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The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World

The Japan Society of New York will be hosting an as-advertised “sold out” event tonight, May 12 with the author of The Blue Sweater, Jacqueline Novogratz. According to the Japan Society, the gist of the event’s focus is: Imagine a world where everyone has access to water, housing, health services and energy. That is the […]

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Governments Hold Strings To Global Markets

Governments Hold Strings To Global Markets

The fact that government regulators are frimly in control of capital markets is true not only in the U.S., but in fact that reality is de pase in most other developed markets around the world.

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China Floats Carbon Tax Plan as a Means to Curb Emissions

The Chinese government is considering imposing a pro rata carbon tax on coal and fossil fuels such as gasoline, jet fuel, and natural gas, Finance Ministry official Su Ming has told the country’s state-run media. For the past year, 20 experts from seven different government agencies have been investigating the development and implementation of a […]

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Technology hitches and glitches remind us of what we take for granted

Technology hitches and glitches remind us of what we take for granted

The last week and a half has brought with it all the trials and tribulations of modern conveniences and technology.  First a complete phone malfunction, then our web server appeared with some hitches and glitches, then to top it off my laptop got a virus which just seems irremovable for any point of time longer […]

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Are People Happy in the Rising Powers?

Are People Happy in the Rising Powers?

Among residents of the BRIC nations, Brazilians are the happiest, followed by Russians, whereas the Chinese are the least happy, followed by the Indians, according to a recent OECD report.

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WTO: Trade is not to blame

The World Trade Organization’s (WTO) chief countered the perception put forward by development experts that the international food trade was key to the recent global food crisis. Speaking at the International Food and Agricultural Trade Policy Council conference in Austria, Pascal Lamy, the Director General of the World Trade Organization, rebuffed the idea put forward […]

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The Big Speech

Barack Obama soon will make his second overseas trip as President, visiting Egypt, Germany and France.  Although Obama differs from his predecessors in many respects, some things are true of any Presidential visit to a foreign country.  The people at the White House who plan the trip want to set a theme, they want a […]

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Unverified Information Dominating Pakistan News

The crisis in western Pakistan has heavily dominated the news in the past week, and rightly so. But there’s a huge hole in the story–the media is not allowed to go to the wild Swat Valley region where much of this story is happening. So, the media and people paying attention to this important story […]

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"Enjoy Poverty"

Enjoy Poverty is a disturbing 80 minute film that attempts to expose and lay bare the inherent viciousness of poverty’s status quo.  It draws parallels between the economics of poverty and the psychology of western consumption and aid. It attempts to symbolize the perversity of our own societies, the dramas and the obscure fascination we have with death.  […]

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South Asia Heating Up…

South Asia Heating Up…

The temperature in South Asia, often sweltering, has heated up over the last week.  Read a selection of news reports below. With the peace deal between the government of Pakistan and the Taliban in tatters and pressure on Pakistani President Zardari from Holbrooke and Co. getting heavy, the Pakistani armed forces launched attacks in recent days on the […]

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2009 White House Correspondents' Dinner

There are many things that are wrong with the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner. For one, how do Tyra Banks and Jim Cramer qualify as White House correspondents? Comedian Wanda Sykes hosted this year’s schmoozing extravaganza. She had her moments but adopted some of the tactics of Rush Limbaugh, whose kidneys she had wished to […]

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The Truth About Bank 'Stress Tests'

  Once again, comics and the artisans of comedy are the best truth-tellers.  The Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart proved brialliant earlier this year in calling-out CNBC’s so-called “ahead of the curve” financial “news” personalities for their abscense of accountability in the lede up to the banking crisis and the global economic crisis that followed.  Now, Saturday Night Live (SNL) deadpanned U.S. […]

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A CEO wants a tax for the use of his product?

A CEO wants a tax for the use of his product?

Chevron CEO David O’Reilly spoke out last week against the Administration’s plan to use a cap and trade system to limit carbon emissions. His stance against US policy is nothing new. from a policy standpoint, America has been moving in the wrong direction for a very long time. He further outlines his list of grudges […]

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Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day

Mother’s Day is a day to celebrate the women who gives us life, the women who raise us and while one things there is only one mother for each child, they are often not one in the same.  Many women unselfishly give up their children, so that another can give their child the life they […]

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New Missile Defense for Russia

New Missile Defense for Russia

This weekend Russia unveiled its new missile defense system as part of a military parade to celebrate Victory Day (WWII) in Moscow.  Put on show around Red Square was the S-400 missile defense system, which many in Russia consider to be a counterweight to American Patriot missiles.  President Dimitry Medvedev spoke at the event, stating: […]

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