Today, January 11, is Human Trafficking Awareness day. As part of January’s National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention month, many nonprofits and citizens are planning efforts to spread awareness and solidarity. One such effort is encouraging President Obama to pass the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which was signed into law in 2008. The Act authorized … Continue reading
The Magnitsky Act, a bill that recently passed in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, seeks to punish corrupt Russian officials. The bill, named after Sergei Magnitsky who discovered that Russian officials stole $230 million from the Russian treasury and alerted officials, and was later imprisoned and allegedly beaten and denied medical … Continue reading
Terrorism and religious extremism have found a home in Central Asia long ago. Ties between Central Asian terrorist cells and this in Afghanistan and Pakistan are deep. As fear of increasing terrorism and insurgency rises, Central Asia is increasing efforts to curb extremist tendencies in society. Either through counter terrorism operations, education of its citizens, or … Continue reading
The 2016 presidential race is wide open, in a sense, but in a sense it’s not. While the Republican side will undoubtedly be a highly competitive horse race, the choice for the Democratic nominee will come down to one question: will Hillary run? Others have been mentioned to have interest in running – Vice-President Biden, … Continue reading
Last week, Congress overwhelmingly voted to increase sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran. Although nuclear nonproliferation has become my life work’s purpose, I can’t, in my right mind, agree with our government’s decision to add increased sanctions. On the other Before you stop reading, hear me out. First, let’s examine the general reasons for … Continue reading
Not even a month after the election and Republicans are peering over the same slippery slope that led to their 2012 demise: Stances on social issues. In a now rather infamous interview with GQ magazine, Senator and 2016 Presidential hopeful Marco Rubio offered ambiguous responses on a range of topics, perpetuating his already questionable views … Continue reading
Most common, national identity is created through a shared language and culture, but most recently, shared history has risen as the predominant factor in uniting people who share a passport. Among the former Soviet countries, shared history is the essence of national identity; citizens of Russia are united in referencing World War II as the … Continue reading
What does 6 billion dollars buy you? Apparently in politics, it buys you an almost unchanged House, Senate, and President. In fairness, out of the 6 billion dollars spent, only – and I say only because in perspective it can be qualified as such – around 680 million was spent by super PACs on independent … Continue reading
Now that Puerto Rico might break our 53-year streak of a 50-state Union, who should bear the torch as the proverbial 52nd state? I suggest the Mariana Islands. Most of you are asking, “But James, where is that?” This is an island chain in the Pacific currently made up of two political entities you may … Continue reading
With the 2012 election mere weeks in the rear-view mirror, many would say it’s too soon to begin talking about 2016, and they’re right. But I’m going to do it anyway. Why? Well, because I’m bored and because 2016 looks like it may finally be some Republican light at the end of a long, long … Continue reading
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