By Dr. Kathie Malley-Morrison

Photo in public domain

August 28 is a day to revere. Fifty years ago on that day, thousands of Americans marched on Washington, D.C., to protest racial discrimination and forced inequality in the U.S.

If you are a Baby Boomer like me, you probably remember the blatant racism of the South, where communities had signs like "White only" on public drinking fountains and restrooms. In the North, less obvious, but still powerful, racism determined who could go to good schools, live in desirable suburbs, and eat in restaurants of their choosing.

By guest author Dr. Mike Corgan  

Photo by Bernd Schwabe from WikiMedia Commons

Does the ongoing Syrian civil war have echoes of the Spanish civil war of nearly 80 years ago?

If the conflict were only between the Syrian government and rebel forces (as was true in opposing Franco), then it would be easy for liberal or humanitarian interventionists to oppose what Assad has done to his people and support the rebellion. Indeed, many have already done so.

During the Spanish civil war, as far as outsiders were concerned, there were communists versus Nazis, and a choice... Read more...  

Star Wars off their rockers

Big dog military robots. Image in public domain.

By Dr. Kathie Malley-Morrison  

In the world of Hollywood, R2-D2 is an appealing robot who comes to the rescue in every Star Wars movie. In the real world, robots are being created to kill on their own-that is, without human direction and oversight.

Although proponents of killing without risk to one's own side use terms like "lethal autonomous robotics" or "autonomous military robots" to describe the latest product of deadly technology, the term "killer robots" captures better ... Read more... 

Perhaps the answers would have seemed too embarrassing if the media had asked questions such as, "Why do they want control of their own oil, of their own territory?"

Yanay argues that hatred is not the opposite of love but rather is intricately intertwined... Read more... 

Featured comment on Engaging Peace

It appears a tremendous amount of educating the public is needed here. Per Ask.com, a February 2013 Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind poll results showed 73% of Americans approve of the use of drones in warfare.
 
Are people just answering surveys willy nilly with no informed basis?  Does the general population really believe that from-a-distance weapons are a better form of warfare? Have they paid attention to the number of civilian casualties, and continued effects ... Read more... 

(Excerpted from an essay by Sierra Rother, age 16)

"I honestly did not know what I was getting myself into when I hit the 'submit' button on my application to the Boston National Youth Justice Training (NYJT). I barely knew what I was applying for. The only thing that mattered to me was that I would be spending my summer working for a cause--working with other kids my age to fight against the systems of oppression and fight for youth leadership."