Mike Brand

15/06/2024

The crisis in is not getting nearly enough attention. Now the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) is warning that in the coming months nearly a million people may be facing starvation levels of food insecurity and maybe even famine. More must be done to bring this war to an end, provide humanitarian aid, restore agricultural production, and protect civilians.

09/06/2024

I tried posting multiple times about my visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau. There's so much to say. Maybe I'll make a video or write a longer post one day. As someone who has worked on atrocity prevention for nearly two decades, has researched several atrocity situations (including the Holocaust), whose grandfather narrowly escaped the N**i regime, there's something about seeing Auschwitz in person that is just different.

I was struck by many things but two things in particular stood out to me.
1. The scale of Birkenau. No matter how many books you read or documentaries you watch you can't be prepared for how massive Birkenau is. It's huge. You can barely see the ends on the camp from either side and in the fourth picture if you can see that tree line in the far distance there's actually another whole camp behind it.
2. How the genocide against the Jews during the Holocaust makes even less sense to me. Genocide is never justifiable, but many genicidaires justify their violence due to a threat posed by a specific group. Often this threat is a military/militia threat. Or it's justified to gain access to land or key resources. It's part of a larger goal. And it serves a purpose. The N**is were fighting a multi-front war when they began the final solution. The amount of resources, manpower, money, and time they put into the ex*****on scheme was immense. From a strictly economic theory point of view (rational choice theory) it is totally nonsensical.

I love counterfactuals. It got me thinking, what would the world look like today if Hi**er and his cronies didn't focus their attention on the final solution and instead focused on the war. How different would the world look today? Would they have been able to conquer most of Europe? How long would the reign last?

It's insane to think that there was such hate towards the Jewish people that they focused so much effort to try and exterminate as many as possible. To what end? Why? This is the problem with mass atrocities. We sometimes don't always understand the motivating
factors. But in the context of the Holocaust it's even more puzzling.

18/05/2024

Remnants of the Warsaw Ghetto Wall. Still standing in the city between two new buildings.

16/05/2024

Not only does my hotel have a 13th floor but I am staying on the 13th floor. 😬

11/05/2024

The view from my hotel in Kampala is amazing. Seriously I do not want to leave. Can I please stay in Uganda???

08/05/2024

Regardless of your feelings about how Israel is conducting their war against Hamas, this letter from 12 Republican senators to the ICC Chief Prosecutor is very concerning. While there are so many things wrong with this letter, chiefly the fact that this letter stands in stark opposition to independent judicial action, something the US should support. This bullying letter is not who the US should be. If we want to be a beacon of freedom and human rights we must support credible independent judicial action.We cannot on the one hand call for justice for crimes committed in some places and then say we don't want justice in others.

Further, this section is disturbing. "If you issue a warrant for the arrest of the Israeli leadership, we will interpret this not only as a threat to Israel’s sovereignty but to the sovereignty of the United States."

That's not how sovereignty works. First, international law doesn't see borders. Second, Israel's sovereignty and governance is not synonymous with US sovereignty and governance. For US senators to suggest as much is confounding. In another circumstance, these same senators would likely be screaming dual loyalty.

08/05/2024

Letter from

15/04/2024

Thank you Arizona for the great weather, good food, time with friends new and old, beautiful views, and exhausting hike. I shall return!

14/04/2024

The things you see while hiking in Arizona. 😬🐍

12/04/2024

11/04/2024

Our world looks so cool from the sky.

02/04/2024

Love to see it. Let's go !

This year's March Maddness has been a nice escape from the horrors of the world. I recognize the privilege I have to be able to sit, safe in my home, and watch a basketball game while millions around the world suffer from mass atrocities, forced displacement, famine and food insecurity.

I feel a sense of guilt and relief whenever I take time for things like watching UCONN, enjoying a movie, or playing a game. We all have to take care of ourselves in whatever way is useful so we can live another day and continue the fight tomorrow. For me, right now, that's cheering on the Huskies.

30/03/2024

Who needs therapy when you have tacos? 's berbere spiced taco is soooo good! Ethiopian meets Mexican. Yes pls. 🌮

29/03/2024

Sometimes you just need to treat yourself to a katsu curry. Great decision.

25/03/2024

Don't love that my swag from college is now vintage but w/e let's go huskies!

14/03/2024

Important issues discussed and big questions raised at this year's Commission on the Status of Women. Not sure how many solutions but hopefully some progress can be made.

12/03/2024

Listening in to this high-level panel at CSW on closing the gender gap in education. Such an important topic. When kids are out of school it robs them of opportunities in the future. And unfortunately, in far too many places, boys and girls do not have equal educational opportunities. And in places like Afghanistan where girls are systematically prevented from going to school by the Taliban's gender apartheid, it's even worse.

11/03/2024

I saw last night. Here's one of the prop leaflets they threw out into the audience. Excerpts from real White Rose leaflets. If you don't know The White Rose was an anonymous resistance campaign in N**i Germany that tried to expose the crimes of the N**is and shake their fellow Germans conscience.

These words are so pertinent today. Not just for the Jewish people but for any people under threat anywhere in the world.

Apathy, indifference, and ignorance are the greatest threats to peace, security, and human rights. Because most people stay uninformed and uninvolved we allow bad actors to continue their abuses with impunity. Stand up. Speak out. None of us should have peace until all of us have peace.

09/03/2024

Gender apartheid should be classified as a crime against humanity and codified in international and domestic law. The draft Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity should include gender apartheid in addition to gender persecution.

27/02/2024

I love ! This one is great. ❤️

23/02/2024

This quote is a whole mood. LFG!

14/02/2024

It's nice to see some leadership in the Senate on Sudan, though this does little to actually help the people of Sudan or move the needle on ending the conflict.

05/02/2024

This is one of the many issues with the term genocide and how the world perceives it. Citizens and policymakers often do not pay as much attention to crimes against humanity, war crimes, or ethnic cleansing despite the fact that the impact on people may be just as bad and brutal.

04/02/2024

Serious question.

26/01/2024

Sudan is one of the worst humanitarian crises today and yet most people have no idea what is happening there.

24/01/2024

Sad but true.

20/01/2024

Empty trains always freak me out.

16/01/2024

The only time you'll see Connecticut Ave with zero cars is when it's a snow day. A peaceful look at one of the busiest streets in DC.

11/01/2024

Still one of the best political cartoons ever.

06/01/2024

When these bombs are being used to slaughter 22,000 people, injure 50,000+, and displace millions it is absolutely disgusting for a former US Vice President to sign those bombs. Just gross.