The following is a statement by the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) in Washington D.C. Washington, DC – NIAC deplores the racist and violent depiction of what is supposed to be a group of cowboys donning “Iranians Suck” t-shirts while lynching an Iranian on a poster at a restaurant in Katy, Texas. In response to […]
The apprehension and brief detention of a sitting legislator last Thursday was a prelude to looming political paralysis that also served as a catalyst for change, engaging citizens in substantive debates about institutional corruption decaying Haiti’s political and judicial systems. The national consciousness came to life after government Commissioner Felix Leger ordered the national police […]
After many long and tense months (years? decades?) the “situation” from the UN is starting to “resolve” itself. The US threatened a veto should they not be able to find the votes to keep the Palestinians from passing their resolution in the Security Council aimed at fully recognized statehood in the UN. The Palestinians went […]
This week Raul Castro’s government took to expanding on its opening of the Cuban economy. After September’s announcement allowing Cubans to freely sell and purchase automobiles for the first time legally since the Cuban Revolution, today it was announced that Cubans could now sell and purchase private property without restrictions or licensing from the government. […]
In my last post I discussed why multinational investment has started to split between China and other destinations, including Mexico, in recent years. But wages are a shrinking fraction of overall production cost—across many manufacturing sectors wages are a tenth to a quarter of overall production costs. Why? Automation makes wages less of an issue, […]
Last month, the New York Times published an article illustrating the start of the traditional whale hunting season in Barrow, Alaska. The hunt is allowed despite an international moratorium on whale hunting because it is carried out for subsistence purposes. Indeed, the whale hunters, after killing a massive bowhead whale, distributed the muktuk (whale meat) […]
After a week of Oligarch wars, Medvedev-Luzhkov sniping, spy-plagiarism and a Victor Bout guilty verdict, it’s good to know we can still lead the world, even if it is in the corruption stakes. It’s unclear how much the Kremlin paid Transparency International to take China’s crown (or whether it was more or less than the […]
As the Occupy Wall Street protests continue to rage in downtown New York for its sixth straight week, word has recently come out that some civil society groups in the area are planning to turn their attention to the Waldorf Astoria hotel in midtown next week. That is because on November 7th, the New York […]
This year has been all about Greece. The troika, meaning the IMF, ECB, and Commission, have been working on containing the Greek crisis and limiting the contagion to the rest of the Union and ultimately to the global markets. The outcomes of the meeting over the weekend are a new bail-out plan and more ‘haircuts.’ […]
As the presidential elections approach in Russia with the vote due in March 2012, media and opinion polls point out at the growing apathy amongst Russian population. Gloomy and grim attitudes stem from widespread perceptions that the positions of president and prime minister are predetermined with Putin’s comeback to the Kremlin is almost sure. With […]
Confusion, fear and indignation spread through all extremities of the Haitian population, including the legislative body, following the controversial detainment of Deputy Arnel Belizaire in spite of his parliamentary immunity and constitutional protection. “We are dealing with a dictatorship,” revolted Sorel Jacinthe, president of the House of Deputies. “The Constitution and the law no longer […]
An interview with the embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad appeared in the Sunday edition of the London newspaper The Daily Telegraph, the President’s first with the foreign press since protests broke out across Syria some eight months ago. In his exchange with the English journalist Andrew Gilligan, Assad mounted a defense of his own rule […]
China has been the world’s factory floor for over a decade, but its manufacturing dominance is abating. Sure, a significant amount of investment will continue to enter the Middle Kingdom, if for no other reason than to target its burgeoning middle class, but factory investment that used to automatically go to China is diversifying. Much […]
The eyes of the nation were glued on the Narayanganj City Corporation elections these past few days. Many wondered why this particular mayoral election of a newly formed city corporation near the capital was of such great significance. The reason for this election’s socio-political significance was it would give everyone an opportunity to see if […]
Tokyo is planning to allow thousands of Thai workers employed by Japanese firms to come to Japan to work for six months as an “emergency and temporary measure.” This move is meant to offset the damage months of flooding have wreaked on Japanese companies in Thailand. Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said, “Japan will accept […]