Since returning, I’ve received calls from those about to go and questions from others—what are the Cuban people like?  And what do they think of Americans? The official Cuban policy, of course, is that the US policy has been shortsighted and narrow minded.  And the list of US policies that need to change was also outlined … Continue reading Cuba–Do They Like Us? →

For the blog today, I thought I would incorporate some of the student reflections about one of our first speakers.  We had a terrific briefing on the economy from Guilio Ricci, an economics professor at the University of Havana. From Max Rabkin: Spending a week in Havana was an eye-opening experience for many reasons. I … Continue reading Cuba–Economic Challenges →

Before continuing with any other blog posts about what we learned, I thought it might be useful to discuss what we did not hear about.  Castro.  In short, we had no discussions with any of our speakers about any potential changes to the political system.  No speaker really talked to us about what the government … Continue reading Cuba–What We Did Not Discuss… →

On our very first night in Cuba, we went to dinner at the famous Hotel Nacional.  The Hotel is gorgeous on a bluff overlooking the water, old, majestic, and impressive.  Here is a picture of all of us in the ballroom.  Everyone famous who has visited Cuba, comes to the Hotel and there are even … Continue reading Cuba–the Spanish-Cuban-American War–Who Knew? →

So we all returned safely home this weekend and I look forward to blogging soon.  Truly an amazing trip of contradictions–gorgeous old cars and baroque buildings mixed with decrepit infrastructure.  Total candor on economic and planning needs and nothing on any political change…ever.  Just fascinating.  Much more to come but, given the first day of … Continue reading Cuba–Yes the Cars are Amazing →

Hi all!  I miss everyone at AALS.  And I’m very excited to study dispute resolution in Cuba.  Here is the link to our home paper’s coverage thus far.  Look forward to much blogging about the trip when we get back.

This week’s Torah portion is about the story of Jacob and Esau–not the best brothers to each other as we know.  And, from Charlie Pillsbury, we have the lessons from how the two finally reconcile.  In addition, this week our MU students are heading up to Green Bay maximum security prison as part of our restorative justice … Continue reading Jacob’s reconciliation with Esau: a sacred story of restorative justice →

Hi all–back from soggy Texas and the Works in Progress conference.  I hope to post several of the papers that were presented (nudge to others to send me!) and am delighted to start with Lauren Newell’s paper on Rebooting Empathy for the Digital Generation.  This is the continuation of her work that she started in … Continue reading Teaching to the Digital Generation →

The Washington Post (and other news media) reported on Tuesday that Jennifer Lawrence is speaking out about the wage gap she discovered after the Sony hacked emails were leaked…and is done worrying about being likeable.  As the Post outlined: After hackers leaked thousands of e-mails from Sony Pictures bigwigs last year, Jennifer Lawrence, arguably America’s most marketable actress, … Continue reading Likeability v. Competence…as told by Jennifer Lawrence →

The Pope, a rabbi and an imam…sounds like the beginning of a very funny joke but last week was a reality.  As you likely know, last Friday the Pope hosted an interfaith prayer gathering at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.  This was trailblazing and I’ve linked to the video here for those you who have … Continue reading Our Peacebuilding Pope →