Harvard Arab Weekend brought with it much debate about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. After all, if there is one political position all Arab countries rally around, it is surely Israel’s mistreatment and subjugation of Palestinians. The Arab League has always been quick to denounce Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank and condemn Israeli airstrikes against … Read more
While the U.S. flounders in the face of irreversible danger, climate finance and mitigation remain possible hopes. Today, the UN climate change conference begins in Durban, South Africa. The 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the major global forum for climate change, with the aim … Read more
Recently, I saw a clip of Chris Matthews grumbling at the state of the Obama Presidency. Matthews was expressing frustration at a perceived lack of communication between the president and Congress, and I think he’s on to something. Barack Obama came into office with everything going for him – a clear voter mandate, concrete plans, … Read more
Recently, I saw a clip of Chris Matthews grumbling at the state of the Obama Presidency. Matthews was expressing frustration at a perceived lack of communication between the president and Congress, and I think he’s on to something. Barack Obama came into office with everything going for him – a clear voter mandate, concrete plans, … Read more
Our nation’s debt crisis is well-documented. Everyone from the pundits to the apolitical have chastised the 112th Congress and President Obama for playing a proverbial game of chicken with the nation’s economy over the disarray of our fiscal house. It’s been well over 900 days since the Senate last passed a budget. The deficit since … Read more
This summer, I had the privilege of working at the White House National Economic Council. It was, day after day, awe-inspiring: seeing the President board Marine One, gawking at the Oval Office, running into the Director of National Intelligence in the hallway, and, the honor of a lifetime, serving cheeseburgers on the South Lawn of … Read more
There is definitely something disconcerting about world population hitting the seven billion marker. With current statistics revealing that roughly 210,000 people are born every day, we can’t help but feel anxiety about the world’s rapidly expanding population. Accordingly, famed physicist Stephen Hawkings sharply warns us that, “The human race shouldn’t have all its eggs in … Read more
On October 31 of this year, the global population reached seven billion; this figure will continue to skyrocket, jumping from seven to eight billion within the next two decades. Modern population growth, however, has reached a crux not just in its scope, but also in its composition: it was only within the last few years … Read more
Men, women, and children slowly emerge from their homes to greet a world rocked by yet another explosion. As they approach the site of the blast, millions of thoughts race through their heads: “Why here?” What have we done to deserve this?”“What would anyone gain from this?” Eventually, the bystanders begin to pick through the … Read more
Last weekend, Harvard turned its attention to issues surrounding the Arab Spring and ongoing resistance movements in the Middle East as Arab scholars and activists descended on the Kennedy School of Government to participate in the fifth annual Harvard Arab Weekend conference. The tumultuous events of the last year set the stage for an engaging … Read more