$100M Donation to Human Rights Watch!

Image Courtesy Human Rights Watch

Have you heard about the great news for Human Rights Watch? Philanthropist George Soros has donated $100 million to the advocacy group Human Rights Watch. This article form the NYT gives a good breakdown of Soros' donation and what the money will be used to do. It also mentions that donations like Soros' are becoming increasinly rare. No doubt the economy is to blame. Still I'm happy about he donation and even happier that it went to Human Rights Watch. I rely on the services to keep up on my Human Rights news and I trust the accuracy of their reports. Now Soros has made it a little easier for them to keep doing what they do.


Sidenote: There's an interesting little lesson on human interaction hidden between the lines of the article. Director of Human Rights Watch, Kenneth Roth, states that many people at Human Rights Watch didn't even know who George Soros. Yet Soros states that his presence at Human Rights watch has a hada profound impact on his life. It just goes to show that you can interact with someone and have a huge impact on their life without knowing it. If the impact is positive, you can reap the benefits of this in an unexpected ways. I'll keep that in mind as I go about my day today.

Ciao!

Don't Forget

(Photo: UNICEF)

Please don't forget the millions of people displaced by floods in Pakistan. The aid efforts currently underway in Pakistan are in desperate need of funding. Click here to donate through UNICEF.

More Ground Zero Talk

(Photo: ABC News)

Yesterday I posted about the clash over the Ground Zero mosque. Well here's another perspective from Akbar S. Ahmed a former Pakistani ambassador for the UK. My previous post was largely my non-American, non-Muslim understanding of the American Muslim v.s. American non-Muslim position. Ahmed has opened up yet another corner of the debate to non-American Muslims.

I don't think I've mentioned this before, but I was a communication major as an an undergrad and I live for this kind of rich, complicated dialogue with multiple conflicting voices. I live for it because I firmly believe that a multiplicity of voices offers a multiplicity of solutions. Not surprisingly, I think that the best part of this article comes at the end when Ahmed gives his entirely new suggestion for the solution to the problem. He suggests that the property be sold and proceeds be donated to the victims of flooding in Pakistan.

I'll bet the house that this will never happen. This controversy has grown beyond the bricks and mortar of a building and taken on its new meaning and symbolism. This is not a real estate dispute. This a clash of religion and culture. Selling the building would be the equivalent of dispelling these two weighty principles that it has come to symbolize. Definitely not gonna happen, but still good food for thought.

Read the entire article here.

Happy World Humanitarian Day!

(Photo: United Nations)

Today is World Humanitarian Day. Round of applause to all the humanitarian aid workers across the world who are working for the good of humanity and a prayer for those who have lost their lives doing so.

In recognition of this day and what it stands for I'd like to shine some blogger light on the humanitarian crisis that currently taking hold of Pakistan.

(Photo: AP)

Particularly heavy rains have lead to devastating floods which have lead to loss of life, economic losses and the displacement of millions. International aid has been slow and without it Pakistan has no chance of recovery. Please click here to donate through UNICEF.