Hey everybody, I hope you are all safe this weekend…
A lot of things happened this week in terms of world affairs, from the Myanmar elections through the EU’s migration summit in Malta to the Syria peace talks in Vienna, but one sad event tops all of them.
Let me just say I was worried from the very first moment that this will add fuel to the extreme opinions regarding the refugee issue, and indeed it did. In my country this is most certainly the case, and I think all over Europe they think they now have a seemingly legit point asking “why let in more refugees, so they can kill us all?”. Except, they are wrong. Hillary Clinton put it right in last night’s debate. I think we should be clear about who we are fighting against, and don’t loose our friends just because in certain aspects they slightly resemble our enemies. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that”, as Martin Luther King put it best. In such sad occasions it is heartwarming to see signs of humanity, which I believe is still the only way to show we are stronger than them.
On a lighter and totally unrelated note, my hurdle with the U2 tickets seems to have been solved thanks to Simon Read of The Independent, check out how he put the story into words. BTW, U2 would have played in Paris this weekend and HBO would have broadcasted it in the US, understandably now the whole thing is postponed.
Now, let’s read some more…
Paris attack: Five things to know about ISIS
Drawing broad consequences is impossible, but Professor Daniel Byman of Georgetown University gives a great analysis of what to be understood at the time being.
Will France Turn to International Institutions in Response to the Attacks?
Brief analysis of how France’s current situation differs from that of the US after 9.11.
Burundi is on the Verge of Genocide and There’s Not Much That Can Stop It
I totally agree those who say we should not just #PrayforParis, we should #PrayfortheWorld. Indeed there are tragedies happening all over the world, and the ones that hit so close to home that we cannot pass by in silence, should remind us of the others too.
UN Climate Change Negotiations: Last Tango in Paris? and
For the life and health of my children: We MUST include Human Rights in the New Climate Accord
The Paris Climate Change Negotiations are only two weeks away now, but I still don’t think the world understands how much really is at stake.
