This humble blogger suggests everyone simmer down a bit. Yes, the violence used by the Syrian government against its own citizens is deplorable. That violence could, of course, get worse. But let us try to keep some perspective on this.
In an update to the previous post, Russia is already accusing China of trying to fix market prices for the new Skovorodino-Daqing. That’s very shocking, I know. Business Insider posted an article stating that the Russian government owned pipeline company Transneft is not only accusing the Chinese National Petroleum Company (CNPC) of violating the terms […]
Prime Minister Naoto Kan said he will launch an independent panel to investigate the causes of the accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. According to Kyodo News, Kan said “the myth of the safety of nuclear energy” was prevalent among government and utility officials and that Japan needs to “humbly reflect” on such […]
The following piece was originally published in Washington Times on Wednesday, April 27, 2011 by Gary C. Gambill Gary C. Gambill is the former editor of Middle East Intelligence Bulletin and Mideast Monitor. Since the outbreak of the Syrian uprising five weeks ago, President Obama has declined to call for Bashar Assad to step down […]
I’ve been loading up on content this evening in part because I’ll be heading out of town for about ten days tomorrow. First I head to Chicago where on Friday (April 29) I’ll be chairing a panel, sitting on another, and participating in an author’s event for the Freedom Riders 50th Anniversary event this weekend. […]
The Economist asks what seems like a pretty germane question: In the Jacob Zuma era what, exactly, is South Africa’s foreign policy? If the Mandela years were characterized by goodwill borne of South Africa’s breaking the shackles of Apartheid, and Thabo Mbeki’s presidency concerned itself with the “African renaissance” it seems that South Africa has […]
President Obama’s expected and whispered about Pentagon reshuffle heralds the likelihood of a rather more rapid draw down in Afghanistan than has been entertained so far. The reshuffle also suggests that in one swift move, President Obama is looking to get the CIA and the Pentagon entire to cooperate on, and finish up well, what […]
I’ve taken this trip on the Okavango Delta on mokoros. In fact it makes up one of my favorite memories, especially when we arrived at our chosen campsite to discover it being ransacked by two giant bull elephants. I tend to be a bit skeptical of most travel writing, especially that about Africa, as most […]
I have not weighed in here on the controversy over the University if Cape Town decision to merge and thus downgrade the Centre for African Studies (CAS) with Anthropology, African Languages and Literature and Gender Studies. The best piece I have seen on the decision came from Africa is a Country a couple of months […]
Tokyo said yesterday that it will announce a plan to join the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction at the Group of Eight developed countries’ summit in late May in Deauville, France. The government is expected to instruct the justice and foreign ministries to develop necessary bills to have Japan […]
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had a phone meeting last evening with Barack Obama over the growing violence in Syria. According to a White House statement, Turkey and the United States agreed on the necessity of Gaddafi’s departure from Libya, as well as condemning Syrian leader Assad’s ”violent acts against his own citizens”. Turkish […]
Top officials from the African Union visited Washington last week to discuss relations between the U.S. and the emerging pan-African body. It was the second such meeting, and a joint statement was released outlining the “full range” of U.S.-Africa priorities, including democratic governance, economic development, health and peace and security issues. On democratic governance, always […]
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