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Guns for the Guys
March 12, 2013 5 min. read

The idea of arming the Syrian rebels is being chatted up once again.  The debate will wander and focus in many theoretical directions. Yet essentially the decision will focus on one key pivot: is the goal a short-term or long-term victory? The safe bet: short-term considerations will win out. The U.N. proclamation that the one […]

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Making Progress to Curb Violence Against Women and Girls
March 8, 2013 4 min. read

Millions of women and young girls across the globe continue to be denied their rights to equal and fair access to education and healthcare and many are faced with gender-based violence such a female genital mutilation (FGM)/female circumcision, child marriage, child trafficking, honor killings, female infantcide, domestic violence and other gender inequality and sexually-based human rights abuses every day. […]

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Regional Peace to Settle Violence in the DRC Shows Progress? Not so Fast
February 28, 2013 7 min. read

On Sunday, February 24, 2013, a regional peace accord was agreed upon in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, by 11 African nations from both the Great Lakes region and Southern Africa in an attempt to finally end two decades of conflict that have plagued most sections of the war-riddled country, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), particularly its mineral-rich eastern provinces. Appropriately labeled […]

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Ganging up on China
February 24, 2013 5 min. read

For those physically-challenged weaklings who are constantly badgered and harassed by stronger bullies, joining a gym and working out can be a rational response. A quicker method, however, would be to enlist the assistance of your friends. No longer having to rely on your own limited defense against a stronger bully, you can take greater […]

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U.N. Secretary-General Report Recommends Coordination over Integration in Somalia
February 10, 2013 4 min. read

As the U.N. Security Council is determining what future role it should play in Somalia based on the recent report of the Secretary-General, the major developments of the political track of the United Nations approach are overshadowed by the security and humanitarian developments during the previous four months. These conditions support the report’s conclusion that […]

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Between a Rock and a Hard Place
February 6, 2013 3 min. read

Here on the tranquil island of Palawan, in the West Philippine Sea, the arrival of Chinese naval vessels  is causing quite some anxiety among local residents.  Last Friday, three ships from the Peoples Liberation Army Navy’s North China Sea fleet, the missile destroyer Qingdao and missile frigates Yantai and Yancheng, traveled through the Bashi Channel, […]

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First African Female Billionaire a Testament in Corruption Not Success
February 4, 2013 5 min. read

At the beginning of 2013, Forbes Magazine announced that the first female African had crossed the threshold into the status of billionaire. Isabel Dos Santos is the eldest daughter of Angolan President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos. Her wealth is composed of 28.8 percent shares in Zon Multimedia, the biggest cable TV operator in Portugal, making her the largest shareholder in the […]

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International Migration’s Agenda for 2013
January 2, 2013 5 min. read

The holiday travel season, the beginning being marked by International Migrants Day on December 18, is winding down. Even this traditional and commonplace form of travel is in some way facilitated or restricted by the human right to migration. Though primarily preoccupied by its connection with the features of the human right to work, migration […]

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The Year of the Dragon
December 31, 2012 5 min. read

The year 2012 was for Beijing a year to display its dragon-like qualities of authority, dignity, and honor. The dragon is also the symbol of the emperor, so it may have been auspicious for a new leader to be chosen during November’s meeting of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. While […]

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Name changes, killing continues
December 28, 2012 6 min. read

It was Zaire then. As I sat along the shore of Lake Tanganyika in Bujumbura, Burundi,   I marveled at the moment. Baby hippos splashed playfully in the water as their adults looked carefully from across the way. The sun set with purples and yellows and pinks, in rays shooting up to the sky in sharp […]

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The State of AIDS: The Not-So-Good News
November 30, 2012 6 min. read

In part one of this two-part series, I discuss the good news in UNAIDS’ Global Report, released in advance of World AIDS Day on December 1. We’ve made unprecedented strides in past decade–and just in the past few years–to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic. We’re well on our way. Many barriers remain, however, and I’d like to […]

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New War in Eastern DRC: A Snapshot at U.N. Ineffectiveness in Settling Conflict
November 27, 2012 6 min. read

On November 20th, the M23 rebels entered Goma, the capital of the North Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) — positioned on the border of Rwanda and the shores of Lake Kivu. By seizing the city with a population of one million people, the rebels struck their biggest blow since they mutinied […]

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