December 2011
5 posts
Webchat: Istanbul Process, Discrimination Based...
I spoke with Ambassador Cook and Kozak on the Istanbul Process as part of a U.S. State Department webchat. It can be viewed here.
Description from State iiP:
After years of debate, the international community passed an important resolution calling on states to take action to combat religious intolerance without placing bans on speech. As Secretary Clinton stated, “Under this resolution, the...
“The civil rights community has long regarded the expansion of minority and...”
– Read more
New Jersey Homeland Security Conference, "Securing...
A piece about my participation in the New Jersey Homeland Security Conference addressing civil rights concerns of the Hindu-American and Sikh-American communities in New Jersey.
Read more
State Department Diplomacy Channel
Join me tomorrow, December 14, 2011 at 7:45 EST on the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomacy Channel as I discuss my participation in a joint U.S. State Department and Department of Homeland Security event on religious freedom (the “Istanbul Process”, UNHRC Resolution 16/18).
More information
“The homeless children crisis is a civil rights issue. Homeless children deserve...”
– FULL ARTICLE AT PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE
November 2011
4 posts
“I am an Iraq War veteran … I spent a year and a half of my life fighting...”
– NBC NEW YORK
“That’s why I caution those who hail the fact that we will be the majority...”
– San Antonio Express
Civil rights commission to review Georgia...
“The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights announced this week that it will look into how new immigration laws in Georgia and several other states are affecting people’s civil rights.
The commission plans to review whether enforcement of the laws has fostered or contributed to an increase in hate crimes, compromised public safety, elevated racial and ethnic profiling or affected students...
September 2011
2 posts
ADC Policy Conference: 10 Years After 9/11
I recently had the honor of speaking about the impact of 9/11 at the Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee’s 9/11 Policy Conference with a number of panelists far more distinguished than myself.
Watch C-SPAN Video of the Policy Conference.
Additional information about the conference and speakers.
News coverage of the conference.
1 tag
Unheard Voices of 9/11
I recently attended a panel discussion where individuals spoke about their experiences with post-9/11 backlash. The hearing was hosted by the Sikh Coalition. Many of the stories were emotional, some quite tragic and others uplifting.
Watch the entire hearing here
Read additional news coverage
February 2011
4 posts
The Revolution Isn't Over for the Women of Tahrir...
2011 did not witness the first Egyptian revolution. After all, Egypt’s Tahrir (“Liberation”) Square earned its name from some other struggle. For Egypt, this liberation came in the 1920s when men, women, Muslims, Christians, the young and the old from across the land rallied to drive the British out of Egypt. They succeeded in no small part due to the role Egyptian...
The Social Idea: Ramifications of The Egyptian...
The Egyptian revolution that just overthrew Mubarak may have been the model revolution that other repressed people in the world have been looking for. It was largely secular, peaceful and eschewed a cult of personality. Moreover, throughout the process, the Egyptian military behaved with restraint and respect towards both the people and the outgoing regime.
It is likely that some other nations...
We Could Use Some Egyptian Courage Ourselves
(Originally posted on Huffington Post)
I’ve been glued to Al-Jazeera for the past eight days monitoring the protests in Egypt. I turn it on in the morning before breakfast and check the live feed at night before I hit the sack. What started as a personal demonstration of one man’s quest to achieve dignity and solace in the face of economic uncertainty in Tunisia has inspired...
January 2011
2 posts
What We Can Learn From The Ancient Greek System Of...
We sometimes forget that the American judicial system as well as common law systems in Great Britain and many former European colonies stem from the system of justice first employed in Ancient Greece, particularly Athens, nearly 3000 years ago.
Along the way our justice system has become complicated and crowded with procedure, rules and bureaucracy to the point of incomprehensibility. Odd as...
Amid a Turbulent Year, a Rare Sign of Hope in...
Repost of my original Muftah.org piece on the Pakistan Lawyer’s Movement four years out, on Huffington Post http://huff.to/fV9qFz
December 2010
1 post
The History and Continuing Influence of Pakistan’s...
The summer of 2008 brought the usual blistering heat to Pakistan. President Pervez Musharraf, an army general who had become president through a coup d’etat eight years earlier, led by edict in a country little used to democracy and often subject to the heavy yet firm hand of military rule. Despite the predictable heat, the streets of Karachi thronged with thousands of lawyers clad in the...
November 2010
1 post
Extremist Concialitors: A progressive, grassroots...
I was led to Mideastyouth.com by a colleague over at Muftah.org. Mideastyouth forms the core of a network of sites which seek to build bridges, increase tolerance and encourage cooperation throughout the Middle East. You can see that founder Esra’a Al Shafei (24), a recent TED Fellow, hasn’t skimped on design or content. Even the About Us page is classy and uniquely designed. ...
Mind the Gap.
In 1960, hitting the “bigtime” for the ordinary European was owning a Volvo. At the same time for those nearly 1 billion of the world’s poor it was stable shelter, three square meals and warm clothing.
Fast forward fifty years. Today the middle-class European has “made it” when they can afford expensive yearly vacations to remote destinations. Nowadays owning a...
October 2010
2 posts
Flood Victims in Pakistan Still Need Help
<This is a partial reprint of my article on the Huffington Post>
Big, burly, ferociously committed and said to resemble an “American football coach more than a health worker,” Todd Shea is a surprising contradiction of a man who still seems to belong in rural northwest Pakistan.
Beloved by the locals since his arrival in 2005, Todd’s good-natured persistence underlies...
August 2010
1 post
Killing The Billable: Balancing Accuracy Against...
In the world of dispute resolution, the twin concepts of accuracy and efficiency remain in tenuous counterbalance. Certain methods of resolving disputes are highly accurate, while others are highly efficicent. Generally, the more efficient a dispute resolution process, the less accurate the result and the more accurate the result, the less efficient the process.
Before I go further, it helps...
July 2010
4 posts
Context is King: A Practical Guide to Reframing in... →
A reprint of a previously published article on how reframing a dispute, legal or otherwise, assists in accurate and efficient resolution.
In Haiti, the Displaced Are Left Clinging to the... →
Six months after an earthquake, only 28,000 of 1.5 million displaced Haitians have new homes, and Port-au-Prince remains a tableau of life in the ruins.
Why Law Schools Should Teach Social Justice As...
A horrible reputation takes a lot of work to change.
Whether it is deserved or not, lawyers in the United States have a horrible reputation which is a shame. Though the nature of the legal profession makes it easy to become a magnet for offense, lawyers are largely to blame for the way in which their profession is perceived because law schools and attorneys in practice have failed to emphasize...
How Domestic Healthcare Reform Effects U.S....
Heard some startling statistics at a SIPA* event last Thursday:
When women in developing countries are educated up to the primary education level (grades 1-6), we almost never see their kids achieve a lower level of education than their mothers. The same is true of secondary education.
The incidence of natural disasters is increasing worldwide, and this is not because of the surveillance...
June 2010
1 post
Of Lawyers and Photojournalists
“Human Torch” Greg Marinovich
I had the opportunity to visit the Newseum in Washington D.C. today. As its name implies, the Newseum is a museum dedicated to showcasing the art and craft of newsmaking. The shiny new exhibits and glitzy touch screens present information in an appealing manner compelling you to stay at the musuem for hours and explore every nook and cranny....