CDN 08/08/14 By Michael Shank WASHINGTON, August 8, 2014 — As the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit concludes with well over $30 billion in commitments from the U.S. government, World Bank and private companies, it is important for President Barack Obama to move beyond the Summit’s primary focus on big business expansion, […]
CDN
American Energy Policy: Government Must Do What’s Right for the Health of its Citizens
CDN 06/17/14 By Michael Shank WASHINGTON, June 17, 2014 — By almost a two-to-one margin, Americans are willing to pay more for cleaner and greener energy. They are willing to support a candidate who addresses the issue of climate change. This is a very good sign as America approaches mid-term […]
Yemen Remains in Crisis With an Untrustworthy Transitional Government
CDN 05/09/14 By Michael Shank WASHINGTON, May 9, 2014 — Trust is essential for any society to function. If it’s not there, political and economic progress is impossible. That’s exactly what’s happening in Yemen right now. From the public’s perspective in Sana’a, the transitional government cannot be trusted, nor can […]
Of Drone Strikes and Violence: A Personal Search for Nonviolent Solutions in Yemen
CDN 04/27/14 By Michael Shank WASHINGTON, April 27, 2014 — America is leaving a devastating legacy in Yemen thanks to its program of drone strikes. Without question, America’s approach is doing much to destabilize this impoverished country, undermine constitutional and electoral efforts to unify her people, and devastate the local […]
How to Resolve the Crisis in Ukraine
CDN 04/18/14 By Michael Shank WASHINGTON, April 18, 2014 — The Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) urges Congress, the Obama administration and policymakers throughout the European Union to adopt policies toward the Ukraine crisis that deescalate the conflict while providing a constructive path forward. The diplomatic deal struck this […]
Caustic Encounters: Western Demands on Putin Escalate Crimea Crisis
CDN 03/22/14 By Michael Shank WASHINGTON, March 22, 2014 — Returning home last week from Poland and Germany, as part of a United States and European Union transatlantic policymaker conversation on the crisis in Ukraine, Crimea and Russia, as well as other salient U.S.-E.U. issues like trade, climate change and […]
Momentum is Increasing to Change the GDP
CDN 02/27/14 By Michael Shank, Ben Beachy and Justin Talbot Zorn WASHINGTON, February 27, 2014 — Momentum is quickly building to redefine, restructure, or replace the statistical measure that has long served as the unofficial “headline indicator” of progress in the United States: Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This is good […]
Saving District of Columbia’s Youth Court
CDN 02/12/14 By Michael Shank and Erica Marshall WASHINGTON, February 12, 2014 —This April, when the District of Columbia begins its public debate over the draft budget for fiscal year 2015, there is an opportunity to give many of the District’s youth a second chance on life – literally. All […]
Defense Department in Somalia
CDN 01/13/14 By Michael Shank WASHINGTON, January 13, 2014 — As the U.S. Department of Defense announced last week that American soldiers are re-entering Somalia after 20-plus years avoiding the country, the need for new solutions to this crisis is critical. The answer to the rebel group al-Shabaab’s growth in […]