Last Saturday Russia witnessed one of the biggest anti-government rallies of the past two decades. Just a few months ago the possibility of a protest this large seemed very unlikely. Putin’s confidence ratings remained high holding steadfast belief in the efficiency of a strong ruling hand over the country, although the support for his United Russia […]
I had a friend in college who was discovering Islam around the time I was. Though we were both born Muslims, we were now understanding it and practicing of our own accord. We were not converts, but “Reverts”. After college, she went on to study Islam at a madrassa-esque school for women and I went on […]
An agreed outcome with legal force – That’s the major aim of the conferees from the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change that wrapped up its work this past weekend in Durban. What that headline phrase signifies, according to a decision of the parties, is that work will […]
Long live His Majesty King Bhumibol! I felt that this post is going to need such a qualifier. I previously lived in Thailand in 2008 as a volunteer worker with an NGO. I love Thailand: the people, the culture, the food. I hope to return there one day, and it would not do me any […]
Africa’s economic prospects have always been a topic of great consternations for local governments and international analysts and commentators. A continent rich in commodities (oil, diamonds, minerals), with a favorable demographic trends, and the potential for economic growth, has historically been ‘stuck in the muck’. Yet, things are turning around, and the past decade has […]
As the clock ticks, it appears Israel will have to pick between two frightful scenarios; attack Iran or live with a nuclear Iran and the constant fear of annihilation. This choice crossed my mind during a recent trip to Israel. While at the ancient fortress of Masada overlooking the Dead Sea, the tour guide proclaimed […]
Today is the twentieth anniversary of the enactment of one of the most important, far-reaching bipartisan initiatives of the twentieth and, thus far, the twenty-first century: the Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program, originally known as the Soviet Nuclear Threat Reduction Act. It was twenty years ago today that an initiative that began as an amendment […]
The New York Times carried an article last week by David Sanger and William Broad providing additional detail about the mysterious blast that leveled Iran’s major missile test center on Nov. 12, killing one of the country’s top rocket scientists and others. The article also provides useful hints to sources, without ultimately shedding any new […]
Caracas last week welcomed all leaders from across Latin America in order to establish CELAC, a new regional organisation that seeks to create an OAS without a United States (or Canada!) and create a forum for one voice for Latin America. CELAC, while attended by all Latin American countries, is hosted and promoted by Venezuelan […]
The end of 2011 is fast approaching and with it the departure of U.S. forces and equipment from Iraq by December 31st so thought I’d pass on some of my thoughts. In November, I participated in two Department of Defense sponsored Bloggers Roundtables on our force drawdown efforts there. One was with Army Brigadier General […]
Another year is coming to a close. It’s time to look back, recap and rewind 2011 in Central Asia. Let’s start with elections: two Central Asian states, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, held elections this year. Kazakhstan’s presidential election took place on April 3, 2011. Guess who won? Not surprising to anybody who follows Kazakhstan in the news, […]
Mexico’s peso has been topsy-turvy since October 2008. The classic explanation is that developing countries with open capital markets, like Mexico, get hurt by a flight to safety in times of global uncertainty. Sure enough, after the collapse of Lehman Bros. and the onset of the global financial crisis, the peso plummeted. It was a […]
Guest Contributor: The following piece was written by Jubeen Sharbaf. Based in Toronto, Canada, Mr. Sharbaf is an organizational development advisor in the non-profit sector. Mr. Sharbaf is involved in grassroots organization work focusing on leardership issues in civil society. He is a native of Tehran, Iran. 1. Negotiate: Richard Holbrook once said: “You don’t […]
Malaria vaccine is a medical breakthrough The first-ever malaria vaccine, which was shown to cut the risk of infection by half among children in sub-Saharan Africa, is listed among the top 10 medical breakthroughs of 2011 by TIME magazine. Results from the ongoing trial of the vaccine, which involves 15,460 children through 2014, will help […]
With the arrival of December, it’s time to check the rear-view mirror to see where we have been in order to have some clue as to where we are going. In the energy realm, 2011 was the Year of the Three Fs: Fukushima, Fracking and Finance. Japan is used to earthquakes, and the odd tsunami […]