Tag Archives: politics

How to Vote 101

This is probably my last update before the elections on Monday (as I’m hoping not to be in the office this weekend), so I thought I’d try and give you all a little bit of an idea of what the … Continue reading

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2010 Election Security Advice: Play Scrabble, Watch Movies, and Drink Wine

Forewarning: This is a bit of a rant. Last night I attended a security briefing for foreign nationals living in Burundi. A quick summary about what was said: – Over the last 11 days, over 60 confirmed grenades have gone … Continue reading

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“Coup-plotters” arrested in Burundi

Over the weekend, 12 soldiers and 1 officer were arrested for allegedly plotting a coup against the current President Pierre Nkurunziza.  To the amusement of many Burundians, they were arrested while relaxing and spending Saturday afternoon down at the beach. … Continue reading

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U.S. Repeals Funding Ban for Needle Exchanges

As my old professor said, “I heart Needle Exchange activists!” Late Wednesday, Congress and President Obama repealed a 21-year ban on federal funding being used for local needle exchange programs (giving clean needles to injection drug users to help prevent … Continue reading

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Obama Criticized for AIDS Program

I don’t know if you remember, but back in October I wrote a post discussing the public health debate about whether or not global funding should be focused on AIDS treatment or if it should be refocused on more “simple” … Continue reading

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Good News: FORSC Allowed to Re-Open

What I hope is my final update on FORSC for now: we heard today that the Ministry is allowing FORSC to re-open.  This is good news for civil society and shows what can be done when people apply civil and … Continue reading

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News Flash: Civil Society Group Shut Down

Yesterday, the Minister of the Interior revoked the registration of one of the largest coalitions of civil society groups, le Forum pour le Renforcement de la Societe Civile (FORSC). FORSC has 146 member civil society organizations and has been working … Continue reading

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