News

In South Sudan, one million children have been “internally displaced” by war and famine, and another one million children have fled the nation (EuroNews, May 9, 2017). The BBC reports that the United Nations declared a famine in South Sudan in February, the first time this declaration has been made in any country in six years (April 4, 2017).

As a student at Southern Arkansas University in 1959, I enrolled in a course in criminology—not because of any particular interest in the subject, but because it included field trips to prisons, which was more interesting than classroom work. We visited two state prisons and one federal penitentiary. At that time, “Death Row” was located at the Tucker unit of the Arkansas Department of Correction in Jefferson County. As we toured the facility, we came to the execution chamber—a stark, bare room with a rough-hewn, high backed, heavy oak chair known as “Old Sparky.”

Rivers in Britain are drying up and threatening trout and waterfowl populations, thanks to an unusually dry winter and spring (The Telegraph, May 8, 2017). On the other side of the pond in Montreal, rain and snowmelt are causing devastating floods. Thousands have been evacuated from over 100 towns and cities (BBC, May 8, 2017).

“Across Asia, more and more countries are being pulled into Beijing’s orbit, with the timid stance adopted by Southeast Asian nations on the South China Sea at a weekend summit a clear sign this fundamental geostrategic shift is gathering momentum...

Centrist Emmanuel Macron and his newly created political party just won the French presidential election, much to the relief of EU leaders! He is the youngest French president ever, and this will be the first elected position for the brilliant and ambitious Frenchman. Polls show Macron was elected primarily to prevent the advance of his opponent, Marie LePen, rather than because voters favored him or his policies.