Former US Ambassador Chas Freeman addressed a conference of the University of Continuing Education Association last week. Before retiring from the Foreign Service Freeman served at posts in nearly every continent and became a specialist in China. Notably, Freeman was Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm, from 1989-1992. In 1993,94, he […]
Last week I pointed out an article authored by a British academic, addressing the British public about the errs of voting for John McCain, if Britons were to take to the American polls. Also last week a French academic authored an article about the US Presidential candidates, this time addressing the American public on which candidate Europeans […]
The United Nations said Monday it had completed the panel of judges slated to oversee the prosecution of the formal investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, over three years after his Feb. 14, 2005 killing. The U.N. Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Nicolas Michel said the panel consisted of 11 judges, […]
I came across a video posted to YouTube today by a group called Media For Good. I couldn't find much about them, this is their first video, and all their profile doesn't say much. The video starts off strong. Production quality is high, and it is actually quite moving. It starts by giving poignant examples […]
Referring to the dissipating morale of the American cause, Thomas Paine wrote in the winter of 1776 that "these are the times that try men's souls." One might reflect today on Afghanistan as trying NATO's soul. President Bush envisions a new mission for NATO through Afghanistan, while some see the fissure over troops in Afghanistan […]
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed a proposal for outreach centers throughout South-East Asia to promote the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). “The new center, and its local and regional affiliates, will provide continuity for your initiatives,” he said in a video address to a meeting on achieving the MDGs held by the ASEAN in Bangkok. […]
Dith Pran, a survivor of the Khmer Rouge genocide and photojournalist for The New York Times, died Sunday of pancreatic cancer at a New Jersey hospital. He was 65. Dith worked alongside the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Sydney Schanberg to relay the story of the Cambodian atrocities to the international news media at both of their […]
Yesterday, all over the world, people turned out the lights to dramatize their concerns about global warming. See this video from the Earth Hour folks: [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/9_c5K7Jdw9E” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] See also this slideshow, courtesy of Yahoo and Reuters.
2007 WFP/Eddie Gerald News of food shortages are far from new and have now become a staple in the news headlines. Countries across the globe are working tirelessly to grapple with the the spiraling food costs. The Result of much of the cuts to save one country have left others in even more desperate situations, […]
These days the United Nations seems to be the wealthiest impoverished international bureaucracy around. This week the Washington Times’ UN correspondent Betsy Pisik reported that the UN made one final stride toward beginning a $2 billion renovation project of its headquarters in Manhattan. “The organization will shift some 1,800 employees to a Madison Avenue glass […]
I headed up to Columbia University this past week to check out the Earth Institute’s State of the Planet 08 conference. As usual, I couldn’t devote as much time as I would’ve liked to the conference sessions, but I came away with a few good insights nonetheless. Thursday, I attended a press briefing with Jeffrey […]
For the third time since the investigation into the killing of at least two dozen Iraqi civilians in the Iraqi town of Haditha in late 2005, the U.S. Marines dropped charges against one of the accused – Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum – in exchange for testimony. This leaves only the commanding officer of the group, […]
Foreign Policy In Focus, a progressive think tank based in Washington DC, published a useful article synthesizing the three US Presidential candidates positions on key foreign policy issues. The author is himself an advocate for a Presidential candidate that is engaged in foreign relations. Howard Salter is the Director of External Relations at Citizens for Global Solutions, a non-partisan think tank based […]
Nasser Ishtayeh Associated Press “The Way to School” A Palestinian schoolgirl walks carefully past an Israeli tank during clashes near her school in the West Bank town of Nablus, April 19, 2003. The right to education is all to often taken for granted, while we often complain about our child's curriculum and the lack […]
The FT reports that a large number of wealthy private philanthropists see the advantage in living like the world's poor for a week – and are willing to pay 8,000 pounds for the privledge (along with a course on how to be a better philanthropist). That's a lot of money, but the organizers say they […]