Apr 12
Almost two weeks ago, Richard Goldstone, a prominent and well respected former South African judge, wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post in which he retracted some of the key findings of the Goldstone Report from 2009. The Goldstone Report,officially known as the Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, …
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 …
Mar 17
On Tuesday I wrote about the “Sexy Disaster Effect,” but during the editing process, it came to my attention that portions of my piece could imply several things, which were unintentional, about the residents and countries I was describing. With more thought on the subject, I would like to add additional points to continue the …
Mar 16
We have all watched in disgust as Glenn Beck has brought himself ratings by speculating on the divinity of the Japanese earthquake of March 11. Even gossip blogger Perez Hilton has come out against an Evangelical perspective on atheist Japan being “woken up” by God. However, before Mr. Beck had a chance to opine on …
Mar 15
Since 2003, the conflict in Darfur has been in and out of the international public’s awareness. Over the years, governments all around the world have hesitated to label the loss of life happening on the ground as a genocide, since that would have certain ramifications that could involve military intervention and technically breaching Sudan’s sovereignty. …
Feb 25
In my research on sustainable development programs, I have always been interested in organizations that focus on efficient and effective aid strategies in their work. I was particularly impressed with The ONE Campaign’s clever acronym explaining what “SMART” Aid means to them: S – Sufficient in scale to achieve its intended goals. M -Measurable so …
Feb 24
In 2008, a video of Saudi women’s rights activist Wajeha al-Huweidar driving sent ripples through the internet community. The video was actually done as a protest ofthe Saudi Arabian ban on women driving. She was later arrested during a separate protest when she attempted to cross into Bahrain without the express permission of her legal …
Jan 19
This past weekend another young person took their life. This news is starting to become all too familiar and the stories are starting to run together. A child is bullied for being different (gay, new, small, big, quiet,promiscuous, prude, black, white, purple etc.) and constantly tormented by their peers. These bullies never leave them alone. …
Jan 17
As we celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the MLK holiday, I have been reflecting on the work of individuals during the Civil Rights movement. The Civil Rights movement was a battle that included policy makers but was lead by those on the ground dealing with the injustice on a daily basis. It was individual people …
