The central theme of the International AIDS Conference was supposed to be the war on drugs. As I highlighted in my last post, criminalization has been proven to fuel the epidemic, while engaging directly with people with a higher risk for HIV significantly decreases transmission and death. The conference was in Vienna expressly to “bridge” […]
By Cordelia Rizzo Tired of the erosion of the social fabric caused by the proliferation of organized crime heists and other social misfortunes in Mexico? Televisa, one of the country’s largest TV consortiums, thinks it has an American Idol-style answer for you! It is indeed quite a contest. Last June, it introduced Iniciativa México, a […]
UNICEF, Darfur rebels agree on terms to protect children One of Darfur’s main rebel groups, the Justice and Equality Movement, will sign an agreement with UNICEF this week to protect children, according to the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue. Rebel groups and government forces have actively recruited child soldiers into their ranks in the past, say […]
Prisons are considered “hotbeds” for HIV. Some prisons in the world have HIV rates up to 65 percent, and the HIV rate of prisoners is often significantly higher than that of the outside community—Zambian prisoners have a prevalence of 27 percent, while the national HIV rate is 15 percent. This is in part due to […]
Sean Patrick Murphy just posted a good review of The Stoning of Soraya M. over on the Global Films blog. The film is based on the book of the same name by French-Iranian writer Freidoune Sahebjam which tells the true story of one of Iran’s many stoning victims under Sharia law. More than anything, it […]
Yesterday, July 12, 2010 was the six-month anniversary of the earthquake which devastated the island nation of Haiti, killing more than 220,000 and which left even more Haitians displaced, homeless, or without adequate shelter. The earthquake also took a drastic toll on the country’s education system. In February I reported on the state of the […]
In Haiti, reconstruction grinds Six months after a massive earthquake devastated Haiti relief and reconstruction efforts have stalled as overwhelmed Haitian authorities struggle to assert control and donors fail to deliver promised funding. More than 1.4 million peoples remain without adequate permanent housing. Children’s advocates worry available services are inadequate and the reality many families […]
MDG 3: “Finding New Ways to Empower Women” The United Nations Foundation, in collaboration with Devex, would like to hear from you about your experience promoting gender equality and empowering women. World leaders are gathering again this year to map out the homestretch of this momentous campaign. The Sept. 20-22 United Nations Millennium Development Goals […]
Jessica D’Itri Little Tales of Misogyny by Patricia Highsmith consists of 17 very short stories, each featuring a distasteful female protagonist. The writing is very spare, so the tales come across almost as fables. Each one tells a tragic, weird story where somebody ends up dead or worse. The female characters are completely unredeemable, so […]
Every Child Matters is holding a video contest in response to the 2010 midterm elections. The environment, jobs, and consumer protection are the hot button issues at the center of the elections this year and Every Child Matters believes that children and families ought to be made a priority during this year’s campaign season. Therefore […]
Perhaps this increasingly ridiculous spy saga was just a brilliant marketing ploy to promote the upcoming spy thriller Salt, starring Angelina Jolie?
The protection of the rights of women and girls and the increasement of opportunities to women across the globe is often overlooked or undervalued, however they are vital to are vital to the overall economic development and prosperity from the individual family unit, communities, countries, and our global comunity. Last week, the Economist Intelligence Unit launched the […]
Today I spent my Fourth of July gathered with some dear family and a few close friends boiling in the heat of our nation’s capital. It was probably the most crowed place I have ever been in my entire life and yet it seemed some how relaxed and uncrowded. While I am not sure I would brave […]
Repression, certainly. The news coming out of Rwanda doesn’t look good. As the country prepares for elections in August (which current president Kagame is almost certain to win) dissident voices and opposition party leaders are feeling the heat. Last week editor-journalist Jean-Léonard Rugambage was shot dead outside his house. He worked for Umuvugizi, a banned […]
This week the battle against child trafficking has made huge hurdles with the introduction of a new bill, the Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act of 2010 (DMSTDVS). The bill was introduced this week by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), who are the co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus […]