Globally women have made strides over the past century. More women are now leaders around the world than ever before, and yet often women are still marginalized. For instance, in grassroots organizations and alternative news media, women still do the brunt of the work often with significantly less recognition and reward. In the United States, a record 128 women are […]
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According to the Center for Migration Studies (CMS), violence and organized crime from the Northern Triangle of Central America is creating a crisis at the border. The countries of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, known as the Northern Triangle, or the Isthmus due to common cultural ties, are responsible for the largest flows in refugees. To solve the immigration problem, […]
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This year marks the 23rd Annual Iranian Film Festival hosted by the American Film Institute (AFI) Silver Theater and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, Maryland, and co-presented by the Smithsonian Freer-Sackler museums of Asian Art in Washington, D.C. The Festival begins in mid-January and lasts through February. These premier foreign films offer an introspective political and cultural commentary of life […]
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Limited cultural freedom, western sanctions In February, Iran is celebrating its 40th anniversary since independence. For Iran, independence has been a mixed success. Between 1953 and 1978, it was effectively ruled by a sovereign monarch. The state is presently dominated by clerics beginning with Ruhollah Khomeini, a radical Muslim cleric, in 1979. While the clerics supported an Islamic Revolution, its […]
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In Eaarth, Bill McKibbon depicts a changed planet. He describes dramatic changes taking place due to global warming. Even if a clear link to greenhouse gases is not 100% proven, the author stresses the need to recognize that our planet has changed: The planet on which our civilization evolved no longer exists. The stability that produced that civilization has vanished; […]
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Nuclear power plants require tons of energy, emit tons of pollutants All nuclear power plants are dangerous, so maintain grassroots organizations and activists such as the late Michael Mariotte of Nuclear Information & Resource Service (NIRS) in a Pacifica radio interview with Dr. Michio Kako about the Fukushima nuclear disaster. And at Fukushima, the levels of radiation are unprecedented…The cleanup […]
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There is no doubt that the drought over the past several years has hit the Sierra Nevada forests hard. Any visitor to the Kings Canyon National Park will see signs of the devastation just about everywhere. On fly-overs, extensive stands of yellowish-brown trees dominate the landscape especially in the southern Sierra Nevada forests. Tourists are having to wait in car […]
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Precautionary measures for Grant Grove Giant Sequoias included fire hydrant and wrapping trees in flame retardant foil. There is no doubt that the drought from the past several years has hit the Sierra Nevada forests hard. Any visitor to the Kings Canyon National Park above the Central Valley foothills can see signs of the devastation just about everywhere. Rough “Zombie” […]
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The Rough Fire is the biggest fire this summer in California. The fire, grown to over 140,000 acres, is less than 40 miles east of Fresno and runs north along highway 180 inside the Kings Canyon National Park. Reported size of the fire varies according to the amount of the burnt ground, but estimates range from 50,000 to 80,000 acres. […]
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