When the moon hits your eye like’a big pizza pie…that’s amore. Substitute “moon” for “man” and “that’s amore” for a significant proportion of Italian women. Exact figures on domestic violence are unknown for obvious reasons, but the more troubling occurrence of women being murdered is also not noted in official statistics. At least 127 women […]
In late July, following 28 years of authoritarian rule in Cambodia by the Prime Minister Hun Sen, citizens of the impoverished southeastern Asian state went to the polls for elections. What followed was a shocking setback: Mr. Sen’s ruling Cambodia People’s Party (CPP) saw its number of seats in the 123-seat parliament reduced from 90 […]
(With apologies to “Meet the Press,” which — oddly — hardly mentioned it) Several of last Sunday’s talk show guests pointed fingers yet again at a Russia that, in their implications, refuses to be transparent or recognize human rights. First up, the temporary asylum in Russia granted to Edward Snowden. On CBS’ “Face the Nation,” […]
The wave of protests sweeping all corners of the world has reached Thailand. What’s more: Thailand appears as the latest disturbing example of leaders imposing their will on countries even when not officially in power. Thaksin Shinawatra served as prime minister of the Asian nation from 2001-06, when he was ousted in a military coup. […]
As the developing world continues its economic expansion, it is predicted to leave the developed world in its dust in regards to increase in energy consumption over the next 25 plus years or so. Dominant forces of China and India will drive the trend, but other developing nations will continue to become major […]
Recent media excitedly report on the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) contemplation of abandoning its decades-old “one-child policy.” However, the official press agency, Xinhua, merely wrote that the PRC is still “deliberating” on studies and whether to “relax” the policy or not. Xinhua reported the spokesman for the National Family Planning Commission as maintaining that […]
Back in May I wrote about the derisively named “storm in a teacup” over the decision of the Bank of England to remove reformer Elizabeth Fry from the £5 note. Why this was controversial to some was that it meant that no women, apart from the monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, would appear on paper currency […]
The future is not what it used to be due to George P. Mitchell, the Texas wildcatter who passed away last week.* He helped usher in a new era of American dynamism by perfecting the hydraulic fracturing techniques (“fracking”) that have unlocked vast gas and oil deposits previously thought inaccessible within tightly-packed shale rock beds […]
I spent four of the most intense professional years of my life serving on the Naval Forces Central Command Staff, so I really looked forward to hearing what General James Mattis USMC (Retired), who up until a few weeks ago was the Commander, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), had to say on the last day of the […]
Malala Yousafzai requires no introduction, especially not now that the United Nations has recognized her birthday as “Malala Day,” celebrating this girl from Swat Valley, Pakistan, who has such a strong desire for knowledge that even a bullet to the head could not waiver. Addressing the United Nations on her 16th birthday, Malala said: “[t]he […]
President Obama’s trip to Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania was touted as a commitment to begin a new partnership with the rising continent. Home to 6 of the 10 fasted growing economies, Africa has made great strides – the International Monetary Fund predicts growth of 5.4 percent this year and 5.7 percent next year, but […]
As I watched the Snowden saga unfold, I found myself concerned on several levels but what frustrated me most, was the lack of balanced reporting early on. It seemed to me that much of the initial coverage was in the: “Are you still beating your wife?” tabloid type reporting. Don’t get me wrong — tabloid […]
Recently released guidelines from The World Health Organization recommend starting HIV treatment earlier- even pre-emptively-as a measure to preventing and eradicating AIDS. At the 2013 International AIDS Conference in Malaysia, WHO officials declared that earlier anti-retroviral treatment of HIV will result in retardation of the virus’s mutation, and therefore, longer life-spans. According to the World […]
More than any other nation, America helped create today’s Republic of Korea (ROK). A U.S.-led U.N. coalition defended the South following the North’s invasion in June 1950. It negotiated the terms of the armistice signed sixty years ago this month. It defended the ROK as a communist frontline through the latter half of the 20th […]
The recent international shipping scandal involving the Chong Chon Gang, a decrepit, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea-flagged (DPRK) cargo ship with a dodgy track record has raised many important questions involving contemporary issues on the international laws of international security, maritime law, human rights, and labor rights. This high-profile incident occurred not long after the […]