So, apparently there was a contest in South Africa to decide what to do with old vuvuzelas following the World Cup this summer. Possible ideas include hearing aids (because now you’re deaf), lampshades, and 200 other ideas, all competing for a 10,000 Rand prize. My mother uses hers to keep deer out of the garden.
There are mounting anxieties in Global capital markets over the divergence between China’s economic policies – specifically, its currency exchange rate policies — and the relationship that currency valuation has to a sputtering economic recovery in the rich Western economies.
I grew up as a practicing member of the Cult of the Mac. As such, Microsoft was clearly of the Forces of Darkness. They’re redeeming themselves now. Russia famously used illegal pirated software as an excuse to kick the doors in and shutter NGOs that were doing annoying things like advocating for universal human rights. […]
Interesting news of the day: Prime Minister Zenawi doesn’t believe the world is taking a tough enough stance on global warming, and his remarks anger other African heads of state (though personally I agree with him) The top 400 charities in the U.S. see billions less in donations Senegal offers free education to children from […]
With Halloween quickly approaching, most of us are running around trying to find costumes, decide what parties to attend, and most of all make sure we are stocked up on candy for the wee ones that will barrage our doors in their tiny costumes. No one wants to be left with there pumpkin bowl empty […]
The spotlight is on Chinese weapons this week. The Washington Post reported that the Obama administration has gathered evidence of Chinese companies helping Iran develop its missile technology and nuclear weapons. One U.S. official associated with this investigation said the companies may be acting without the knowledge of the Chinese government. UN sanctions currently restrict […]
Something strange happened at the UN this past week: Canada ran for a non-permanent seat on the Security Council and, for the first time in more than 50 years, didn’t get it. Stranger still? It seems the Obama Administration did not actively campaign on behalf of the U.S.’ Neighbor to the North. The details are […]
Senator Lugar is right–as he said in his speech, the United States should undertake a broad review of further steps the U.S. military and the intelligence community could take to help combat the Mexican cartels in association with the Mexican government.
And one of the first steps should be to review the Brownsville Agreement, and the NAFTA-induced, “hands-off” treaty that currently prevents the US, not just from initiating investigations into the debacle inside Mexico, but from investigating the murders of our own citizens on US soil.
According to last Monday’s New York Times, Andrew Ross Sorkin wrote about concern over a controlling bid for ownership of Potash Corporation, a Canadian fertilizer company, placed by a consortium of Chinese companies and financiers. Sorkin indicates that the writing on the wall from such scrutiny is, “‘Do we really want the Chinese to control […]
WHO is alarmed by skin-disease spread in Afghanistan Tens of thousands of Afghans — predominantly women and children — have contracted the disfiguring skin disease cutaneous leishmaniasis and the number of cases is increasing, the World Health Organization says. The disease, transmitted by the bite of sand flies, threatens the health of 13 million Afghans. […]
Some heavy hitters will be in New York City from all over the world on Tuesday, October 19 to discuss the crisis for journalists in Mexico: When: Tueday, October 19 Where: The Great Hall Cooper Union, 7 East 7th Street, New York City What time: 7 p.m. With readings by Paul Auster, Don DeLillo, Laura Esquivel, Francine […]
There are two new blogs on that focus on the Middle East, both worth following: 1. From the Potomac to the Euphrates, by Steven A. Cook of the Council on Foreign Relations. Cook introduces the blog with the following post: I hope the site will be a forum for readers who share my passionate interest […]
I am grateful to Alexander Glaser, a young German physicist associated with Princeton University’s engineering and public policy schools, for alerting me to an exceptionally authoritative analysis of the stuxnet computer worm that reputedly infiltrated and crippled industrial control systems in Iran. The article, by Frank Rieger, appeared in Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, on Sept. […]
Today is Blog Action Day, which occurs every October 15 and the objective of getting bloggers around the globe to post about the same issue. This year’s topic: Water. Blog Action Day aims to create a global discussion while driving collective action towards the issue. The United Nations voted over the summer recognize access to clean water as a human right. However the UN […]
The effort to reach a political accommodation with the Taliban is underway. Unfortunately, though, signs indicate that the endeavor will fail. We can learn some valuable lessons from the Soviet effort of the 1908’s. In 1987, Soviet Colonel Dmitry Timofeevich Yazov wrote a letter to the USSR’s Defense Minister criticizing, among other things, Afghanistan’s “national […]