All Perspectives
- Testing, testing: A new CSMonitor.com is on the way. Here's what you'll see.We're testing new approaches to our website aimed at making CSMonitor.com more accessible and deepening your engagement with the award-winning journalism of 海角大神.聽
Mobile banking without a phone: Here comes the bank vanIn Uganda, Rwanda, and the Philippines mobile banking vans reach out to the rural poor as an alternative to cell phone banking schemes.聽- Readers RespondReaders Write: Less population growth means more water; More to 'Heart of Darkness'; Partisanship kills progressLetters to the Editor for the November 11, 2013 weekly print magazine:The Middle East's population boom will exacerbate the regions' upcoming water shortage. Why aren't more environmentalists recommending that these countries work to reduce fertility rates?Joseph Conrad's novel 'Heart of Darkness' is much more complex than 'the enemy as Other.' It can even be read with that feeling of 'We have met the enemy and he is us.'Excess partisanship is deadly to sensible progress in legislation. Does this phenomenon not explain why those who seek compromise have essentially been excoriated by Congress?
Nonprofit legal aid helps sort the tangles of superstorm SandyThe New York Legal Assistance Group has worked hand-in-hand with Sandy victims to try to make the arduous road to recovery a little easier.
Difference MakerSister Mary Sean Hodges gives ex-convicts a second chanceAfter visiting prisons to pray with inmates, she began to offer former convicts a place to live and a program to deal with their social, practical, and spiritual needs.
Cash cows: Why bank accounts that work like livestock help the poorIf a savings account worked more like owning a cow, poor people might be more willing to put their money in a bank.
Lessons from a pay-it-forward restaurant: the importance of gratitudeAt the Karma Kitchen, people enjoy a meal that鈥檚 already paid for 鈥� and are invited to continue the chain of generosity. In the process, organizers and participants alike learn the transforming power of gratitude.
Pamela Anderson NYC marathon run raises $76,000 for Haiti charityPamela Anderson took on the NYC marathon, all 26.2 miles, and raised nearly $76,000 for a Haiti charity. Pamela Anderson was just one of many celebrities fundraising at the marathon.
Environmentalists work to save a precious patch of Texas blackland prairieA tiny 10-acre parcel of native blackland prairie is an important piece of Texas history that supports endangered and rare species.- Readers RespondReaders Write: Bullies need mental health help, too; Peace resonates; Good ideas are contagiousLetters to the Editor for the November 4, 2013 weekly print magazine:Victims of bullying who hurt themselves or others are also likely suffering from mental illness and deserve help. But probably so are bullies. Let's offer them the mental-health services they need.Ronny Edry's "Israel loves Iran" campaign shows that individuals can have a voice. We can each add to what I believe will be a "critical mass" who support an end to all war.If we don't talk about alternatives to political gridlock, then there is no chance of inspiration or change.聽Ideas are contagious.
The 'WYSIWYG' leaderIt's difficult to know how revolutionary a new leader will be. Is that smile just a pleasant first impression? Or is this really a case of 'what you see is what you get?'
Who's responsible for health care?Amid all the controversy over the troubled launch of the Affordable Care Act's public health exchanges, another revolution is taking place in the much larger world of employer-provided health care.聽
Difference MakerWhen Tom McNichol saw swirling trash he launched his Clean Up BoatTom McNichol is the unofficial garbageman of the Charles River, beautifying Boston's iconic strip of water.
Judy Wicks makes 'food, fun, and social activism' her businessPhiladelphia restauranteur Judy Wicks says a business transaction can be 'one of the most satisfying, meaningful, and loving of human interactions.'
Volunteers give a 'potential paradise' in Puerto Rico a 'mega cleanup'A volunteer effort collects thousands of pounds of garbage 鈥� refrigerators, tires, shopping carts, toys, and countless plastic bottles 鈥� from San Juan, Puerto Rico, estuaries.
Zeer pots: a simple way to reduce food wasteThe nonprofit group Practical Action encourages the use of earthenware storage coolers called zeer pots to help prevent food waste.- Readers RespondReaders Write: US must maintain strong military; Encouraged by fight for common ground; Media violence feeds gun violenceLetters to the Editor for the October 28, 2013 weekly print magazine:An strong, efficient American military is needed to maintain safety and security at home and abroad;聽Olympia Snowe's suggestions for how those of us with no political clout can still mobilize for moderation are encouraging;聽When will we finally understand the consequences of allowing violence to permeate our entertainment?
Saudi women say they will keep pushing for the right to driveActivists are asking Saudi women to go on driving in public and posting online photographs or films of themselves doing so.
Pakistan's women police fight criminals, militants, and scornShazadi Gillani battles bandits, earthquakes, and militants but must wear a burka outside the police station.
Difference MakerHoward Buffett seeks lasting solutions to the world's food and water crisesThe philanthropist and farmer travels the world looking for how his Howard G. Buffett Foundation can help solve the biggest challenges.
