“I am now officially a doctor. Can you write about my doctorate?” Nawar Al Saadi wrote to me the other day, sending over a link from his graduation ceremony.

Nawar is in charge of the popular Tourism in Iraq Facebookpage that I have written about previously. His enthusiasm and love for his country touched many: the blog post has been shared over 300 times on Facebook and other Iraqis got in touch with me after reading the post.

When I first spoke with Nawar he was still a PhD student in Bucharest, Romania, specializing in tourism, hoping to be a part of the future tourism industry in Iraq. He wanted to return to Iraq despite having family living in Sweden – he had a burning desire to show the world another country than what usually features in Western media, and to be a part of it’s future. And he seems to…

I’m an atheist; have been since I was 7. It wasn’t that I wasn’t ever exposed to religion, I was baptized and when to a Catholic school for a few years. Why don’t I believe? The short answer is science, and I don’t feel any need to explain myself anymore.

I don’t hate people who are religious. I have nothing against someone wanting to practice their religion, that use religion to have a sense of purpose, and to give them a moral code to abide by. I don’t appreciate people assuming that because I’m an atheist that I’m a bad person, that feel the need to interrogate me about my beliefs… to save me. While I don’t believe in heaven or hell, I still understand that for someone who does, telling me I’m going to burn in hell if I don’t accept Jesus as my lord and savior, is a…

There is power in numbers! Children should go out in pairs or groups, the more the better. Instruct kids not to stray from the group. Parent or guardian should stand within clear view when children knock on the door.

By Jackie Saulmon Ramirez | Revised October 8, 2014

It is a child’s job to have fun on Halloween and it is a parent’s job to keep them safe while they do that.

Mischief Night

“Mischief Night” or “Devil’s Night,” the night before Halloween, some children may take part in playing pranks with friends. These pranks can be relatively harmless like toilet papering trees and bushes, soaping windows and ringing doorbells and running away. Others can be harmful like eggs filled with hair-removing foam, arson, tossed cabbages and cemetery vandalism.

Cemeteries are dangerous any time, especially after dusk; trips, falls, animals, snakes or tipped gravestones put prank visitors at high risk…

There is power in numbers! Children should go out in pairs or groups, the more the better. Instruct kids not to stray from the group. Parent or guardian should stand within clear view when children knock on the door.

By Jackie Saulmon Ramirez | Revised October 8, 2014

It is a child’s job to have fun on Halloween and it is a parent’s job to keep them safe while they do that.

Mischief Night

“Mischief Night” or “Devil’s Night,” the night before Halloween, some children may take part in playing pranks with friends. These pranks can be relatively harmless like toilet papering trees and bushes, soaping windows and ringing doorbells and running away. Others can be harmful like eggs filled with hair-removing foam, arson, tossed cabbages and cemetery vandalism.

Cemeteries are dangerous any time, especially after dusk; trips, falls, animals, snakes or tipped gravestones put prank visitors at high risk…

7 October 1991
bombing of Zagreb
Photo: Hrvoje knez

While Croatia celebrates its Independence Day on 25 June today, 8 October is also a day for celebrations and so is 30 May. It’s a national holiday that marks the final “administrative” step in Croatian Independence, a day when Croats celebrate the unanimous decision of the Croatian Parliament to terminate the link between Croatia and Yugoslavia.

The Croatian referendum on independence was held in May 1991, with 94% of voters supporting Croatian independence from communist Yugoslavia. On 25 June 1991 the Croatian Parliament proclaimed the Croatian independence and seven days later, on 7 July, Croatia and Slovenia signed the Brioni Declaration in which the two countries agreed to suspend all declarations and acts passed by the Croatian and Slovenian parliaments related to those states’ secession from Yugoslavia for a period of three months. On 8 October 1991, the Croatian Parliament decided…

There are many issues in our society, often interlocking, that we should be paying attention to in Jamaica. A lot of the noise and day-to-day drama in the media tends to get in the way. But one Jamaican is very good at making us sit down quietly for a moment to think about the way in which our democracy is heading. He is one of those special watchdogs, and his name is Professor Trevor Munroe, Executive Director of National Integrity Action (NIA), who is also Honorary Visiting Professor at the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute at the University of the West Indies, Mona.

I heard some of Professor Munroe’s comments on local television and they sparked my interest. I am therefore sharing with you his presentation to the St. Andrew Justices of the Peace Magistrates Association Quarterly Meeting in Kingston on September 27, 2014. I am grateful to Professor Munroe for allowing…