The brutality of the most recent killing of a Jordanian air force pilot by the terrorist group ISIS has shocked the world, even after multiple beheadings and other news of barbaric and systematic human rights violations. This begs the question: why are human beings so ruthless, so cruel, so brutal; killing without empathy for the […]
When I was 16 years old, I, like so many teens before me, reached a milestone in my life: I received my driver’s license. This meant no more relying on mom to drop me off at school, no more asking older friends for rides to tennis practice; I was finally free to drive on my […]
With John D’Angelo. There is still a lot we don’t know about Wednesday’s attack on the satirical magazine at Charlie Hebdo, discussed in yesterday’s blog post. What we do know is this: besides killing twelve people, these terrorists have attacked fundamental human rights, specifically the right to freedom of speech, expression, and press. The […]
With Daniel Falcone. My time in Paris was a beautiful and amazing experience. I climbed the Eiffel Tower, saw the Louvre, and the majestic arches of Notre Dame. Even so, there exists an overtone of a focus on security in the city. As I walked down the escalator on the Métro, I encountered a […]
This past week, The Reiff Center was honored to co-sponsor an event dealing with the sensitive, but critical issue of Race. An event entitled Lessons from Ferguson: Race, Law Enforcement and the Potential Abuse of Power explored various aspects of the issues of race and law in the Ferguson crisis, inviting perspectives from a […]
I am guilty of being a Facebook junkie, a Twitter fiend, and a Tumblr fanatic. I think many of us in this new century are. Social media has become an outlet for ideas, photos of cats, and a whole slew of other activities. In recent years, social media has evolved into something of a necessity […]
The international community is a confusing one with political gridlock and national interests stalling imperative decisions. I find that the challenges facing the UN are daunting and will continue to plague the world for years to come. Even so, I am not a pessimist, I believe the UN and other international organizations complete incredible tasks […]
Today marks the 20th anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda. Within 100 days, extremist Hutu killed 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu. The level of brutality still shocks today – on average 10,000 lives lost, day after day. Dignitaries from around the world commemorated the tragedy in this small African country earlier today. UN Secretary-General Ban […]
This past weekend I served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Transnistria, Nina Shtanski. While this may seem unlikely to my readers, there is some truth to it. At Model United Nations, students at the middle school, high school, and collegiate level embody characters and countries in order to better understand diplomacy. While sitting […]
Most people can give you a pretty good guess about what the UN is, or the WTO, or NATO; but from my experience, not as many know about the ICC. The International Criminal Court (ICC) is often considered to be one of the major successes of the international community. It is a vital piece to the […]