May 03
Essentialism in Western Media Perspectives Even today, among reputable news sources, there still remains a level of ignorance and an essentialist undertone in Western media perspectives of the “developing world.” For example, in a recent issue of The Economist, I came across a feature on Gendercide in India, which discusses the distorted sex ratios in …
Apr 29
When the earthquake struck Japan, the world was saddened by its catastrophic effects and many organizations, countries and even international bodies all rallied together to contribute to relief efforts. In two of my earlier posts, Help or not Series 1 and Philips Livable Cities Award, I stressed the fact that corporations need to be more …
Apr 28
Over the past decade, public spending on education in sub-Saharan Africa has increased by more than 6 % each year, according to the latest report released by UNESCO. Thereal question however, is not how much money is being spent, rather how exactly it is being distributed. The report showed some promising results. The increase in …
Apr 27
Donald Trump has asked for the President to provide his birth certificate several times and has made a new statement that the President wasn’t “Qualified for the Ivy League.” I am not sure how the President performed at Harvard, and honestly I think it is a question that the American public should not really care about. …
Apr 22
Today, April 22nd, is celebrated as Earth Day. The idea is to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s natural environment and was first celebrated on April 22, 1970. The idea for Earth Day is credited to Gaylord Nelson, a former U.S. Senator, after he witnessed some of the side effects of the 1969 massive …
Apr 22
“Hi I am Sal Khan. I am the founder and faculty of the Khan Academy and we are trying to educate the world.” These were the first words I heard Salmaan Khan speak when I watched my first video on the Khan Academy. I was instantly impressed. A single article would never be able to …
Apr 21
On Tuesday I posted about the history of CEDAW ratification in the United States and some of the arguments made against it, and wrote about how there is a new campaign pushing for it in the US as soon as possible. There are, of course, arguments in both directions for its ratification or not, but …
Apr 07
Yesterday, April 6, marked the17th anniversary of the assassination of Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana which catalyzed a genocide in which 800,000 Tutsis (a Rwandan minority) and moderate Hutus (part of the majority) were systematically murdered in a three month span. A former supervisor of mine was in the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) …
Apr 05
Yesterday, US Attorney General Eric Holder made a statement declaring that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, will be tried by a military tribunal in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. Although somewhat inevitable, it comes as a disappointment for those who supported President Obama’s original plan to transport the Guantanamo detainees to …
Apr 01
Responsibility to Protect (R2P) is a relatively new concept in political theory. Basically, it is the idea that governments everywhere have a responsibility to uphold and protect the human rights of their citizens. And, if a state is unwilling or unable to do so, it is the duty of the international community to step in …
