Sounds like there are some rays of hope in Tunisia, as well as need for further reforms as more than 1,600 prisoners of conscience were released from prison recently, while others remain incarcerated. The US Government, Amnesty International, and Tunisian Monitoring Group of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) welcomed the release of the…
My Talk on NGOs and New Media for NYU Class
My friend Jeff Huffines of the Bahai United Nations Office invited me to address the class he is teaching on the operations of NGOs at New York University. Here’s my notes on my lecture. It was quite a treat talking with students looking in a more academic and robust way at the functioning and structure…
NPR on the Human Rights Council
National Public Radio’s program “Morning Edition” today featured a story on the efforts to get the proposed UN Human Rights Council approved: The United States has argued strongly for the creation of a new human rights council at the United Nations. But U.N. ambassador John Bolton doesn’t like the new version that’s being proposed. Bolton…
Nobel Prize Laureates support UN Human Rights Council
The UN Dispatch blog reports that a number of Nobel Prize Laureates have expressed their support for the proposed UN Human Rights Council. Among the endorsing peace prize laureates are President Jimmy Carter, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Ms. Jody Williams of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.
A few pics from Barcelona
I just uploaded a few pictures I took in Barcelona in February 2006. Barcelona is officially one of my favorite cities in the world — beautiful architecture, warm people, amazing food and lots of culture. The buildings and interiors designed by Antoni Gaudi — from the unfunished cathedral the Sagrada Familia to Casa Milla and…
UN Human Rights Council close to agreement?
Last Thursday Jan Elliason, president of the General Assembly, issued a new draft resolution on the proposed UN Human Rights Council that he and the UN Secretary General hope will be adopted by the General Assembly this coming week. Several NGOs, including the group I work for CONGO as well as the International Federation of…
More discouraging advice on job hunting at the UN
I realize that my previous blog entry pre-supposed that you are interested in working for an NGO. You might really just be committed to human rights or peace or women’s rights and want to work for an organization that defends those principles. So the obvious route is to seek work at the United Nations. The…
How to find a job at an NGO at the UN
I’ve been working in the United Nations NGO (non-governmental organization) universe for more than ten years. Over that time I have run into many, many eager young people wanting to find a way to break into the NGO business. Many of them have come to me after fruitless searches for any available openings in their…
Happy Geeky Valentines
Me and my girl don’t make a big deal out of Valentines Day. Still, I couldn’t resist getting a couple of presents for my nerdy girlfriend. The first was a crystal “Fuze” necklace that has a lovely pendant that glows with occillating colors. Or as the Fuze website describes: Fuze™ gems radiate an iridescent aura…
Verizon and Time Warner want to break the Internet
I’m listening to Free Press’s latest conference call on “network neutrality” policy issues, and I have to say it’s scary stuff. Laurence Lessig, Ben Scott and Jeff Chester outlined the machinations of the nation’s cable and telephone companies to challenge the fundamental “end-to-end” principle of the Internet. As I understand it, the Internet as we…