Suicide bombers are a mainstay in modern warfare, shock or dismay rarely comes as headlines like, “suicide bomber kills 11″, are splattered across our TV screens and newspapers. However while no longer a new tactic of war the use of suicide bombers has dramatically increased since its modern beginnings in the 198o’s which saw an […]
The NYTimes reported today that Russian subs were spotted nearly 200 miles off the East Coast of the United States, echoing the 1960s comedy, The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming, in which a Russian sub accidentally runs ashore off the coast of Massachusetts, causing an international incident and not a few laughs. By the mid-1960s, […]
‘Dozens’ of Guantanamo detainee cases have been referred to federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., New York and Virginia. US Attorney General Eric Holder has reportedly met with federal prosecutors from these jurisdictions, each of which has experience handling international terrorism cases. The debate continues as to what to do with the remaining 229 detainees, with […]
In the winter of 2005 myself and one other volunteer at the Coalition for the Homeless were driving around in a white van in New York City handing out food and whenever available, used clothing. We stopped at approximately 31 designated areas ranging from lower Manhattan all the way up into the Bronx. For anyone […]
U.N. council extends mandate of Darfur peacekeepers The UN Security Council members voted unanimously to extend the mandate of a joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission in the Darfur region of Sudan. The force, which gradually has been deployed to the region, is expected to reach 90% of its full operating complement by the end of […]
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran formally begins his second term this week after “winning” his disputed election. The June 12th election and the aftermath, which saw thousands of protesters take to the streets of Tehran, has complicated U.S. plans to forge a new engagement with Iran. This report in The New York Times notes the […]
As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, India is a critical part of the equation in solving the climate crisis, but is extremely sensitive to suggestions that it needs to quantify emission reduction targets. The Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh, has been keeping to a very hard line. “Treehugger” reports here that India Says Yes […]
This past weekend police violently broke up an opposition rally in the streets of Kuala Lumpur, highlighting once again the lack of certain freedoms in Malaysia. The rally was called to protest a security law that allows the government to preventatively detain certain defendants indefinitely without charges. The Internal Security Act of 1960 has been […]
On her ten day trip through Africa, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will make two stops in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) – capital Kinshasa and Goma in the east. Estimates state that conflict in the DRC (a country the size of the US east of the Mississippi) has resulted in 3.5 […]
I still have faith in President Barack Obama but there are some things that cannot just be ignored. His executive order in January was to close the disgrace that is Guantanamo Bay within one year – the holding pen of America’s hypocrisy. He had inherited two wars, a wrecked economy, a huge national debt and […]
As was noted in my recent post, Is there child labor in your make-up?, being a conscious consumer is more difficult that one often thinks in regards to some products, especially when one wants to ensure that they are purchasing goods that are child labor and slavery free. While it is true that being a […]
An article on a corruption investigation in Namibia related to Chinese investment there appeared in the NYTimes on Friday. China is confronting the growing pains of being an “imperial” power, as this giant nation increases its FDI and access to raw materials and markets in Africa, Latin America and elsewhere. Just like imperialists that came before, since […]
This past week was not a good one for human rights lawyers. As reported on this blog earlier this week, on Monday the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) suspended an Arab human rights group at the request of Algeria for hosting a “known terrorist” at a speaking event last year. The “known terrorist” here […]
A major human rights group is urging US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to take a tough stance on human rights and the rule of law during her seven nation trip to Africa next week. Her itinerary includes Kenya, where she will meet with representatives from both the Kenyan and Somali governments, and the Democratic […]
“The greatest inspiration is often born of desperation.” -Comer Cotrell, American Entrepreneur (1931- ) In the face of hardship and disaster, one most often finds the most inspiring people you will ever come across. For many when we reach the point of desperation we find ourselves over whelmed and wanting to give up, but lucky […]