Since its inception in 1978, China’s one-child policy has always been marked by controversy. While the government has claimed that the policy has prevented 400 million births, it’s an achievement paid for in blood. Over the years, the one-child policy has seen thousands and thousands of Chinese mothers undergo forced abortion, sterilization and numerous human rights … Read more
On the heels of this general report, CNN broke the story that: A teen blogger who had been held for nine months in Syria’s Duma women’s prison has been charged with espionage … Syrian Intelligence Services summoned Tal al-Mallouhi, 19, in December to interrogate her about her blog, which contains poetry and social commentary. To … Read more
On June 14th of this year, President Obama appointed a commission of seven men and women to evaluate the events that contributed to the Deepwater Horizon spill. The commission, organized less than two months after the spill began but a full month before the oil stopped flowing, released its initial reports this week. In one … Read more
Last week I wrote about Bob Woodward’s new book which shed light on the uncertainty of the US situation in Afghanistan. This week, there seems to be signs of hope in the form of Afghanistan-Taliban peace negotiations. It was announced on Monday that Taliban representatives are authorized to negotiate with the Afghanistan government on behalf … Read more
With the recent celebration of the 20th anniversary of German reunification, it is something of a curiosity that of the three countries that were partitioned at the onset of the Cold War – Germany, Korea and Vietnam – it is the two Koreas that still resist the compelling pull of reunification. With the recent naming … Read more
The U.S. Senate recessed last week without concluding a lot of the legislative business on its plate. Among the items on hold include the reauthorization of several Cabinet departments through annually required bills, as well as the vote on the extension of the Bush tax cuts. On the other side of the Capitol Building, House Democratic … Read more
This column was originally published in the Sept. 30 Harvard Independent. It responds directly to Max’s blog post from the previous week. Harvard’s position on the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, banning the group from campus until “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) is overturned, has always struck me the wrong way. It just doesn’t make sense … Read more
The Tea Party. It’s been the subject of fierce political discussion since Barack Obama’s election as President in 2008 and the subsequent rise of the movement for what’s been called a “new conservatism” in 2009. When examining the upcoming midterm elections, the significance the Tea Party cannot be underestimated. Many Republicans self-label as modern “Tea … Read more
Bill McKibben’s 350.org movement, a grassroots organization that promotes cutting carbon dioxide emissions to 1988 levels of 350 parts per million, is promoting a global day of action on environmental issues this Sunday, October 10th. In a follow-up to the group’s wildly successful “day of political action” on Saturday, October 24th, 2009, this year’s event … Read more
Class of 2013 Social Studies Concentrators staged a walkout earlier today, and the Marty Peretz fund for undergraduate research continues to cause controversy. The grassroots organizers assured me that they have nothing but respect for the teaching staff of Social Studies 10. However, they condemn the prejudiced comments of Marty Peretz and are calling for … Read more