Instilling discipline into a modern, fractured mind

It’s no secret that the modern world is trying to rip our brains apart into a million tiny pieces, pulling it from one distraction to the other. Sure, there are some ill-intentioned CEOs out there running many of these companies whose aim it is to engage our minds, but if we’re being honest with ourselves, […]

30 dead in Taliban offensive as ceasefire ends

30 Afghan soldiers have been killed as the Taliban have resumed fighting upon the close of the ceasefire between themselves and the Afghan government. They assaulted government compounds and ambushed a convoy with both small arms fire and an IED. Local authorities have said that 16 Taliban were killed in the fighting, but that has […]

’12 Angry Men’ and critical reflections

If you haven’t seen the movie, don’t spoil it here — watch it first, then come back. “12 Angry Men” is a classic film that gets played in schools, universities and is referenced in articles regarding argument, the death penalty, our justice system, and/or race and class. Part of its fame is rooted in the […]

VA releases updates on veteran suicide report

There have been disturbing increases in the suicide rates across America. Since 1999, suicides have increased over 30% in half of states, some of them all the way up to 58%. On top of that, the CDC found that 54% of those cases had no known mental health conditions. Read about the CDC report here. […]

Quality of care at the VA: See how your local VA hospital measures up

The VA has a system of ranking its hospitals, and it’s called the Strategic Analytics for Improving and Learning (SAIL). The system essentially has a number of criteria that they use to determine the overall quality of a VA hospital, and then rank it accordingly. The idea is that empirical numbers can sometimes be easier […]

Eid cease-fire ends and fighting with the Taliban resumes

The Taliban has confirmed that the temporary cease-fire with the Afghan government will in fact come to an end as planned. The cease-fire marked the end of Ramadan, and while Afghan President Ashraf Ghani proposed a more lengthy truce, the Taliban would only accept one for the duration of Afghanistan’s celebration of Eid al-Fitr. In […]

Into a world of simplicity

You awaken to the sound of your customized morning alarm. You grab your phone, peering inside the object in your palm — a window into a world of lights and motion. Icons decorate the top bar, hearts and like symbols display a connection to another person for less than a fraction of a second. An […]

Video: Monsoon rains threaten hundreds of thousands of Rohingya in refugee camps

The Rohingya refugee camps run along the border of Bangladesh and Burma/Myanmar. There are approximately one million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, and many have been scrambling to prepare for the rainy season. The rains have come, and flooding has begun to devastate many of these communities — the majority of these refugees have only arrived […]

Operation Broken Heart: Over 2,000 child sex offenders arrested

The Department of Justice has announced that 2,300 people were arrested during a recent, nationwide and online operation that spanned over three months and every state in the United States. Operation “Broken Heart” sought out four types of people: Those who are involved, in any capacity, in the production and distribution of child pornography. Those […]

The American Road: Small towns steeped in history

Vestal, New York: it’s a relatively small town in rural New York state, near the border of Pennsylvania and just under a four hour drive to New York City. The town houses around 28,000 people, has pristine neighborhoods, a couple of run-down ones and everything it between. It’s littered with grocery stores and gas stations […]

The truce between the Taliban and the Afghan Government

The president of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani, recently announced a cease-fire between themselves and the Taliban. The proposed truce is not meant to be lasting, just to span from 12 to 19 June. In a tweet, Ghani said that, “This ceasefire is an opportunity for Taliban to introspect that their violent campaign is not winning them […]