On June 30th, President Bush signed into law the Merida Initiative. The initiative is part of the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2008, and provides $465 million dollars for the war against drugs in Mexico and Central America. Mexico will receive $400 million dollars. The Senate passed the controversial bill on June 27th. The original bill […]
Welcome, Mr. President, to one of the toughest jobs in global politics. You had a killer agenda planned, including the conclusion of an European pact on immigration and asylum, the creation of a functional Mediterranean Union (with the EU-Med Summit in two weeks’ time) and robust responses to the looming natural resource shortage. Already, you […]
The region of Central Asia is home to several functioning and capable radical terrorist groups. Just last May, Interpol rounded up 176 terrorist suspects in Europe from 19 countries, and unfortunately all 5 major CA states were represented. French authorities also announced the arrest of 10 other suspects for financing Islamic terrorist groups, including the […]
Greetings from Stellenbosch, the historical intellectual center of Afrikanerdom. I am here for a conference on sport history at the University of Stellenbosch, and as I did with Melville, I have seen changes in this picturesque little university town. Clearly the city parents here are no fools. No longer can Stellenbosch be merely the epicenter of Afrikaans […]
Greetings from Stellenbosch, the historical intellectual center of Afrikanerdom. I am here for a conference on sport history at the University of Stellenbosch, and as I did with Melville, I have seen changes in this picturesque little university town. Clearly the city parents here are no fools. No longer can Stellenbosch be merely the epicenter of Afrikaans intellectual […]
SecState Condi Rice's visit to Beijing carried a number of items on Washington's agenda. She and China's Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi came to the table on a number of current events. ZIM. With the recent swearing-in of Mugabe for his sixth term as President of Zimbabwe, Bush has called the UN to action against “Zimbabwe's illegitimate government,” […]
In a follow up to my fellow blogger Jennifer's piece on the lucrative oil wars in Iraq, the BBC has a piece entitled “Iraq seeking help to develop oil“. This discusses the official beginning of the opening up of the oil industry to foreign investment. The six main oil fields that are being opened up […]
Weeks back we discussed the media rollback within the Central Asia states, emphasized in a report by Freedom House, and last week I quickly mentioned a World's Association of Newspapers report that also painted a bleak picture of media rights in CA. Today I have two stories that further showcase the region's not only lack […]
Mohammed Ali Jafari, commander of the Revolutionary Guards Corps said that Iran will block “oil shipments through the strategic Hormuz Straits if attacked and pledged that Hizbullah could also respond by rocketing Israel.” Hizballah fighting for Iran?! Didn't they claim they are a Lebanese Resistance movement? Oh well. I recommend you read Mehdi Khalaji article […]
Mysterious message spotted on their website. Will update with more information.
After countless negotiations a solution might appear to the deadlock. Sources say Hizballah may agree with Elias Murr taking the Defense Ministry. The catch is that Hizballah has to give the green light to the men that will take control of Lebanon's security services, army and intelligence. Most likely, Hizballah already assessed through its own […]
On June 18th, the Swiss government announced that it would hand over approximately $74 million dollars to the Mexican government. This is just part of the assets that the Swiss Government confiscated from Raul Salinas de Gortari, brother of Carlos Salinas de Gortari, former President of Mexico. The remaining part of the assets would be […]
Here are some short snipets with some reading material to get you through the weekend without fresh, red-hot Central Asian news! Continuing our discussion about CA's blood transfusion and HIV/AIDS problem on June 19, here is a more personal and touching story of the consequences of the region's poorly managed and constructed health care system. […]
Sawubona! I’m writing from the 7th Street Guesthouse in Joberg's Melville. The trip here was quite the trek, involving many layovers (Houston, Jackson, BWI, Dulles, Dakar) and more than one trip in an automobile, but I finally got into my B&B at about 8:30 South Africa time last night. Not wanting to go to sleep and […]
Sawubona! I'm writing from the 7th Street Guesthouse in Joberg's Melville. The trip here was quite the trek, involving many layovers (Houston, Jackson, BWI, Dulles, Dakar) and more than one trip in an automobile, but I finally got into my B&B at about 8:30 South Africa time last night. Not wanting to go to sleep and […]