The description of an ambassador
With the death of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens fresh in the minds of many of us, it is important to understand what it takes to be a great ambassador. Many reports speak very highly of Stevens, who worked closely with Libyans rebels to encourage a democratic transition of power after Moammar Gaddafi was removed. Stevens […]
Memorializing Mandela
A sculpture made of 50 steel columns was built in Howick, South Africa to honor Nelson Mandela and his arrest 50 years ago for his struggle against apartheid. “The front of the sculpture is a portrait of Mandela and has vertical bars which represent his imprisonment,” said the monument’s designer Marco Cianfanelli. “When you walk through […]
UPDATE: Catching the bad guy
On Wednesday, the Foreign Relations Committee unanimously passed the Senate version of the Rewards for Justice update bill (S.2318). You made this possible with your phone calls to U.S. Senators. You’re proving time and again that every voice matters. From here the full Senate still has to vote on the bill, so we’re not done […]
Occupy Wall Street: one year later
Monday marked the one-year anniversary of the movement known as Occupy Wall Street. According to The New York Times, “the police arrested 185 people on Monday as protesters tried to block access to the New York Stock Exchange on the first anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street protests.” Protesters gathered and some celebrated by singing […]
33,000 evacuate after Guatemalan volcano erupts
Near the Guatemalan city of Escuinatla, the volcano “Volcan del Fuego” exploded with a series of powerful explosions on Thursday. Sending thick clouds of ash three miles into the air, the volcano unleashed rivers of lava down its flank. The explosions did not come as a surprise. The region’s most active volcano started to emit ash and lava earlier this month, but […]
Making every beat matter
The band OneRepublic has teamed up with Ad Council and Save The Children to record a song based off the heartbeats of children in Malawi and Guatemala for a campaign called Every Beat Matters. They used heartbeats, people. Actual heartbeats. Using a specialized stethoscope connected to an iPhone (technology today!), the data was then sent to OneRepublic. Most […]
U.S. Ambassador among dead in Libya protest attack
Protests in Libya brought on by an obscure U.S. film that ridiculed Islam’s prophet Muhammad, escalated into a fiery attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi. One protest resulted in the killing of four Americans, among them U.S. Ambassador to Libya John Christopher “Chris” Stevens. In a statement released today, President Barack Obama vowed to […]
New negotiations between North and South Korea
After years of tension between North and South Korea, the governments will resume dialogue to discuss South Korea’s plan to provide humanitarian aid to the North. Brought on after flooding and typhoons severly damaged regions of North Korea, the South Korean Red Cross Society first offered aid last week. For the first time in two years, North Korea has decided to accept aid from the […]
UPDATE: LRA reportedly abduct 55 in Central African Republic
UPDATE — On September 10, nine days after the reported abduction of 55 people in CAR, it has been confirmed that 53 of those people were released from LRA captivity. A fact-finding mission organized by local authorities confirmed both the initial abduction and the report of the 53 released victims. The two abductees who did […]
Abbé Benoit celebrated for Human Rights Award
Human Rights Watch recently awarded Abbé Benoit Kinalegu with the Alison Des Forges Award “for his commitment to protecting civilians and ending the threat posed by the LRA.” On August 18th, the community of Dungu and Human Rights Watch recognized his advocacy work on behalf of vulnerable populations affected by the LRA. Several community members and […]