Oct 26
The debate on the use of weapons is heated, personal and wide-ranging. As a conflict resolution student, I’d like to think that conflict can be resolved in other ways besides using deadly force. This particular blog doesn’t try to address the debate on whether weapons should be used or not. It accepts that in today’s …
Oct 24
Every year, Mattel sells millions of Barbie dolls to young girls and avid doll collectors across the world. Barbie’s image has changed from year to year, and she has managed to be everything from a veterinarian, supermodel, to the most perfect, stiletto-wearing teacher. None of these images and professions has drawn a great degree of …
Oct 19
Chances are, if you haven’t been living under a rock for the past month, you’ve heard about Occupy Wall Street – a burgeoning movement that protests against economic inequality and corporate greed and has spread not only around the country but around the world. Although the concrete goals of the protestors are not completely clear, …
Oct 06
As you may recall, I wrote a post over the summer about Responsibility to Protect and the Arab Spring. In this post I discussed the intervention in Libya and how the creation of a “no-fly zone” was a manifestation of this RtoP. I also discussed the reasons why RtoP was not going to be invoked …
Sep 22
It’s officially fall now, which means the Arab Spring has now entered its third season, and, unfortunately, the economic situation that partially contributed to the uprisings in many of the countries has not improved at all. In many cases it is even getting worse. Institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the European Investment Bank, …
Sep 01
In late July I wrote a post about Ramadan and how it might affect the Arab Spring nations; now that Ramadan is over, I thought it might be interesting to look back over what actually did happen. In my post I wrote about the uncertainty surrounding the holy month this year: would the violence escalate …
Aug 29
In my latest article, I claimed “power corrupts when allowed to exist unsupervised.” This claim doesn’t just apply to prison guards. It also extends to politicians, businessmen, and other people in positions of power. The widespread corruption around the world supports this claim. Every year, billions of dollars are laundered around the world. Corruption is …
Aug 26
“I call upon the people of the United States to celebrate the achievements of women and recommit ourselves to the goal of gender equality in this country.” – President Barack Obama Today has officially been declared Women’s Equality Day in the United States—yet it is widely unheard of by most Americans. On August 26, 1920, …
Aug 24
Members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, also known as PETA, have gone to extreme measures to get their animal rights messages across to the public in the past. As the largest animal rights organization in the world, with millions of members and supporters, PETA has managed to attain many successful and high-profile …
Aug 03
We all know that the no-fly zone and military action in Libya is ongoing, but what few people know is that the action was undertaken using the Responsibility to Protect doctrine and as such is fairly controversial. The United Nations enacted Responsibility to Protect (RtoP or R2P) during the 2005 UN World Summit as a …
