Mind Soup

You may have seen the pictures of starving people in the Horn of Africa on your TV screens. We are all asking: how can this be happening again? Parts of Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia are facing one of the worst droughts for 60 years, and around 10 million people are desperately in need of food, clean water and basic sanitation. Join me in calling on world leaders to save millions of lives - today and tomorrow: http://act.one.org/sign/horn_of_africa/?source=horncrisistafem Despite the urgency of the situation, most world leaders are responding too slowly. Immediate aid is essential. Yet at the same time we must not let them drop the ball on long term solutions as has too often happened in the past. Take action right now at: http://act.one.org/sign/horn_of_africa/?source=horncrisistafem We can help stop starvation now - and stop the causes of starvation. Firstly, we need to make sure funding is provided to pay for urgent help that will prevent people from dying. Secondly, the...

This is a guest post by Di Kar. Di is a Sudanese political science undergrad at the American University of Beirut. Follow her on twitter @ D3akar Politics and what not. The Arab Spring has been the highlight of everything I have read over the past few days from twitter, aside from numerous newspapers and Italian politics. Your probably wondering why I am mentioning Italy, right? Hold that thought. The Arab Spring, that started with a man in Tunis and sparked mass protests in countries from the Maghreb to Yemen, has now shifted the whole scope of the Middle East and North Africa region. It is, to me, a much needed breeze of change for a region that has been stagnant under the fists of despotism and western influences. For the first time, I feel optimistic about the region. Egypt is pulling weight, and heading towards democratizing its system of government - despite all the challenges - nevertheless, the sleeping giant has awoken. Perhaps the Palestinian diaspora might be resolved or ...

Below is an opinion piece written by a good friend of mine, Doaa, who is Sudanese. She talks about the problem of racism in Lebanon, and how the Sudanese are treated. MIND SOUP : Recently, a group of Sudanese living in Lebanon - legally or illegally - held a fundraising event in one of the areas in Beirut in order to raise money for two Sudanese cancer patients who are in dire need for the money. Unfortunately, the gathering was busted by the Amn El-3am or police and the Sudanese were accused of various things. The highlight of this story is not what they where doing or where they were but rather it was the way they were treated by the police. They were verbally and physically assaulted not to mention humiliated and belittled. I am a Sudanese living and studying in Lebanon; I am fortunate to be studying at AUB as it shields me from a lot of the aggression and even racist remarks I sometime get walking down the streets in various neighborhoods in Beirut. I get surprised looks wh...

The sun is reduced to a ring of gold against the black sky as the Moon slips between it and Earth. This solar eclipse yesterday lasted for 11 minutes and eight seconds, setting a record that will not be beaten until December 23, 3043. A Chinese couple watches the solar eclipse over Zhengzhou, in the country's central Henan province The skies over Hongdao, China, where the spectacular 'ring of fire' could be seen.  The eclipse was annular, meaning the Moon blocked most of the Sun's middle This image show a total solar eclipse which passed over Europe and the Middle East, and into India.  The Moon's umbra can be clearly seen as a black disc, approximately 63 miles across Such events, which only blot out the middle of the Sun, are known as annular eclipses. They occur about 66 times a century and can only be viewed in the narrow band on the Earth’s surface below their path. Yesterday’s light show began in Africa before crossing the Indian Ocea...

With the media heating up for the December Climate Change Summit in Denmark, it is time to for some reflection. Does the name "Severn Cullis-Suzuki" mean anything to you? Severn was 12 when in 1992, she raised money to attend the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. She spoke to the summit members in a speech which became famous. A speech which -sadly enough- could have been given today. It makes one wonder what progress really happened in the past 17 year. Do we actually make progress on protecting our planet for the sake of our children, and their children? In an age where Green Goes Commercial, where corrupt companies like Monsanto and Cargill start dominating our food chain, and chase the food prices up so the poor no longer have access to food. A world where Western companies buy up fertile land in Africa to grow biofuel crops so less land becomes available for food agriculture? Did we make progress, or are we still sliding downhill?

The story of how secondhand clothing, given away as charity in the west, ends up in Zambia, Africa.