Last week, the Carnegie Endowment held its yearly Nuclear Power Conference. As happens annually, the conference brought together hundreds of experts to discuss both civilian nuclear power and nuclear security concerns. Naturally, this year was a bit different due to the Fukushima affair. Despite the news from Japan, the consensus among the conference panelists appeared […]
Today, Tuesday, April 5, 2011, is SAAM Day of Action (formerly A Day to End Sexual Violence. Every year one day is designated as day for supporters to rally and take viable action to bring awareness too and prevent sexual assault. The day was set for to nationally to create increased awareness on sexual violence […]
UN Security Council Resolution 1973 (which you can download here) authorizes a no-fly zone in Libya, as well as some other things. The scope of those other things, though, is the source of much contention. The no-fly zone, as far as I can tell, is pretty straight forward. Paragraph 8 authorizes member states “to take […]
Food is in short supply in the Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire), where factions are fighting over the disputed presidential election of November, 2010. Incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo has refused to step down even though the United Nations, the African Union, the United States and the European Union have have recognized Alassane Ouattara as the winner. […]
You know the EPA made its endangerment finding on greenhouse gases for a reason: There are a number of ways in which human health is now being harmed or threatened by climate changes including steadily rising temperatures and temperature extremes. An article just out in a peer-reviewed journal of the National Institute of Environmental Health […]
Nigeria drives measles vaccination program Rural villages in Nigeria have become central to the battle against measles, with public awareness campaigns aimed at boosting immunization rates. Nigerian authorities provide the majority of funding for the effort, with the United Nations Foundation aiding Nigeria with financial and technical support. The UN Foundation and four other international […]
So, I was wrong – sort of. In an earlier post on the subject of NATO, I suggested that it was possible (though not certain) that Afghanistan could be NATO’s last big joint operation if the alliance did not undertake some form of mission revision. My reasoning was simple: if NATO could not maintain to […]
Has Shari’a Law gone too far, especially with children?, this was the question that I posed in November 2008 following the use of Shari’a law by the al-Shabaab rebel militia group in Somalia to stone to death a 13 year-old, Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow, for adultery after her father reported that she was raped by three […]
There’s an event next Wednesday, April 6th, in NYC that you might like to attend. It’s being cosponsored by NYU’s Center for Global Affairs (where I teach) and the government of Québec. Our public programming at CGA is, as a rule, pretty interesting and engaging. This program, Going North: Economic Development and Sustainable Livelihoods, “…will […]
Every 2 minutes in the United States someone is raped, leaving 1 out of every 6 American women a victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. According to the U.S. Department of Justice’s 2007 National Crime Victimization Survey, there were 248,300 victims of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault…these figures do not […]
According to the Administration for Children and Families, 12,180 children died from abuse and neglect between 2001 and 2008. However the actual number of child deaths is significantly higher, as many child maltreatment deaths are not recorded as such. Additionally a number of studies have shown that there is a substantial amount of child abuse […]
This film has drawn the ire of many a critic. Which is understandable given its content. The movie takes place in Ireland in 1920. Damien O’Donovan (played remarkably by Cillian Murphy) decides to join his brother Teddy in fighting the British instead of studying medicine in London. The violence with which the British Black and […]
Thank you, friends, for taking the time to read this blog on ethics and economics. We live in interesting and uncertain times. So many issues vie for our attention, especially for those who have the heart to change the world. Do we save the rainforest? Do we lobby for pro-life legislation? Pro-choice reinforcements? Should we […]
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948, is the foundational document of modern human rights. In Article 25, the UDHR lays out the right to health: “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and […]
President Obama delivered a prime-time address to the nation about U.S. military action in Libya on Monday, explaining his decision-making and offering his justification for the American intervention. This intervention would not be about seeking weapons of mass destruction, or about oil, or even about regime change, it would be about protecting civilians. I have […]