| Dec 28, 2016 | Roundup|UncategorizedHere at the end of the year, I hope you’ll pardon me for a longer than usual intro note. (Don’t worry, you can still skip ahead to the commentaries below.) If there was anything that defined 2016 — besides the passing of beloved celebrities and the rise of...
| | Peace / SecurityI lay among friends, huddled and cold in our sleeping bags. We listened to the lashing wind and the drums and prayer chants coming from the sacred fire, and we reflected on why we, four Iraq War veterans, were here. Police floodlights shone from the drill site of the...
| | Peace / SecurityWhile the world has been transfixed on the epic tragedy in Syria, another tragedy — a hidden one — has been consuming the children of Yemen. Battered by the twin evils of war and hunger, every 10 minutes a child in Yemen dies from malnutrition, diarrhea, or...
| | Economy / BusinessIn a lot of ways, 2016 was a big year for reducing inequality. Five states raised their minimum wage through citizen-led ballot initiatives. A job-killing free trade agreement, the TPP, was blocked as a result of massive public demonstrations against it. More...
| | Rights / DemocracyIf you thought 2016 was bad, I have bad news: Buckle up. Hopefully 2017 won’t bring the deaths of more beloved celebrities, and I doubt we’ll see the killing of any more famous gorillas. But one element that made 2016 terrible isn’t going anywhere....