Global Magazine 01/01/2013 By Michael Shank As President Barack Obama prepares for another four years of fighting and fixing foreign policy conflicts, the desire in the White House to move towards fewer boots on the ground and more drones in the air is increasingly apparent. The public has little appetite […]
NEW JERSEY NEWSROOM 12/29/13 By Bob Holt The three police officers being shot in Gloucester Township on Friday only renews the debates about gun control. One of the questions has been whether the NRA is listening to the debates since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings. The four million member […]
Huffington Post 12/28/2012 By Michael Shank That three New Jersey police officers were shot today, by a suspect being processed for a completely unrelated domestic incident, pokes holes in the National Rifle Association’s remedy for gun violence in America. How would the NRA, who suggested after the Sandy Hook shooting […]
AL JAZEERA 12/23/12 By Michael Shank Now that the National Rifle Association is playing hard ball by suggesting today that we provide armed guards in every school across America at a cost of nearly $6bn, it is quite clear that this conversation has gotten completely out of hand. The idea […]
WASHINGTON POST 12/21/12 By Michael Shank Friday morning, the National Rifle Association will hold a much anticipated press conference, responding to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that claimed 26 lives last week. No matter what the powerful group says, there will likely still be calls for stronger gun control […]
AL JAZEERA 12/16/13 By Michael Shank The foreign policy docket of President Barack Obama’s second term seems to be giving short shrift to the security threats of the next four years. This is not merely because the US intelligence and defence agencies continue to be wracked with scandal, thanks to […]
POLITICO 12/8-9/12 By Michael Shank At the beginning of this lame duck session, a report was delivered to Congress by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). Likely few in Washington read it. The U.S. war in Afghanistan wasn’t a big part of pre-election politicking and now, post-election, the […]
Huffington Post 12/06/2012 By Michael Shank and Lindsay Schubiner The greatest legacy of Marion Barry, as city council member of the District of Columbia, could’ve been his latest ex-offender bill, which was shot down this week by fellow Democrat on the council Phil Mendelson. Chairman Mendelson, using procedural tactics, never […]
WASHINGTON POST 12/05/12 By Michael Shank and Lindsay Schubiner D.C. Council member Marion Barry’s ex-offender bill, which is on the city’s legislative hopper and addresses discrimination by granting employment protections, is needed not only in the District but also across America. It is needed for an estimated 65 million Americans, […]
Huffington Post 12/03/2013 By Michael Shank If anyone thinks that the Discovery Channel is about actual discovery of, say, science, history, space, or tech, as their website claims, think again. Or if you think that its sister company, The Learning Channel (TLC), is about learning new insight or information, you […]