By Carol Bohmer and Amy Shuman Political asylum is a gender neutral concept. The law of asylum is based on the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees, currently adopted by 147 countries, so the actual asylum law of receiving countries is quite similar. The impact of this ostensibly gender neutral law is, however, far […]
Guest blogger Jackie Miller looks back at the highlights from the Obama administration’s 2010 nuclear spring, including the Nuclear Security Summit and the singing of New START.
I’ve fallen a little behind in my Middle East series. Though now a little out-of-date, this is the Syria post. I was there in the middle of February, so this will give you an excellent idea of how quickly things have changed there. Then, things were quiet. Now, things are spiraling out of control. Assad […]
Last week I had a bit of a rant about equitable distribution of care. Later, in a debate with a colleague, I was urged to consider solutions rather than just reiterate well-known problems. Ok, point well taken, my friend. Let’s start with the bottom line – if we’re going to provide quality care, we’re going […]
France houses over 65 million people – 5 million of whom are reported to be Muslim. Of these 5 million, only 2,000 wear a full face veil. In a country of 65 million, legislation that is targeted at 2,000; is this behavior not reminiscent of school-yard-bullying? Islam is the second largest religion in the country […]
I wrote here recently that the Germans, in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster, are seeking the right path: phasing out nuclear power. What is astonishing to me, and gratifying beyond my fondest wishes, is that the whole country is embracing it. That means the public, and the Chancellor and her ministers, including the environment […]
Just a quick update on the situation in Japan relative to the nuclear facility at Fukushima: The rating for the accident has risen to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s highest level. As people have been at pains to point out, it is not – as yet – as bad as Chernobyl. It is, nevertheless, now […]
Cassava is the newest addition to the biofuel line-up, joining others such as corn, palm oil, and sugar, and has doubled in price because of its new role, according to The New York Times. Most of this increase was caused by increase in export of cassava to China from Thailand, the world’s largest cassava exporter. […]
Minoru Oogoda of Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said this morning in Japan, “We have upgraded the severity level to 7 as the impact of radiation leaks has been widespread from the air, vegetables, tap water and the ocean.” The only other nuclear accident to reach level 7 (the highest on the IAEA’s scale) […]
Before discussing globalization’s effect on India and how social entrepreneurs are making a difference, I would like to clarify a few terms. For the most part, when globalization is discussed, I mean economic globalization. To simplify a complex idea, it refers to the world becoming smaller – figuratively speaking – and more inter-connected. Some have […]
Alberto Fujimori is a complicated person. He single-handedly rooted out terrorism while president of Peru (1990-2000) and brought the country back from the economic abyss. However, he appears to have sold his soul to achieve his victories. Currently serving in a Peruvian prison for a variety of crimes, not the least of which are human […]
Children are increasingly targeted in Mexico’s drug war Drug cartels in Mexico are increasingly targeting children for violence in efforts not only to terrorize the populace, but to prove to rivals that their savagery knows no bounds as they fight for position in local and international narcotics markets. “Decapitations and hanging bodies from bridges send […]
I wrote a review of a book called Peace: A World History, by Antony Adolf, for The Mantle. Check it out here. While I had some problems with the book, as you’ll read in the review, I still think it’s worth a read. Here’s the first paragraph of my take: As implied by the title […]
Thomson Reuters Point Carbon is reporting this morning that China is going to launch carbon-trading schemes in six regions before 2013. If all goes well, that will then lead to a nationwide carbon trading platform by 2015. According to the report (which is sitting behind a pay-wall or I would link to it), the areas […]
Here is something timely for you: a CNN special report on chocolate and where it comes from. It’s very interesting. Let me know what you think! http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/06/the-dark-side-of-chocolate/?hpt=C2 From CNN’s website: “CNN’s Richard Quest talks to filmmaker U. Roberto Romano, whose documentary “The Dark Side of Chocolate” investigates child labor and cocoa fields in the Ivory […]