Ukraine: Clampdown on Press Freedom

Here is my latest article on the rise of press censorship in Ukraine since the election of President Yanukovych. It’s timely – this Sunday Ukrainians head to the polls to vote in the local council elections and international observers have noticed a clampdown on independent media and opposition leaders. In the article and embedded videos, [...]

Stressing Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Children in Developing Countries

Just published my latest article for the Pulitzer Center, on a congressional briefing that addressed the need to provide water, sanitation and hygiene instruction and facilities for school children in the developing world. It’s an important issue – two out of three schools in the developing world lack decent toilets, according to UNICEF. The World Health [...]

Bjorn Lomborg Reverses Position on Climate Change

Bjorn Lomborg, author of “The Skeptical Environmentalist”, has reversed his position on the ‘urgency’ of climate change. Although he always believed that global warming is real and is being caused by humans, he was critical of government spending and global policy initiatives to address this issue. His main thesis was that the human race should [...]

Murder in the Caucasus: Press Censorship and Oppression

In June of this year I interviewed Fatima Tlisova, an independent journalist from the North Caucasus who has reported on human rights abuses and political/military brutality and corruption in the region. She was giving a presentation for the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) on eight journalists who had been marginalized by Russian authorities through unjustified [...]

Celebrating Women’s Suffrage in America, Honoring the Scottish Women’s Movement

Today is the 90th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th amendment, which granted women in America the right to vote. But this was no passive movement – women fought hard resorting to protests, hunger strikes and even acts of vandalism to secure their vote. They owed a lot of their success to their sisters [...]

Understanding Net Neutrality and the Google-Verizon Pact

Sam Gustin has written a great and easy to understand article on the Google-Verizon net neutrality plan, and what the former has to gain from it. Take a look: The Google-Verizon Deal: An ‘Evil’ or Pragmatic Pact? And check out my video piece on what net neutrality means for journalists and start-ups, also available on [...]

Protesters Decry Google-Verizon Net Neutrality Plan

The BBC is reporting that protesters have gathered outside the Google offices in Silicon Valley to denounce the internet giant’s proposed “net neutrality” policy with Verizon. The plan would create a two-tier internet system, the higher of which would feature “premium” content and users would be charged a fee. In other words, internet providers would [...]

Forest Fires Threaten to Release Radiation from Chernobyl Disaster

Big News from Eastern Europe today: Emergency crews have been battling wildfires in the Bryansk region of Russia, where heavy amounts of radiation fell after the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. The fires could release another nuclear cloud into the air, potentially threatening parts of Russia, Ukraine and Northern Europe all over again. I reported on this issue [...]