All Commentaries
Swords Into Solar Panels: Re-Purposing America’s War Machine
A trillion dollars. It's a lot of money. In a year it could send 127 million college students to school, provide health insurance for 206 million people, or pay the salaries of seven million schoolteachers and seven million police officers. A trillion dollars could do...
Amir Hekmati: Moral Courage to Burn
Some background from CNN: [Amir] Hekmati joined the Marines in 2001 out of high school. He finished his service four years later as a decorated combat veteran with tours in Iraq. Afterward, he translated Arabic as a contractor and helped train troops in cultural...
Defending Indigenous Lands in Honduras: A Photo Essay
All photos appear courtesy of the author, as well as another collaborator who cannot be named for safety reasons. For five months, Pedro Diaz and his daughter Iris—together with other members of the 400-family community of Rio Blanco, Honduras—have stood before this...
An African-American Perspective on U.S. Exceptionalism*
Cross-posted from AjamuBaraka.com. In his recent op-ed in the New York Times, Vladimir Putin raised hackles among the talking-heads across the U.S. when he questioned the wisdom of President Obama’s evocation of the narcissistic idea of “American exceptionalism.”...
Pull in the Welcome Mat — Sudan’s President Bashir Plans Trip to U.S.
Cross-posted from the United to End Genocide blog. In a reprehensible move, Sudanese President and International Criminal Court indictee Omar al-Bashir applied for a United States visa to attend the opening of the United Nations General Assembly next week. If granted...
Southern Inhospitality
In every way, Yu Woo-seong was a model defector. In his early 30s, he was smart, friendly, ambitious, and well liked. Trained as a doctor in North Korea, he eschewed the competitive South Korean medical school system and instead pursued a bachelor’s degree in business...
Referring Syria to ICC Could Lead to Peaceful Leadership Transition
The international community might be headed in a positive new direction guided by peaceful proposals intended to address the violence in Syria. The question is whether the current option – that Assad hand over his chemical weapons – will be effective and timely. As...
Sadly, Assad May Be Syria’s Best Option
Remember how innocently the Syrian rebellion began? In March 2011, as part of the Arab Spring which started in Tunisia, Syrians engaged in mostly peaceful demonstrations, though they did demand the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad. Ironically, his heavy-handed...
The Former Yugoslavia: Nationalist Passions v. Political Interests
Cross-posted from JohnFeffer.com. John is currently traveling in Eastern Europe and observing its transformations since 1989. The disintegration of Yugoslavia was a triumph of nationalist passions over political interests. If the latter had prevailed, the process...
Electrifying Africa–But at What Cost to Africans?
As children throughout the United States head back to school, it’s a good time to remember that schoolchildren throughout Africa often attend schools with no electricity. In areas that do have the utility, frequent power outages are a constant reminder of the need for...