration. Mr. Bush's new tactic of border-free war, where all targets are legitimate regardless of location, would have never been possible …
On the Djemaa el-Fna, a square in Marrakesh, a small girl sits on a pink plastic chair. On her lap is a tray of almond cookies. All around her the world passes by, unaware of her existence. She sits and waits for a sale.
Behind her is a band of young …
What form does philanthropy take outside of the U.S.? In upcoming “Country Profile” posts, I seek to illuminate a country's history, current trends, and future questions surrounding international philanthropy.
History: Like many countries, philanthropy in China has roots in the values espoused by native and imported religions. From the Confusion and Buddhist traditions, charity in China …
Thankfully for the future and our global security children are increasingly being brought into the fight against climate change. Earlier this month, on 14 November, The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) enlisted the help of North American youth to help tackle climate change at a summit in Chicago. The …
There was an apparent coup attempt in Guinea-Bissau over the weekend. This IRIN report shows how the coup attempt “has underscored the country's chronic political volatility.”
Amidst the constant thrum of tumult in Zimbabwe — the criticism from foreign dignitaries locked out of the country, the outbreak of cholera throughout much of the country, a surge in anthrax that has killed both people and …
You may have noticed that one of the post categories for this blog is “U.S. Aid” and it's devoted to news and commentary about U.S. efforts to provide financial and humanitarian assistance to other countries. I see this …
Good news that hopefully just keeps getting better. The Afghan government, not US/NATO troops, has arrested 10 suspects in the Nov. 12 female student and teacher acid attack. It looks like it was a combination of local Kandahar and federal police …
The Bush administration, in an about face, has decided to release Salim Hamdan, the former driver for al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, from detention at the Guantanamo Bay prison facility.
Hamdan has emerged as the center-piece for the Bush administration's detainee policy in the so-called war on terror. …
The senior leadership of the Holy Land Foundation was convicted today of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists – in this case, Hamas – as well as money laundering and tax evasion. The Dallas Morning News describes the changes each side made to …
A Russian journalist assaulted and left for dead for exposing an abuse of power by the authorities.
The whole world knows the story of Anna Politkovskaya: a Putin opponent gunned down in the lobby of her Moscow apartment after publishing a series of articles …
