1776: The Musical (1969; movie 1972) “Waiting for the chirp, chirp, chirp. Of an eaglet being born. Waiting for the chirp, chirp, chirp. On this humid Monday Morning in this Congressional incubator.” The Guardian, probably rightfully, declared that 1776 was “[f]ar too long and mostly terrible, but hilarious.” Now, the real question–why would anyone ever decide to make the Second Continental […]
After years of writing on the FPA immigration blog on topics usually concerned with Latino immigration in the United States, I sincerely believe that there are no current policies or legal frameworks that can handle the issue of illegal immigration in the US. With no real spokesperson for the millions of illegal immigrants in the […]
What do Greek elections, doctors, Mali, and Obama all have in common? They’re all featured in our weekly must reads! Take a look at our recommendations below. “Greece Votes Itself in the Foot Again: The Rise of the Coalition of the Radical Left and the Demise of Europe” Foreign Affairs 12 June 2012 With the […]
If you are also a fan of global opinion polling, Wednesday was an exciting day. A few weeks ago, I wrote about Gallup’s findings on world opinion of U.S. leadership. Yesterday, the Pew Global Attitudes project released new data that, with greater specificity, measures world opinion of Barack Obama, American culture and U.S. foreign policy, […]
“Those guys didn’t think I would do it. I told you I was going to do it!” That’s what internet-savvy President Obama said in New York City several months ago after belting out a few lines from Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together.” He’s sung at the Apollo and the White House, slow jammed the news, and nominated […]
Here are the week’s must read articles: “Good Leak, Bad Leak” By Uri Friedman Foreign Policy A brief but informative look at the various leaks during the Obama administration and their political and legal implications. “Understanding Cyberspace is Key to Defending It” By Robert O’Harrow Jr. Washington Post In the aftermath of Stuxnet and its […]
Just as the blogosphere was starting to become familiar with the likely frontrunners in Egypt’s upcoming presidential race, the election commission disqualified three of the most most visible candidates, upholding this decision on Tuesday. The commission deemed candidates ineligible for various reasons: Salafist preacher Hazem Abu Ismail’s mother was an American citizen, Muslim Brotherhood financier Khairat al-Shater […]
While democracy struggles to take hold in Myanmar and the Maldives, last weekend’s Summit of the Americas in Colombia raised some interesting questions about development and democracy in the Western Hemisphere. Events at the conference itself have been addressed elsewhere in FPA blogs (and here); I’d like to examine what the conference indicates about the […]
If history is any guide, Obama is bluffing on Iran With President Obama describing them as Tehran’s “last chance” for a peaceful resolution, international negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program started up again this past weekend. Washington has been talking tough with Iran of late, insisting that it is prepared, if necessary, to use military force […]
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 […]
United States President Barack Obama announced today that he was nominating Dr. Jim Yong Kim for president of the World Bank. This was a surprise to almost everyone, as Dr. Kim is not a traditional pick by any means: a medical anthropologist and physician, current president of Dartmouth College, co-founder of the non-profit Partners in Health […]
This article, appeared on the Political Reflections Magazine, vol.3, n.2, is the second part of my review of FPA’s Great Decisions episode on the Arab Spring: The first part, providing a general overview of the debate can be found here. ********************************** As the uncertainty of the Arab Spring continues, the debate on the future of […]
The year was filled with missed opportunities but also promising developments in U.S.-India relations. 2012 is shaping up to be the same. President Obama’s state visit to India in early November 2010 appeared to impart new dynamism to a bilateral relationship that had been listless since his inauguration. The trip offered an effective tonic for […]
The year is certainly not over yet – the annual international UN climate conference is ongoing in South Africa for the next ten days. Nevertheless, here’s a quick look at what we’ve seen – and what we might expect in 2012. Casting back to my look at 2010 and beyond, I predicted witch hunts from […]
As I noted recently, the pressure is building on the Keystone XL pipeline. 350.org and the many brothers and sisters who have been affiliating themselves with their actions to stop the pipeline – and indeed the tar sands development in Alberta – were in Washington in August and exercised their civil disobedience muscles. Hundreds were […]