Articles by Steven Gilchrist

I n November 2013, Giorgi Margvelashvili assumed the presidency of Georgia, an eastern European country that borders the Black Sea.     In 1921, Georgia was invaded by the Soviet Red Army.   A year after the Russian invasion, Georgia was incorporated by the Soviet Union.   After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Georgia became an independent nation. The United States has an interest in the economic prospects of Georgia.   The U.S. invested in the building of an oil pipeline from Azerbaijan to Turkey.   Part of the oil pipeline goes through Georgia.   Georgian military forces have also received training from U.S. armed forces and Georgia sent troops to fight in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.   The election of Margvelashvili is important because Georgia has aspirations to eventually join NATO and also the European Union.   In recent years, Georgia has been dependent on Russia for its energy supply.   In 2008, Georgia fought a five-day war against Russia over the re

M embers of the United States Senate are in the process of trying to pass legislation that would create an independent an unbiased military justice system.   S.1752 also known as the Military Justice Improvement Act (MJIA) is a bipartisan bill proposal.   The idea for S.1752 is derived from the overwhelming problem of sexual assaults in the United States military. The problem of sexual assaults in the military is documented in the movie Invisible War .   Written by Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering, the documentary tells the story of several women and men veterans who were sexually harassed, assaulted, or raped by other members of the military while serving the country. The documentary reveals that prosecuting sexual assault cases in the military can be difficult because of how the current military justice system operates.   One expert in the documentary says that the average sex offender has over 300 victims in their lifetime.   Most offenders do not get caught and only 5% or less o

L ess than six months ago, legendary comedian, actor, and philanthropist Robin Williams committed suicide.   Williams’ death cast a light on social issues that are often times kept in the dark.   Williams had struggled with depression and substance abuse in the past.   For Robin Williams to take his own life shows that even people with significant resources can face challenging times in their lives and struggle with depression.   Williams’ death was tragic news for millions of his fans.   Perhaps his death can lead other people who are having difficulty with substance abuse, depression, or other mental health concerns to seek treatment. Suicide is a national health problem.   Suicide can occur in any age or demographic group.   According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention a person dies by suicide every 16 minutes in the United States.   This represents approximately 32,000 deaths per year.   Additionally, the Foundation also estimates that a suicide attempt is mad

E very year on November 25 th , people from around the world join together to observe the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.   According to the United Nations, 35% of women worldwide have experienced physical and/or sexual violence or non-partner sexual violence.   Additionally, worldwide research from the U.N. also indicates that approximately 120 million women have been forced into sexual acts at some point in their lives and about 133 million women have undergone female genital mutilation. On November 25, 2014 at U.N. headquarters in New York City, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke about the global pandemic of violence against women.   Moon said: “Violence against women and girls is a global pandemic that destroys lives, fractures communities and holds back development.   It is not confined to any region, political system, culture or social class.   It is present at every level of every society in the world.   It happens in peacetime and b