The New York Times reports that a list of terrorism suspects released today by the Saudi government includes eleven former Guantanamo detainees who passed through a Saudi rehabilitation program after their release. There’ve been a number of similar articles throughout the last month, and, indeed, starting in 2004. The struggles of the Saudi rehabilitation program […]
It's no secret that various terrorist groups have gotten significant support from Pakistan – either from elements of InterServices Intelligence or from private actors in the country. In the last year, ISI has been implicated in aiding an attack on the Indian consulate in Kabul, and Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, the alleged perpetrators of the Mumbai attack, allegedly […]
It was only a matter of time before the next Philanthro-jargon was born. Thank you Davos. Ian Wilhelm raises some interesting questions on how significantly Davos influences philanthropic discussions. After all, some of the greatest minds and largest donors are there to convene on the pressing issues of the day. There are some contrasting opinions […]
A few weeks ago I noted an op-ed by former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who counseled the Obama Administration to move quickly to improve U.S. relations with China. On the surface, it appears that Team Obama may be doing that. According to this CNN report, Hillary Clinton's first official trip abroad as Secretary of […]
Chavez Beats Back His Student Opposition Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is taking no chances in the runup to a Feb. 15 referendum on term limits, quashing the only effectively mobilized opposition group in Venezuelan — students. Student leaders have called Chavez’s campaign against them an act of desperation but admit it appears to be effective. […]
In response to the previous two posts the following is a true story of how one can emerge from tragedy and violence, and teach peace to children in the face of conflict. Teaching peace is more than just teaching about an end to war and armed conflict that has engulfed nations, but also bringing peace […]
Students of public diplomacy and propaganda are quick to point out the difference between the two, but sometimes it's not so easy. One man's strategic government effort to communicate with foreign publics can be another man's tendentious information blitz to smear the reputation of another country. Nowadays, the clumsy and blunt-edged attacks that characterized the […]
Coverage of President Barack Obama’s inauguration in the British and German press shared many of the “new dawn for America” sentiments featured in the U.S. media. Equally, a number of European reports warned that while Obama starts with a huge well of goodwill, his “magic” will not last for ever. Broadly speaking, the European left […]
This documentary is brutal. It depicts the torture that took place in places like Bagram, Afghanistan, Abu Ghraib, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba by US forces. It starts with telling the story of an Afghan taxi driver named Dilawar who was mistaken for a terrorist and who died from the severe beating he took while […]
This film, which tracks the journey of revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara through South America, is a subtle examination of revelation. The story begins in 1952 when Guevara and a friend set off on a beaten up motorcycle to see the continent. The pair leave from their native Buenos Aires, Argentina and set a course for […]
Children are undisputedly the most victimized by war, and the long-term impact which is has on their development is profound, so how do you teach peace and tolerance in the midst of violence and hate? A child woken each night by thundering bombs of the "enemy', who wakes only to walk through the rubble filled […]
My dictionary defines vector as “an organism (as an insect) that transmits a pathogen.” Researchers from Australia and the University of Wisconsin-Madison (my alma mater) have been looking at the species of mosquito that carries dengue fever. Their studies indicate that climate change, on its present track, will increase mosquito habitat across much of Australia, […]
The military call it Gitmo, the journalists Guantanamo, the world – a human rights disaster where the individual ceased to exist. The Geneva Conventions were summarily tossed aside. This is a war where rules and conventions no longer apply said Albert Gonzalez in his Memorandum to President Bush in 2002. And for the next seven […]
“Peace is in the waves at sea. Peace must begin with you and me!” – Student, Gander Middle School, Gander, Newfoundland, Canada “Why destroy when we could create, Keep the peace, erase the hate.” – Normal Community West High School, Normal, IL, US “As I look around the world I sigh, And think, We could […]
Public Diplomacy blogger Mark Dillen recently posted on Barack Obama's appearance on Al-Arabiya TV, highlighting some initial positive feedback to the new president's interview. There's no question that Obama's gesture was a unique, and relatively genuine, effort to set the tone for the ‘new face’ of US Middle East policy. However, one might wonder if […]