crisisgroup.org: by Jean-Marie Guehenno — From Afghanistan to Yemen, the conflicts and crises the world faces in the coming year. The last year was a bad one for international peace and security. Sure, there were bright spots in 2014. Colombia’s peace process looks hopeful. The last round of Iran’s nuclear […]
Source: ABC News: For a young girl to be able to walk away from a plane crash that killed everyone else on board, and then make her way through rough, densely wooded terrain at night to find help is being called an incredible miracle. Medical experts say the 7-year-old was […]
fivethirtyeight.com There Are Way Too Many ‘Best Of 2014′ Lists By HAYLEY MUNGUIA They’re everywhere. You can’t escape them. You can even set your watch by them. Every year, as the air begins to chill and radio stations begin flipping the Christmas music switch, the inevitable comes: the annual year-end […]
Teacher Teresa Price gives instructions as students take notes in English as a second language class at the Alta Vista Learning Center. (Photo courtesy: Associated Press) Associated Press, Texas Sunday, 4 January 2015 A new Thai and sushi restaurant sits on a busy corner, not far from the vast prairie […]
Kindly click on the images to zoom them, Jazakallah. Imam Shamshad A. Nasir Shamshad A. Nasir is imam & missionary-in-charge of the Baitul ul Jaam’e Mosque, Glen Ellyn Cell Phone: 909-636-8332 | Email: Shamshadanasir@gmail.com
Scientific American: by Carol S, Dweck — A brilliant student, Jonathan sailed through grade school. He completed his assignments easily and routinely earned As. Jonathan puzzled over why some of his classmates struggled, and his parents told him he had a special gift. In the seventh grade, however, Jonathan suddenly […]
Economist: IF THERE is one individual who first gave expression to the American ideal of freedom,and religious freedom in particular, it was Thomas Jefferson. Indeed, the third president himself had […]
Source: The Telegraph By Keith Perry, Nov 2014 World-famous biologist James Watson said he is selling the Nobel Prize medal he won in 1962 for discovering the structure of DNA because […]
Source: Arab News: In a live television speech last week, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said, “Did you know there’s an oil war? And the war has an objective: To destroy Russia.”“It’s a strategically planned war … also aimed at Venezuela, to try and destroy our revolution and cause an economic […]
Sameer Al-Hajjawi Friday, 02 January 2015 15:45 The US-Arab alliance is one of the strangest and most interesting in the world, perhaps even in history. It is certainly the most one-sided, whereby America takes everything from its Arab allies and gives them nothing in return. The US attitude is disrespectful, […]
Statesman: by Peggie Evans — Members of a Round Rock mosque wondered if it was the workplace beheading in Oklahoma by a Muslim or terrorist activities of the Islamic State that caused someone to deface a local road sign bearing their group’s name. Members of the mosque who belong to […]
Source: CNN But is it really? Is it really a more dangerous place, particularly for the United States, than in the past? Or is this a mistaken impression, fueled by a 24/7 news cycle that relentlessly funnels disasters into our living rooms and smart phones? Let’s take a look at […]
Obama Envoy John Allen: No ‘Short-Term Solutions’ for Stopping Islamic State Interview Conducted By Matthias Gebauer and Holger Stark AP/dpa Islamic State fighters parade in Mosul, Iraq in June: “When you can defeat the idea, then you have destroyed the organization” says Obama’s envoy tasked to help stop the terrorist group’s menace. In an interview, […]
“Ancient Trees: Portraits of Time” is one of the most beautiful books to come out in 2014.Filled with “mesmerizing black-and-white photographs of the world’s most majestic ancient trees,” San Francisco photographer Beth Moon‘s masterpiece makes me want to follow in her footsteps and see these beauties for myself in real […]
Huff Post: by Dan Arel — The search for the truth is not easy and can mean being critical of many beliefs. I encourage others to be critical of all religion, but I believe criticism should be based on statements of fact, not biased misinformation, much like the information I […]
Huff Post — Celebrations of light, redemption, rebirth and honoring of the gods and goddesses. In 2014, people from faith traditions around the world gathered for religious festivals and holidays, lifting up the spirit of the divine in many different ways. These photographs capture moments from a broad array of […]
Jason Hickel Follow @@jasonhickel Dr Jason Hickel lectures at the London School of Economics and serves as an adviser to /The Rules. Poverty is created by rules that rig the economy in the interests of the rich, writes Hickel [AFP] International development is dying; people just don’t buy it anymore. […]
By SPIEGEL Staff AP/Kirsty Wigglesworth Combat operations in Afghanistan may be coming to an end, but a look at secret NATO documents reveals that the US and the UK were far less scrupulous in choosing targets for killing than previously believed. Drug dealers were also on the lists. http://www.facebook.com/v2.0/plugins/share_button.php?locale=en_US&href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.spiegel.de%2Finternational%2Fworld%2Fsecret-docs-reveal-dubious-details-of-targeted-killings-in-afghanistan-a-1010358.html&type=button&width=110&font=verdana&colorscheme=light&height=21 http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?locale=en_US&href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.spiegel.de%2Finternational%2Fworld%2Fsecret-docs-reveal-dubious-details-of-targeted-killings-in-afghanistan-a-1010358.html&layout=button_count&show_faces=false&width=140&action=recommend&font=verdana&colorscheme=light&height=21 […]
Huff Post: by Tim Suttle —- The hostility we feel toward those who are not like us is acceptable in almost every other part of our society, but it is distinctly out of place in Christian worship. Any hostility toward “the other” offends God, and it offends the community. As […]