There has been a game afoot since President Obama took office last January. While much has been made of Obama’s sweeping domestic agenda, his foreign policy ideas are no less ambitious. In the end, his foreign and domestic agendas are closely related, as the goal of both is to protect and improve America. In the […]
© Flickr DFAIT.maeci On March 29, Canada hosted a closed-door ministerial meeting in Chelsea, Quebec attended by the five Arctic littoral states. Denmark, Norway, Russia, and the U.S. came, having been invited by Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon. One of the biggest headlines in the run-up to the event, and now in its aftermath, however, […]
Three big stories coming from Kenya: Kenyan officials have denied any connection between their country and Somalia’s radical Islamist group al-Shabab. I suppose this was the inevitable spin from Nairobi, so I am not surprised. But it seems to me that the more prudent response would be something along the lines of “we are alarmed […]
It looks to me like the media outlets in Bangladesh are out for blood. The 668 BDR mutineers have been hauled up in front of a three member special court. All eyes are on 59 year old BDR Subedar Major Gofran Mallick are the leader of the conspiracy and the consequent bloody mutiny that stained […]
As I anticipated, the prospect of a fair and free elections in Sudan just evaporated after the candidates of the opposition parties pulled out of the presidential race. This is not surprising. Citing lack of a strong foundation to conduct a successful poll throughout the nation, the opposition suggested postponing the elections until all necessary […]
Tensions between the United States and Israel have rapidly escalated lately, fueled in part by continued Israeli construction in controversial areas, including East Jerusalem. The Obama administration has repeatedly implored the Israeli government to expand a freeze on settlements to include Jerusalem, an issue at the forefront of meetings last week between Prime Minister Binyamin […]
Bamyan province is one of the largest in the Hazarajat region of Afghanistan. It is located in the centre of the country and the majority of the people are Hazaras. According to government officials, throughout the country, twenty million people are living under the poverty line, from which 40% make a home in Bamyan. Poverty […]
Although paranoia still reigns in some circles, Interpol, the South African National Defence Forces, and FIFA President Sepp Blatter all have announced that World Cup security preparations meet and exceed all expectations. This is good news, and for those who have been paying attention, not unexpected.
Thanks to Congressman Hank Johnson (D – Georgia), the debate surrounding the relocation of American troops to Guam just got messier. One might say its reached a tipping point…. It makes you wonder why the Hatoyama administration hasn’t raised the same concern for their tiny island.
“About a hundred years ago a great son of India, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, urged the Imperial Legislative Assembly to confer on the Indian people the Right to Education. About ninety years later the Constitution of India was amended to enshrine the Right to Education as a fundamental right. Today, our Government comes before you to […]
An epic drought is ravaging the Mekong River basin, destroying crops and endangering livelihoods. From the the river’s origins in western China, where it is known as the Lancang, and along its winding route through the countries of the southeast Asian peninsula, record high temperatures and low precipitation have brought the Mekong so low as […]
There is only a handful of figures in the Israel-Palestinian conflict that have guided peace efforts and remain relevant today. Israeli President Shimon Peres helped shepherd in the Oslo accords, but remains on the outskirts of current policy efforts in his ceremonial role. The memory of former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian Authority […]
Yesterday’s post comparing Russia Today to Fox News provoked an impassioned rebuttal. Russian translator, blogger and Second Life estate agent Catherine Fitzpatrick of Minding Russia berated me in a comment for ‘prettifying RT’ and ‘mislead[ing] the public’. What follows is one man’s quest to set the record straight. Dear Catherine, Thank you for your spirited […]
The High Court declared today that the provocative Crossfire Exhibition must be allowed to reopen. Eight days after the politically charged exhibition was shut down by the police deployed to the Drik Gallery, the High Curts decision now compels the police to withdraw, thereby removing all obstruction to the conduct and proceedings of the exhibition. […]
Barack Obama made his first trip to Afghanistan as president a few days ago, and during his 6 hours in the country he met with President Karzai, Gen. McChrystal, and Ambassador Eikenberry. It has been reported that Obama pressed Karzai on clamping down on corruption and that their conversations were very much ‘down to business’. […]