The Law Minister of Bangladesh, Shafique Ahmed, recently claimed that no special law needs to be passed in order to ban religion-based politics in electioneering. The recent strike against the 5th amendment by the Supreme Court suffices to end the explicitly religious turn in Bangladeshi politics ushered in Ziaur Rahman, dictator, president and founder of […]
The Voice Of America’s latest Africa News reports the following: the recently released International Monetary Fund (IMF) Regional Economic Outlook suggests that, unless African governments cut spending, they could put their economic growth in jeopardy. According to Antoinette Sayeh, the head of the IMF’s Africa department, although “smart fiscal planning, combined with government spending, helped […]
For your average German citizen it seems that they might feel they are supporting many of their European cousins while they work to keep the books balanced. The year 2010 has become a year where Germany and in some aspects, France, have been supporting an EU that many in the media had left for dead […]
Well now. This isn’t good. The Karzai Administration is taking in more than $1 million a year off the books from Iran’s government to pay for presidential expenses. The Chief of Staff is taking in the cash, no doubt helping Mr. Karzai pay for his lavishly, handsomely decorated, pain-stakingly made shawls. Some of it goes […]
While I am in favor of the idea of viewing locals as business partners, I take a different attitude with regard to Zimbabwe“Indigenization Plan”, a law that requires locals to own 51 percent of major foreign firms. Why? Nothing new about this approach: Zambia tried and failed. Namibia has been trying it with its land […]
The Zambian Watchdog, an organization owned by private Zambian journalists, is reporting that Zambian police opened fire on a crowd protesting the restoration of the 1964 Barotseland agreement in Mongu, Western Province. Two protestors are feared dead. Three police officers are also reportedly to have been injured. The 1964 Barotseland agreement is an Agreement regarding the autonomy […]
In this second installment we will look at the Russian reaction to increased Chinese immigration into the Russian Fareast and Siberia. We will also speculate as to the future of the Sino-Chinese relations along the border. Russian Reaction Despite the benefits to trade, the increased number of Chinese in Russia has been a catalyst for […]
At a lecture at the Middle Ease Institute several weeks ago, Dr. Thomas O’Donnell described the modern relationship between the United States and Iran. He characterized the struggle between the two as a battle for the hegemony in the Middle East. America is still heavily reliant on petroleum and the Middle East is still the […]
A spectre is haunting Europe once again, yet unlike during the 1840s it is not Communism but instead the continent-wide popular appeal of modern far right, xenophobic politicians and beliefs which menace the traditional parties’ grip on power. While the specific situations in European countries differ widely, common trends and forces are clearly discernible.Let us […]
Who played whom in the overlapping battles over the mayor of Moscow, the Khimki forest road, and the presidential race of 2012? This question is not (just) a convenient platform to shamelessly promote my new article about The New Civic Activism in Russia, out in the latest edition of The Nation (still, why not check […]
Morocco is undertaking a bold step and a plan to fight corruption. The plan calls for all rich government officials to unveil their assets. And for the government to protect and provide for the workers of the newly established commission. The plan will also include new courses in the country’s schools on the fight against […]
I am off to Israel for eight days and posting may be even lighter than usual. I am giving a paper, “From Apartheid to Liberation: Race, History and South African Historiography,” at a conference, “Concepts of ‘Race’ in the History of the Humanities,” at the University of Haifa. As always, if you are anywhere near […]
The summary of a new report on US policy particularly off the coast of East Africa reads as follows: A new U.S. emphasis on African maritime development — dedicated not only to rooting out piracy but also renovating ports and investing in job creation — could improve African security and economic growth. Not to belabor […]
The Foundation for Defense of Democracies just concluded a study on the Palestinian social media with participants in Gaza and the West Bank, including all who identified themselves as Palestinians in the forumsphere. The study was carried out to assess and gauge the Palestinian sentiment of the current state of affairs in the territories. The […]
President Barack Obama signed a proclamation today making Oct. 24 United Nations Day, but does that moniker then also make it anti-Israel day on Monday as well? The United Nations, in principle, is an exemplary organization that brings countries with often opposing priorities into the same forum where they can advocate ending world hunger, global […]