A lot has been said about the competition for the Arctic’s natural resources, like oil and gas, fisheries, and minerals. Little has been said about using the cold as a resource. Now, of all companies, Facebook is intending to capitalize on the Arctic’s frigid climate by building a data center in Luleå, on the coast […]
Global economic developments this year, along with the impact of safe-haven investment flows have led to the appreciation of the dollar in global markets, contributed to the high level of unemployment in the U.S. and increased the chances for a double-dip recession in America. All these developments have further highlighted the international tensions over exchange […]
The Foreign Policy Association just released its latest annual National Opinion Ballot Report. Many issues have been tackled in this very interesting report, from the reconstruction of Haiti to the financial crisis to multilateralism to the Horn of Africa. Interestingly, one section was dedicated to Germany and its relevance to US interests. However none dealt […]
Last week I wrote about Olympus firing its president and CEO, Michael Woodford, over reported “cultural differences.” Olympus Chairman Tsuyoshi Kikugawa blamed Woodford for ignoring the company’s organizational structure, circumventing the hierarchy that is typical in Japan. I thought this was a strange rationale for firing Woodford, since one reason a Japanese corporation might hire […]
Despite its oil and gas resources and its vast agricultural lands, Yemen is the poorest country by far of the Arabic Peninsula with the majority of its population leaving under US$2 per day. For several years now UNICEF and other humanitarian agencies have been working in Yemen towards finding a solution to solve malnourishment […]
Russia is known for its domes, which generally sit on top of Orthodox churches. Soon, one might be on top of the world in Russia’s neck of the Arctic, this time sitting atop a city. During the Arctic: Territory of Dialogue conference last month in Murmansk, Putin reviewed plans and mock-ups for a a 5,000-person domed […]
The recent release of the FPA’s National Opinion Ballot Report once again provided valuable insights into the thoughts and opinions of informed Americans on the important foreign policy issues of the day. Among other items, the poll returned an overwhelmingly positive response to Germany’s insistence on austerity measures for the crisis stricken euro countries. By a […]
After ensuring each Minister in his novice administration took the oath of office, President Michel Martelly launched a new initiative aimed at restructuring the country’s political infrastructure, as a roaring opposition still in its infancy mobilized to reclaim power. Using the century-old daily newspaper Le Nouvelliste, the emerging opposition enumerated three areas of concern that […]
Wounded Patients in Syria’s Hospitals are Tortured, Along with Medical Staff Suspected of Treating Injured Protesters, Says New Amnesty International Report: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4cF7XhOnSQ&feature=player_embedded Human Rights Organization Documents Cases of Injured Protesters Being Beaten by Security Agents in Hospitals Contact: Suzanne Trimel, 212-633-4150, [email protected] (New York) — The Syrian government has turned hospitals into instruments of repression […]
Last Friday the first long-haul Mexican truck entered the United States, fulfilling its express design. Mexican trucks should have been allowed onto U.S. interstates by 2000, but lobbying by the Teamsters union kept Mexican trucks within an earshot of the border. U.S. dithering has been clearly unfair (Canadian trucks have traversed America’s highways without conditions), […]
The Canadian government recently announced the results of the bidding process to construct vessels for the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy. Canada plans to spend $33 billion on 28 large combat and non-combat vessels over the next 30 years. As part of that procurement the Royal Canadian Navy is slated to receive six to eight Arctic […]
Since 1959, Euskadi Ta Askatasuna [ETA] has waged a violent campaign for Basque independence from Spain and France. The body count since the first murder in 1968 stands at 829. On October 20, ETA announced an end to its paramilitary activities in a statement that read in part, “ETA has decided on the definitive cessation […]
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