Yesterday I brought you a quote from Epictetus, and it had me thinking of his Philosophical teachings. As a philosopher, Epictetus believed all external events are are out of one's control, and decided by fate, but that we are responsible for our own actions. He believed that suffering came from trying to control the uncontrollable, […]
Coal Mining Debris Rule Is Approved is the story from the "NY Times" earlier this week. National environmental groups and regional groups like the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition were, understandably, up in arms. The NRDC, for instance, said in their release: "The EPA's concurrence and approval of this defective rule governing coal mining is ecologically […]
“Only the educated are free.” -Epictetus (a Greek Stoic philosopher, most likely born a slave). An empty classroom is surely a sad sight, and the sight of a child denied an education not only brings tears to one's eyes, but enslaves nations. Children are denied an education due to poverty, war, disability…and those who do […]
Media reports late Friday said five security guards with Blackwater USA were told to surrender to the FBI by Monday to face manslaughter charges stemming from a 2007 shooting incident in Iraq. Security contractors fired in response to alleged hostile fire during the Sept. 16 escort of a State Department official, killing 17 Iraqis. FBI […]
I read a wide variety of online news sources and I’m used to seeing certain names pop up on certain sites as regular contributors. It's rare though for a name familiar to me from foreign policy sites to suddenly appear on the trendy pop culture sites, so I noticed when this opinion piece from Joseph […]
For my view on the year and what is to come, have a look at the 2008 Philanthropy in Review page. See if you agree.
Day three after the tragedy of Agadir. My contact in Laayoune says students are being rounded up and arrested. In Agadir, things can't be much better. As I left the station, four garrisons of police vans were stationed at the far end of the concrete tarmac. Somewhere on that concrete pad once laid the crushed […]
I have flagged the "FT's" stellar coverage on climate change and energy on numerous occasions. I just want to stop to highlight the release this week of the third in their three-part series on climate change this year. The first tranche of stories was on science, the second on politics. This week they look at […]
The International Herald Tribune reports that the emerging links between the Mumbai terrorists and Pakistan are complicating U.S. diplomatic efforts to ease tensions between India and Pakistan and assist the investigation into the attacks: The new links to Pakistan added fresh complications to American diplomatic efforts to secure cooperation between India and Pakistan, which […]
Cluster bomb treaty signing begins Representatives from more than 100 countries began signing a treaty to ban the use, creation and storage of cluster bombs Wednesday. Some of the world's largest military players, including the U.S., Russia, China and India have refused to support of the effort. UN envoy to press Nepal on child soldiers […]
As nation-states gradually give way to quasi-imperial geopolitical spheres of influence, artificial city-states are appearing in Asia and the Middle East to punctuate global crossroads. Beyond Singapore, these uber-habitats are signposts of the future intersections of radically conceived designer realities and a millennial world culture. Famous examples, such as Dubai's man-made archipelagoes‚ “The World” and […]
Obama buzz felt at global climate talks reads the headline from the A.P. John Kerry, the next chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, is quoted. “”America is back,’ says Sen. John Kerry, underscoring that Barack Obama’s election signals a U.S. intent to regain a leadership role on climate change. “After eight years of obstruction […]
Blake Hounshell at Passport provides discussions of two critical suspects in the bombings: Dawood Ibrahim and Yusuf Muzzamil. Muzzamil is a leader of Lashkar e-Tayyiba, a Kashmiri terrorist group with operations around the subcontinent and alleged ties to the Pakistani state, particularly Pakistan's radical Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Naturally, the path forward will be fraught with […]
Too often we focus on what we cannot do, and not what we can do. For millions who have been labeled with a disability the stigma of the word is often hard to shake, but it is others who seem to have a harder time shaking the stigma. Some 10% of the world's population, or some […]
December 2nd is the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, the day was established by the United Nations in 1949. The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery was established to commemorate all the efforts to abolish slavery in every form. While the efforts of historical abolitionist, such as; Frederick Douglass, John Brown, William Wilberforce, and Harriet Tubman, […]