Section: The Huffington Post (USA)
Weekend Roundup: From Kalashnikovs to God and Computers — And Back Again
Near the end of the Cold War 30 years ago, Régis Debray, the French philosopher and pal of Che Guevara, predicted that the Third World was “bidding its farewell to arms” as the geopolitical conflicts associated with the famous Russian-made Kalashnikov rifle were fading into history. He thought the quest for God, particularly in...
Not Defending Our Ideals of Freedom Today Would Be a Crime
As I prepared my notes in my hotel room some hours before the conference on the freedom of expression in Copenhagen, I was thinking of what I should tell the Danish about freedom of speech. Should I just share my experiences and the horrible consequences of our fight in “non-democratic” countries like Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and...
One Year On, What Became Of The #SOSVenezuela Protest Movement?
In March 2014, a small, oil-rich nation appeared to be teetering on the brink of revolution. Protesters built barricades and set them ablaze. Pro-government gangs provoked street battles, and the government sent in tanks to quell the unrest. At least 43 people were killed. Meanwhile, peaceful, student-led anti-government demonstrators marched...
Pope Francis Calls For Ukraine’s Ceasefire To Be Respected
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has called for Ukraine’s cease-fire to be respected amid fresh reports by the Ukrainian military that separatist rebels were still firing on government positions and that Russia was sending in more tanks. Francis delivered the plea for peace Friday during a meeting with Ukrainian bishops visiting Rome. He...
Ukraine: Russia Sending More Tanks To War-Torn East Despite Cease-Fire
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Separatist rebels fired on Ukrainian positions nearly 50 times in the past 24 hours and Russia is sending more tanks into Ukraine despite a cease-fire that was supposed to take effect five days ago, a Ukrainian military spokesman said Friday. The report, which came a day after the Russian-backed rebels captured the key rail...
Conflict Flares in Myanmar as Reforms Slip Into Reverse
WALLAY, BURMA–When foreign dignitaries visit Myanmar, still known as Burma in much of the West, they don’t walk the rural hills over which the central government and assorted ethnic groups, such as the Karen, fought for decades. Like Wallay village, which required an extended boat ride through territory that could aptly be described...
Russian Opposition Leader Alexei Navalny Given 15 Days In Custody
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s leading opposition figure Alexei Navalny was sentenced Thursday to 15 days in custody for handing out leaflets in the subway. A district court in Moscow ruled Thursday that Navalny, an anti-corruption crusader who spearheaded protests against President Vladimir Putin’s rule, violated the law when he campaigned...
Can UN Peacekeepers Bring Ukraine Peace?
Call by Ukraine President Poroshenko for UN Peacekeepers to monitor the new ceasefire in the East testifies to his commitment, his desperation, or both. More critically, both France President Hollande and Russia President Putin can deliver such UN-mandated peacekeepers, that is if they are serious about consolidating and insuring the observance...
Enough Already! It’s Time for the West to Arm Ukraine
MUNICH — It has become something of a mantra among diplomats and other foreign policy analysts that there is no military solution to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The only viable path to peace and stability, observers almost unanimously proclaim, is a diplomatic one. But, despite the recent ceasefire agreement announced in Minsk,...
Why I Published Cartoons of Muhammad and Don’t Regret It
Almost a decade has passed since I commissioned drawings of the Prophet Muhammad to run in Jyllands-Posten. But despite countless op-eds and even a book that laid out my motivation for publishing the drawings, confusion and bizarre conspiracy theories continue to cause controversy about that fateful decision. In 2006, for example, a Syrian...
