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A History of Disaster: Land and Religion in Israel and Palestine

Mneesha Gellman October 11, 2005 Mneesha Gellman

View of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives

When the sun sets on the holy city of Jerusalem, the thick limestone buildings are cast in a shimmering gold light. The ancient Old City contains the Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Armenian Quarters, and the religious mood is palpable in every alleyway. On Friday nights the air is thick with Hebrew singing welcoming in the Sabbath, mingling with the Arabic call to prayer from the mosques, and church bells peal through the dusk. The interconnection between land conflict and religious conflict is clearest in the Old City of Jerusalem where the Western Wall borders the Dome of the Rock. The Western Wall which stands today is part of the second temple complex which was gradually rebuilt by the Jews upon the ruins of the first temple when they returned from exile. After a period of rule by the Greeks, Jerusalem was incorporated into Roman-occupied Palestine in 63 BC, and when the Jews revolted against the Romans in 70 AD the second temple was destroyed. The part of the Western wall which remains standing is believed to be the closest place to the Holy of Holies that Jews are allowed to go.

The Iraq War: Planting the Seeds of Al Qaeda’s Second Generation

Fawaz A. Gerges October 10, 2005 Fawaz A. Gerges

The American-led invasion and occupation of Iraq has provided Al Qaeda with a new lease on life, a second generation of recruits and fighters, and a powerful outlet to expand its ideological outreach activities to Muslims worldwide. Statements by Al Qaeda top chiefs, including bin Laden, Zawahiri, Zarqawi, and Seif al-Adl, portray the unfolding confrontation in Iraq as a "golden and unique opportunity" for the global jihad movement to engage and defeat the United States and spread the conflict into neighboring Arab states in Syria, Lebanon and the Palestine-Israeli theater. The global war is not going well for bin Laden, and Iraq enabled him to convince his jihadist followers that Al Qaeda is still alive and kicking despite suffering crippling operational setbacks in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and elsewhere.

AIDS, Orphans and Grannies in Thailand

Elayne Clift October 6, 2005 Elayne Clift

Auntie Boon at work

They call her Auntie Boon. She is a 73-year old retired Red Cross nurse and public health researcher and she is boundless in her energy and commitment when it comes to the growing number of AIDS-infected women in Northern Thailand and their children. Many of these children become orphaned as a result of the pandemic. If at all possible, their grandmothers, and sometimes their grandfathers, take care of them, raising new families just when they thought they could relax a little in their old age. Auntie Boon, or Somboon Suprasert, spent many of her professional years researching HIV/AIDS in Thailand on behalf of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md. Through that work, she realized that women her age were becoming caregivers to their orphaned grandchildren. She wrote a "Six Country Report to the United Nations" about the phenomenon. Then she set about doing something to help. As its charter president, Auntie Boon, who holds a master's degree in public health, presented an idea to the Chiang Mai chapter of Zonta International, a service organization dedicated to helping women and children. The idea was a program called "Grandma Cares." It is designed to help HIV/AIDS victims and their families in Northern Thailand, and train grandparents to take care of their grandchildren.

Development, Human Rights and the Role of Volunteers

Megan Tady October 5, 2005 Megan Tady

Volunteer Teacher in Ghana

As the disparities between the rich and the poor widen, so does the confusion for ordinary citizens regarding how to change this global trend. How does one tread lightly on the rest of the world, while still helping communities in need? What is the right way to help? How can we approach humanitarian aid on a personal, sustainable and gracious level? Four women discuss the role of volunteerism in a world that's had its share of Western "development," and evaluate the impact that volunteers can have on creating a more just and compassionate world.

Algeria: How Clean Can One Wipe The Slate?

Rene Wadlow October 4, 2005 Rene Wadlow

On September 29th, 97% of those voting in the Algerian referendum on Peace and Reconciliation voted yes for peace and reconciliation. Was this a necessary act of popular catharsis after some 13 years of violence? Or was it a government-staged show to reinforce its power? Both are real possibilities. It is important to analyze the results carefully as violence-torn countries need to find techniques to write "The End" to cycles of violence and counter-violence and to begin life again with a clean slate. But does such renewal mean that those who have killed and tortured should be free from possible trials? Much of the killing in Algeria - estimates are of over 200,000 - took place in rural towns and villages where people knew or thought they knew who was doing the killing. Is it possible to live an ordinary life now side by side with murderers?

Shock and Awe in the Homeland: The Whole World is Watching

Sandy Leon Vest October 3, 2005 Sandy Leon Vest

From the Gulf of Mexico to the Persian Gulf and beyond, a new wave of Shock and Awe is gripping the international community in the wakes of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. There is an increasingly glaring global inquisition taking place - and the spotlight is on American culture. Nationally, the focus of conservative and mainstream news coverage has suddenly shifted. Questions about American racism, classism, xenophobia and unmitigated consumerism and economic growth have hit the ground running. Even the untouchable topics of renewable energy, conservation and global warming, heretofore relegated to the margins of debate by those classes who have built their fortunes on fossil fuels and nuclear energy, are being uttered again as if they were newly discovered galaxies of hope.