Washington’s Russiagate obsession risks isolation both from international partners and, infinitely more crucial, its own citizenry.
Washington’s Russiagate obsession risks isolation both from international partners and, infinitely more crucial, its own citizenry.
Last Thursday, a Vietnamese wooden fishing boat returning to the central province of Quang Ngai was badly damaged following attacks from three Chinese vessels near the Paracel Islands, which the Vietnamese call the Hoang Sa.
In family courts, judges do not tend to take the position of either parent in cases that involve the health and custody of children. Judges take the position of the child as if they were of mature age and speaking to their own personal benefit and well being. We need to be reminded that over […]
As developments unfolded in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) during the past 8 months, one thing has become abundantly clear: the political transformation will not survive without an economic transformation. As many analyst have pointed out, an overwhelming motivation of the people who took to the streets with the ‘Arab Spring’ was the […]
We looked in the last post at the virtually limitless potential of renewables to supply all of our energy needs: electricity, heating and cooling, and transportation. Indications are that we are well advanced on this path. I tell people that if you’d told me a dozen years ago we were going to see the penetration […]
This year’s annual World Leadership Forum from the Foreign Policy Association was keynoted by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. He gave a fascinating speech calling on the US to resume its leadership in the world and to be supported in this by “…a new ‘driving centre’ of global politics and the global economy – a […]
Scrapping fossil fuel subsidies is the idea here. The caption is from today’s lead editorial in the “Financial Times.” Among its many felicitous effects, is the fact that “If effective in promoting efficient consumption, elimination would reduce the risk of runaway global warming.” The Third Assessment Report (2001) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change […]
Here’s a succinct and hopeful message from UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer on where we are on the international politics. We will know more this week after the UN Climate Summit and the G20 meetings.
I wrote last month about some exciting activities coming up, including the Brita Climate Ride. In Washington this week, the State Department is hosting meetings of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate (MEF). (See my posts related to the MEF.) US Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern is leading the US delegation. […]
Mon, 14 Sept – President Obama reinvigorated his administration’s effort to reform the financial regulatory system by taking his bare knuckled message directly to Wall Street. Speaking at Federal Hall and using the one year anniversary of the Wall St. collapse the president reminded prominent financial industry executives of their role and risk-taking behavior that led to a global economic melt-down.
In a NY Times Op-Ed, Sheila Bair, Chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) outlines a compelling litany of reasons why the Obama administration’s proposed regulatory changes, while good in many respects, does not sufficiently address the issues that caused the current – or will prevent future – financial sector crises.
One day after China’s top climate official, Li Gao, requested that his country’s export sector be exempt from greenhouse gas emissions reductions, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced the possibility of levying a carbon tariff on countries that do not match US greenhouse gas emissions restrictions. Chu told a House science panel that such border […]
The 2009 G-20 summit, began today in London, running through Friday, April 3d. The overall objective will seek to reach consensus among Leaders of member nations on how to confront the Global economic crisis. The agenda, to say the least, is full. However, there are divergent proposals and solutions, and still many challenges that must first be confronted. This […]
As we discuss growing multilateral alliances, and as we report on Russia’s declining economy and rising geopolitical ambitions, we also can continue to note Moscow’s attempts to forge partnerships to ensure its energy dominance whilst staving off more economic attrition. Today, Russian President Dimitry Medvedev met German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin. The meeting […]
As G-20 Summit nears in London next week, anger and resentment aimed at Western, or ‘Laisse-Faire’ capitalism, rises among public in member nations.