Regions

Four reels of film were discovered in Germany decades after World War II was ended. The film had no credits and no soundtrack. This rough cut showed scenes from the Warsaw ghetto in May 1942. The makers of this movie interviewed the cameraman who took the footage. They also showed survivors of the ghetto the […]

Safe inside his armored motorcade and surrounded by nearly two dozen police motorcycle escorts, Chinese Premier Hu Jintao traversed north along Sothearos Boulevard in Phnom Penh this past Saturday morning, passing a 20 foot portrait of his face as well as one of his wife’s as his entourage made its way towards the Peace Palace […]

A few weeks ago the Syrian National Council (SNC) appeared to be losing traction in its efforts to gain recognition as the legitimate political representative of the Syrian people. Dogged by a few high-profile resignations and accusations that it was undemocratic and unrepresentative, critics dismissed the SNC as a collection of European-based diaspora Syrians who were […]

Kurds continue efforts to realize unfulfilled international promises for the creation of a Kurdish state. Geographically straddled among the borders of countries created in the 20th century whose regions collectively form the historic land of Kurdistan, Kurds have and continue to operate political groups and resistance movements with the goal of achieving recognition of their […]

After campaigning tirelessly throughout the majority of her adult life in hopes of bringing democracy to her country and after spending nearly fifteen of those years under house arrest for espousing her views, Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma’s icon of hope and political freedom, has unofficially won a seat in the country’s parliament. An official […]

You may have heard that things are going poorly in Afghanistan. Is it true, maybe, maybe not. In either case, what you likely have not heard is any of this from President Obama. The President has spoken very little of the war in Afghanistan to the American public. From positive reports of progress to horrific […]

On a visit to the Western Hemisphere last week from Rome, Pope Benedict XVI stopped first in Mexico, a country whose population is 80-85% Catholic. It is the most Catholic, in this sense, of the world’s Spanish-speaking countries. His second visit was to Cuba, a country that has been traditionally Catholic, but was officially an […]

Love is in the air, and it is between the two most unlikely suspects: Iran and Israel. Two countries whose governments are known for their hostile rhetoric and unwavering political stances are making waves for something other than talk of a potential nuclear war. Refusing to rely on elected and appointed officials to adequately represent […]

India repeatedly undermines the vitality of its democratic example The past week brought fresh evidence of just how deeply India abounds in contradiction.  On the one hand, New Delhi won international plaudits for standing up for democratic norms in Asia by voting at the United Nations Human Rights Council to investigate alleged war crimes in neighboring Sri Lanka. […]

Some are making a connection between the recent mass murder in Afghanistan and the My Lai incident in 1968. They are wrong to do so. The more recent event, in which Staff Sgt. Robert Bales allegedly killed 17 civilians (many women and children) in Afghanistan, looks like the actions of a lone person who snapped. […]

An almighty Head of State cornered by a trigger-happy parliamentary firing squad must obtain a senate majority to see his designated Prime Minister Laurent Salvador Lamothe through the ratification process. Many senators, namely John Joel Joseph who represents the West Department, exhorted resigning Foreign Affairs Minister Lamothe, rather than relying on President Michel Martelly, to […]

  Since the reign of terror from President Bashar-al Assad’s regime began the UN estimates that over 9,000 innocent Syrian civilians have died at his hands. The local coordination committees estimate that the number of those killed is upwards of 11,000 in addition to those who are injured or incarcerated. Syria has accepted a peace plan from […]