In an appearance at the Washington, D.C., Politics and Prose bookstore, Ehrenreich informed an adoring audience that previous attempts she’d made to pitch books about poverty to magazine and book editors had most commonly met with failure. Poverty wasn’t interesting to their readers, the editors had told her. This book, she said, was different; it …
Category: General Information
May 28
Born with the wrong parts: When genitalia doesn’t define gender
In nearly every picture from my childhood I am wearing ballet leotards or a tutu, mostly because I studied ballet as a child, but also because I identified with the ballerina. It was my “girl” thing, and the ballerina represented the woman I wanted to become. My brother always appears wearing a baseball cap or …
May 20
Border Clashes Create Anger in Turkey
It’s been a while since I’ve written about the Arab Spring, mostly because it’s not really the “Arab Spring” anymore. Egypt, Syria, Libya, and others, have been struggling for two years now, and there is little hope that the conflict will be resolved any time soon, particularly in Syria. The violence in Syria has …
May 07
The Politics of Pistachios
Sometimes, the strangest things can cause a rift, or continue to push apart, two countries. It comes as no surprise that the United State and Iran are not ideologically on the same page. The two nations have been at odds with one another over the development of nuclear energy, and over the years Iran has …
Apr 22
Myanmar in the Balance
Regular readers of this blog will know that Myanmar has long been one of my favorite topics. I’ve written many times, often quite hopefully, about what the future may hold for this isolated country as it begins to open up economically and socially. New president Thein Sein has made serious moves towards reforming the military-ruled country, …
Apr 12
Stop the School to Prison Pipeline
Have you ever heard of the school to prison pipeline? It’s likely you haven’t. Because it’s not something that receives a lot of publicity outside of the areas it affects. But it should. Which is why I decided to write this article today. I want to shine some light on something I believe is a …
Apr 02
Parents, Children and the Social Media Talk
Social technologies have broken the barriers of space and time, enabling us to interact 24/7 with more people than before. Most people spend their time sending emails, chatting with friends, posting videos or pictures, to being informed of the latest events. Everything can be done through Facebook, and Twitter. New social networking sites pop up …
Apr 02
Spotlight on North Korea
In the past few weeks, the Middle East and Europe have been the dominant geographic regions marking headlines across the media. A majority of people have been tracking the economic situation in Cyprus, the continuing violence in Syria, and President Obama’s recent trip to Israel. However, it is rather astonishing that the media spotlight has …
Mar 29
Rhino’s in the dark
So far this year, 156 rhinos have been killed in Southern Africa alone. This means that 2 Rhino’s were killed each day of the year so far. These statistics are shocking. Rhino horns sell for around $60 000 per Kilogram or $30 000 per Pound. One full Rhino horn can weigh up to 13.30 …
Mar 29
What Has Happened to Immigrant Rights?
I’ve written a lot about immigration as well as prison in my time with the SISGI Group. However, it never occurred to me to discuss the two issues together. Which was a huge oversight on my part. Because they often go hand in hand. Immigrants who are here without proper documentation or have visa issues …