Firstly, an update to my previous post concerning Chinese Cyber-Espionage attacks on the U.S. and other developed nations. AP national writer, Pauline Arrillaga, did a much broader write-up on the issue, here. It is definitely worth a look-see. ———————————————————————————————————– On to the Other China, Taiwan – Current Taiwanese President, Ma Ying-Jeou (Mă Yīngjiŭ: 马英九) of […]
On Tuesday, a document from the Danish government was leaked. Its title: “Strategy for the Arctic 2011-2020,” echoing the Russian strategy for the Arctic through 2020. In the document, which is to be officially released next month after Danish parliamentary deliberations, the government outlines its plans to claim the North Pole as an extension of […]
President Barack Obama’s message to the Muslim world was crucial in three ways: The President underlined more than once the importance of integrating the economies of this tumultuous region into the global economy and the role of young Arabs in making this grand task possible; President Obama declared to the world that the era of […]
President Barack Obama’s historic speech today on the future of the so-called Arab Spring and Israel-Palestinian negotiations included several harsh words for both Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and in some instances backed the same policy employed by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who, instead of embracing the gesture, is now responding defiantly. While Obama’s […]
President Obama’s first move in his speech at the State Department on U.S. diplomacy in the Middle East was to address directly and immediately the hunt for and death of Osama bin Laden. He argued, forcefully, that bin Laden was not a martyr. Indeed he was anything but. The president reminded his domestic and international […]
President Barack Obama today defended what he wants the young men on the street in far-flung countries to view as a new stripe of diplomacy, one that is informed by the value of self-determination and respect for those young millions hungry for it. One that does not contrast American interests from American values. Time will […]
Below is a link to an insightful response by American Jewish Commitee’s David Harris to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas recent New York Times op-ed on the future of Palestinian statehood. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2721459/posts Unlike Harris, I was actually ambivalent about the path to Palestinian statehood via the UN. However, the hostile tone and distorted narrative of the recent NYT op-ed […]
President Obama’s speech on Thursday was designed to introduce a symbolic redefinition of American policy in the Middle East. Assuring his international audience that an ever-changing world demands continued leadership, his words ushered in a new chapter of American diplomacy.
“Making Markets Work for Small-Scale Farmers” will air as a live video stream on May 25. Here is the link: http://www.iied.org/sustainable-markets/key-issues/market-governance/provocation-series-making-markets-work-for-smallhol The series is sponsored by the UN Research Institute for Social Development, the International Institute for Environment and Development, Hivos and Mainumby. This will be the fourth segment of a six-part series, and it […]
Freedom Riders has kept me unbelievably busy (and the paperback for Freedom’s Main Line is out soon!), as has a perhaps ill-advised (from a time-use vantage point) Maymester class that I am teaching right now. So I’ve let my Firefox tabs overload with stories that I thought I’d be able to cover in full. Instead […]
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UNICEF will soon help alleviate the heavy burden of victims of rapes; sexual assaults and child trafficking that quickly spread through Haiti’s displacement camps, following the January 2010 earthquake. These two Nongovernmental organizations will deliver relief through better lit streets in the settlement camps, post traumatic counseling, preventive […]
Not too long ago, the Tehrik-e-Taliban claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that claimed the lives of at least 80 paramilitary cadets at a military training center in Charsadda, in Northern Pakistan. The Taliban announced the bombing was an act of revenge for the killing of Osama bin Laden. It had taken out elements of […]
Echoing my post from Tuesday, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Wednesday Japan would continue using nuclear energy while reviewing the industry and pursuing more renewable sources of energy. Kan told a news conference, “I believe that the manner in which the country’s nuclear power has been administrated over the years must be fundamentally reviewed.” […]
Three stories from Zimbabwe caught my eye in the last few days: A new “twinning” program will pair black farmers with Chinese agricultural investors in verdant Mashonaland East. There are a few points here to consider. The first is that white farmers who have lost their land do not seem pleased. but the program is […]
This post can also be seen in FPA’s Latin America Blog. The whole world became aware last week of the accusations against the head of the IMF, French politician Dominique Strauss-Kahn when he was arrested for sexually assaulting a hotel maid in New York recently. Video and pictures of Mr. Strauss-Kahn in handcuffs and in […]