Will Hamas-Syrian relations be affected by the Arab state's recent Turkish-mediated talks with Israel? According to a report on AlJazeera.net, Syria's dependency on groups like Hamas and Hezbollah for power, and the shifting of the strategic landscape in its favor, may dissuade the Arab state from distancing itself from these militant groups. The report features […]
The former Finnish president, Martti Ahtisaari, has won UNESCO's annual peace prize. Ahtisaari was the President of Finland from 1994 to 2000. The award is known as the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize, and Ahtisaari is the recipient of the award on account of “his life-time contribution to world peace.” Mr. Ahtisaari is the founder of the NGO, Crisis […]
Senator Obama's policy of negotiating with our enemies has come under fire recently from both Senator McCain as well as from Senator Clinton. Philip Fernando the former editor of a Sri Lankan paper, the Sunday Observer, weighs in on the issue in a piece published yesterday by the Asian Tribune. Here's an excerpt: “Obama has seized […]
Most of the year, this blog is dedicated to covering violations of the laws of war – but it's appropriate for us, as Americans, to take a moment today and thank our countrymen in the Armed Forces who serve us with honor and courage. We are, now and ever, deeply in their debt. Happy Memorial […]
*names have been changed The sun is beating down hard on the baked soil. Rows of limp corn bow their heads as if in reverence to the ominous melting peaks of Mount Kilimanjaro in the background. The old taboos are cast and fear is in the watery eyes of 15-year old Vallery.* She stands along […]
On this Memorial Day as we remember all those who fell in the fight for freedom, forget also not the children for which so many have died for. Those children for whom freedom has been fought for around the world, those who have been left orphaned by the violence of hate and war. Remember the […]
May 25th this year marks the eighth anniversary of Israel's military withdrawal from south Lebanon in 2000. While most of the country was preoccupied with the election of Lebanon's new president, the anniversary was celebrated this weekend at all levels of Hezbollah's media and popular culture – from the towns of south Lebanon, to television […]
Last year, The Gambia's "president", Yahya Jammeh, revealed his cure for HIV and Aids. State media broadcasted a report on the president's healing powers on January 18th, and within days, hundreds began lining up at the presidential palace, awaiting his miracle remedy. Fridays and Saturdays were reserved for asthma, while those with Aids came on […]
Dear Esteemed Readers, Appologies and thanks for your patience, while I have been busy on other projects traveling, thus not giving the Children's blog my full attention. However I wanted to report back to you that my trip to Budapest, Hungary was a success, I attended the 7th Annual Conference on Violence and the Contexts […]
From April 2004 and October 2007 child soldiers participated in armed conflict in Afghanistan, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Cote d'Ivoire, the DRC, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Thailand and Uganda. The report also highlights the often forgotten use of girls as child […]
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are largely being fought by conventional military forces. However, America is also engaged in low intensity conflicts in other countries, mostly using US Army Special Forces (SF). One conflict we have been heavily engaged in over the years is the 40 year long people's war in Colombia. The FARC […]
Steven Barnes, Assistant Dean of Public Affairs at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School authored an op-ed for the International Herald Tribune yesterday. It discusses what is yet known of the three presidential candidates’ public diplomacy strategies. Here's a summary from Barnes’ piece. Senator Obama: In an interview with the San Fransisco Chronicle in February (listen to it […]
Tax Credits for Renewables – The Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008 (H.R. 6049) passed the House on Wednesday. See this from RenewableEnergyWorld.com and this from Gristmill. Although it was looking like a done deal not long ago , see Tax Breaks, Finally, for Renewables , there may yet be choppy waters reconciling […]
“If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children.” -Mahatma Gandhi Children are the root of peace, should we not invest in them and their future then peace will only be an enigma. Children […]
The Syrian Al-Ba’ath daily, the official paper of the country's ruling Ba’ath party, featured an article Thursday addressing concerns over a shortage in drinking water in the province of Damascus. The article indicates low rainfall has caused a steady drop in water levels in the Damascus basin, which could pose a problem during the hotter […]