The little girl who was shot point blank by the Taliban as she rode a bus home from school in Pakistan became in 2014 the youngest Nobel Prize winner at the age of Seventeen. Malala Yousafzai grew up the Swat Valley in North-West Pakistan, near the border with Afghanistan. Her community was shattered by the Taliban, who destroyed girls' schools, among other brutally oppressive deeds. Malala lived in a neighborhood where women were beaten for such offenses as an ankle accidentally showing under a burqa; people were shot, hanged and beheaded for violating Taliban laws. But this little girl would simply not allow her fear to control her actions.
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Independence Day
Independence Day invites reverence for the freedoms by enjoy, bestowed by our founders. Somewhat under the radar is one poignant story concerning two of them: Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. They each signed the Declaration of Independence, were political friends turned political enemies, and both died the same year --on the same exact day, which happened to be July 4th.
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National Defense Authorization Act
For the last two years, in 2012 and 2013, The National Defense Authorization Act has included language that puts our constitutional rights at risk. The sections in question grant extraordinary latitude to the executive, who may choose at any time to undermine the rights of American citizens.
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Songs of War
Many Americans realize that during the Viet Nam War, music was blasted from speakers in an attempt to subdue the enemy on the field. But how many of us know that music was co-opted by the CIA's "Enhanced Interrogation" program installed during the Bush administration?
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Secrets of Body Language
How can we discern when people are being truthful, or false? Expert coaches and trainers of high profile clients are featured in this footage of world leaders, celebrities and other public figures, illuminating the powerful signals revealed by body language.
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Ai Wei Wei
The best art will often take us not further from, but instead, closer to, reality. Chinese artist and activist Ai Wei Wei is a prime example. His artistic statements demonstrate a rare boldness, often pointing to the repressive underside of his society, putting him dangerously at odds with the Chinese communist state. A key element of his remarkable career has been powerful use of the internet.
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Tenth Anniversary
A crowd was assembled around St. Paul's Chapel on Broadway. One block west, behind the chapel, the tenth anniversary ceremony to honor the victims of 9-11 was taking place; its sound system spreading indistinct reverberations through the blocks. Only the 9-11 families and government dignitaries, including Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, were admitted to ground zero. The rest of the public milled around the perimeter of St. Paul's to be nearby the epicenter of remembrance.
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Acumen
The engine of globalization is a remarkable phenomenon. Enormous talent is being unleashed across the developing nations. But in its wake, a spectacular number of people are being left behind. They have little or no access to healthcare, education or public debate on issues affecting their lives. Ever wonder how the future will look if the gap between the world's rich and poor continues to widen?
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Photographer Vivian Maier
Who is Vivian Maier? It just might be, that she herself didn't really know. Maier was completely unknown until a young Chicago real estate agent, John Maloof, discovered her work in an attic space after her death at age 83. Many are saying that the treasure trove of street photography she left behind ranks her as one of the master image makers of our age.
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Joel Meyerowitz
For his project "Aftermath: The World Trade Center Archive," photographer Joel Meyerowitz created an historically relevant and poignant record of ground zero. To photograph at the site was prohibited, so his project was resisted from he beginning. Had Meyerowitz not persisted in his vision, the 8000 image archive, traveling and touching others across the world, would not exist.
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JR
JR is a young innovative French photographer who stays below radar. He offers few words about his work, but his enormous black and white portraits loom large in highly populated public communities. He directs his subjects to make exaggerated facial expressions that somehow, amidst the amusement, raise questions about identity, poverty, sexism, boredom or violence.
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Daniel Pearl World Music Days
Loss and creative power seem to be inextricably connected. This month of October marks the 9th year of concerts performed globally in memory of Daniel Pearl, a journalist (and musician) who was brutally murdered by terrorists in Karachi, Pakistan, in early 2002.
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The Ground Zero Debate
The high octane debate over Park 51, the proposed Islamic community center of lower Manhattan, rages on. The Americans I know have only compassion in their hearts for the devastating losses of September 11. In fact, one Muslim-American friend of mine, born in Cairo, was especially grief-stricken on that day, due to her love of America and the provenance of those terrorist acts.
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Ambivalence Over Afghanistan
Barack Obama is edging closer to a decision on whether to reinforce the 68,000 U.S. troops who will be fighting in Afghanistan by year's end. Since routing out Al Qaeda and their Taliban hosts in Afghanistan after 9-11, the Taliban has made a steady comeback, fueled by failures of the Bush administration, profits from the opium trade,
Read MoreU.S. Muslim Engagement Project
A cross-section of American leaders met recently via the U.S. Muslim Engagement Project in order to address the underlying causes of terrorism, and to help set a new course of action in the Middle East. Terrorism measurements are difficult to pin down. But most intelligence data suggest linkage between the “war on terror” and significant increases in terrorism worldwide.
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