S-G Ban is briefing the Security Council on his recent trip to Burma today. And while Britain's Foreign Minister may have praised Ban's trip, others were less sanguine about the outcome of his meetings with Burma's ruling junta. Most of this criticism has focused on the fact that Ban was not able to meet with jailed "on trial" opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Last week at the InterAction Forum I had the pleasure of hearing Sam Graham-Felson, former director of blogging for the Obama Campaign talk about their strategy and success. Lots of what Sam talked about can be translated into useful tactics for small and large organizations who are building communities of people who care about their issues.
Primitive and deplorable:
"I was wearing trousers and a blouse and the 10 girls who were lashed were wearing like me, there was no difference," [Lubna Ahmed al-Hussein] told the BBC's Arabic service.
Ms Hussein said some women pleaded guilty to "get it over with" but others, including herself, chose to speak to their lawyers and are awaiting their fates.
Under Sharia law in Khartoum, the normal punishment for "indecent" dressing is 40 lashes.
Bill Easterly grades Obama's Accra speech. He comes away generally positive, but this bit irks him. “We welcome the steps that are being taken by organizations like the African Union and ECOWAS to better resolve conflicts, keep the peace, and support those in need. And we encourage the vision of a strong, regional security architecture that can bring effective, transnational force to bear when needed.â€
