I wrote here recently about what the initial stakes of various big players are for Copenhagen. Lord Nicholas Stern, author of the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, and one of the world’s leading experts on the economics of climate change and energy, says, in this “FT” op-ed piece yesterday, that with what’s […]
Robert Art’s America’s Grand Strategy and World Politics, published earlier this year, is a collection of essays on U.S. grand strategy that Art wrote over the past couple decades. In one essay, “U.S. Foreign Policy and the Fungibility of Force,” Art states: …[M]y goal is to show that arguments about the severely diminished utility of […]
Copenhagen climate conference opened today. 1) Mayor of Kabul sentenced to four years for corruption. 2) Russia and India signed a nuclear agreement. 3) Iraq election law dispute resolved—for now. 4) Somalis are protesting the brutal bombing last week that killed three government ministers along with medical school graduates and their families. Al Shabbab, the […]
When I was growing up in India, the U.S. Information Services used to serve as ambassadors of American culture, ideas, and ideals. That entire approach to diplomacy was shuttered after the Cold War and even after 9/11 remains moribund. — Fareed Zakaria, “The Post-American World” Since 9/11, the U.S. military for the first time has […]
Following the shocking, graphic, and horrific accounts of the murders of dozens of people in late November in the Philippines–31 of whom were journalists–advocacy groups are rallying for justice. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is calling for a global day of solidarity for the 31 journalists murdered in the Philippines. The Global Day of […]
In case you haven’t heard, the United Nations Climate Change Conference began in Copenhagen today. This morning I woke up to find my RSS feed bursting with related news and “101” tutorials. By 6:00 AM, I already had a few emails from my colleagues in Denmark, well in to the day, excited to share their […]
As part of the ongoing, comprehensive coverage that the “Financial Times” has been devoting to the issue of climate change, including of the Copenhagen conference, here is a truly terrific and most informative interactive graphic depicting several levels of how carbon dioxide emissions are calculated, by country total and per capita, by individual year and […]
This comes via Mark Overmann at the Alliance for International Education and Cultural Exchange: President Obama announced Friday his intent to nominate Ann Stock as the Assistant Secretary at the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Department of State. Stock’s nomination appears on the Senate record, and was also reported by the Chicago Sun-Times and by the Washington […]
The global economic recession has had mixed effects on migration. In some cases it led to clear decreases in remittance-sending, while many migrants also lost their jobs. In the United States, for example, a large number of immigrants worked in low-skilled industries such as construction, where available jobs dropped precipitously after the collapse of the […]
Its that time of year again to give back and what isn’t a better way to give than to take a chance on freedom and a fantastic rug. The GoodWeave™ Program to End Child Labor is running it’s 8th Annual Rug Raffle, which is quickly coming to an end, so get your ticket before its […]
Last Sunday, Swiss voters opted to legally ban the construction of any new minarets in the country. Since then, the topic has been debated online and in the media, with plenty of analysis by people on both sides of the ban on what the minaret ban is really about, or what minarets are really about. […]
Last spring, I attended an event about the new positive resource contracts of Liberia, held at Revenue Watch, an international NGO which seeks transparency in the finances of governments with natural resources. During the Q & A, a man got up to congratulate a Liberian official there, and to pray that in his own country, […]
Starting this week, the rough schedule for this blog will follow something along these lines: On Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday, I’ll be accumulating some of the most interesting editorials in foreign newspapers, and linking them here. Too often we look at the world through an American-centric view. Especially with a topic of Transitional States, it […]
You may have been hearing about the contretemps regarding emails to and from the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) of the University of East Anglia. I have no particular desire now, frankly, to get into all the allegations, counter-allegations, etc., etc. that have been flying around in the news, the blogosphere and beyond. There is a […]
“People Want Action on Climate Change” – That’s the conclusion of a poll out this week that was commissioned by the World Bank and carried out by WorldPublicOpinion.org. The press release says “People signaled they would support public measures to limit greenhouse gas emissions and step up adaptation measures.” The report on the poll, Public […]