Yesterday I wrote about US Secretary of State Clinton’s statements from last week explaining her concern that China, Russia and Iran are seeking to gain influence in Latin America. One example of Iran’s growing clout in the region was this week’s planned trip by President Ahmadinejad to Brazil and other nations in the region. It […]
Al Jazeera has published a “breaking news” report about the evangelical Christians serving in the U.S. military in Afghanistan. Of course – as Mike Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said, the U.S. Army is not intentionally involved in “promoting religion.” On the other hand, and as the media is now […]
The following was originally published by the author on Sunday, May 3rd, 2009, on the Examiner, in a follow-up to the piece posted Wednesday, April 29th, 2009, The United States and The Rights of the Child, the debate on the United States has heated-up once again. US opponents of the UN Convention on the Rights […]
Friday was an important day in U.S. domestic politics. Supreme Court Justice David Souter informed the White House that he would be stepping down when the court term ends in June. This provides an opportunity for President Obama to appoint a new justice who will shape the direction of the high court for years to […]
A recent analysis of China’s media censorship practices deftly analyzes and explains the country’s system of repression and control of the media by using the threat of economically punishment. The piece, published on May 2 in the Far Eastern Economic Review, is aptly titled “China’s Commercialization of Censorship“. The piece not only explains how China […]
Democracies with weak and/or fragmented party systems seem to produce sub-optimal public policies, including heavy government debt burdens. From Israel to India, Italy to Japan, Brazil to Belgium, governing coalitions held together by paying off key constituencies have yielded chronic deficits and high debt. By contrast, countries with a small number of strong political parties […]
Watchdog gives World Bank mixed review on health The World Bank’s HIV/AIDS programs have failed to produce satisfactory results during the past decade, with the worst performances in Africa, where the disease is most heavily concentrated, according to an internal Bank review. Complicated program design and limited government capabilities hampered the HIV/AIDS efforts, and the […]
Results of bank stress tests by the government are due this Thursday, May 7. According to the most recent reports about pending results of the Federal Reserves “stress test” to determine the soundness (or lack thereof) of bank balance sheets, at least six of the 19 largest U.S. banks will require additional capital. In particular, analysts note, two of the largest […]
On Friday, T Boone Pickens entitled an article “Swimming in Natural Gas” playing off a similar quote from the Wall Street Journal. (It is also sounds similar to, er, my coulumn I wrote last month that the world is swimming in oil as stocks had increased driving down the price of oil.) In his piece, […]
The Lebanese are told to kiss their kiss on the cheek greeting goodbye. As Health Minister Mohammad Khalifeh put it, “If you visit someone, don’t exchange kisses… Let’s stop the social kissing habit.” The Egyptian government takes U.N.’s “it has nothing to do with pigs” advice to heart by ordering the slaughter of all of […]
Obama’s appearance at the 5th Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago 2 weeks ago was largely viewed as a diplomatic coup. There, the American President reassured his neighbors to the south that the US wants to work as a productive “partner”. No discussion was brought up concerning China’s business ventures in Ecuador, Venezuela, […]
Africa’s colonial history, present state of being and promising future is the subject of a new book, Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles. African journalist and author Richard Dowden discusses his book, which focuses on sub-Saharan Africa. He also weighs in on the “Frontier” Markets, Trade and foreign investment opportunities in African nations such as Nigeria and Ghana, among others; as well as the political climate in nations, such as Zimbabwe.
The past week has seen an armada of reports on President Obama’s first 100 days in office. Nicholas Kristof has this brief, but challenging column, suggesting in light of the myriad global crises, the Administration has not done enough about Darfur. Meanwhile, Kevin Heller notes that at least one African leader is finally starting to […]
So often the world sits idly by, watching ethnic conflicts flare up, as if these were mere entertainment rather than human beings whose lives are being destroyed. Shouldn’t the existence of even one single refugee be a cause for alarm throughout the world? – Urkhan Alakbarov (Azerbaijani geneticist, Professor and contributor to a number of […]
Hudson Institute released the Index of Global Philanthropy and Remittances for 2009. The full report and executive summary are available. Once again, the Index shows that Remittances are a larger percentage of U.S. Economic Engagement in Developing Countries than Official Development Assistance and Private Philanthropy. Private capital flows are slightly higher. The Index confirms that […]