PBS: Escaping Eritrea … [Read More...] about ካብ ውሽጢ ቤት ማእሰርታት ኤርትራ
UPFRONT
Does the west really care about development?
Jason Hickel | Saturday 5 March 2016 | HE GUARDIAN We need to stop pretending that the United States, France and Britain are benevolent champions of the poor When it comes to international affairs, western politicians love to celebrate their devotion to development. In her flagship speech on development as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton offered stories about US … [Read more...] about Does the west really care about development?
Thousands flee isolated Eritrea to escape life of conscription and poverty
Matina Stevis and Joe Parkinson | 2 February 2016 | THE WALL STREET JOURNAL African Dictatorship Fuels Migrant Crisis ASMARA, Eritrea—On a cool March evening soon after his 16th birthday, Binyam Abraham waited until his mother and young siblings were sleeping and slipped away to begin the long trek toward Eritrea’s southern border. With his father … [Read more...] about Thousands flee isolated Eritrea to escape life of conscription and poverty
Middle-Class Heroes: The Best Guarantee of Good Governance
Nancy Birdsall | March/April Issue | FOREIGN AFFAIRS The two economic developments that have garnered the most attention in recent years are the concentration of massive wealth in the richest one percent of the world’s population and the tremendous, growth-driven decline in extreme poverty in the developing world, especially in China. But just as important has been the … [Read more...] about Middle-Class Heroes: The Best Guarantee of Good Governance
With ‘resignation’ announcement, Chechnya’s strongman woos Putin
Fred Weir, Correspondent | February 29, 2016 | THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR Reading the Deeper Meaning: Coming so soon after a damning report on his despotic reign, Ramzan Kadyrov's declaration that he will not run for reelection may look like political retreat. But it is actually a show for his patron, Putin. Moscow — When Chechnya's pro-Kremlin strongman, Ramzan … [Read more...] about With ‘resignation’ announcement, Chechnya’s strongman woos Putin
Comparing black people to monkeys has a long, dark simian history
Charles W. Mills and Wulf D. Hund | 29 Feb 2016 | MAIL & GUARDIAN Simianisation is a brutal strategy which has historically manifested a lethal combination of sexism and racism. In the history of European cultures, the comparison of humans to apes and monkeys was disparaging from its very beginning. When Plato – by quoting Heraclitus – declared apes ugly in … [Read more...] about Comparing black people to monkeys has a long, dark simian history
Crises give Eritrea routes for closer global engagement
ASMARA | Edumund Blair | Feb 29, 2016 | REUTERS Europe's migration crisis and the conflict in Yemen have created opportunities for Eritrea to draw closer to the European Union and Gulf Arab states, offering the poor Horn of Africa nation the chance to end isolation it blames on U.N. sanctions. In Reuters interviews in the capital Asmara, Eritrean government ministers … [Read more...] about Crises give Eritrea routes for closer global engagement
The Surprising History Behind Leap Year
Brian Handwerk | February 26, 2016 | NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC The ancient Egyptians did it, and so do we. Here's how a leap day—which occurs February 29—helps keep our calendars and societies in sync. It's that time again: This Monday, February 29, is a leap day, the calendar oddity that occurs (almost) every four years. For centuries, trying to … [Read more...] about The Surprising History Behind Leap Year
African Farmers Struggle to Feed Continent’s Booming Population
Michael Cohen and Eric Ombok | February 16, 2016 | BLOOMBERG Josephine Mbinya bends from the waist to pluck beans from the black soil on her smallholding south of Nairobi, Kenya’s capital. She throws them in a heap on the side of the field. “We depend on the farm for all our needs,” said Mbinya, 52, a widow who also farms tomatoes, corn and livestock to support her … [Read more...] about African Farmers Struggle to Feed Continent’s Booming Population
Donald Trump Is Winning Because White America Is Dying
Matt Ferner National Reporter | 02/25/2016 THE HUFFINGTON POST Noam Chomsky says Trump's rise is partly due to deeply rooted -- and potentially fatal -- feelings of fear and anger. Noam Chomsky, the renowned scholar and MIT professor emeritus, says that the rise of Donald Trump in American politics is, in part, fueled by deeply rooted fear and hopelessness that may … [Read more...] about Donald Trump Is Winning Because White America Is Dying
Eritrea & The Migration Machine
Selam Gebrekidan | 24 Feb. 2016 | REUTERS A brother’s duty: One man’s effort to shepherd his brother into Europe sheds light on the multi-billion-euro smuggling networks that are fuelling Europe’s migrant crisis ROME – One Tuesday night in June 2015, Tesfom Mehari Mengustu, an Eritrean delivery man in Albany, New York, got a call from a number he did not recognise. On the … [Read more...] about Eritrea & The Migration Machine