How Many Slaves Work for You? - 2/3/2012 7:00:00 AM

Earthquake Reconstruction - 1/20/2012 7:00:00 AM
Another Look at Progress

Helicopters and two-seater planes filled the sky on the second anniversary of the Haiti earthquake. We can only speculate as to who these planes carried, but it’s probably not a stretch to assume that most were shuttling foreign dignitaries around the country for a one-day observation of Haiti. It is from planes such as these that conclusions are drawn as to the success of post-earthquake programming. Recent media reports have overall taken a positive spin on the way in which the international community has moved Haiti forward post-earthquake. | Read More...

Congo Election Report - 1/6/2012 7:00:00 AM

On November 28, 2011, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) held its second presidential and legislative election. The Independent National Election Commission (CENI) announced on December 8 that the incumbent president Joseph Kabila won with 49 percent of the vote followed by Etienne Tshisekedi with 32 percent and Vital Kamerhe with 7.7 percent. Voter turnout was 58 percent. | Read More...

Frosty relations: U.S. and Iran - 12/23/2011 7:00:00 AM

Last week U.S. troops finally left Iraq, nearly nine years after the war began, although some troops are still based in the region. The costs of the war just in human lives were tremendous: 4400 U.S. troops lost their lives, as did an estimated 150,000 Iraqis. | Read More...

The Year of Revolutions? - 12/16/2011 7:00:00 AM

Seemingly it all began in Tunisia on December 17, 2010 when Mohammed Bouazizi, a fruit and vegetable vendor expressed his frustration by dousing himself in paint thinner and setting himself on fire. Tunisian police had allegedly confiscated his fruit stand and refused to give him the necessary permits to conduct his business in order to support his family. Bouazizi’s act of desperation against an unjust system sparked a mass movement of nonviolent protests against unemployment and an unequal economic system. | Read More...

Ending Gun Violence in Mexico - 12/2/2011 7:00:00 AM

The scene is filled with blood, poured out on the cold ground. The concrete walls, once smooth, are now riddled with bullet holes and stained with flecks of red. And the countless bodies lie still on the ground, piled on top of one another, undignified and maimed. | Read More...

Global Warming in India - 11/18/2011 7:00:00 AM

The coastal region of West Bengal, India, known as the Sunderbans, is a very fertile but fragile ecosystem. Tidal rivers have embankments to keep water from the Bay of Bengal from penetrating the villages and fields during high tide. The specter of global warming puts the whole region at risk as rising ocean levels make the river embankments increasingly vulnerable. Rising ocean temperatures also make severe cyclones more common. | Read More...

Remit Us Our Debts - 11/4/2011 7:00:00 AM

“Remit us our debts as we ourselves have also remitted them to our debtors.” (Matthew 6:14) John Howard Yoder argues in his book The Politics of Jesus that this verse should be translated debts rather than offences. Yoder emphasizes that Jesus is not commanding a forgiveness of those who bother us, but a literal forgiveness of material debts. | Read More...