UN at 70: Taking Stock and Future Challenges
On October 28, 2015, the Pell Center and the Office for International Programs at Salve Regina University presented a lecture featuring two current United Nations employees in order to celebrate the 70th birthday of the organization through a discussion of its future goals and its effectiveness as an agency from its start up to the present day. The lecture attracted a highly engaged crowd which included members of Salve’s own … Read More
Picks of the Week: Nuclear Nightmares
The fuel for a nuclear bomb is in the hands of an unknown black marketeer from Russia, U.S. officials say | The Center for Public Integrity US flies B-52 bombers near disputed islands claimed by China | The Hill Two weeks ago, the USS Lassen, a U.S. Navy destroyer, sailed through disputed waters in the South China Sea. China protested and said it would respond at a time and place … Read More
Picks of the Week: The World Still Needs the United Nations
Russian Ships Near Data Cables Are Too Close for U.S. Comfort | New York Times Intelligence Community Assessment: Global Food Security | Office of the Director of National Intelligence Angry China Shadows U.S. Warship Near Man-Made Islands | Reuters This week, the world could have marked with great fanfare the 70th birthday of the United Nations—the world body created by the victors of the Second World War to provide … Read More
Picks of the Week: As One World Leader Leaves the Nation’s Capital, Another Arrives
Same (Red) Carpet, Different Climate Conflict Flavors Obama’s Meeting With Chinese Leader | New York Times Full Transcript: Interview With Chinese President Xi Jinping | The Wall Street Journal A President and A Pope Head to Washington | The Washington Post Two prominent world leaders—Pope Francis and Chinese President Xi Jinping—are in Washington DC on official state visits this week, and although both leaders will be afforded red-carpet treatment they … Read More
Picks of the Week | Big Challenges Await Next President
Why Americans Still Think the Economy is Terrible | New York Times Senators call U.S. effort to train Syrians to fight Islamic State ‘a joke’ | McClatchy DC Russia is Setting up a Forward Operating Base in Syria, Pentagon Confirms | Defense One President Barack Obama waded into the 2016 Republican primary debate this week when he said, “Despite the perennial doom and gloom that I guess is inevitably … Read More
New Pell Center Adjunct Fellows Bring Additional Expertise
Newport, R.I.—Three accomplished professionals have joined the Pell Center as fellows. Brandon Catalan and Paul McGreevy will be contributing their expertise to the cyber leadership project and the Pell Center’s Rhode Island Corporate Cybersecurity Initiative (RICCI), whereas Brig. Gen. Peter Zwack, USA (Ret.) will provide insight on international affairs, especially the West’s relationship with Russia. “Over the past few years, the Pell Center has built a cohort of thought leaders … Read More
War and Peace: Iran and Eastern Europe
Barack Obama ran for president in 2008 on the promise that he would end America’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and change the tone of American foreign policy. He was motivated by a belief that Iraq was misguided and that the country was weary of war. In addition, many Americans believed that the perception of American belligerence in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, contributed to insecurity around the world. … Read More
Shootings in Denmark
Freedom of expression came under attack once again when a radical Islamist opened fire at a free speech forum at a Copenhagen cafe, then moved on and began shooting outside a synagogue. Two people were killed in the attacks. Swedish cartoonist, Lars Vilks, was hosting the free-speech debate when the shootings occurred. Mr. Vilks, who published a sketch in 2007 that depicted the Prophet Muhammad as a donkey, is presumed … Read More
U.S. Jails Serve as “Modern-Day Debtors’ Prisons”
Jails Have Become Warehouses for the Poor, Ill and Addicted, a Report Says | The New York Times Lawsuits Call Ferguson, Jennings Jails Debtors’ Prisons | St. Louis Post-Dispatch Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) on the Smarter Sentencing Act | C-SPAN A report released this week by the Vera Institute of Justice finds that the majority of people being held in America’s jails are the poor, those suffering from mental illness, … Read More
Picks of the Week | U.S. and Ukraine; Scientists vs. the Public; Trans-Pacific Partnership
American Arms and the War in Ukraine U.S. Considers Supplying Arms to Ukraine Forces, Officials Say | The New York Times The Escalation Advocates are Wrong on Ukraine | War on the Rocks Russian engagement in Eastern Ukraine is deepening, and fears are rising that when the conflict will grow in the coming months. In the United States, an influential Washington think-tank issued a report, calling for the provision of … Read More