If you read only one book about Iraq and Afghanistan this year, make it “The Forever War”, by New York Times foreign correspondent Dexter Filkins. It is full of insightful, lyrical vignettes about the war in Iraq from 2003 to 2006, when Filkins was living there and reporting for the Times. It also includes about forty pages about Afghanistan just prior to the beginning of the war in Iraq.
Our friend Patrick Frost from the Afghanistan FPA blog has done a very interesting post on Great Power Politics, ranking the world’s “Great Powers” in terms of their power, economy, resources, ideology and state strength. According to the top 10 rankings, the US comes out ahead, but China appears to be giving Washington quite a […]
It is impossible to exaggerate the recklessness and danger brought about by Pakistan’s decision to acquiesce the Swat Valley to Taliban authorities. Superficially, the transfer of power is bad for Pakistan as a nation, South Asia as a region, and the worldwide effort against Islamic fundamentalism. In the grand scheme, however, the new region does […]
The United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released its Crop Prospects and Food Situation report on February 12th with some sobering findings. The report cites the presence of acute food shortages in 32 countries around the world and predicts a potentially disastrous fall in global cereal production. This UN News Centre press release highlights […]
The SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) has grown in prominence during the past several years as a regional counterweight to NATO. Comprised of China, Russia, and 4 of the “Stans” (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan), the SCO was formed in 1996 with the signing of the Treaty on Deepening Military Trust in Border Regions. The organization […]
The Hamas-affiliated Palestinian Information Center recently released ‘PalTube’, a YouTube-like video hosting service featuring various media content dealing with the recent Gaza crisis and its aftermath. This includes ‘foreign’ media, most notably that dealing with the white phosphorous issue, as well as a speech by controversial British MP George Galloway at a rally denouncing the […]
Kudos to the Administration for passing a Stimulus bill that, both in voice and in funds, supports volunteerism and community activism. While I’m still not sold or sure of the government’s increasing presence in the sector (i.e. Office of Social Innovation), its not being overdone…yet. The combination between improvements in public diplomacy and philanthropy by the government […]
The true costs of the Global Gag Rule may never be known. But it’s done with for now thanks to President Obama who reversed it in January. Two hundred and fifty health and human rights organizations from around the world sent him a signed letter of thanks. Poor reproductive health is the leading cause of […]
As the violence in the Congo continues, so does the continual rape of women and girls. With limited resources the fight to aid those victimized by rape is a battle all its own, however it is an endless battle that Dr. Denis Mukwege and his staff at Panzi hospital in Bukavu vow to continue to wage daily. Sadly […]
The ‘Finance and Economics’ section of the February 12 issue of the Economist magazine contains a compelling article that draws parallels between the current U.S. banking crisis and similar experiences by other rich nations — and more specifically in comparison to Japan’s experience. To paraphrase, history, it says, offers a rich array of banking crises […]
http://www.economist.com/ The daily rag-of-choice for the G-8 mindset as far as mainstream global business and economic thinking goes. Typically sardonic and decidedly critical and pessimistic in outlook about most global economic thinking falling outside of the status-quo, but it stays abreast of critical world economic developments.
http://www.rgemonitor.com/ This is Nouriel Roubini’s Global Economic Monitor website. It’s the shizzle as far as global economic and market intelligence websites go. It’s a subscription site, but you can still get objective insight and perspective on global markets from the lead-ins.
“It’s the hottest day of the summer. You can do nothing, you can do something, or you can…” That’s what the poster for this 1989 Spike Lee joint says. “Do the right thing.” It’s what sustainability is all about. The “FT” answers the question Why sustainability is still going strong. Many are saying the worldwide […]
President Obama & PM Stephen Harper of Canada. Many, yet, do not grasp the intrinsic connection between the economy, global financial Markets and foreign policy. If ever there were a great example of ‘Economic Foregin Policy’ at work, it was displayed today in President Obama’s first foreign trip to visit our northern neighbor, Canada. The […]
On February 19th, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) program PM aired a segment on a new United Nations report examining the global food crisis. In the piece, ABC interviewed food policy experts about the causal factors of the recent food crisis, including population growth, urbanization, climate change, and the development of biofuels. The experts are also asked […]