There was an interesting development yesterday in the case of Ahmed Ghailani, who the U.S. has brought to court for his participation in the 1998 bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled that the court would not accept testimony from the U.S.’s key witness because the U.S. learned about this witness through coerced […]
New York-based dj Nikodemus of Turntables on the Hudson, along with a host of other key players in the global dance music scene, have teamed up with NextAid for what has been dubbed the Earthchild Project. Proceeds from the 6-songs, available as an $8.99 download here, go to Lovelife’s Go-getters program, which is working to […]
I talk to cab drivers in D.C. It’s part of the reason I take cabs instead of the Metro sometimes, I like hearing where they’re from, what brought them to the U.S. and what they think about current affairs in their home countries (especially the Africans). And, since living in Ethiopia, there’s the added inducement of […]
As the Israeli-Palestinian conflict trucks along, we shouldn’t forget about an important issue that often gets overshadowed: water. Here’s a story from the PBS Newshour last night: Israel is taking water from beneath Palestinian land. But also, Israel is more industrialized than the Palestinian territories so it needs more water, Israel claims, and much water […]
I was at this year’s Urban Green Expo in New York and vastly enjoyed William McDonough’s keynote presentation. He is an architect, designer, sustainability expert (from way back), and co-guru of the visionary Cradle to Cradle framework for building and living. McDonough’s talk had several key themes: * there are no wastes, only nutrients; * […]
Today, October 5th, is World Teachers’ Day, so take a moment and thank a teacher today! World Teachers’ Day has been held annually on 5 October since 1994. The day commemorates the anniversary of the 1966 signing in the UNESCO/ILO Recommendation Concerning the Status of Teachers. The purpose of the day is to celebrate the […]
Recently, Robert Gates spoke of the danger of the existing divide between the military and the civilian population of America. He said: There is a risk over time of developing a cadre of military leaders that politically, culturally, and geographically have less and less in common with the people they have sworn to defend. Today, […]
Very nice, short piece today from CSFB (below) on what China is doing to correct the global imbalances (i.e., to reduce its trade surpluses, which mirror US and other countries’ trade deficits) and to shift its economy to a healthier foundation based on domestic demand. While President Obama gets pre-election press pressuring China’s prime minister […]
An article in the Economist last week profiled the progress that has been made on the Millennium Development Goals since 1990. The chart below shows selected targets and global progress: I was interested (though not surprised) to learn that China and India are responsible for the bulk of the progress that has been made. The article states: Take […]
I know that election-wise, most Americans are focused on the 2010 midterms, but one American is already focused on 2012: John “International-Law-Is-Not-Law” Bolton… While Bolton argues that international institutions are ineffective and threatening to U.S. interests, let Anne-Marie Slaughter give you the other side of the debate, as she explains how constraints can actually serve […]
When people tell you that ‘you can literally buy anything online’, they are not kidding! The policing of such activities is has always been difficult for the authorities, but many question the sites themselves for even allowing services of such a sexual nature to even be advertised, thus opening the door for a multitude of […]
Various sources report that dozens of Turkish journalists are jailed, and hundreds are facing trial. Chief among the reasons for so many to be jailed and facing legal action is their criticism of the government. Over 40 journalists are in jail, and over 700 more are facing lawsuits with the threat of imprisonment, according to […]
Even as voters rage and candidates put up ads against government bailouts, the reviled mother of them all — the $700 billion lifeline to banks, insurance and auto companies — will expire after Sunday at a fraction of that cost, and could conceivably earn taxpayers a profit. (From the New York Times)
Bug Out Now, says Obama…
All of this follows on the heels of revelations–more ‘leaks’– from Woodward’s soon to be published best-seller, “Obama’s Wars,” especially a specific and ‘bizarre,’ as Woodward calls it, statement by the President about the nation’s ability to ‘absorb’ another 9/11 type attack, and by inference, the inability of the US government (or any government for that matter) to safequard its citizens from the bombs, bullets, and bacteria that are terrorism’s stock-in-trade.
This documentary tackles an issue most dare not consider: what if nuclear material got into the hands of terrorists? Writer and director Ben Goddard does an excellent job of mixing new interviews with archive clips of everyone from John F. Kennedy to John McCain. Their common message? Eliminate nuclear weapons. The film revolves around the […]