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(11/28/07 5:00am)
THE CIA'S assassination plots against the regime in Cuba during the last four decades read like a comic book. Dozens of ridiculous plots were hatched to overthrow and undermine the legitimacy of Fidel Castro's regime, including sneaking thallium salts into his shoes to make his legendary beard fall out, placing an explosive conch shell in Fidel's favorite diving spot and lacing his Cuban cigars with toxic chemicals. What is less hilarious and far more destructive is the overall U.S. policy toward Cuba, which has been stymied by a narrow focus on regime change and an archaic economic embargo, rather than constructive engagement.
(11/07/07 5:00am)
"Explain why George Bush is a war criminal," read an essay question in a criminology class at the University of Northern Colorado. The student, who disagreed with the question's "politically-based" premise, proceeded to substitute the question explaining instead "why Saddam Hussein should be considered a war criminal." She received an F (presumably because she did not answer the question).
(10/24/07 4:00am)
"INTERNATIONAL education, research and service at home and abroad" -- that was the fuzzy phrase darkened in bold ink that summarized the second priority of the Commission for the Future of the University.
(10/17/07 4:00am)
AS THE European Union tightened sanctions and analysts called for an "international coalition against Myanmar," the junta in Rangoon will begin to crawl back into its isolationist shell packed? with Singaporean military equipment and filled with oil and gas revenues from Indian, Chinese, French and American companies. Here it will remain until it weathers this bout of international attention, living unperturbed by the rotten carrots of engagement or the brittle sticks of sanctions.
(10/03/07 4:00am)
ALARM BELLS went off as I froze and read the frightful sign posted on the columns past the amphitheater: "Human Rights in the Bible and Qur'an." Putting aside my preconceived notions on the subject, I attended the discussion hosted by President of the Theological Education Institute Reverend John Rankin and University professor of Religious Studies Abdulaziz Sachedina that night.
(09/26/07 4:00am)
WHISPERS that Iran's Holocaust-denying president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was invited to speak at Columbia University prompted calls from some elected U.S. officials and presidential candidates to cut offfederal funding to the private university and, illogically, for his indictment under the Genocide Convention. Alarmingly, most, including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, agreed that they would engage in the anti-democratic practice of barring Ahmadinejad from speaking at all.
(09/19/07 4:00am)
EVERY CAVALIER Daily comic controversy goes through the same cycle: community outrage, followed by an apology (or not), and then the saber-rattling between intolerance-haters and freedom-lovers. While we all love our free speech, bickering over well-known problems hampers the resolution of important problems.
(09/12/07 4:00am)
CONGRESS RECENTLY passed the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which will boost college aid by roughly $20 billion over the next five years by reducing loan interest rates and increasing the amount of Pell Grant awards. The media immediately declared "relief" for the hundreds of thousands of parents battling increased tuition costs, while other government officials praised the arrival of a superhero-like savior at a time of crisis.
(09/05/07 4:00am)
LAST WEEK, a University representative informed me that due to a senseless post-Virginia Tech policy change, I would have to pay $66 per year for my corpse to be sent back to Malaysia in the event of my death. This, despite the fact that my family has resided in the Vienna, Virginia, for the past four years as legal resident aliens. Due to another unpublicized "policy change," the University has suddenly decided to enforce the rule that all F-1 student visa holders will not be eligible for in-state tuition, regardless of whether students and their families reside and pay taxes to the state of Virginia.
(04/05/07 4:00am)
SKEPTICS of intervention often argue that it is impossible to get engulfed in all wars, and that there are some cases where intervention is more warranted than others. Even so, a strong case for international intervention in the civil war in Sri Lanka between the government and the Tamil Tigers can be made. According to the Sri Lankan Human Rights Commission, one person is abducted or killed every three hours. Even a U.S. human rights report released this month concluded quite glumly that the government's respect for human rights had declined during the past year.
(03/21/07 4:00am)
THIS MARCH, almost 500 individuals participated in Alternative Spring Break with a goal of entrenching their community service mindset, broadening their outlooks and encouraging themselves to take their experiences further into their lives beyond college. All these key goals have been neglected by critics of the program who point to its inadequacies of "being only one week" and serving as "resume fillers" and "sequels to the white man's burden." These criticisms are as incorrect as they are ignorant, and represent narrow perceptions that the program seeks to erase.
