The 30th anniversary of the death of one of the world’s most politically influential musicians was marked around the world yesterday, highlighted by the opening of an exhibition on the reggae singer’s life at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. Music fans and political observers around the world marked the occasion by reflecting on the […]
Political scientists like to say that the U.S. has a special role as the sole remaining superpower to provide a certain level of public goods to the world at large. The word “goods” in this sense doesn’t relate so much to material goods as it relates to a particular role that only a great power […]
While reading one of my favorite foreign policy blogs, The Compass, I came across this interesting story of Iran’s secret training of militant forces in Latin America, specifically Venezuela, by Fausta Wertz. Wertz apparently came across the story in the Arab Times, which states: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is allegedly training a large number of Kuwaitis, […]
US Court rules the three major credit rating agencies may continue to lie, mislead & cheat investors by assigning false ratings, and helping investment firms to structure transactions that gain ‘AAA’ status. The rating agencies ‘opinions’ are protected under First Amendment protections as free speech. This ruling is a set-back to individual investors & ordinary working Americans everywhere.
Now that things are settling down a wee bit over in Japan – at least from what my NRC buddies tell me – I thought it might be useful to focus in on the radiological situation which will determine which areas will be habitable, and when. In that regard, I’ve come across a couple of […]
While my (and much of the world’s) attention focused on the Middle East in recent weeks, the rest of the world has not stood around idly. In Pakistan, as everyone knows of course, Osama bin Laden was killed sixty kilometers north of Islamabad, where he lived in a fairly luxurious mansion, protected by thirteen-foot-high concrete […]
Here’s a nice quick hitter on electric trash trucks in Paris, the City of Love. They’re quiet so you can run your collection routes at night thereby reducing traffic congestion considerably. What’s not to love?
The Iranian nuclear power plant built by Russia at Bushehr is now operating. Atomstroyexport says that a self-sustained fission reaction began on Sunday. “This is one of the final stages in the physical launch of the reactor,” said Vladislav Bochkov, a spokesman for the Russian company. The plant is at “the minimum controlled power level.” […]
Juan Cole writes: Those who are unnecessarily worrying that Obama’s raid was lawless or set a precedent can rest easy; the only precedent is not military, but rather for back-room deals among governments who then put on public Kabuki plays. His statement was responding to the Guardian article from earlier this week, which reported that, […]
In my last post, I was discouraged by the lack of incentives for innovation in the public health system. I bemoaned in particular the payment systems that reward bad care in equal measure to good care, a surefire recipe (to my mind) for a stagnant system. Lo and behold, the Obama administration is leading the […]
When one thinks of the biggest killers of children across the globe poverty and disease are what most often come to mind. Only a few inches of water can be fatal to a child, leaving deadly hazards at many turns, such as a tub of water, a washing bin, a rice field, fountain or […]
Last week the U.S. ‘took out’ Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. As an American, I cannot help but have a visceral reaction of delight. Such a major blow will surely expedite the end of ‘the war on terror’. Whatever your opinion is of that endeavor, we can all be relieved by its conclusion. If […]
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner play host this week to the third round of a newly formed bi-lateral talks between the US and China. This is the first time the so-called US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (SE&D) is being held in the US. The purpose of the talks, Geithner said in his opening comments on Monday, is to look for opportunities to build closer economic ties between the World’s two leading economic powers.
The Big Lie – or tired old axiom if you want to be polite – is that renewables can’t get the job done. If you need to believe that, then you might as well believe that ignorance is strength. As I noted here, and many times at this blog, renewables are blowing the doors down […]
As mentioned yesterday, thought I’d do a follow up on the enhanced interrogation technique blog I wrote yesterday. I asked the following question during the May 5th press call sponsored by the National Security Network and the Center for American Progress: …if I’m understanding and hearing correctly, there was historical precedence as well as […]