Willing Ignorance

China, which is Sudan's largest trading partner, has chosen to ignore the atrocities that are being committed in Sudan's Darfur region, effectively supported by China's money. If China threatened to stop buying oil from Sudan, it could have a dramatic effect and pressure the government to stop sponsoring the genocide against the Darfurians.

Rainbows at Hogwarts

"Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling recently confirmed fans' suspicions that Albus Dumbledore, head of wizarding school Hogwarts, is gay.

Turkey Refuses to Recognize Armenian Genocide

There is currently a proposal in Congress for the U.S. to recognize the WWI-era killing of approximately one million Armenians by the Ottomans as a genocide. Turkey, the modern-day successor to the Ottoman Empire, maintains an official position that it was not a genocide, but rather the Armenians were killed during the general unrest that happened during the Empire's fall, and that the modern state cannot be held accountable for what the Ottomans did. In Turkey, some critics who have called it a genocide have been harshly repressed and accused of insulting Turkishness. Turkey is an ally of the U.S.--we use some of Turkey's military infrastructure to wage our war in Iraq. If we anger Turkey, Turkey has threatened to bar our use of their military bases. What will happen?

Myanmar's Junta Government's Brutality

In the country of Myanmar (formerly Burma), the junta dictatorship government recently violently suppressed protests by monks there. Meanwhile, the Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who was democratically elected as the leader, was put under house arrest by the government, which refuses to let go of its power.