The Mongols are reputed to have used a system of colored tents to warn the people of cities they were besieging of their fate. They began with a white tent, offering passage out of the city if the city surrendered. Then they erected a red tent, indicating...

Coup attempts are not uncommon in the world. While far from a daily occurrence, they are frequent enough that we expect one or two of them each year. But not in a NATO member country on the border of the European Union. The surprise coup attempt in...

War Crimes and Crimes against humanity are special categories of criminal acts under international law. These crimes go beyond the simple horror of the acts themselves and become crimes so terrible that they are considered to be acts against civilization...

European Union leaders were forced to turn their attention to the lingering refugee crisis once again as a series of events returned the refugees to the public spotlight. Growing protests in Greece following the closure of sections of the Macedonian border...

Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the former Prime Minister of Denmark and a leading member of the Danish Social Democratic Party has chosen to give up electoral politics to become the Chief Executive of one of the world’s largest charitable non-governmental...

Starving people forced to eat dirt and leaves. Siege lines where entire populations are prevented from receiving food aid. While these are most familiar to modern readers as images from descriptions of medieval warfare or perhaps from watching Game of...

On September 28 the Seventieth Session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly began with an opening speech by the Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon. The Secretary General extolled the virtues of the UN and highlighted its successes in anti-poverty efforts...

So far, in 2015, 1870 people/refugees have died in the Mediterranean Sea alone. Stop for a brief moment and think about what it must be like to be living in a country that is being destroyed by civil war. Your life and the lives of your partner and...

Regular readers of this blog know that I often refer to our pale blue dot as our “global village.” By calling it a global village I seek to erase the imaginary lines we have drawn between us and imaginary distinctions we pretend separate us...

The British Prime Minister David Cameron has said, “Torture is wrong, torture is always wrong.” Cameron said, “Those of us who want to see a safer and more secure world, who want to see extremism defeated, we won’t succeed...

Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom David Saperstein is visiting Burma/Myanmar this week (May 2-5 2015). The Ambassador at Large is an advisor to President Obama and Secretary of State and serves as the United States’ chief diplomat...

In 2013 imaginable tragedy struck when the Rana Plaza garment factory building collapsed, killing more than 500 Bangladeshi garment workers. Despite the many warnings of dangerous cracks in the walls reported to supervisors, police and in the media...

Globally, 62 million girls are not in school. Think about the wasted potential. Today U.S. first lady Michelle Obama is in Siem Reap, Cambodia to highlight a new global women's education initiative called, " Let Girls Learn ." The...

It is all too often asked, “what can one person possibly do to make a difference?” To help answer that question we need to look no further than to Ms. May Sabe Phyu. May Sabe Phyu is courageously leading efforts to end discrimination against...

A new report ( click here ) by Freedom House indicates that in 2014 our global village once again saw an overall decline in the respect for global political rights and civil liberties. 2014 marked the ninth year of consecutive of this decline. Does a...

Almost a full year before the United States entered World War II, President Roosevelt’s State of the Union address (given in January 1941) made it clear that a fight was inevitable. FDR called for a fight to preserve, protect, and defend four essential...

January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month. Human trafficking is one of the great human rights causes of our time! President Obama recently proclaimed, “Over a century and a half after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation...

UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson gave a wonderful speech at a special event for the HeForShe campaign, United Nations Headquarters last week. Waston announced the launching a campaign called “ HeForShe ,” saying that she is reaching...

There are just over 7 billion people in our global village and at present 2.5 billion adults do not have access to a bank account ( click here for more ). International political economists often argue that macro-economic stability is an essential...

Today, 30 July 2014 is the first ever United Nations World Day against Trafficking in Persons . It is just a sad, sad fact that we even need such a day. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is seeking to promote awareness of the global problem...

As you walk in the frozen foods aisle at Wal-Mart you should think again before throwing that inexpensive package of shrimp into your cart . The Guardian has again raised the alarm over slavery in the Thai fishing industry. In an excellent and in...

International political policies very often change lives for those who are least connected to the actual creation and negotiation of the agreements. In 2001, the European Union concluded an agreement that has had a dramatic and negative impact on the...

Last week, the United Methodist Board of Pension and Health Benefits members demonstrated an understanding of how their actions (investing) have an impact on others in our global village. The​ US United Methodist Church has followed a decision by the...

Perhaps the leadership in China should study with the leaders of nearby Bhutan and maybe even take some notes from the leadership in Myanmar. A successful economy or business environment does not bring happiness and stability to a state and its people...

China's President Xi Jinping has issued a memo, referred to as Document No. 9, that enumerates seven perils facing his government. The first peril listed is "Western constitutional democracy." It seems that Mr. Xi is concerned about the...