Thoughts on the peace process

It is interesting to note that some of our legislators are raising fundamental questions about the Bangsamoro Basic Law only now. They ask, for instance: By what right is the Moro Islamic Liberation Front speaking for the people of Muslim Mindanao? Why is the proposed Bangsamoro autonomous government ministerial in form? What is meant for … Read more

Hillary Clinton’s e-mails

The candidate to beat in the next American presidential election is Hillary Rodham Clinton, who will most certainly get the Democratic Party nomination on her second try to be the first woman president of the United States. Former first lady, former senator, and former secretary of state, Hillary brings to her campaign possibly the broadest … Read more

How do we solve a problem like the Rohingya?

The government of Myanmar (Burma) rejects any suggestion that they are its responsibility. The Rohingya, it claims, are not an indigenous people of Burma, but Bengali Muslims who migrated from neighboring Bangladesh. The government of Bangladesh insists they are not Bangladeshi citizens either. Indeed, the people calling themselves Rohingya are most likely the descendants of … Read more

How do we solve a problem like the Rohingya?

The government of Myanmar (Burma) rejects any suggestion that they are its responsibility. The Rohingya, it claims, are not an indigenous people of Burma, but Bengali Muslims who migrated from neighboring Bangladesh. The government of Bangladesh insists they are not Bangladeshi citizens either. Indeed, the people calling themselves Rohingya are most likely the descendants of … Read more

Relying on surveys to choose a nation’s leaders

Apart from Britain’s Labour Party, the biggest loser in the May 7 general elections was the British polling industry. About a dozen survey firms, who together kept an eye on public opinion on a monthly basis for five years preceding the 2015 elections, failed to predict a decisive Conservative Party win. They have, as a … Read more

Relying on surveys to choose a nation’s leaders

Apart from Britain’s Labour Party, the biggest loser in the May 7 general elections was the British polling industry. About a dozen survey firms, who together kept an eye on public opinion on a monthly basis for five years preceding the 2015 elections, failed to predict a decisive Conservative Party win. They have, as a … Read more

Wandering nations

Described as the world’s most persecuted minority group, the Rohingya are once more in the news. Most of them fled their homes in Arakan, northwestern Myanmar (Burma), staying in refugee camps on both sides of the Burmese-Bangladeshi border. Unable to bear the conditions in these camps, they sell whatever possessions they have to pay for … Read more

Wandering nations

Described as the world’s most persecuted minority group, the Rohingya are once more in the news. Most of them fled their homes in Arakan, northwestern Myanmar (Burma), staying in refugee camps on both sides of the Burmese-Bangladeshi border. Unable to bear the conditions in these camps, they sell whatever possessions they have to pay for … Read more

The work of mothers

Anna Jarvis, the American activist who started it all in 1908, became so incensed by the commercialization of “Mother’s Day” that she wanted this special day scrapped for the meaningless ritual it had become. This was supposed to be, she said, an occasion for warm thoughts and sentiments, and not for profitmaking. She, of course, … Read more

The work of mothers

Anna Jarvis, the American activist who started it all in 1908, became so incensed by the commercialization of “Mother’s Day” that she wanted this special day scrapped for the meaningless ritual it had become. This was supposed to be, she said, an occasion for warm thoughts and sentiments, and not for profitmaking. She, of course, … Read more