THE GUARDIAN 10/05/11 By Michael Shank The huge costs of social deprivation make the US poorer, even as the top 1% gets richer. Fix that and you fix the budget deficit On the heels of the US government’s announcement that personal income of Americans has dropped for the first time […]
Huffington Post 10/05/2011 By Michael Shank As US Congress continues to quack its way through the Super Committee quagmire, a seemingly non-germane offshore issue has surfaced vis-a-vis Iraq. The connection between the two is anything but inconsequential, despite receiving scant review in Washington. If one wonders how US debts and […]
Huffington Post 10/03/2011 By Michael Shank Since “climategate” first broke the news two years ago, American efforts to enact effective climate policy at the federal level have been significantly undermined by a confluence of events — from the emergence of a Republican majority in the House of Representatives in the […]
Huffington Post 09/28/2011 By Michael Shank This October 7, 2011, marks the tenth anniversary of the US war in Afghanistan. After expending $4 trillion and thousands of lives, the US needs an exit from the depressing impasse of its militarized foreign policy. With the Pentagon and the CIA countenancing a […]
Huffington Post 09/26/2011 By Michael Shank This September, I was interviewed by a communications firm on the topic of Islamophobia. The firm is planning a campaign to counteract Islamophobia in America and was conducting interviews with Washington policymakers who have addressed this topic. The interview came on the heels of […]
Huffington Post 09/22/2011 By Michael Shank This year, as the world witnesses revolutions erupting throughout North Africa and the Middle East and watches autocrats give way to people power, there is increasing fascination in the West with the nonviolent nature of some of these movements. From policy-makers to the press, […]
Huffington Post 09/21/2011 By Michael Shank Today, September 21, 2011, as the world celebrates the UN-recognized International Day of Peace, it is worth taking stock on the global community’s ability to keep the peace. Take a look at the 2011 Global Peace Index, produced by the Institute for Economics and […]
The Hill 09/07/2011 By Kris Kitto While many Washingtonians headed to the beach, a bipartisan group of congressional staffers spent part of their August recess in Cameroon, helping the African nation distribute millions of mosquito nets in an organized effort to prevent malaria. They were joined by Hollywood star Mandy […]
Foreign Policy Magazine 08/17/2011 NPR By Josh Rogin At least there’s one person who is bringing Democrats and Republicans together this summer. Actress, singer, and humanitarian Mandy Moore recently led a bipartisan delegation of congressional staffers on a trip to Cameroon to promote foreign aid and disease prevention there. Moore […]
Roll Call 08/15/2011 By Neda Semnani Mandy Moore and a bipartisan delegation of senior House staffers were in Cameroon last week helping launch a national malaria campaign. “A long-lasting insecticide-treated mosquito net is a mere $10 and gives years of protection to impoverished Cameroonians, who comprise nearly half of the […]