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Markets Muted On Military Action in Libya

Markets Muted On Military Action in Libya

President Obama did what should always be done: namely, he used the sanction of International law by seeking a UN resolution to enforce a No-Fly Zone. By building MULTI-lateral support with all the stakeholders

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Middle East Security: interview with David Ignatius of the Washington Post

  by Sarwar Kashmeri As revolutions sweep the Middle East and leaders supported by the United States for decades are swept away, how should America respond? What lessons can the revolutionaries learn from the American revolution? Is military intervention in Libya warranted? Atlantic Council senior fellow Sarwar Kashmeri posed these questions to Washington Post associate […]

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Radiation Found in Japanese Food

Radiation Found in Japanese Food

Radioactive iodine and cesium was found in spinach and milk as well as other food products in the region of the Fukushima nuclear power plants on Saturday. The World Health Organization has called the situation serious, and the Japanese government is taking precautions, such as banning shipments of certain produce from Fukushima and neighboring prefectures […]

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Libya: U.S. Still Needs Europe

Political collateral damage inflicted by the West’s military action against Libya includes the destruction of two serious misconceptions long cherished by numerous experts in Washington. The first is the idea that in the rapidly changing world of the 21st century Europe is no longer strategically important to the United States; the second the fallacious belief […]

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Was Musician Wyclef Jean "Shot" in Haiti?

Was Musician Wyclef Jean "Shot" in Haiti?

This morning the Internet is abuzz with news that musician Wyclef Jean was shot in Haiti the night before historic presidential elections. The drama follows the return of former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide from exile in South Africa just days before the polls. Reports indicate Jean, who has thrown his international clout behind front runner […]

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The New Lebanon Can't Hide the Bullet Holes

The New Lebanon Can't Hide the Bullet Holes

We landed in Beirut’s international airport at 11:30pm. It was raining. We needed two things: local currency and a taxi. Luckily, it appeared that there were upwards of thirty drivers who would have loved to take us to our hotel. Unaccustomed to haggling, we accepted a steep fare from the most persistent driver. Off we […]

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Nuclear State of Play

Nuclear State of Play

The FT has had some excellent coverage of the nuclear disaster in Japan.  Obviously, as I’ve mentioned here, and has been bruited about all over the world, the Fukushima Daiichi nightmare has implications for nuclear power all over the world.  The FT has provided a very useful “atomic atlas” to show where the world’s existing […]

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Scottish Parliament Backs Tidal Energy Project

The Scottish Parliament approved a plan late last week to build a £40 million tidal power development in the Sound of Islay, which separates the islands of Islay and Jura in the Western Isles. The installation is part of the Scottish government’s drive to generate 80% of Scotland’s energy from renewable sources by 2020. John […]

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What If?

This week has not been about nuclear weapons or arms control, but about controlling three wildly malfunctioning units at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, damaged following last Friday’s devastating 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan.  The operators of the plant in Sendai, just near the epicenter of the huge quake, found themselves racing against […]

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Stupefied by Civilization

Stupefied by Civilization

There is an op-ed in today’s NYT from a Japanese astrophysicist, Satoru Ikeuchi.  He recalls the words of a predecessor in Japanese science:  “The more civilization progresses, the greater the violence of nature’s wrath.”  I am not a Luddite, by any stretch of imagination.  I firmly believe, however, in using the power of reason, and […]

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GailForce: Libya – Operation Odyssey Dawn

Yesterday an international coalition began Operation Odyssey Dawn against Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi’s forces.  The organizational structure set up to conduct operations is Joint Task Force (JTF) Odyssey Dawn.  The JTF commander is U.S. Navy Admiral Samuel J. Locklear who is directing operations from the command ship USS Mount Whitney.  Twenty four additional ships from Italy, […]

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Food scarcity in NE Japan follows tragedy

Food scarcity in NE Japan follows tragedy

The Japanese government and international food aid organizations are working hard to provide relief to the people in Japan’s northeast who were affected by last week’s earthquake and tsunami. The twin natural disasters and crisis at the Fukishima nuclear plants have set off “panic buying” of food, both in areas most directly affected and those […]

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News…

News…

Humanitarian need grows in Japan More than 450,000 Japanese are seeking help at shelters in the aftermath of the deadly earthquake and tsunami as aid providers struggle with dwindling medical, food and other supplies. Japanese authorities have confirmed more than 5,690 deaths with almost 10,000 people still missing. Yemeni soldiers fire on protesters A reported […]

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Mr. Erdogan’s Media “Freedom”

Earlier this month, thousands took to the streets in Istanbul and Ankara demanding the release of journalists arrested for suspected ties to the Ergenekon conspiracy. Charges have yet to be pressed, leading many to surmise it was not conspiracy but criticism—of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP)—that prompted the arrests.

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Food aid for Japan, Part II

In addition to the previous post about ways that you can contribute to Japan’s relief, here are some other initiatives of note: The World Food Programme (WFP) is collecting funds to “provide specialized logistics support in the delivery of water, tents, and blankets to families who need them the most.” The National Hockey League (NHL) […]

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