Articles by Steven Gilchrist

Boston, MA. - T he Massachusetts Law Enforcement Memorial is located in Ashburton Park next to the Massachusetts State House in Boston.   The memorial was dedicated on May 21, 2004 to honor the federal, state, county, local, and corrections officers who have died in the line of duty while serving in the state of Massachusetts.    The memorial, which was designed by artist Michael Kenny, is composed of a granite badge with a black band across the badge.   Encircling the badge is a listing of the names of over 340 police officers who have died while serving in Massachusetts.   The phrase “Our strength is in their memories” is inscribed in the front memorial. For more information about the Massachusetts Law Enforcement Memorial visit: mlemf.org The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Memorial - Designed by Michael Kenny

Later this year in June, the 60 th anniversary of the signing of the law that established the Interstate Highway System will take place.   President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 on June 29, 1956.   The legislation authorized the construction of a 41,000 mile network of interstate highways that would cover the entire country.   The interstate highway system was intended to: eliminate traffic congestion, make coast-to-coast transportation more efficient, and simplify the ability for residents to leave large cities in the case of an atomic attack. President Eisenhower had an interest in establishing an interconnected national highway system after his experience traveling across the country as an Army Lieutenant during a 1919 military convoy.   Secondly, when Eisenhower was a General during World War II he saw the importance of having an efficient interconnected road system when he traveled the German Autobahn highway network...

In May 2015, the landlocked central African nation of Burundi experienced a coup.   Godefroid Niyombare led the coup against Burundi’s president Pierre Nkurunziza.   Nkurunziza, 51, was a former rebel leader during the civil war in Burundi.   From 1993 – 2005, Burundi endured a civil war between ethnic Hutus and Tutsis.   The Burundian civil war was part of the same conflict that caused the Rwandan genocide in 1994.   During the 12 year civil war over 300,000 people died.   In October 1993, Hutu President Melchoir Ndadaye – Burundi’s first democratically elected president, was assassinated.   The assassination sparked nationwide violence between Hutus and Tutsis.    Protesters railed against Nkurunziza in April 2015 after he announced his re-election bid for a third term as president.   Nkurunziza’s forces were able to suppress the coup attempt.   Nkurunziza has been president of Burundi since 2005. Burundi is li...

According to The National Center For Victims of Crime stalking is “a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to feel fear.”   Stalking is a serious social problem that can lead to anxiety, insomnia, social dysfunction, and severe depression that is of higher prevalence in stalking victims than non-stalking victims. Statistics from the Stalking Resource Center and Colorado State University’s Women and Gender Advocacy Center indicate the following: * 6.6 million people are stalked annually in the United States. * 1 and 6 women (16.2%) and 1 in 19 men (5.2%) have experienced stalking at some point in their lifetime in which they felt fearful or believed that they or someone close to them would be harmed or killed. * The majority of stalking victims are stalked by someone they know. * 76% of intimate partner femicide victims have been stalked by their intimate partners. * 54% of femicide victims reported stalking to police ...

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) is one of the oldest transit systems in the United States.   The MBTA is the largest consumer of energy in Massachusetts and the second largest land owner in Massachusetts.   People depend on the MBTA on a daily basis to commute to work and school, to travel, or to visit family and friends.   The MBTA operates in 175 different cities and towns in Massachusetts. The main challenge for the MBTA is maintaining a reliable and dependable transit system.   In this essay, I will present several recommendations to improve the MBTA system.   The MBTA’s systemic challenges were exposed during 6 weeks of frigid temperatures and record breaking snowfall in January and February 2015.   The MBTA has also recently endured other challenges.   For example, in December 2015, one MBTA Red Line train went through several stops without a train driver operating the train.   As a result of this incident, one man...

L ate last year in October, Belarus – a former Soviet republic, re-elected Alexander Lukashenko to another 5 year term as president.   Lukashenko, 61, a pro-Russia autocrat has been president of Belarus since July 1994.   During the election this past October, Lukashenko received more than 80% of the vote. Located east of Poland and north of Ukraine, Belarus has a population of nearly 10 million.   The country is dependent on Russia for financial and political support.   Russia provides Belarus with loans and inexpensive gas and oil.   In 1991, Belarus gained independence from Russia.   Belarus has had a closer economic and political partnership with Russia than any other former Soviet republic. Facts about Belarus: Population: 9,589,689 (July 2015 est.) Area: 207,600 sq. km (Slightly smaller than Kansas) Capital: Minsk Major Language: Russian (official) 70.2%, Belarusian (official) 23.4% Sources: “Belarus President Wins Vote” by James Mars...