I wrote last month about some exciting activities coming up, including the Brita Climate Ride. In Washington this week, the State Department is hosting meetings of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate (MEF). (See my posts related to the MEF.) US Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern is leading the US delegation. […]
As the United Nations headquarters in New York prepares to host what is being hailed as the largest General Assembly gathering to date, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is disseminating a report designed to call attention to the plight of the world’s working poor. Mr. Ban prepared a report entitled “Voices of the Vulnerable,” and today […]
Michel Bagaragaza officially plead guilty to Genocide today at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. He had reportedly entered a plea deal last year with the prosecution ahead of his trial this month. Bagaragaza was head of OCIR-Tea which controlled the tea industry of Rwanda and used this position to facilitate Genocide against ethnic Tutsis […]
Moment Magazine, where I am the senior editor, just launched the first in a multi-part series on Israel’s Arab citizens. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the most covered conflicts in the world. But there is little media attention given to Israel’s one million Arab citizens, in spite of disturbing calls on the far Israeli […]
This film is being shown in more than 550 cinemas and more than 45 countries on September 21 and September 22. Go here to see if it’s playing near you. ‘The Age of Stupid’ is the new cinema documentary from the Director of ‘McLibel’ and the Producer of the Oscar-winning ‘One Day in September’. [kml_flashembed […]
The Federal Reserve chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, speaking at a Brookings Institute Conference, said Tuesday that it was “very likely” that the recession had ended although he cautioned that it could be months before unemployment rates dropped significantly.
You cannot imagine a stronger mix of religion and politics than the news out of Iran today. According to the LA Times, Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has been prevented from leading the Friday Prayers in Tehran on the occasion of Quds Day. The alleged reformist leaders are being warned to avoid protesting tomorrow, and […]
Pittsburgh, PA will host the next G-20 Summit slated for Thursday & Friday, September 24-25th, 2009. President Obama will chair this meeting of leaders from countries around the world who represent 85% of the global economy. At the Pittsburgh G-20 Summit, leaders will review the progress made since the London Summits, recent protectionist measures between the U.S and China over tires, auto parts and chicken exports, and discuss further actions to assure a sound and sustainable economic recovery from the global financial and economic crisis.
Guatemalan soldiers sold children in war Guatemalan soldiers forcibly abducted and sold hundreds of children for foreign adoption during the country’s prolonged civil war, a Guatemalan government report charges. When Guatemala’s war ended in 1996, the country was second only to China in the number of international adoptions. Obama Unshackles Global AIDS Work The administration […]
Last week I got a surprising email from a close friend and fellow journalist–someone by the name of Christian Poveda had been murdered in El Salvador. My friend knew Mr. Poveda years back while reporting on the conflicts in the 80’s in El Salvador and Nicaragua. In more recent years, Poveda had been doing controversial […]
After the fall of Baghdad in 2003, chaos and lawlessness prevailed. How and why that happened is what this documentary tries – convincingly – to explain. Through interview after interview, director Charles Ferguson shows how mistakes were made in the highest levels of the United States government. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/vINM0CAysc8″ width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] Former Deputy […]
Admiral Mike Mullen said yesterday that he anticipates more troops will be needed in Afghanistan: Admiral Mullen, called before the Senate Armed Services Committee to testify for his nomination to serve a second term as chairman, said that no specific request for more troops had yet been received from Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the senior […]
On Monday, BBC News reported from Aceh province in Indonesia that a new law was passed to make adultery punishable by stoning to death. According to the BBC report, “Sharia law was partially introduced in Aceh in 2001, as part of a government offer to pacify separatist rebels.” Now, the regional parliament for Aceh has […]
Today, after a much-anticipated wait, U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus laid out a health care reform plan. One of the key features of this plan is that it would prohibit private insurance companies from denying insurance to people because of preexisting conditions that they may have, and from discriminating against them because of […]
In the past couple of weeks, the International Crisis Group, which monitors and comments on conflict situations around the world, has been focusing on the African country of Chad. Chad is neighbor to Sudan and starting point of what had been one of the most anticipated oil pipelines in history. ICG’s recommendations ask Chad’s government […]