Be Happy, It’s Happiness Day
Today is the first International Happiness Day. It’s not a joke, though laughing is very much encouraged. Decided upon only last June, the 20th of March is a UN declared day of Happiness.
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Weekly Recap – November 18th to 24th
A Clinton-less Administration This week marks the last foreign tour of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. After four years in President Obama’s Cabinet, Secretary Clinton stated she will not return to the position in the new administration. She capped off her foreign visits with a visit to the Middle East to help broker a peace in Gaza. Her term has suffered the blame of the riots and storming of the US Consulate in Libya earlier this year, but was also lauded for her efforts to improve US relations with India, China and many other countries. Ceasefire in Gaza On Thursday a ceasefire was enacted in the Gaza area after a week of violence between Israel and Palestinian militants. The peace was brokered by Egyptian President Mursi, with some assistance and guidance from the US. Israel is to cease...
Read MoreReasons for Israeli and Palestinian Engagement in Operation Pillar of Cloud
Today Israelis and Palestinians, alike, are scared, frantic, and praying for their lives. While rockets travel between the borders of Gaza, I’ve thought about some of the potential reasons, for both sides, why conflict would arise at this particular time. I am more knowledgeable of the political and social frameworks in Israel, hence why the reasons for Israeli engagement are greater in detail and number than the reasons for Palestinian engagement. These causes are probably outside the stereotypical ones you find on the news. Additionally, these causes are theories and the truth may be one, an amalgam, or none of them. Israeli Engagement in Operation Pillar of Cloud 1. The Israelis have been monitoring Ahmed Jabari and found that yesterday was an opportune moment to assassinate him and/or attack Hamas. 2. The Palestinians are continuing with their fight for...
Read MoreThe Syrian Revolution and Tip O’Neill
Syria is still in turmoil, but things look to be turning positive for the opposition. The United States has become more vocal in its support, and foreign nations and organizations, including the Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation council, have recognized opposition forces as the legitimate representatives of Syria.[1] All that remains is for Assad and his regime to fall. This turn for the better comes at the end of a long road, including much international tension over whether to intervene in the region. Russia, supported by China, has in the past urged the Syrian opposition to stay focused on internal negotiations with Assad and reject foreign intervention.[2] Of course, this was likely not out of concern for Syria’s sovereignty, but rather to support Russian interests.[3] Turkey has been concerned with the internal conflict in Syria for some...
Read MoreForeign Disaster Response
While reading about government intervention in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, one of my first questions was how much can the federal government intervene (I’m talking about money, not whether or not the government has the duty or right to intervene.). A simple Google search led me to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) budget, $7.1 billion. I thought to myself that this figure is pretty low for domestic emergency relief funds; I suppose if natural disasters generated damages well beyond the budget, the U.S. would just borrow more money from China to pay for the repairs. Nevertheless, FEMA’s budget was surprising, considering the U.S. spends about seven times that budget in foreign aid (~$50 billion). I’m not suggesting here that the U.S. is spending too much on foreign aid or too little on domestic emergency relief, but rather...
Read MoreEmptying Havana
Cuba’s government announced Tuesday that it will waive many restrictions on international travel for its own citizens. This ruling is the next step in a continuing line of liberalization of Cuban policies under Raul Castro, including enabling the sale of cars and homes as well as increasing the number of privately owned businesses. This announcement comes only a week after three Cuban soccer players defected while in Canada. These defections were not the first of their kind; for example, nine months ago, two players for the Cuban Women’s team fled to the United States, again from Canada. Currently, the United States has a policy of amnesty for Cuban immigrants. If they make it to United States soil, they can stay. This policy is known as “wet feet, dry feet,” and was changed in 1995 under the Clinton administration so...
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