I’m a Paul Krugman devotee. (How can you not be?) His column from this past Monday, Droughts, Floods and Food, had nothing but good sense: rapidly rising food prices have mostly to do with bad weather, namely the fires and drought in Russia and Ukraine this past summer and the floods in Queensland this winter. […]
Some people on the right are trying to do to same thing with Egyptian democracy promotion that they’ve done with the International Criminal Court (ICC) – fallaciously argue that Obama’s policy has been drastically different than that of Bush. From Clifford May at the National Review: …[T]he fact is that Bush did push for democratic […]
The U.S. is advised to give spare foreign aid for vaccines While much of the U.S. budget is facing cutbacks, the U.S. would be well-advised to preserve and even increase spending on vaccination efforts in developing countries — particularly in the battle against polio. UNITED STATES: Free text messages promote healthy pregnancies One year after […]
The New Year rang strong with natural disasters as there were a number of countries were hit with severe flooding across the globe. Brazil experienced the worst floods the country has witnessed in decades, leaving more than 800 dead and 15,000 homeless. Flooding submerged the entire eastern region of Sri Lanka affecting more than 1 […]
A reporter for the UK’s Guardian has been denied re-entry to Russia after a two-month absence. Luke Harding, who is the Guardian’s Moscow correspondent, was told he could not enter Russia after two months away reporting on Wikileaks. According to the Guardian, Harding’s reporting on Wikileaks included “allegations that Russia under the rule of Vladimir […]
I have admired Barack Obama for some time, but since early in the 2008 Democratic primaries, I have written that his Achilles’ heel is his hubris. It is his strength, for sure, propelling a charismatic politician with little experience (especially on foreign policy) into the White House. But it can be his undoing. On […]
Though the Egyptian government met with some opposition leaders over the weekend, the divide between them remains large. This is especially true when we look at how they want to deal with Egypt’s constitution. Mubarak wants to reform the current constitution. As he said in his Feb. 2 speech (in which he announced his decision […]
In Afghanistan the use of child soldiers has been prevalent throughout the country’s previous history of conflict and the current insurgency. Children have knowingly been recruited by various armed groups, most notably the Taliban, which have reportedly had voluntary recruitment, as well as used force to recruit children into their forces. The Taliban active use […]
The big day of love is quickly approaching and while millions are searching for that perfect gift to show their loved one’s how much they care. Love is universal and many are looking forward to seeing the warmth of love expressed via sweet sentiments in a card, a bouquet of flowers, a heart shaped boxes […]
Al Jazeera is leveraging the crisis in Egypt (and their coverage of it) to campaign for broadcasting rights throughout the US. They say they are not available in most of the 50 states in the US, but want the right to be. In an opinion article on their website, Al Jazeera’s Director General Wadah Khanfar […]
Advancements in communication technology have often foreshadowed civil unrest and revolution
Among all the articles about the Middle East over the past two weeks, these three jumped out at me as being highly relevant for U.S. global engagement strategy. 1. Amid Arab protests, U.S. influence has waned by Liz Sly in the Washington Post. The old ways won’t work anymore and if the U.S. seeks to […]
The chaos in Egypt does indeed signal opportunity, but the big question is whether the Egyptian people (or their fellow protestors in neighboring countries) will end up with genuine reform or merely a different gang of corrupt officials willing to cut more (or different) people in on ‘the take.’
Though the opposition in Egypt is frequently presented as a bottom-up movement, there is, in fact, a top-down element to it. As the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday, the opposition is being led by a ten-person steering committee. This committee arose from a 100-person shadow parliament established in Egypt well before the protests broke out. […]
Journalists and reporters have an unofficial badge of honor they work for in their careers: credibility. Or what people in the media industry sometimes jokingly refer to as “street cred.” It is usually earned by reporting under dangerous, extremely taxing, or even life-threatening circumstances. An extreme example is a story I heard from a former […]