Camilla Warrender

On the morning of February 2nd, over objections from both the U.S. Justice Department and the FBI, House Republicans released the now-infamous 4-page “Nunes Memo.”  The FBI and Justice had expressed to Devin Nunes, chair of the House Intelligence Committee, their “grave objections” to the memo’s release, because of concerns for both the misinformation and the classified information the memo contained. But Trump declassified it, and with the blessing of House Republicans, Nunes proceeded.

In August of 2002, I attended a teaching of the renowned Vietnamese Zen master and Buddhist monk, Thích Nhất Hạnh. It was an experience I’ll never forget.

The event was a week-long retreat on mindfulness at Stonehill College in Massachusetts. What impressed me immediately was that this remarkable man did not offer his teachings from a podium or a lectern.

Camilla Warrender, Newscoop’s managing director, said, "Working with the students of AUIS has been rewarding in the extreme. Their stories have provoked in many Newscoop readers an interest in geopolitical events that have not been covered well in the U.S. press. That your students have so much heart has also added to the power of their articles, and our joy in working with them." 

Meanwhile, journalism major Sipa Nihad, a regular Newscoop contributor, was selected from over 4,000 applicants to attend the International Youth Summit Lahore Program in Pakistan, but due to global travel disruption was unable to attend in person. Nonetheless, her achievement, and the work published at Newscoop, testifies to the quality and energy of AUIS’ student journalists.

John McCain has succumbed to brain cancer at the age of 81. One of the most powerful voices in the U.S. Senate, with a big personality and an enormous commitment to his country, his shoes will be very hard to fill.

McCain’s life was very much defined by his military career and experience. He graduated in 1958 from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, both his father and grandfather having been academy graduates and four-star admirals.

Among the most defining events of his life was his October 1967 capture and subsequent 5 ½ year imprisonment after being shot down over North Vietnam. He was held in the infamous “Hanoi Hilton,” kept in solitary confinement for two years, and regularly beaten and tortured until his release in March of 1973. Despite his severe injuries, however, he would not accept the early release offered him by his North Vietnamese captors, refusing repatriation before POWs captured before him were released. He retired from the navy in April 1981 as a captain, having received a bevy of military distinctions: the Silver Star, 2 Legion of Merits, the Distinguished Flying Cross, 3 Bronze Star Medals, 2 Purple Hearts, 2 Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals, and the Prisoner of War Medal.

On Friday, June 15th, 2018, the ashes of the remarkable cosmologist and theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking were interred in Westminster Abbey, alongside the graves of Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin. Hawking died on March 14th, 2018, more than fifty-five years after doctors gave him just three years to live.

During the service, the European Space Agency paid tribute to Hawking by transmitting into space his voice, accompanied by orchestration by the Greek composer Vangelis. With much of his life’s work having involved the exploration of the properties of black holes, the ESA chose to send Professor Hawking’s final message into space, in the direction of the nearest known black hole.

Now, in this time of covid, conflict, climate, and a shocking disregard for the hundreds of millions who are food-insecure and have been forcibly displaced, Hawking’s message is again timely.