The Realist Idealist

This six part series by Richard Behar of Fast Company entitled “China in Africa” is the single best piece of investigative journalism I’ve read in months. Maybe years. Maybe ever.

Behar breaks down and brilliantly weaves the geo-political, business, governmental, community, historical, and personality issues that plague a handful of resource-rich countries across the sub-Saharan [...]

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…as very well she should be.
Back in May, Tom Brokaw was quoted as saying Jon Stewart’s “role is important” in the media, and if for no other reason than more young people get their “news” through the Daily Show than any other source, he’d be right. The funny thing (no pun intended) is just [...]

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On December 5th, I was at a White House gathering for International Volunteer Day where Global Giving and Volunteers for Prosperity announced a public-private partnership that creates an incentive (by providing matching grants) to those Americans who want to volunteer abroad. It was exciting then to be sure, but like most things, we knew [...]

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One of my favorite organizations of the last six months is Avaaz.org - who I learned of through one of their staff, Ben Wikler, based here in DC.  They are essentially the MoveOn.org for international issues.
So far this week Avaaz has amassed over 450,000 signatures in a petition to Chinese president Hu Jintao that [...]

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The more you dig into the actions of the Chinese against Tibet, the more cold and systematic their cultural genocide begins to appear.  Indeed “cold and systematic” is exactly what genocide is in the first place.  (Just ask the Rwandans whose recognized genocide took place in 1994, but which had indicators and events happening as [...]

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Tibet is a part of the world I’ve never been to, but one that I’m endlessly fascinated by, supportive of, and feel oddly connected to as it continues to come up through friends and events.
That said, today’s events in and around Tibet have shocked me.
If you haven’t yet seen what’s going on, here is an [...]

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Making things (actually) happen on a campaign apparently involves going negative.
We all knew this was true going into this year, but I have to admit, I honestly bought into the idea that most people were happy that the democratic campaign thus far has been much more positive.
Unfortunately, last night’s results in Ohio, Texas, and Rhode [...]

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Last year I spent several weeks in Northern Uganda, Rwanda, and Eastern Congo - all bordering each other, and all three having been ravaged by genocide in recent years. In the case of Eastern Congo, the conflict is ongoing. I sent letters and wrote a few short pieces about my time there.
To be [...]

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