Globalizing Social Activism

Working to Heal the World From it’s founding in 1971by doctors and journalists in France, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has continued to expand it’s presence around the world. Today MSF has sections in 19 countries and conducts operations in more than 60 countries, focusing their efforts on those who are caught in life-threatening situations, whether due to armed conflict , malnutrition , epidemics or natural disasters . “We find out where the conditions are the worst - the places where others are not going - and that’s where we want to be.” - Nicolas de Torrente, Executive Director The hallmark of the ... Read Full Story

by Ron Suskind - Book Review A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism Ron Suskind is a noted author, journalist, and winner of the Pulitzer Prize. His latest book, The Way of the World is amazing on a number of levels. Touching on the past, focused on the most recent few years, and reaching out into the future, the multiple story lines presented are woven together in a way that allows the lives of people who have never met to touch in a very personal and profound way. It’s a bit like watching multiple stage plays at the same time ... Read Full Story

India has undergone many dam projects as have many other developing countries. Foreign investment, flood control, irrigation canals, and energy production are the cited reasons for dam construction but critics claim that the devastation to the human population living in the flood zones and the ecological damage, as well as statistics stating historical dam projects provide significantly less energy output as expected, encourage extreme resistance to dam construction. In India, massive protests in the form of hunger strikes, and donations of book royalties from famous Indian writer Arundhati Roy * keep this debate in the news. Book Review: " Power Politics ", 2001, author ... Read Full Story

Where Do We Go From Here? Looking ahead to the inauguration of a new president of the United States, I began thinking about what sort of world we might create, and the initiatives we must undertake in order to see that vision become reality. There are many problems to address, from poverty and hunger, to warfare and terrorism, but I wanted to get to the root of it all, identifying what must happen before these issues can be solved. From a Global Patriot perspective it seemed logical that ensuring basic human rights for everyone on the planet needs to happen first. But the topic ... Read Full Story

A Fallen Savior? So far the 21st century has not proved to be the paradise we were once told it would be. Instead of living a carefree life based on advanced technology that fanciful commercials, cartoons and theme parks predicted, we find ourselves constantly struggling to devise solutions to vexing problems on a wide variety of fronts. We’re still seeking out healthy foods, scrambling for alternative sources of energy and trying to keep the economic engine going while protecting a very fragile environment. Wouldn’t it be nice to find a solution that addressed all three concerns? Not that many years ago some pundits claimed ... Read Full Story