As President Obama heads to Russia to meet with the new and not so new Russian leadership to discuss nuclear arms control treaties, The New York Times offers this glimpse of the President’s vision for a nuclear-free world. I wanted to highlight this report because I’m rather interested in why the idea of a nuclear-free […]
On Friday the African Union (AU) announced it will not co-operate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in enforcing its March decision to charge Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir with war crimes and crimes against humanity. Under the Rome Statute establishing the court, any party to the statute is required to arrest al-Bashir if he enters […]
This past week at the UN-backed Tribunal in Cambodia, survivors of the Khmer Rouge’s infamous Tuol Sleng ‘S-21’ facility gave chilling accounts of the tortures they endured and witnessed – and in two cases, how their artwork saved them. The testimony comes as part of the trial of the former head of internal security and […]
Disarmament doesn’t usher in a safer world, arming with the right armaments, defensive armaments, does. […]
I want to mark July 4th, Independence Day for Americans, by noting a few good renewable energy stories. There are scores of these stories, all over the world, every week, and I’m just sharing what I think are some of the plums that I’ve been seeing. Renewables are a theme I’ve visited here time and […]
Today we Americans gather and celebrate as a nation, our independence our freedom, taking pride in our country and our history. We honor those who have fought and died to give us the ability to walk this land without fear of persecution. A nation built on the back of injustice, a nation with dark slave […]
A friend forwarded me an e-mail, one of those that are making the rounds as the Independence Day holiday nears, you may have also received it. The subject is “The Price They Paid,” and it describes the high price that the signers of the Declaration of Independence paid for their rebellion. It relates what we […]
A former defense investigator at the Rwanda Tribunal’s trial of Jean de Dieu Kamuhanda, Léonidas Nshogoza, was found guilty of contempt yesterday and sentenced to 10 months imprisonment for repeatedly meeting with and disclosing protected information about two witnesses. Although this was a much different offense than that of another former defense investigator, Joseph Nzabirinda, […]
I’ve written several times about the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate (MEF) convened by President Obama to seriously address the critical international negotiations this year. Most of the governments that contribute 80% of the total GHG emissions have been engaged since April in extensive discussions. The leaders of the MEF countries will be […]
Americans are a stubborn lot. We resist change and even the most minor of inconveniences. And I suspect the newly emerging ‘Cap & Trade’ schemes under the American Clean Energy & Security Act — also known as the Waxman-Markey bill — just passed in the House, and now being hotly debated in the Senate, will […]
Today, a tale about what journalism has become, with implications for all those concerned with the weakening firewall between “news” and “message.” It’s a tale of two Posts — Washington and Huffington. A revolution is underway in the news media, one neatly illustrated by how these two competitive news gathering organizations — the Washington Post […]
We often give children little input into matters of foreign affairs, politics or human rights, however children are the most observant and astute and regardless of weather or not we teach them about the world or not, they are watching and learning. Recently I was sitting around with my friends son, who is the ripe […]
Why did we go to Vietnam? What did we do there? And what did going there do to us? Those are the questions asked by “Hearts and Minds” director Peter Davis. At first glance, “Hearts and Minds” is pure anti-war propaganda. Upon subsequent viewing, however, it shows itself to be a truly hands-off approach to […]
I want to flag four important major reports on the impacts from climate change. Three of these came out in June, the third a few months back. What all four do is underscore the urgency of our situation. As you know, the Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change came out […]
Demonstrating their global reach, Brazil, Russia, India and China are improving ties with Africa. The BRICs are looking to gain influence, friends, access to raw materials and export markets. Standard Bank of South Africa is publishing a “BRIC in Africa” series focusing on the new players in Africa (the initial report was released in May […]