MASON NEWS 04/21/14 By Buzz McClain The drama of the conflict in Crimea comes to Arlington on April 23 when representatives from Ukraine and Russia share the stage during a program called “Beyond Crimea: The Evolution of the Crisis in Ukraine.” The April 23 forum will include — in addition […]
Quotes in Press
Conyers Pushes Bee Protection Bill
POLITICO 04/09/14 By Jenny Hopkinson Pending legislation in the House of Representatives aimed at providing greater protections to pollinators is necessary to ensure a steady food supply and prevent agricultural losses, says Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), sponsor of the measure. In an op-ed in Roll Call, Conyers and Michael Shank, […]
Hill Vegetarians Want to Know: Where Are the Lentils?
NATIONAL JOURNAL 03/26/14 By Billy House A little-publicized caucus of Capitol Hill aides—the Congressional Vegetarian Staff Association—is set to convene again Friday as part of its persistent campaign to get better vegetarian food options put on the Capitol eatery menus. Guest speakers at the event in the Capitol Visitor Center […]
Puntland Is for Pirates
FOREIGN POLICY MAGAZINE 03/20/14 By Jillian Keenan Why are convicted high-seas bandits being sent to the Somali region that profits from their crimes? HARGEISA, Somalia — Mowlid Ahmed Abidoon stands quietly in the small prison cell where he has lived for nearly two years. Slot windows on one wall let […]
New Bill Aims to Rein in Police Militarization
WASHINGTON POST 03/11/14 By Radley Balko I’ve been covering the militarization of America’s police departments for about eight years now. Over the past 35 years, Congress has generally been interested only in accelerating it. But the tide may be turning. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) has just introduced what may be […]
Tea Party Republican Joins with LA Democrat and Introduces Legislation to Assist Long-Term Unemployed Americans
CALIFORNIA NEWSWIRE 02/11/14 By Christopher Simmons SAN FERNANDO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Seeking to lower the number of long-term unemployed Americans, a Tea Party Republican joined with a Los Angeles Democrat today, introducing legislation in Washington D.C. that would provide long-term unemployed Americans with assistance in moving to search for […]
Waxman’s Successor as Top House Climate Hawk May Need New Perch
E&E 02/04/14 By Nick Juliano With the first two publicly declared contenders for Rep. Henry Waxman’s House Energy and Commerce post primarily focused on the “and commerce” pieces of the committee’s jurisdiction, the California Democrat’s successor as the House’s No. 1 climate hawk may have to find another perch from […]
Bridging the Gap, UN to Capitol Hill
PEACEBUILDER 12/04/13 By Andrew Jenner In 2006, the United Nations General Assembly replaced its Commission on Human Rights – the organization’s main body dedicated to protection of human rights – with the reorganized and renamed UN Human Rights Council (HRC). As UN decisions and deliberations tend to be, it was […]
Schools, Not Casualties
ALBANY DEMOCRAT-HERALD 12/18/13 By Ray Kauffman The Oct. 25 issue of U. S. News and World Report has an article titled “Books on the Ground, Not Unmanned Robots in the Sky,” written by Michael Shank, director of foreign policy at the Friends Committee on National Legislation, and adjunct faculty at […]
Reading Karzai’s Mind
RADIO FREE EUROPE 11/27/13 By Frud Bezhan A contentious security deal between Afghanistan and the United States looked all but signed. The Loya Jirga, a key national gathering of Afghan elders, had given its unanimous backing. All that was left was for both parliament and Afghan President Hamid Karzai to […]