As the nation prepares to observe the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, national security is poised to become once again the central issue in the electoral season. The question is hardly academic, given the revelation in August of a foiled terrorist plot to blow up Americ

Prisons in Latin AmericaThe often horrifying conditions in Latin American prisons receive relatively little attention in the United States. A recent study, Evaluation of Prisons in the Organization of American States, however, casts light on some of them. How well or badly a prisoner is treated in t

Nowhere in the United States is it possible for a full-time worker earning the minimum wage to rent a one-bedroom apartment at market rates. Despite this shameful reality, Congress has again balked at increasing the minimum wage from its present $5.15 an hourunchanged since 1997. According to a repo

In its short modern history, Lebanon has been brutalized by both its neighbors and its own internal divisions. Syria, the Palestinians, Hezbollah, Israel and the country’s own religious militias all have inflicted blows on the small Mediterranean state. Besides its 1982 invasion to dislodge th

Immigration and AssimilationAmerican Catholics, long thought of as a church of immigrants, continue to see their numbers augmented by an influx of new Americans. Dealing successfully with this new population will be a major challenge for the church in the new century. If history is any guide, we wil

Disproportionate and CounterproductiveThe Middle East is ablaze again. Following provocations by Hamas in Israel and Hezbollah along the Israeli-Lebanese border, Israel has sent its forces first into Gaza and then into Lebanon. While the immediate provocations seemed to be the kidnapping of Israeli

Forced from their homes by armed conflicts, political unrest and human rights abuses, refugees and asylum seekers throughout the world continue their painful search for safety. According to the 2006 World Refugee Survey, released recently by the nonprofit U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants,

Sudanese Smoke ScreenVictims in Darfur of rape, murder and the burning of villages by government-sanctioned janjaweed militia have yet to see perpetrators brought to justice. Nor is it likely that this will happen, given the Sudanese government’s reluctance to hold them accountable. A day afte

Racism in the United States can take many forms. Some are as obvious as slurs shouted from cars or hate crimes; others are less apparent. One of racism’s covert guises is housing discrimination. In April the National Fair Housing Alliance released its fair housing trends report, Unequal Opport

Havoc in East TimorDespite the efforts of peacekeepers from Australia, New Zealand, Portugal and Malaysia, violence continues to wreak havoc in East Timorone of Asia’s poorest countries. Thousands have fled the unrest in the young nation’s capital, Dili, to set up makeshift camps in outl