Read this wire article on recent congressional testimony by Oxfam and try to determine what Oxfam is actually recommending that Congress do. It's tough. My guess is the author didn't understand what the testimony was saying. But the testimony is well worth a read. They got it right, but probably mixed terms in a confusing […]
The Washington, DC-based Brookings Institute and the University of Bern's Project on on Internal Displacement has released an interesting report focusing on how to fuse human rights with US foreign policy. The author is Roberta Cohen, who, among her impressive credentials in the field of human rights, was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Human Rights at […]
General Petraeus has been tapped to be the new commander of Central Command and his current deputy, Lt-Gen Ray Odierno will succeed him as Commanding General, Multi-National Force – Iraq. It's interesting to note that like most generals in the army, both men do not have combat experience as infantrymen. When I was a soldier […]
Iran's Press TV reports “Chemical Ali” suffered a heart attack and was presumably returned to U.S. custody? Or am I reading into this. Says he was returned to a U.S. detention facility, but reading between the lines would lead you to believe he was NOT in a U.S. detention facility when he had the heart […]
The Global Philanthropy Forum (GPF) concluded its 7th annual conference in Redwood City, California earlier this month, featuring the Archbishop Desmond Tutu and other leaders, activists, and social investors engaged in global causes. Participants examined how their philanthropic efforts can strategically address issues including trafficking, child soldiers, hunger, education, and violent conflict. Looking to the […]
I just finished watching a truly terrific Nova special, Car of the Future, with the thoroughly irrepressible Tom and Ray Magliozzi, known to their adoring public as Click and Clack from Car Talk, the NPR supershow. Along with the laughs, you get a look at lightweight materials to revolutionize car manufacturing , the same materials […]
This blog previously discussed Iranian President Ahmedinejad's preferred US Presidential candidate. Now, while presidential elections are underway in Iran and in the US (albeit with an election day much further down the road), and while these countries’ governments clash on the international political stage, who do the Iranian public want to see in the Oval office come January? […]
Global Action Week is taking place from 21-27 April 2008 on the theme of "Quality Education to End Exclusion", a top EFA priority. UNESCO is organizing activities world-wide to highlight the issues of quality and inclusion according to the local context. The highlight of the week is that Fifteen countries have joined together to plan the […]
From EU Business.com. Seems the EU is on the hunt for information relating to the elusive Radovan Karadzic. Maybe he's having lunch with Osama bin Laden somewhere. 22 April 2008, 11:17 CET (SARAJEVO) – NATO-backed forces of the European Union said they conducted a raid Tuesday on the home of a Bosnian […]
Today April 22, 2008 is Earth Day and it's not only a day to remember to recycle and take a day off from the car, but a day to teach children about protecting their future…a day to learn how to safeguard their future. This year children across the United States had a chance to share […]
We’ve seen a couple of great documentaries in my climate change class recently: Fighting Goliath and Burning the Future: Coal in America. I’m particularly excited that we’re having Burning the Future’s director in next week. We’re also reading the outstanding Big Coal. So, we’re into coal, in a big way. More about the documentaries and […]
Jimmy Carter's controversial visit with Hamas has yielded an unexpected offer to Israel. Hamas' leading strategist, Khaled Meshaal has publicly announced a ten year "hudna" (truce), as recognition of Israel in exchange for a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza. Of course, this offer is met with cynicism here in the United States: […]
Jacques Verges, the lawyer for notorious assassin Carlos the Jackal, arrived in Cambodia to defend Khieu Samphan, the former head of state of the Cambodia Khmer Rouge at the war crimes tribunal there. Khieu was a prominent communist thinker prior to entering the political scene to force a eugenic campaign in Cambodia following the coup […]
In the Online Africa Policy Forum, the NGO Women for Women International explains why ending sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) should be a global priority. Patricia Morris, the Director of Program Development for the NGO, went on to explain not only the horrors of gender based violence in times of conflict, […]
One of today's Op/Eds in the Toronto Star discusses the differences between US and Canadian charitable practices and raises a good point. The author starts off by talking about Oprah's Big Give (warning: annoying sound and video, not work friendly), in which two teams worked to improve conditions in a rundown US public school. She […]