With the U.S.-Russian strategic arms limitation treaty heading for Senate debate at a time of political troubles for Obama, it’s time to be absolutely clear: The New START treaty deserves to be ratified promptly, both for its own sake and so as to clear the way for more significant arms control diplomacy. A modest agreement […]
A few months ago, I discussed how China’s dominance of the global rare earths market threatens the ability of the U.S. to become a green technology leader. Now it seems that American steelworker unions are petitioning the U.S. government to open talks with China on the matter, and they are requesting that the Obama Administration […]
The situation in Haiti is quietly, exhaustedly unstable. People I talk to in camps complain of flooding when it rains, and children get fevers and diarrhea for lack of clean water. Port-au-Prince has never had universal potable water, but now that over a million people are homeless and unemployed, many cannot afford to buy clean […]
And likewise, the Iraq War is still not over. Earlier this week, reports came out about the first U.S. combat operation since U.S. combat operations in Iraq ended. Such stories will continue, even after the withdrawal of the remaining so-called “advise-and-assist brigades” in 2011. As the New York Times reported last month, in 2011, the […]
UN takes up MDGs as 2015 deadline looms Governments around the world are looking to forge agreement on a strategy for the last five years before the Millennium Development Goals deadline amid projections that none of the poverty, health or education milestones will be reached. “The final five years of the goals are going to […]
You may have heard that a Florida minister is planning to hold a a Quran-burning protest this weekend. Many prominent Americans have weighed in and encouraged the minister to cancel his event, including Gen. David Petraeus, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and even President Obama. The general is concerned for the safety of our men and women […]
That’s the title of this special report from the Financial Times. (You can register for free for limited monthly access to the FT online. It’s worth it. See also their many RSS feeds. I subscribe to “Energy Source,” a highly useful blog.) There are articles here on adaptation to climate change, dealing with the critical […]
Yesterday I was fortunate enough to be invited to the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars to a welcome reception for former President of Botswana Festus Mogae, who has joined the center for 4 months as a visiting scholar. This was pretty exciting for me, given the Botswana connection, though, I didn’t really know what […]
Machiavelli, more than any thinker in history, made his name synonymous with a type of human behavior — self-interested, cunning, ruthless. He wrote about ancient Rome as well as Italy and the Mediterranean world of the 15th-16th centuries, extolling such leaders as Ferdinand of Aragon, the successful king of Spain who oversaw his empire’s aggrandizement, as well […]
The making of this film is more interesting than the film itself. The makers solicited many non actors to star in this movie about the realities facing the people of Ajami, a neighborhood in Jaffa which is home to Jews, Muslims, and Christians. The film is very much like a documentary in part because of […]
As William Sweet of FPA Arms Control and Proliferation noted last week, India’s parliament approved a key portion of the U.S.-India nuclear pact but altered the deal to leave open the possibility of holding nuclear suppliers liable for damages resulting from accidents. This was the Bhopal tragedy rearing its ugly head, as Sweet notes. This […]
Fitch Ratings today published a press release revising the “Outlook” on its “BBB” rating of Russian government bonds to positive from stable (see a Fitch press release below). Rating agencies – Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch – have been under fire since their high structured real estate ratings were downgraded rapidly during the recent financial […]
In the fall of 2007, Australians threw out the government that had been dragging its feet on action on climate change for years. The first thing that Kevin Rudd, the new Prime Minister, did was to sign the Kyoto Protocol. Australians had been experiencing the crush of drought and heat and were more than ready […]
The NYTimes published an editorial yesterday which debated the practice of allowing unsupervised, yet highly trained nurses to provide anesthesia care. California recently joined 14 other states in allowing the practice; Colorado is set to approve it as well. The cost savings are clear: In the long run, there also could be savings to the health care […]
Read Bill Easterly’s piece in the WSJ here about “Famine and Foreigners.” I mentioned this book earlier as one I’m looking forward to reading. To Amazon!