Whilst ‘growing up’ is admirable and desirable, ‘getting old’ is often framed in a more negative light. What words come to mind when you think about the elderly? Frailty, weakness, health problems? A burden to society? Or rather politically engaged, motivated and experienced? It is now these latter qualities that are a cause for concern […]
As election season approaches, American voters’ beliefs about foreign policy issues are increasingly clear. According to a recent Pew “Public Priorities” survey, voters’ concerns about the economy trump all other concerns, with 86 percent of Americans classifying the economy as “a ‘top priority’ for the president and Congress this year” as opposed to 68 percent […]
Like after a good first date, expectations can get a little out of hand when it comes burgeoning alliances between states. In the late 90’s relations between the US and India began to thaw (agreed to date), through the 2000s, as the two sides’ interests began to mold so did their relationship (going steady), and […]
A series published in The Lancet last Wednesday found that adolescents today face greater risks to their physical and mental health than in the past. The success of childhood survival programs and a greater focus on children’s health means that more youths are entering adolescence. Although this is clearly outstanding news, it means that the programmatic […]
A study, Extreme Weather, Climate & Preparedness in the American Mind, just out from the excellent Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and its partner, the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication, purports that “A large majority of Americans believe that global warming made several high profile extreme weather events worse…” Coverage in […]
Charles Taylor, the former President of Liberia, has been convicted by an international tribunal in the Hague for aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sierra Leone. Ten years after the cessation of violence there, Sierra Leone, now a democracy, is still a dismembered place: its youth has been wasted, its resources […]
In a recent article written for The Economist, the hardships facing many Yemenis, mostly due to malnutrition, are being brought to light on a country that is often hesitant to ask for help. Even before 2011 when recent tribulations involving the military and local factions broke out, the conditions facing the population were already dramatic. […]
It’s an interesting time to be in Russia. As democracy goes, the country seems to be going backwards and forwards at the same time. The holding of free and fair elections is widely considered one of the hallmarks of a stable democracy. Here Russia seems to be struggling. In March Vladimir Putin won a […]
If you have not read Mona Eltahawy’s article, “Why Do They Hate Us?” published in the new edition of Foreign Policy – go do it now. Maybe the Aztec prophecy that the end of the world is nigh is encouraging people to speak up, maybe enough is simply enough; whatever the reason, this week sees […]
If the reality comes anywhere close to matching the hype, then the speeding of Russia’s national decline and the revival of America’s ideological authority will be among the transformative effects As an earlier post suggested, the dramatic rise in U.S. natural gas production is one large reason why fears about America’s strategic decline may well […]
I wrote yesterday about the ridiculous inconsistency of the Administration’s response first, to the DPRK’s failed launch and second, to the non-response to the Indian Agni V launch shortly thereafter. Well, it seems I’m not alone. Enter Walter Pincus, Columnist for the Washington Post. Writing yesterday in a piece entitled Washington Double-Talk on Nukes, Pincus […]
The Office of The Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court issued a statement today announcing that it is following developments in Mali after reports of possible crimes against humanity: Mali ratified the Rome Statute on 16 August 2000. Therefore, in accordance with Rome Statute provisions, the International Criminal Court has jurisdiction over possible war […]
image lifted from http://cdnnews.onepakistan.com Pakistan and the United States of America may seem like polar opposites, but when you push aside the semantics, you’ll find the same people everywhere: insecure, intolerant, injudicious and irrational. In Pakistan: The Domestic Violence Bill was first proposed in the Senate in 2009 and has since been lying dormant and the […]
While the ruckus over the failed DPRK missile test cum-satellite launch continues to linger, another non-NPT country recently followed suit with its own test. But this time, the uproar, well, didn’t happen. Or at least, that’s what the media wish us to believe. Here is what the NYT reported after Thursday’s test: “The United States, […]
Postage stamps commemorating the “successful” delivery into orbit of North Korea’s two satellites, Kwangmyongsong-1 (1998) and Kwangmyongsong-2 (2009) Nearly five months have passed since I last evaluated the situation in North Korea, making predictions and recommendations on how the United States should proceed with the nascent “Kim 3.0.” All those months ago, I argued […]