(03/15/07 4:00am)
WHILE most are aware of the University's spotless academic record and chart-topping college ranking, few realize that it is one of the nation's best research institutions. For instance, the University holds the prestigious record of being the only institution in the United States that is part of Universitas 21, a global network of research-intensive universities headquartered in Singapore. The great headway made by the Undergraduate Research Network since its founding in 2001 and the library's parallel expansion since that period also seem to leave little room for criticism of the University's undergraduate research record. However, with a feverishly increasing demand for research, the University should step up its efforts to expand research opportunities for its students and improve access to related research resources.
(02/28/07 5:00am)
AS A United Nations aid vessel was hijacked in Somali waters yesterday and the sequel to Pirates of the Caribbean took the Oscar for best visual effects, all eyes were on the grave situation of piracy in the Indian Ocean that has threatened to once again reach threatening levels. Given the considerable security risks, governments in the area, particularly Bangladesh and Somalia, must construct a viable plan to combat this threat.
(02/21/07 5:00am)
THE RECENT six-party deal on North Korea was greeted with unnerving criticism from conservatives and a gleeful "I told you so" from liberals. Politics and ideology aside, the agreement must be viewed as a glum acknowledgement from the Bush administration that it was the least-bad of a set of horrible alternatives. These included starting a nuclear war or allowing North Korea to develop into a nuclear Wal-Mart. That said, it is important to consider some of the legitimate criticisms of the deal, since the issue is far from resolved.
(02/13/07 5:00am)
IF I were an identity thief, I would not have to lift a finger to target my next victim. Last Wednesday, I sat beside a woman at a computer terminal at the library who was on the phone regarding an ISIS problem, walked past my roommate who was ordering from Dominos and came upon a list of individuals who did not bring their IDs outside the Newcomb Dining room. I was able to overhear or see seven or eight Social Security numbers in one day alone.
(02/05/07 5:00am)
ASIANS and Asian-Pacific Americans comprise about 17 percent of the University population, represent 50 CIOs on grounds, and have the highest graduation rate among all minority groups. Yet, the University rewards their significance and contributions with sheer neglect in nearly every aspect of University life -- be it faculty, funding or anti-discrimination policies. It is time the University address its dismal record of dealing with Asian discrimination and give the community the place it deserves.
(01/29/07 5:00am)
LAST WEEK, Virginia Del. Frank D. Hargrove Sr., R - Hanover County, caused quite a stir when he opposed a circulating slavery apology resolution on the grounds that black Virginians "should just get over" slavery. While his incisive remarks may have reopened some raw inter-racial wounds, he makes a valid point.
(01/22/07 5:00am)
TWO WARS and six years later it was clear that something was fundamentally lacking in U.S.counterterrorism strategies in the war on terror. The primary flaw appears to be the misconception that terrorism can somehow be eradicated through military means without addressing its significant ideological component. This is an inimical belief, since no matter how much hard power is placed into disrupting terrorist cells, a regeneration of terrorists will ensue if nothing is done to combat the appeal of their ideas.
(11/13/06 5:00am)
AS I sat at the9/11 plus 5 summit two months ago at George Washington University the audience gasped. "The most incomprehensible contradictionof your generation is that you make a lot of noise about Muslim women wearing veils, while you walk around with those thongs," said MJ Akbar, the Editor-in-Chief of The Asian Age. While the parallel itself incited loud guffaws in the audience, the implicit point Akbar was making about the veil was much more serious -- that whether to wear a veil or not is purely a woman's choice. Indeed, the very fact that we are debating the issue of veils in the West epitomizes the very cultural ignorance and assaults on liberty Muslims are experiencing in the post-9/11 climate.
(11/08/06 5:00am)
ANYONE who approaches the issue of sexual assault from the lens of "preventative" measures risks being labeled a chauvinist who blames predominantly male crimes on females. I will nevertheless risk losing half my readership to advance what I see as the correct perspective, because uninformed debate is the most important obstacle hampering our efforts to solve one of the most critical security issues at this University.