According to the UNHCR (here, and a PDF report here), there are 59,500,000 refugees and internally displaced persons. 38.2 million are internally displaced (7.6 million in Syria, 6 million in Colombia, 3.6 million in Iraq, 2.8 million in the DR Congo, and lots elsewhere) 19.5 million are refugees, or 14.4 million if you exclude the Palestinians, with the largest numbers from Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan, DR Congo, and Myanmar.  Presumably this is understated as it seems to include only those... Read more

It’s the feast of St. Elizabeth of Hungary (1207 – 1231), who, I might add, is a distant, distant relative, based on genealogical research that may or may not be accurate. Kathryn Lopez has a feature on her, following her usual practice, “10 St. Elizabeth of Hungary Things that Caught My Eye Today” with a number of worthwhile links.  But let me tell my favorite “St. Elizabeth of Hungary things”, based on her Life in the Golden Legend, per my... Read more

I harped on this back in September, for instance, in a pair of blog posts on September 3rd and September 5th, and, it seems to me, elsewhere, too.  The fundamental question we have to ask ourselves, and policymakers have to ask, and world leaders, generally, and then answer, and then act on that answer: Is the long-term plan for Syrian refugees resettlement or repatriation? Have we abandoned Syria and Iraq to ISIS, and war and chaos, and, even with respect... Read more

Red cups, eh? Yes, some of us are outraged at the Red Cup Scandal at Starbucks.  Others are outraged that anyone should be outraged.  Most of us, thankfully, are fundamentally indifferent to whether Starbucks has bows or ornaments or snowflakes, or nothing at all, on its cups in November, December, April, or any other time of year. You want something to get outraged about?  Or, more precisely, to mock and/or roll your eyes at?  Take a gander at the Marvel... Read more

There’s a meme now making its way around facebook and twitter.  The basic gist is this:  sure, Paris lost 129 of its own last night.  But Lebanon just suffered suicide bombings, too, and besides there’s death and killing every day all over the world, so we should all shut up about Paris and stop acting as if its losses are more important just because it’s in Europe, and its people are majority-white and culturally Christian.  If we are good and... Read more

(Yeah, it was morning when I drafted this; afternoon now, after grocery-shopping and other errands.) 1.  Remember how you felt the day after 9/11?  My oldest, then my only, was then 15 months old, so we didn’t feel the need to shelter him from words and images he wouldn’t comprehend, and we had the TV running constantly after getting home from work.  It was eerie, too, with the lack of airplanes (and we’re in O’Hare’s flight path, so it was... Read more