This is smart analysis. The obsession with the idea of an Afghan surge just doesn’t make sense to me. Why are we focusing on the major urban areas in Afghanistan, when 3/4 of the population lives in rural areas? Safe haven myths aside, wouldn’t an ‘urban’-centric COIN policy leave basically the vast majority of Aghanistan […]
As I hinted at in my last post, the spate of violence in Pakistan can actually be seen as a good thing (the wanton death and destruction aside). This piece in today’s New York Times demonstrates that Pakistan is facing the prospect that “the Taliban, Al Qaeda and militant groups once nurtured by the government […]
Plant scientist Dr. Gebisa Ejeta was awarded the 2009 World Food Prize for his development of drought resistant sorghum seeds, which have helped African farmers increase their crop yield. The $250,000 prize is awarded each year by the World Food Prize Foundation, which was established by Norman Borlaug, known as the “Father of the Green […]
October 16th is World Food Day, an opportunity for education and action on food issues, both globally and locally. Throughout the past year, the Global Food Crisis blog has posted about a variety of issues including the security, availability, safety, trade and organizations that deal with food. We invite you to mark World Food Day […]
Months after Iran made headlines for human rights violations following the presidential elections in June, Iran is making headlines again. Earlier this week Amnesty International condemned the execution of a 21 year old convict who was just 17 when he was accused of murder. He is the third juvenile offender to be executed in Iran […]
One heart-warming story I have been following has been the epic international showdown between the IRS and the Swiss banking giant UBS. Until recently, if you were to ask any American to name a “good” country, Switzerland would probably have come to mind first, because of its role in World War II. More recent events […]
I am a true believer in the old saying that “laughter is the best medicine”, when I am down or just having one of those high stress days I pull a face or just do a crazy dance and the world suddenly seems right again. Laughter is truly a saving grace in many cases, and […]
In a strange legal loophole, American companies—including those that receive government contracts such as Halliburton—can require their employees to sign contracts waiving their right to bring a civil trial against fellow employees that rape or otherwise sexually assault them. This egregious loophole was first spotlighted when Jamie Leigh Jones, a former contractor for one-time […]
How will the world become more unified in the next ten years? The Stanley Foundation edited a book to investigate the “paths by which nine powerful nations, a regional union of 27 states, and a multinational corporation could all emerge as constructive stakeholders in a strengthened rules-based international order.” This Monday, the New America Foundation […]
Who do you call when you need to reach Europe? Merkel? Sarkozy? Brown? Barroso? There is no one leader of Europe. Instead of a single voice, it has 27 competing voices. It’s always been a question, and some argue that it limits Europe’s global reach. If the Lisbon treaty is ratified, there could soon be […]
The cover story of this week’s Economist argues that “it is time for the world’s biggest economy to rise from its slumber and play a global role.” Although the Lisbon treaty – and its likely ratification – does not signal an obvious emergence of a European superpower, it provokes the questions, “Will Europe wake up […]
For the last eight years, Pakistan has been playing a double-game. Despite considerable US pressure, Pakistan declined to totally give up Al-Qaeda and allied Taliban militants, who had been long supported and used by the Pakistani Army and intelligence services as regional proxies against India. As long as the militants stayed out of the business […]
Another important meeting taking place during World Food Week is the World Food Prize symposium taking place in Des Moines, Iowa. With leaders from business and government agencies, the symposium has been discussing how public-private partnerships can increase sustainable production of food. Read more about the proceedings of today’s symposium by reading or watching online.
There’s a great front-page article at the “NY Times” today about how three trillion cubic feet of methane leak into the air every year, much of it from oil and gas operations, and how some companies are attempting to stem the tide of leaks. The article says “This amount has the warming power of emissions […]
Every day is action day on climate change for this blog, but the good folks at Change.org and The Alliance for Climate Protection are sponsoring an international event today, Blog Action Day, that hopes to unite the blogosphere to discuss, promote and move folks to action to help avert climate catastrophe. (Clean and renewable energy, sane […]