Theo Sitther writes about President Obama’s legacy in the latest Third Way Cafe.
We can hold President Obama accountable to his words about human rights and resolving conflicts peacefully by encouraging him to act justly and with mercy toward all people.
Read the entire article here.
Leave a Comment » | 
Articles | Tagged: President Barack Obama, Third Way Cafe | 
Permalink
Posted by Jesse Epp-Fransen
Patricia Kisare writes about the U.S. commitment to addressing HIV in the latest Third Way Cafe.
To achieve an AIDS-free generation, care and medicine must be provided to every HIV-positive person while keeping focus on preventing new infections. Antiretroviral medicines have proven to reduce the chance of transmission by 96 percent. Therefore, as more HIV-positive people get medication, the less likely they are to infect others. In addition to treatment, it is essential to continue making all other prevention tools accessible, especially to people who are at most risk.
Read the entire article here.
Leave a Comment » | Articles, HIV/AIDS | Tagged: HIV/Aids, Third Way Cafe | Permalink
Posted by Jesse Epp-Fransen
Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach reflects on the recent election in the latest Third Way Cafe.
A record- setting $6 billion dollars later, we have made it through an election that has resulted in essentially the status quo. Next January, Republicans will still control the House. Democrats will still control the Senate. And President Obama will still be in the White House.
For the past two years this combination has resulted in political stalemate and division. It is possible that this will change, as members of both parties now sound a bit more conciliatory and say they want to work together to find a solution to the so-called “fiscal cliff” of expiring tax cuts and automatic spending cuts. Over the next few months these words will be tested. The issues to be addressed are large and finding a path forward will not be easy.
Leave a Comment » | Articles | Tagged: Third Way Cafe | Permalink
Posted by Jesse Epp-Fransen
Kelly Roberts writes about detention centers and the treatment of immigrants like criminals in Third Way Cafe.
Who profits and who loses from treating undocumented immigrants like criminals?
While communities are shattered, families are torn apart, and prison companies profit from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants, taxpayers foot the bill – an estimated $166 per detainee per day, totaling more than $2 billion in 2011. According to a recent Associated Press article, companies like GEO Group and Correction Corporation of America reap millions from immigrant detention.
Read the entire article here.
Leave a Comment » | Articles, Immigration | Tagged: detention centers, Immigration, Third Way Cafe | Permalink
Posted by Jesse Epp-Fransen
Sonia Hsiung writes about the conflict in Colombia in the latest Third Way Cafe.
Colombia is the largest recipient of U.S. military aid in the hemisphere, far exceeding the amounts given in social and economic assistance. Yet not only has military aid proved ineffective in curbing the drug trade, it has exacerbated the violence, adding fuel to the flame.
Against this backdrop of systemic violence and injustice perpetrated internally by armed actors and externally by U.S. military assistance and transnational corporations, many Colombian churches have taken up, at great cost and personal risk, the kind of fast that God has called for: “to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke” (Isaiah 58:6).
Read the entire article here.
Leave a Comment » | Issues, Latin America/Caribbean, Articles | Tagged: Colombia, Third Way Cafe, military aid | Permalink
Posted by Jesse Epp-Fransen
Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach writes about the need for a strong Arms Trade Treaty in the latest Third Way Cafe.
The United States is by far the largest seller of conventional weapons to other countries. Although the U.S. regulates the import and export of conventional weapons, many countries do not. And there is no global standard for trade of conventional weapons between countries.
[...]
As the largest exporter of conventional arms, the U.S. government plays a significant role in these negotiations. Already some in the U.S. Congress have spoken out against the treaty, fearing it will restrict the rights of U.S. citizens to own weapons.
Read the entire article here.
Leave a Comment » | Articles, Militarism | Tagged: Arms Treaty, militarism, Third Way Cafe | Permalink
Posted by Jesse Epp-Fransen
Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach writes about refugees in Israel/Palestine in the latest Third Way Cafe.
Palestinian refugees and internally displaced persons are often an invisible casualty of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, left out of news reports on settlements and outbreaks of violence.
Yet they remain, “representing 70 percent of the entire Palestinian population worldwide (9.8 million),” according to BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights.
Read the entire article here.
Leave a Comment » | Issues, Middle East | Tagged: Israel/Palestine, refugee, Third Way Cafe | Permalink
Posted by Jesse Epp-Fransen
