A while back the Sunday New York Times had a front-page article (now archived, so you may need to pay to read it) on some remarkable successes that farmers in the Niger Delta have enjoyed. Chido Makunine of the African News Network provided a perceptive summary and assessment …
In our zeal to embrace alternative sources of energy, including biofuels, let's keep in mind that there may be very real human costs. And not surprisingly those human costs will be felt by the most vulnerable. The most vulnerable often live in Africa. IRIN points out a recent report arguing:
The …
Photo by Hobo Traveler
They look so young, so innocent as they lie sleeping
Held so tightly together, with their faces finally erased of worry
Almost snug looking, half buried in rags on their concrete bed
But this peacefulness will end all too soon
For when sleep wears from their eyes it …
On May 28, the President of Turkmenistan, Mr. Berdymuhammedov, visited Kazakhstan to engage in bilateral meetings with Kazakhstan's President Nazarbaev and crew. The news wires are more or less blipping through these developments as they do most short news stories in Central Asia, but in aggregate these articles are describing a watershed event. I’m so excited about …
German news magazine, Der Spiegel, has an in-depth look at the illegal immigrants that are the backbone of much of Europe's farming sector, ensuring that even Norway has the tomatoes, zucchini and strawberries throughout the winter.
Most of the workers on the plantations are illegal immigrants, those that have …
US President George W. Bush unveiled a new set of sanctions against the Sudanese government in a speech today. Mr. Bush made his speech ahead of next weeks G8 summit in Europe. The new sanctions are intended to influence the Sudanese to ends its blockade …
I continue to be fascinated by the burgeoning of all sorts of new approaches to generating energy and saving energy. I mentioned in my post from May 16 on the Large Cities Summit that George David, the CEO of United Technologies, had some fascinating things to say …
"The emotional, sexual, and psychological stereotyping of females begins when the doctor says, "It's a girl.'”
-Shirley Chisholm
Over half of the worlds population is female, yet they unjustly receive an unfair balance in life from conception. Not one society is spared from it's …
I wrote on Columbia the other day. The BBC has a featurette on the drug culture there.
In a report by the CBC.ca, a discussion of the wage gap between Canadian Immigrants since the 1960s and American Immigrants since the same period shows that there is a significant difference between the two groups of immigrants. The report states that in Canada there seems to be …
In her column on May 25th, Eleanor Clift of Newsweek discusses the benefits President Bush is gaining in the debate on new immigration policy. Her overview of the complex political views of Democrats who will most likely support Bush's initiative under the guidance of Ted Kennedy is an …
Reviewing recent events:
Last week, I wrote on the Nurbank scandal and the about-face decision to investigate Mr. Aliev rather than to send him out of the country until the scandal died down. At the time that Mr. Aliev was demoted from his Foreign Ministry position and made Ambassador …
On Friday, the World Food Programme condemned a spate of aid hijackings that have taken place primarily in West and Southern Afghanistan. The amount of food stolen over the past 12 months – 500 tonnes — was worth a total of USD 350,000.
The attacks have been increasing in incidence since April. …
Facing threats from drug gangs along with two grenade attacks, the Mexican newspaper Cambio Sonora, announced that it will shut down temporarily. Located in the border state of Sonora, the newspaper had already halted most of its investigations into drug trafficking and organized crime. Newspaper officials said the attacks were …
