In what amounts to state-sanctioned torture, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the Senate Armed Services Committee she interrogators in Iraq were using so called harsh interrogation techniques. WASHINGTON (AP) ‚ A military interrogation expert, Air Force Col. Steven Kleinman, told Congress on Thursday that prior to the abuses at Abu Ghraib, he witnessed […]
At the UN General Assembly's high-level debate yesterday, representatives of three countries discussed the need to encourage dialogue "and mutual respect between peoples of different faiths, beliefs, and values." The UN News Centre reported that the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Jan Peter Balkenende said that governments face a challenge "in balancing the need to […]
The quest for parenthood is nothing new, however in our increasingly busy Western lives we are waiting longer and longer to get married and have children. The result of older motherhood has led many families to face infertility and difficulties in conceiving. The idea of having fertility treatments is no longer shocking and taboo, so […]
Amid the closure of several jihadist internet forums, it appears Al-Qaeda enthusiasts may be turning more to secondary online outlets to distribute major video releases and interact online. In a previous post last Friday, I mentioned how the As-Sahab media production house established a YouTube channel for the much awaited and delayed release of a […]
As you may have heard, there may or may not be a presidential debate tomorrow. Apparently one candidate wants to postpone the debate and the other wants to proceed as planned. Do you like how vaguely non-partisan I’m being? I only mention this because the debate was to be focused on foreign policy, which would […]
In the past week, the New York Times and the Financial Times have run stories suggesting that the United States ought to look toward the Swedish bank bail out plan of the early 1990s. Both articles suggest that the crisis in Sweden is comparable to the crisis roiling American financial markets, but fail to make […]
On Monday, American Abroad Media, the public radio program distributed through NPR, broadcast an excellent panel on the foreign policy challenges facing the next president. They couldn't have picked a more qualified cast. The discussion featured five former Secretaries of State – Madeleine K. Albright, James A. Baker, III, Warren Christopher, Henry Kissinger, and Colin […]
The United Nations Millennium Development goals are taking a U-turn according to Medical Emergency Relief International. Yesterday, the leaders of the world met at the UN General Assembly to discuss promises made all those years ago. In 200o, the heads of state promised to halve poverty by 2015, achieve six other quantifiable goals for reducing […]
Nicholas D. Kristof wrote an interesting editorial recently about the "sleaziness of this presidential campaign." His point was that the political campaign was transforming Obama into a Muslim after all, but only because "religious prejudice is becoming a proxy for racial prejudice." Actually, this column by Kristof is really scary, and if it's true that […]
Around the world millions up on millions of girls continue to remain marginalized. September 24th, International Girl Child Day, looks to bring light to the issues and awareness to the plight of girls across the globe. The fight for equality is far from new, and while historical battles have been fought and won across the […]
There have been a number of developments in Latin America that on the surface appear to be great challenges for the United States. Venezuala's president Hugo Chavez has emerged as a leader of a new anti-American movement, welcoming trade deals with Iran and hosting new military ventures with Russia. Bolivia has also signed billion dollar trade […]
The NEFA Foundation has posted some interesting documents highlighting the growing rift between the Ansar-al-Islam organization in Iraq. The group, formerly known as the Ansar al-Sunnah Army, has been ravaged by infighting between core members and a breakaway splinter organization 'the Shariah Committee of the Ansar al-Sunnah Army”. Ansar-al-Islam (Partisans or Supporters of Islam) is […]
The Sueddeutscher Zeitung published this interesting commentary, "Enemies, Vassals and Americans' on September 12 by Russian playwright Yevgeny Grischkowez. Playing off an assertion made by George Kennan that Russia has only vassals or enemies as neighbors; Grischokwez argues that an American cannot possibly understand the complex relationship between Russia and its neighbors as America is […]
Well, the Senate, after Republicans blocked a vote eight times previously, passed a tax package yesterday that includes the extension of the various credits for renewables. See this from Reuters and this from Bloomberg. The vote was a breathtaking 92-3. The draft legislation does pare away billions in oil and gas industry tax breaks in […]
September is Washington D.C.’s Human Trafficking Awareness Month, the event which was established thanks to the efforts of the DC Task Force on Human Trafficking. The Task Force was established in 2004 with the DC police department and the DC US Attorney’s office. Since the establishment of the Task Force, membership has grown to over […]