Sabria Chowdhury Balland

“Whoever kills a soul, it is as if he killed mankind entirely” — Holy Koran. “Two young men, Americans, good students, successful parents, boys non-violent, living in a time of war…become killers” — Michael Moore. This quote from the renowned documentary filmmaker Michael Moore could easily be about the Tsarnaev brothers, the suspected perpetrators of […]

“I have met thousands and thousands of pro-choice men and women. I have never met anyone who is pro-abortion.” — Hillary Clinton The above quote from Hillary Clinton may make complete sense and be valid in the United States, where many, particularly conservative Republicans, often make fierce and judgmental arguments on the morality and practice […]

“Who do I call if I want to call Europe?” — Henry Kissinger, Former United States Secretary of State. The period of substantial instability that has hit the European Union since the Greek financial crisis began in 2011 seems unending. Inevitably, questions arise as to whether there still exists a viable future for the European […]

In October of 2012, the verdict of a gang rape case in the suburbs of Paris shocked France, causing many in the country (including women’s organisations and politicians) and around the world to question whether France was actually encouraging rape. It caused an outrage. The lenient sentences and acquittals of 14 men accused of gang […]

“I hope that every American, regardless of where he lives, will stop and examine his conscience about this and other related incidents. This nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when […]

“This is a good day. Once again, we are seeing what is possible with strong American diplomacy,” President Barack Obama. The historic international nuclear agreement between the US, its allies and Iran was announced in July 2015. Since then, there has been a great deal of scepticism, particularly from critics and the Republican Party about […]

“Move only if there is a real advantage to be gained” — Sun Tzu, the Chinese military strategist and philosopher (544 BC-496 BC), The Art Of War.On November 24, 2015, a Russian fighter jet was shot down by Turkey, resulting in a direct NATO versus Russia confrontation. Not surprisingly, there was and continues to be […]

“History shows us that America must lead not just with our might, but with our principles. It shows we are stronger not when we are alone, but when we bring the world together” — President Barack Obama.The historic and monumental Iran nuclear talks finally concluded successfully on July 14, 2015. This is a highly significant […]

“With my academic achievement in high school I was accepted rather readily at Princeton and equally as fast at Yale, but my test scores were not comparable to that of my classmates. And that has been shown by statistics. There are reasons for that. There are cultural biases built into testing, and that was one […]

“We live turned away from the sea because it does not connect us, it encloses us. There is no movement on it. People are not allowed to buy boats because if they had boats, they would go to Florida. We are left, as one of our poets put it, with the unhappy circumstance of water […]