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 […]
It was shocking and sad to learn that the great Hermann Scheer died last night. He leaves behind an extraordinary legacy. That he had such vision, energy and commitment is one of the reasons why renewable energy is taking its rightful place in the world economy. It will be, before much longer, the dominant form […]
“Everyday approximately 25,000 girls become child brides. It is estimated that one in seven girls in the developing world marries before turning 15. These young women are deprived of their childhood, likely to be illiterate, and burdened with responsibilities of marriage and family long before they are suited to take on such tasks,” said Ambassador-at-Large […]
Following up on my post of the other day, there’s a poll just out from the Financial Times and Harris: in the US and the five largest EU countries, “Big majorities of the public … favor the building of more wind farms in their countries, varying from 90% in Spain and 87% in the U.S. […]
The good folks at Change.org have organized this year’s Blog Action Day around water. (Last year was climate change.) Click here to find out why water matters, and to link up with groups that are very deeply involved. Then dive in and get involved yourself.
In light of Egypt’s upcoming parliamentary elections, Egyptian officials have imposed new media restrictions that will effectively put all live broadcasts, including independent television talk shows and news bulletins, under the control of state television.
The above words were spoken by Brigadier General Carmelo Burgio, the Italian officer responsible for developing the Afghan police force, as The New York Times reported yesterday. Recruiting is going well, if we just focus on the numbers. The target size for the Afghan National Army for October 2010 – 134,000 – was reached in […]
I am crazy jealous not to be able to vote in South Sudan’s upcoming referendum after seeing this video: [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/Hz2HObYuO9A” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
Earlier this month I served as a member of the US delegation to the election observation mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (overseeing presidential, parliamentary and cantonal elections held on October 3). The observation was implemented by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODHIR) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) […]
According to the International Labour Organization (ILO) there are estimated 165 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 actively involved in child labor. Children are often forced to work long hours and are often forced to work in harsh and dangerous conditions. Child labor has a direct link to poverty, and provides a […]
Notorious Rwandan war criminal Callixte Mbarushimana was arrested today in Paris after sixteen years of impunity. He was arrested after a sealed arrest warrant was issued by the ICC in late September. French authorities cooperated fully. Mbarushimana faces five counts of crimes against humanity (murder, torture, rape, inhumane acts and persecution) and six counts of […]
Over at Parabasis, where I used to post periodically, friend of mine, Isaac Butler, has an interesting post about Shakespeare’s Henry IV Part I that is extremely relevant to modern events. Isaac writes that at the heart of the play lives a Machiavellian lesson: The thing is, Shakespeare uses all sorts of means– including his […]
The venerable Matt Wald has been covering nuclear power and renewable energy technology at the NY Times since Hector was a pup. He has the lead story today: Offshore Wind Power Line Wins Backing. A high-voltage cable, costing $5 billion and with a 6 GW capacity, would run offshore connecting wind farms from Virginia to […]
NPR this morning had a great spot on a new music Web site that showcases underground music from across the Middle East. The site, Mideast Tunes, is in English, and offers a gateway into jazz from Palestine, punk rock from Saudi Arabia, hip-hop from Lebanon and metal from Iran. Check it out here.
We were in Cambridge this past weekend having a fine time, very much including getting out for Honkfest. The best band we saw was the Seed & Feed Marching Abominable, “Atlanta’s wildest community band,” but they were all pretty anarchically blessed. Meanwhile, 350.org was staging it’s 10/10/10 Global Work Party. We saw some evidence of […]