The 1billionhungry project is a petition campaign launched to call attention to the fact that there are 1 billion people around the world who suffer from hunger, and to urge people to demand action from politicians and policymakers. British actor Jeremy Irons appears in a short video for the campaign, echoing Peter Finch’s 1976 performance […]
It’s rare that human rights activists get truly excited about anything happening in Washington, let alone celebratory. But that is not the case this week as yesterday the US took a step forward in helping end Africa’s longest running conflict with the House of Representatives passing the Lord’s Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery […]
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has released the results from their latest round of funding for innovative projects. This round consists of 78 awards, of $100,000 each, and were chosen from nearly 3,000 submissions. Reading the list was a wonder. Winners include ideas for carnivorous plants and insecticide-treated scarves to prevent malaria, a circumcision tool […]
Following one of the most exciting and closely-watched political moments in recent British history, VII Photo Agency has published a gallery of David Cameron photographs. The photos, taken by VII photographer Marcus Bleasdale, are a glimpse into the harried life of a politician on the road. The photo essay can be seen here: http://www.viiphoto.com/showstory.php?nID=1123 More […]
The debate over Justice Goldstone continues – The Atlantic correspondent Jefferey Goldberg and Jonathan Chait at The New Republic both recently wrote about Goldstone’s time as a judge in apartheid South Africa. Sasha Polakow-Suransky again draws attention to Israel’s own involvement with the apartheid regime, which involved several decades of arms business. *********** Hizbul Islam […]
Time magazine recently published an article which indicated that child abuse will likely climb as the economic downturn continues. The article, Study: Shaken-Baby Cases Rose During the Recession, reports on a study which was presented on May 1, 2010 at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting in Vancouver, Canada. Child-abuse expert Dr. Rachel Berger of […]
President Karzai of Aghanistan is in Washington visiting President Obama this week and is being extended a very warm welcome. This marks a remarkable turnaround in American strategy towards a leader many saw as recalcitrant and unhelpful in the U.S. war against the Taliban and al-Qaida. The U.S. had taken to scolding, prodding and criticizing […]
To tell you that I haven’t been skeptical about the value of a weak Senate climate and energy bill would be lying to you. For one thing, I’m pretty happy with how the EPA has been approaching the regulation of greenhouse gases. I’d hate to see strong programs like this and the Regional Greenhouse Gas […]
Judge Baltasar Garzon, a pioneer of universal jurisdiction against heads of state, was offered a job by the International Criminal Court today. This comes as Baltasar is being persecuted by far right groups in his home country of Spain. From the Office of the Prosecutor: “The Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the International Criminal […]
The fact that people of all political stripes take issue with this movie goes a long way to revealing its even handedness. Director Bonni Cohen does a wonderful job of introducing the audience to the men and women who interact with the Guantanamo detainees all day, every day. The prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has […]
The U.S. joined WWII allies to commemorate Victory in Europe Day on Sunday. Although such allied commemorations are not new, you may be surprised to learn that this was the first time that the U.S. participated in an event hosted by Russia. As The New York Times reports: … this year, American soldiers were invited […]
Africa unites to fight malaria Authorities in 26 African countries announced a joint push to eliminate malaria deaths by 2015. To meet that goal, the program would need to provide bed nets, insecticides and medicine to every person on the continent by the end of 2010. mHealth technologist makes Time’s list of big thinkers Time […]
The publication of the National Peace Corps Association, WorldView Magazine, takes on global food issues in its latest edition. In the article, “A Push for Self-Determination” Kyle Freund, the Communications Manager for Coffee Kids, writes about the campaign for food sovereignty in Veracruz, Mexico. The article discusses how the people of Veracruz have, with the […]
I was a fan of Gordon Brown on climate change. Among other virtues, he was outspoken about the Denialists and he picked up the ball on climate finance and ran with it after Copenhagen. He is leaving No. 10 today and David Cameron will soon be the new Prime Minister. See this from the AP. […]
The Elena Kagan nomination has re-un-corked discussion about Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Kagan, while serving as dean of Harvard Law School (HLS), wrote an email criticizing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, calling it “repugnant.” You can read the full text of the letter here. As Kagan explains in the letter, HLS has a policy that requires […]