So the National League for Democracy (NLD) of Myanmar achieved a dramatic victory in recent parliamentary elections. Its polarizing leader, Aung San Suu Kyi (she’s the one on the cell phone in the picture above), will now be part of the government that kept her under house arrest for about 15 years. Reforms introduced by […]
Nikkei.com and Dow Jones Newswires reported referring to a press conference on Thursday by Japan’s government spokesman Mr. Fujimura that four Cabinet ministers in charge of deciding whether to restart the country’s idled nuclear plants will meet to discuss putting reactors at the Oi plant in western Japan (Fukui prefecture) back online. These four ministers […]
I wanted to note some follow-up discussion to material that I have flagged here recently at the blog. The first was my post On the Denialists from March 2nd. The NY Review of Books has printed a reply to William Nordhaus’s refutation of the claims of the climate denialists, that I discussed at earlier post. […]
As promised, here are my thoughts and reflections on the 2012 Security Jam. First of all, over this weeklong discussion, the numbers have been quite impressive with over 15.000 logins, 3.000 posts, and experts from 110 countries. These facts give an idea of the extent and depth of the discussions taking place in the eight […]
My colleague Andreas Persbo, the director of the UK-based VERTIC, has recently highlighted the existence of a very useful resource provided by the IAEA. The page, which includes a newly-released document entitled Guidance for States Implementing Comprehensive Safeguards Agreements, helps to shed light on the ” how, what, when and why of practical safeguards implementation”. While […]
This post originally appeared on CIVIC From the Field I’ve been in Jalalabad this week, in eastern Afghanistan, where people are very concerned about their safety and future. One doctor told me, “When I leave in the morning, I am not sure I will see my son again.” Civilians live in fear of roadside bombs, […]
Meningococcal disease, or meningitis, is a bacterial infection of the meninges, or lining around the brain and spinal cord. If left untreated, it has a 50% mortality rate, and it spreads most easily through crowded areas where people are in close and prolonged contact, from college dorms to informal settlements. Meningococcal disease can result in severe, permanent […]
Huff Post draws attention today to an interview on the subject of the Iranian nuclear dilemma that Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman did with the daily Yedioth Ahronoth on March 18. In it, amazingly, the hard-right, ultra-nationalistic Lieberman said: “If, God forbid, a war with Iran breaks out, it will be a nightmare. And we […]
It’s getting hot in Mali. Every day this week Timbuktu temperatures will top 100 degrees (F). This is typical for the season in the land-locked Saharan country, but a drought that has been building for months means Malians will feel the heat more than ever. Even before the coup, the rebellion, the sanctions, Malians […]
In a second post on global health news for this week, U.S. President Barack Obama’s budget request for next year has reduced funding for neglected tropical diseases. This decrease may have wide-reaching effects on one-sixth of the world’s population. Additionally, a writer tells his story of life in a serodiscordant relationship and navigating the American health care […]
In post one of two on global health news this week, a new study found that malaria prevention efforts over the last decade have saved the lives of almost one million children. The Global Fund’s new General Manager, Gabriel Jaramillo, discusses his plans for the organization going forward in an interview with Spanish newspaper El […]
A recent article in The Economist discussed the effect that rising food prices played in the unrest leading up to the Arab Awakening, and how efforts to combat high food prices continue to affect governments in the Middle East. Record prices during the global food crisis of 2007-2008 brought unprecedented food riots to countries like […]
The good: Those many small incremental improvements in securing nuclear materials worldwide–the fruit of much labor by dedicated people, as laid out by Jodi Lieberman in a recent post. The bad: The absence of any evident progress in dissuading North Korea from a satellite launch, which, if it occurs, will vitiate the earlier agreement with […]
Just as the self-congratulatory communiques have been issued in Seoul and pats on the back for a job well done have been distributed, Steven E. Miller has lobbed a wrench in the works. In his very timely essay for the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, entitled Nuclear Collisions: Discord, Reform & the Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime, Miller describes […]
Okay, the U.S. may have been the first to the moon, but we have not been the first to regulate greenhouse gases. However, we’re getting there. California has been advancing its cap-and-trade regime among other terrific programs, we’ve got the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in the Northeast and there are all sorts of other programs […]