From the Clarion Ledger (Mississippi):
Would He Have Shot Me? A Reflection on Luke Woodham and the Pearl High School Shooting
In addition, I am still often haunted by those “what ifs.” What would have happened to me if I had remained at Pearl High School? Before the shooting, I already had a keen interest in public safety and national security. Many of my family members had been in the military, including my father and his father before him.
That passion was heightened by the school shooting. I began thinking about the communal aspects of resiliency. I focused on natural and manmade disasters — given that school shootings weren’t yet the norm. How can you study something without actual cases?
—Tonya Thornton Neaves, Director of Extramural Projects
From Inside Higher Education:
Ukraine Hosts 46 Firms Selling Ghost-Written Dissertations
A highly bureaucratized and overly centralized system of state control is not sufficient to prevent private firms from selling dissertations and doing so on the open market. Nor does a centralized and highly regulated system prevent individuals from acquiring doctoral degrees without completing a doctoral program. High levels of corruption in the country permit the continued trade in ghost-written dissertations and the government seems unable or disinclined to intervene.
—Visiting Professor Ararat Osipian
From the Washington Post:
The U.S. government has adopted a hands-off policy to the crisis, part of a trend of staying out of the Kashmir dispute since the Clinton administration. A State Department spokesperson said that the United States is “closely following” the situation but reaffirmed India’s description of it as an “internal matter.” This stance stems from an American wish to focus on more-pressing regional concerns, such as a military withdrawal from Afghanistan. More generally, the United States considers India a long-term partner in the region that can balance China. Consequently, the Americans will probably seek to avoid antagonizing Modi by interfering with or condemning his decision.
—Associate Professor Ahsan Butt
From The National Interest:
Let’s Not Turn Kashmir Into Another Gaza
The use of force could be detrimental for either side. Pakistan’s lawfare response would be to use international fora such as the International Court of Justice or the International Criminal Court to prevent India from implementing its recent controversial legislation. It will be necessary for the United States and other world leaders to step-in for the sustenance of world peace. If they show any apathy, Pakistan’s engagement with India could serve to halt the delicate U.S.-Taliban peace negotiations. Additionally, the United Nations should use its discretion to cool the temperature between the two countries. The world certainly cannot afford to see another Gaza, forever causing the spillover of violence with no peaceful end in sight.
—PhD Student Muhammad Salar Khan and Nasir Javaid
From Open Caucasus Media:
Only Moscow Benefits from Rising Tbilisi-Baku Tensions
The EU and the United States must jointly press both Baku and Tbilisi to follow through on their commitment to meet in Tbilisi on the border issue. Western relations with both countries are essential at this time of tensions with Russia and Iran. The longer the dispute remains unresolved, Putin will use this to increase his growing influence in the region.
—Distinguished Visiting Professor Richard Kauzlarich and David J. Kramer
From The Hill:
Trump Preps Conspiracy Theory to Explain Faltering Economy
A Republican close to the White House said that President Trump “thinks that all the people that do this economic forecasting are a bunch of establishment weenies — elites who don’t know anything about the real economy and they’re against Trump.” What about all those stories in the press about the bond market predicting an economic slowdown? Trump tweeted his response: “The Fake News Media is doing everything they can to crash the economy because they think that will be bad for me and my re-election.”
—Professor Bill Schneider
From United World:
The Future of Turkey-Russia Relations, Post Shipments of S-400 Missile System
Turkey is one of the countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and Washington says the entry of the S-400 system into the NATO defense net can reveal the weaknesses of the parties to the treaty. The Trump government is worried that Russian arms purchases and weapons dependence on Russia will push Ankara to Moscow more. However, this is not all, and there are other issues.
—Visiting Research Scholar Omid Shokri