News of the global food crisis is increasingly inescapable and as the price of food continues to skyrocket around the world, those most effected are women and children. Those children who are already most vulnerable are now placed in even more danger as the food crisis continues without any visible signs of curtailing. What is […]
Here's one last resource related to President Bush's recent trip to the Middle East. Brookings Institution scholar Martin Indyk, a former Ambassador to Israel, speaks with ABC's Martha Raddatz about Bush's attempts at achieving peace in the Middle East. He also addresses, more broadly, the policy options at the next US President's disposal for dealing with the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. […]
"If you don't violate someone's human rights some of the time, you probably aren't doing your job," an American official told the Washington Post. This was in relation to an article on CIA torture of al-Qaida and Taliban suspects at the Bagram Air Force in 2002. Two unarmed civilians were captured and tortured to death […]
Here's an interesting report featured on the Beirut-based, and Dutch-funded, Menassat.com. It touches upon the double-edged sword of new media in conflict zones. Some argue that while this technology might contribute to transparency by enabling “citizen journalism”, it may also stir sectarian strife by enabling individuals to publicize incidents of political violence. Alexandra Sandels takes […]
Last night, on the way home from dinner with friends, I bumped into another friend and colleague I had not seen in some time. This individual, who first came to the U.S. as a political refugee from Kenya, began to tell me about the violence in his homeland and the risks to peace. On an […]
I thought I’d add to last week's post about President Bush's trip to the Middle East, by pointing out two new analyses. First, the Washington Post's White House correspondent Michael Abramowitz wrote in great detail about the various steps of Bush's mideast trip. Second, the Center for American Progress in their daily “Progress Report” published a thorough […]
Many of you have probably followed the debate at the University of Berkley re: the position of Professor John Yoo. Briefly, Yoo is deemed to be one of the chief enablers of the U.S. torture program and the author of key memos in this area. The New York Times, in an editorial, describes the memos […]
While Israel has been celebrating its 60th anniversary, US President George W. Bush took a five-day trip to the Middle East (May 13-May 18). On May 15, President Bush addressed members of Israel's Knesset. His remarks were controversial in the US domestic arena on account of his supposed criticism (attack?) of presidential candidate Barack Obama […]
This weekend saw an increase in violence against immigrants in South Africa. The attacks began a week or so ago in the township of Alexandra (near Johannesburg) and has been escalating. As in similar outbreaks in recent years around the world, this situation seems to be one where immigrants are being blamed for the ills […]
Two Osama Bin Laden audio statements came out over the weekend. The first, released this past Friday, coincided with the 60th anniversary of the Palestinian nakba. This Arabic term translates to “catastrophe”, and refers to the establishment of the state of Israel in May of 1948. Not surprisingly, Bin Laden decided to stress the the […]
Christians and Global Warming – Christians Launch Campaign against Global Warming Hype is the story from “The Christian Post.” “The “We Get It!‘ declaration, which currently has nearly 100 signers, is backed by prominent Christians including Tony Perkins of Family Research Council, Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family, award-winning radio host Janet Parshall, […]
Intrepid is the usual label for a distinguished character, a person of influence. It would be fair to judge Italy's own Pier Paolo Pasolini as such and more. Film-maker, playwright, poet, novelist, etc., indelibly surrounded by controversy. Perhaps less well known was Paolo's column as a political thinker who challenged the traditionalist conventions of Italian […]
Earlier this month the American Foreign Service Association held its annual ceremony honoring the Foreign Servicemen and women who lost their lives in the line of duty. Their names are eched into memorial plaques on the wall near the entrance to the State Depatment. This year sadly saw two more names etched onto the memorial wall: Steven Thomas […]
The website for the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) in Jordan recently featured an interview with its new Comptroller General Dr. Hamam Sa’id. Sa’id, who spent a year studying at Temple University back in 1979, addresses a number of issues that have come to nag the organization over the past year. While Sa’id's commentary should perhaps be […]
