I have struggled to try to understand what happened in Kyrgyzstan this summer, specifically the “interethnic” clashes in June. My graduate studies focus on Central Asia in the 19th century, and frankly, much has changed. I am sometimes ill-equipped to fully explain whats happening now with my knowledge of the 19th century. This upcoming semester […]
The possibility of the ANC government cracking down on the media and the concerns over the implications of the Protection of Information Bill (2010) and the possible establishment of a “media tribunal” (the tribunal and the act are not the same thing) continue to vex observers both in in and outside of South Africa. See […]
The High Court down the 7th Amendment to the Constitution of Bangladesh. This ruling deems unconstitutional the various decrees General Ershad passed through under martial law between March and November 1982. The 7th Amendment retroactively legitimated the very acts that successfully engineering the coup undertaken by then Chief of Army staff H.M. Ershad. Thus, striking […]
Terror Cops is the title of a new book by Harry Keeble that puts on display how terrorist cells are created, how terrorist training camps in the UK are used, and how security forces work with the Muslim community. Terror Cops is a white-knuckle ride into the battle against extremism. The book gives unprecedented insight […]
A run of coordinated attacks that spanned the length of the country killed at least 56 people today in assaults aimed at Iraqi army and police forces, one day after the U.S. announced that its combat troops had fallen below 50,000.
Most people would find it hard to upstage a meeting between the head of a giant nuclear power and one of the world’s most high profile rock stars. But most people are not Putin (thank God!?). By single-handedly harpooning a whale while shouting “Living in general is dangerous!”, the Prime Minister not only made Medvedev’s […]
This Wall Street Journal story by Siobhan Gorman details the influential position of a CIA chief inside of the Karzai administration in Kabul. The piece is worthwhile reading for its insight into the Obama administration’s Afghan teams layout and method for working with the at times, volatile, President Karzai. President Obama’s administration’s relationship with Karzai has seen […]
A few weeks ago, on an any-day sort of day, my grandmother came home to her Los Angeles bungalow and sorted her mail, tossing junk and sorting bills, when she came upon a statement from her bank. The notice she pulled from the envelope indicated that the balance of her 401k, a fund to which […]
Zambia may be Africa’s largest producer of copper, but the impact of this red metal on the country‘s economy still remains a mixed blessing. In the Mail and Guardian article posited on the Zambian Watch website at http://www.zambianwatchdog.com/2010/08/23/zambia-on-red-metal-alert/, it is argued that Zambia’s heavy reliance on copper is exactly what’s wrong with Zambia’s economy. To […]
Public sympathy for the increasingly nasty ongoing public sector strike is starting to lose the sympathy and support of the general populace if it has not done so already. Even in labor-friendly South Africa, where the union movement was a central component of the anti-Apartheid struggle and are a central component of the governing coalition, […]
Palestinian Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad’s infrastructure development took another step forward today in the Gaza Strip to increase supplies of diesel to territory. The Gaza Electricity Distribution Company transferred $2 million to a Ramallah power company, which pays for 320,000 liters of diesel per day for the Strip. The fuel will help support Gaza’s electricity plant, which shut […]
We all know the broad strokes. The state of Iraq has been politically rudderless since March 7 elections for the Council of Representatives failed to produce a clear coalition winner. Although former PM Ayad Allawi’s Iraqiya slate won a two-seat victory over Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law coalition, they didn’t score with sufficient […]
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has embarked on his second-annual tour of his country’s Arctic region. He began his five-day trip in Churchill, Manitoba, located on Hudson Bay. Here in this small town, Harper announced a new CAN $13.4 million in funding for upgrades to the ramps, taxis, and runways of the local airport. In […]
Interesting. Usually the South African Communist Party (SACP) and Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) stand united as the left flank of the ANC’s Tripartite alliance, usually at an uncomfortable distance from the ANC itself. President Jacob Zuma is following the ANC script by condemning the ongoing public sector strikes that are disrupting the […]
Foreign Policy magazine has published its 2010 Global Cities Index. The methodology is difficult to discern, but the editors claim: the index aims to measure how much sway a city has over what happens beyond its own borders — its influence on and integration with global markets, culture, and innovation. To create this year’s rankings, […]