Alongside the house at 43 Assisi Lane hung the wisteria vines and next to them were the lemon trees filled with fruit. It was a sun-filled day in Montepulciano in the Tuscan region of Italy. Maria and her beaux, Jimmy, were planning for a picnic just a few blocks past...
One constant in warfare is the cranking up of the propaganda machine to maximum capacity. Each side of the conflict must get its citizenry firmly behind its government’s viewpoint and actions; must be inundated, via newsprint and airways, with lots and lots of patriotic, emotion-laden messages delineating why war is...
Tuesday, the Illinois House of Representatives passed bipartisan legislation to hold Russia accountable for its unprovoked and brutal invasion of Ukraine on every aspect the State of Illinois has the ability to act upon and support the people of Ukraine. assistant minority leader State representative Keith Wheeler, R-Oswego, is chief...
By John W. Whitehead & Nisha Whitehead Once again, the programming has changed. Just like clockwork, the wall-to-wall news coverage of the latest crisis has shifted gears. We have gone from COVID-19 lockdowns to Trump-Biden election drama to the Russia-Ukraine crisis to the Ketanji Brown Jackson confirmation hearings to Will...
The official PeaceJam Foundation has a simple but action-oriented vision: To Make Peace a Verb. Built on the belief that young people are the key to organizing actionable, measurable, change for the better, PeaceJam is inspired by the youth around the world who manifest that passion for peace as a...
The Aurora University bronze Spartan mascot statue outside Alumni Hall is adorned with a mask bearing the colors of the Ukrainian flag and a sign stating, "We stand with Ukraine."
Hundreds of individuals participate in the Naperville Neighbors United 'Stand With Ukraine Peace Vigil,' Monday, March 7 outside the Naperville Municipal Center.
War! For the second time since the close of World War II, war has broken out in Europe. The first time was a regional conflict in the 1990s when Serbia attempted to hold the Yugoslav Federation together, but failed, thanks to NATO’s intervention. This time around, the war is international...
You probably have heard discussions on various newscasts about how differently Americans are reacting to the Ukrainian refugee crisis. With refugees from Syria, Central America, or Afghanistan, opinions varied widely in the United States about how much we should help. For refugees coming over our southern border, there has been...
The whole world is watching. The calamity in Ukraine, a country of 43 million population, is the subject of wrath perpetrated by Russian president/dictator Valdimir Putin. His invasion last week following the stationed military forces on the border of Ukraine and Russia for several weeks, accompanied by the false claim...
Monday, Feb. 28Dear editor; It seems that everyone who is anyone is peddling a book these days, including some of the more regular contributors to this publication. When I happened upon several dusty unbound copies of my PhD thesis during a recent pandemic-induced decluttering effort, the thought occurred to me...
By Bela “Bill” SuhaydaSugar Grove, Ill. I watched live the start of the invasion of Russian forces into Ukraine the evening of February 23. The scenes brought back somewhat vague childhood recollections for me, and one that to this day, is still etched in my memory. One day, Soviet (Russian)...
It finally happened. Even though beloved comrade Vladimir Putin said he had no intention of invading the Ukraine when he piled up his storm-troopers, artillery, and medical equipment on three sides of the country, his militia paid Ukrainians a friendly visit with tanks and anything capable of firing bullets and...
The world is watching with a variety of interest in the decisions by Russia’s Vladimir Putin. What will the president of Russia, who stood for election without an opponent, do with the Russian war machine in Ukraine? Earlier this week he had the temerity to declare independent several provinces in...
Déjà vu all over again! “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana The recent scene at the U.S. embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, put me in mind of a similar scene in Saigon, Vietnam, in 1975. Helicopters frantically evacuated American personnel when the enemy...
The United States is finally bailing out of Afghanistan (maybe) after 19 years of pursuing an exercise in futility, i.e. creating a stable government. It is is a move which is not only long overdue but one which never should have been necessary. President Joe Biden has done the right...
By Sue Klein One-hundred and thirty athletes represented 26 countries and went to Belgrade, Serbia June 21-27 for the World Championship of Indoor Freediving, and for the first time in history, the United States was present. In a sport practiced for centuries around the world in areas with access to...
Once more into the breech in the never-ending war between Palestinians and Israelis: More death and destruction. President Joe Biden called for a cease-fire (reluctantly, I might add) and told prime minister Netanyahu that he expected one soon. Netanyahu was even more reluctant to grant the request. There is an...
It is May. Time to stroll the streets of Paris. Isn’t life grand? Let us begin on the oldest street in Paris, the rue Nicolas Flamel in Le Marais. Following little lanes and cobbled roads, we walk the large and luxurious boulevards of the Right Bank, or down the secret...
Last of two parts Paul J. Angelo, expert on Council of Foreign Relations (CFR) reports: Why Central American Migrants Are Arriving at the U.S. Border: “What are U.S. president Joe Biden’s policies toward the region? “President Biden’s approach largely relies on reviving policies that were starting to show success late...
