Daou Report readers - since July, we have administered Peter Daou's site during his leave of absence. The site is now back on temporary hiatus, but you can find us at UN Dispatch . If you have questions or feedback, you can contact us here .

One of the sad realities of the ever-accelerating news cycle is that we rarely have the opportunity to follow an event or issue before it's drowned out by something new. Here's a sobering NYT article about Rwanda's orphans: Rwanda , a country that suffered 100 days of tribal genocide in 1994 and has also been hit hard by the AIDS epidemic, is believed to have the highest percentage of orphans in the world. Now a survey finds that depression is alarmingly common among teenage and young adult orphans there who head households and care for younger children. The survey, conducted by Tulane University...

Stories like this remind us that across the globe, courageous and principled individuals risk their lives to make a difference: The head of Afghanistan's anti-drug court was shot at on his way to work on Thursday and died later in hospital, his office said. Judge Alim Hanif, director and chief judge of the Central Narcotics Tribunal appeals court, was leading a campaign to bring influential drug traffickers to court and punishing them for their crimes. The Criminal Justice Task Force, which announced the judge's death, did not give any details of the attack....

A heartwarming story of ingenuity and resilience out of Nairobi, Kenya: Rubbish is everywhere in Kibera, Africa’s largest slum, just a few kilometres from the centre of Nairobi. It lies not just between the ramshackle dwellings, but often underneath them, rendering them vulnerable to collapse in times of flood. But the face of the slum is beginning to change as fresh vegetables spring up where trash once lay rotting. The youth in Kandimiru, one of the villages within the slum have, through a self-help group, established the first organic farm on what was once a garbage dumpsite. “We...

There’s been an explosion of commentary in the aftermath of the Sarah Palin pick, with reactions running the gamut from euphoria to despair. As the shock of McCain’s selection reverberates, every aspect of Palin’s life and career is being dissected. One common concern expressed on both sides of the political divide is that Palin may be under-qualified to assume the presidency. In that regard, many Democrats are gleeful that the Palin choice seems to undercut one of McCain’s main angles of attack against Obama, i.e. that Obama allegedly lacks the experience to be commander...

John McCain knew he had no choice: all the political strategy and one-upsmanship, all the mockery and all the attacks in the world are not enough to slow the inexorable force of Barack Obama's historic journey to the White House. John McCain needed to blunt the momentum of history and the only way he figured he could do it was with a woman on the ticket. And so he has selected Sarah Palin as his VP. The success or failure of the pick will hinge not on her experience (or lack thereof), but on this: in the coming two months, how much do the campaigns, media, and blogs focus on her gender and how...

With Pickens Plan ads a television fixture, here's Apollo Gonzales' cynical take on what T. Boone Pickens is selling: I grew up in Houston, Texas. Maybe that made me more susceptible than most to the romanticized idea of being a Texas oil man. At the age of 18, the same summer I graduated high school, I went to work for a family friend selling oil field supplies to oil companies in West Texas and Mexico. It was a dream job for me. I met some very wealthy men and heard stories about growing up dirt poor and making a fortune by pulling oil from otherwise worthless ground. Every year I went to the...

A great post from the UN Foundation's Katherine Miller [ full disclosure ]: Yesterday's convention headlines were dominated (and rightly so) by Sen. Ted Kennedy's moving display of personal strength and party loyalty, as well as Michelle Obama's touching portrait of her loving family. But behind the scenes there important discussions about climate change and global philanthropy taking place. The National Democratic Institute is hosting the International Leaders Forum , a series of events for the more than 1,200 foreign dignitaries who are here to witness Barack Obama officially taking control of...

At Emptywheel, a red flag over new FBI guidelines: It is amazing how when it comes to protecting the rights and privacy of American citizens, the health and stability of the environment, the education of our children, and the care and compassion to military veterans, the Bush Administration produces nothing but bad faith delay, obstruction and, often, outright refusal to act. They are imminently capable, however, of moving with breathtaking alacrity when they sense the opportunity to seize unheard of domestic police state powers that undercut the Constitution, solely by Administrative fiat, and...

There's been a good deal of discussion online about Obama and McCain's attacks and counter-attacks. Recently we've focused on the GOP's use of ridicule as a political weapon: An enduring election myth is that the 'real' presidential campaign starts in the fall - that what we're seeing is merely posturing and strategic positioning in preparation for the true battle. The fact is, a candidate’s image is shaped and reshaped in real time and perceptions created today directly influence opinions formed tomorrow, which in turn affect decisions in the voting booth on election day. The general election...