Abuse is abuse and one must take verbal assaults and abuse just as serious as physical abuse. The harsh reality is that verbal abuse is often just a precursor for physical abuse, additionally verbal abuse can also be sexual assault. Yes, sexual assault can be verbal or visible with an abuser talking sexually (describing what […]
The Wall Street Journal recently ran a piece detailing some of the methods behind China’s expansion into the African continent. The informative article not only does a nice job detailing specific cases of African and Chinese government business partnerships, but ties in how what is being exchanged it not just money and goods, but also […]
As we observe the 10th anniversary of 9/11, and we contemplate what went wrong with the past decade, we should look at Libya for lessons on western intervention! In the aftermath of 9/11, American neoconservatives tried to ‘liberate’ the Arab world, and bring ‘democracy’ in the Middle East. It was argued that failed states like […]
It’s 1991. The location is Mogadishu. Somalia’s President Siad Barre has fallen from power. Armed groups fight for control only no group is strong enough to pacify the country. The ensuing civil war disrupts agriculture and food distribution leading to a food crisis, and ultimately famine. Images of violence and starving children compel the international […]
UN types are in Washington this week to examine the Administration’s efforts to prevent proliferation of those unpleasant “NBC” weapons – nuclear, biological and chemical, natch. It is the first on-site review of the resolution, during which time the U.S. “is opening its doors to the 1540 Committee by taking them on facility visits”. The […]
Wired recently published this article entitled ” How Special Ops Copied al-Qaida to Kill it”. It outlines the work of General Stanley McChrystal and his efforts to defeat a Al Quaida, based on the realization that, “to defeat a networked enemy we had to become a network ourselves.” The general set up a highly efficient […]
For those attuned to developments in U.S. security strategy, the release of the 2006 U.S. counterinsurgency doctrine, or “COIN”, was a big deal. The doctrine called for a shift in strategy from an emphasis on conventional warfighting to a focus on securing the population and shoring up governments in Iraq and Afghanistan. General Petraeus’s success […]
The natural disaster at the root of the famine striking Somalia, which has been worsened by interference by al Shabab militants and a failure to deliver aid, will only see a break when the October 2012 harvest yields its crops. In the meantime, the United Nations has declared a sixth area of southern Somalia as […]
You don’t have to tell me it’s the tenth anniversary of the Al Qaeda attacks on the US. I was there, thank you. There is plenty to be said on the subject, and politicians, pundits and the population at large are saying it. My only comment today on this is to consider the cost. According […]
As we sit on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the unforgettable tragedy that unfolded in the United States on September 11, 2001, across the globe people are taking time to remember the horrid events and reflect on how the world has changed since the fateful day. A day that took the lives of […]
Vladimir Putin was at a ceremony a few days ago at which he pressed the button that began the process of delivering natural gas to Germany through the Nord Stream pipeline. According to Gazprom, Nord Stream is the first direct link between Russia and the European gas transmission system. It runs under the Baltic Sea, […]
I’ve been reviewing some of the 9/11 commentaries and news reports that are saturating our media as the anniversary approaches and I have to admit that many of them leave me feeling cold. This commentary by Frank Rich in the New York Magazine, for example, raises many interesting and provocative points that I found myself […]
14.5% of American households were food insecure for at least some time in 2010, according to an annual study released by the United States Department of Agriculture. This is essentially unchanged from 2008 and 2009, but is higher than 2007 when 11.1% of American households were food insecure. For most of the decade starting in […]
Scattered across Vietnam modern day slave labor work centers are in full swing with the governments OK as corporations pad their profits off the backs of some 40,000 men, women, and children. Held captive in forced labor centers which are thinly disguised as drug treatment centers, the majority of victims are brought in on the […]
As C.S. Lewis states in The Abolition of Man, once you step outside of the Tao, by which he means the world of objective value, you and your civilization fall ultimately down a slippery slope into the abyss of value indeterminacy and the rule of a Nietzschean will to power. According to Lewis, “A dogmatic […]