Japan, China, S Korea hold annual summit
May 22, 2011 2 min. read

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak are meeting in Japan with Prime Minister Naoto Kan for a two-day summit. Kan’s goal in the summit is to persuade China and South Korea to lift import restrictions on Japanese food products, which have been in effect since the ongoing crisis at the […]

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President Obama's Speech and How Nothing Has Changed
May 21, 2011 12 min. read

There was a huge outcry over President Obama’s comments that future negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians should be based on the 1967 lines.  While his comments were inappropriate and ill-timed, what he said was in no way an ultimatum or even definitive for that matter.  Quite the opposite, he merely stated that the ’67 […]

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Constitutional Melee at the Dawn of President Martelly's Presidency, Looming
May 21, 2011 4 min. read

The unprecedented set of circumstances that marked the end of ex-President Rene Preval’s reign left Haitian constitutional scholars spitting fire, talking about high treason and recommending disciplinary actions against current legislators. Many even argued that Preval left the country without a Constitution since some of the amendments voted by the National Assembly on May 9, […]

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Constitutional Melee at the Dawn of Martelly’s Presidency, Welcoming
May 21, 2011 4 min. read

The unprecedented set of circumstances that marked the end of ex-President Rene Preval’s reign left Haitian constitutional scholars spitting fire, talking about high treason and recommending disciplinary actions against current legislators. Many even argued that Preval left the country without a Constitution since some of the amendments voted by the National Assembly on May 9, […]

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Black Friday Not So Good for Manmohan
May 20, 2011 5 min. read

Just-concluded elections in five Indian states offer mixed news for embattled Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Congress Party.

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Remaining French 2012 presidential candidates in dead heat
May 20, 2011 2 min. read

It was all but certain that Dominique Strauss-Kahn planned to step down from the IMF this summer to declare his candidacy for president in next spring’s elections. It was also all but certain he would emerge as the Socialist frontrunner against incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy. Now that these assumptions have been mooted,  the Socialist party has […]

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Compilation of Recent Business News from Bangladesh
May 20, 2011 1 min. read

Economy heads back to high growth http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=186434 New regulatory framework at the Securities and Exchange Commission http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=186523 Stocks continue to decline http://www.theindependentbd.com/business/stockmarket/50811-stocks-continue-to-decline.html Bangladesh fund floats http://www.independent-bangladesh.com/2011050512260/business/bangladesh-fund-floats.html Apparel export to US rises fast http://biz.bdnews24.com/details.php?id=196274&cid=4 Innovative business ideas and inclusive marketing will cut poverty faster http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/more.php?news_id=136297&date=2011-05-20

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Tradition over Transparency: Should the IMF seat stay in Europe?
May 20, 2011 5 min. read

Europe is trying to maintain its international rank and power not because of its latest successes, but because of tradition. Here is the idea emerging with the recent arrest of IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Khan (also called DSK) concerning the appointment of a new IMF chief. The theme of this blog is not to discuss […]

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Spinning the Speech
May 20, 2011 3 min. read

The bulk of headlines this morning on President Barack Obama’s speech on the Middle East yesterday emphasized that the Israelis, Palestinians, Hamas, or the Arab world are incensed by some policy outlined yesterday. These complaints are only about spinning the speech for future negotiations and not based in reality, with Obama using the opportunity to […]

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Obama's False Choice For Syria
May 20, 2011 4 min. read

“President Assad now has a choice: He can lead that transition, or get out of the way.” This is the key phrase of President Barack Obama’s speech regarding Syria. Yawn. I can’t say it came as a big surprise, but this speech was largely a waste of time, and a missed opportunity, especially when looked at […]

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Obama's Middle East speech and Turkish foreign policy
May 20, 2011 5 min. read

Not one single word in Obama’s Middle East speech included or even made a remote reference to Turkey. This, from Turkey’s perspective, was the most important part of yesterday’s policy position statement. In traditional Turkish collective memory, Middle East has been a realm of ‘problem’, which Turkey had to stay away from; some of those […]

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The Other China: Will the ECFA Be the End of Ma if Taiwanese Don't 'Choose Right…'
May 20, 2011 7 min. read

Firstly, an update to my previous post concerning Chinese Cyber-Espionage attacks on the U.S. and other developed nations.  AP national writer, Pauline Arrillaga, did a much broader write-up on the issue, here.  It is definitely worth a look-see. ———————————————————————————————————– On to the Other China, Taiwan – Current Taiwanese President, Ma Ying-Jeou (Mă Yīngjiŭ: 马英九) of […]

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