Huffington Post 09/21/2011 By Michael Shank Today, September 21, 2011, as the world celebrates the UN-recognized International Day of Peace, it is worth taking stock on the global community’s ability to keep the peace. Take a look at the 2011 Global Peace Index, produced by the Institute for Economics and […]
Author: Michael Shank
What I Did for Summer Break
The Hill 09/07/2011 By Kris Kitto While many Washingtonians headed to the beach, a bipartisan group of congressional staffers spent part of their August recess in Cameroon, helping the African nation distribute millions of mosquito nets in an organized effort to prevent malaria. They were joined by Hollywood star Mandy […]
Mandy Moore Leads Bipartisan Staff Delegation to Cameroon
Foreign Policy Magazine 08/17/2011 NPR By Josh Rogin At least there’s one person who is bringing Democrats and Republicans together this summer. Actress, singer, and humanitarian Mandy Moore recently led a bipartisan delegation of congressional staffers on a trip to Cameroon to promote foreign aid and disease prevention there. Moore […]
Heard on the Hill: Moore on the Malaria Battle
Roll Call 08/15/2011 By Neda Semnani Mandy Moore and a bipartisan delegation of senior House staffers were in Cameroon last week helping launch a national malaria campaign. “A long-lasting insecticide-treated mosquito net is a mere $10 and gives years of protection to impoverished Cameroonians, who comprise nearly half of the […]
Want to Cut Big Government Abuses? Start with Defence Contracting
THE GUARDIAN 08/06/11 By Michael Shank We have the evidence: the hardpressed US taxpayer is being fleeced by profiteering contractors and corrupt military personnel This past week, as US Congress quacked its way through the debt-ceiling quagmire, a seemingly non-germane offshore issue surfaced vis-a-vis Iraq. The connection between the two […]
The Costly Errors of America’s Wars
THE GUARDIAN 07/25/11 By Michael Shank After ten years, $4tn and thousands of lives, the US needs an exit from the depressing impasse of its militarised foreign policy This month, as the Pentagon and the CIA countenance a changing of the guard – welcoming Defence Secretary Leon Panetta and CIA […]
Peace is Profitable: Time for the US to Invest
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR 07/11/11 By Michael Shank Looking to save the world trillions of dollars? How about investing in peace and nonviolence? Australia’s Institute for Economics and Peace recently released its 2011 Global Peace Index, citing a veritable “who’s who” of peaceful countries. It counted up the savings had the […]
America’s Lawmakers in Libyan Quagmire
THE GUARDIAN 07/02/11 By Michael Shank With Republicans and Democrats alike split, confusion reigns over two crucial issues: war powers and R2P. It’s time for clarity Last week, as the US Senate picked up the Libya debate where the House of Representatives left off, it was apparent that Libya has […]
100 Days in Libya and Counting
The Atlantic 06/27/2011 By Conor Friedersdorf Thoughts on the conflict as it reaches a milestone the American people never expected 1) The NATO campaign in Libya turns 100 days old today. It’s as good a time as any to ask about the end game. Is Muammar Qaddafi going to retain […]
Congress vs. The President on War Powers
Salon 06/25/2011 By Glenn Greenwald “Broadening our military mission to include regime change would be a mistake” — President Barack Obama, March 28, 2011, describing to the nation the U.S’s role in the War in Libya (more than a week after he began it). “The White House strongly denied Tuesday […]