It has to be, without a doubt, that the fall of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent collapse of communism constituted the single most transformative event of the past 40 years. Since man walked the surface of the Moon, the collapse of communism signified the predominance of ‘one’ over the ‘other.’ A New World Order […]
Further to my post from yesterday in which I noted that researchers were recording ever-increasing carbon dioxide emissions from China and, to a lesser extent, India, there have been some articles recently on the rapid rise in China’s coal consumption. The graphics here are from Elisabeth Rosenthal’s article yesterday in the NY Times about how […]
by Elizabeth Samson On November 10, 2010, the United Nations took an important step towards committing itself to female empowerment with the election of 41 member states to the board of a new agency—the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. Known as UN Women, the new body brings four organizations that […]
G-20 world leaders meeting in Seoul, South Korea, concluded the summit late Friday by issuing a joint communiqué, with no specifics, agreeing only in general terms to curb “persistently large imbalances” in saving and spending. But deep divisions, especially over the US-China currency dispute, left G-20 officials negotiating all night to draft a watered-down statement for the leaders to endorse, keeping alive a dispute that raises fears of a global trade & currency war, and fears of rising protectionism among nations.
by Deborah Fallows The village of Xizhou is nestled in a verdant strip of land in China’s southwestern Yunnan Province. To the east lies Erhai Lake, where cormorants play. To the west, hills rise to the Tibetan Plateau, where herders graze their yaks. During World War II, Xizhou offered a first radio contact point for […]
As President Obama prepares to go to India for a three-day state visit, U.S. policy pundits are busy proffering ideas for the bilateral agenda.
There are mounting anxieties in Global capital markets over the divergence between China’s economic policies – specifically, its currency exchange rate policies — and the relationship that currency valuation has to a sputtering economic recovery in the rich Western economies.
The spotlight is on Chinese weapons this week. The Washington Post reported that the Obama administration has gathered evidence of Chinese companies helping Iran develop its missile technology and nuclear weapons. One U.S. official associated with this investigation said the companies may be acting without the knowledge of the Chinese government. UN sanctions currently restrict […]
There are more than a few problems in the People’s Republic of China, to be sure, but the one to which I’m referring here is pollution. I went to an event last week sponsored by the Innovation Center for Energy and Transportation (ICET) and hosted by the India China Institute as part of Climate Week […]
Amidst all the embarrassment of the Commonwealth Games preparations in Delhi, a report by the National Intelligence Council and EU’s Institute for Security Studies placing India as the third most powerful country has brought in a much need boost to the spirits. The report, Global Governance 2025, puts India in the third position with eight […]
On Clean Energy, China Skirts Rules was a front-page story at the NY Times this past week. The gist: China is cranking up its exports of wind turbines and PV, eclipsing other leaders like the US and Germany. However, they’re doing it largely on the strength of subsidies illegal under international trade agreements, namely the […]
The world is watching in shock as Pakistan grapples with one of the worst floods in history. This week the UN estimated that the floods in southern Pakistan have displaced about a million people in a matter of two days. The massive floods began almost a month ago and have since displaced about 20 million […]
The bank, now a unit of Wells Fargo, leads a list of firms that have moved dirty money for Mexico’s narcotics cartels–helping a $39 billion trade that has killed more than 22,000 people since 2006. –Michael Smith, Bloomberg Markets Magazine, July7, 2010
11 Years ago, on July 20, 1999, a persecution against a meditation practice called Falun Gong (or Falun Dafa) officially started in Mainland China. The persecution of Falun Gong was the brainchild of former Chinese president Jiang Zemin, who saw Falun Gong’s enormous popularity among 100 million Chinese and simply wanted to crush it. I […]
As India and China battle it out in the Indian Ocean, human rights takes a back seat in South Asia.