In a political climate marred by corruption, where 13 out of 15 ministry buildings collapsed while officials worked, government response was virtually nonexistent on Jan. 12, 2010. Although world leaders pledged support and huge sums of money, Many were dubious about the promised aid ever making it to Haiti given the frail political state of […]
Voting is ongoing in the South Sudanese referendum to determine whether the region will separate to form its own country. Thus far the voting process itself has been by-and-large peaceful, with an almost festive atmosphere prevailing in some circles, but there have been intermittent violent clashes pitting militias against civilians along the North-South border and […]
The current best-selling book in France is called “Indignez-vous!” It is said to capture France’s prevailing attitude about the moribund state of the world better than any other publication since the global recession began. Its author, Stéphane Hessel, is 93 years old, a veteran of the Resistance and a drafter of the Universal Declaration of […]
The story of China’s economic growth is well known and documented over the years. Following substantial renminbi (RMB) devaluation in 1994 and the subsequent opening of the economy to FDI, along with a number of incentives offered by the Chinese government, multinational companies started to relocate production to China. The Chinese export machine went into […]
Even prior to the January 2010 earthquake, more than 500,000 orphan children wander the streets of Haiti’s cities day and night. Known as the “soulless” and forgotten by their own people, they do what they must to survive each day. Children of Haiti follows three teenage boys as they reflect on their country and their […]
Mexico produced a record 25 million tons of tortillas last year. But given that tortillas are a staple of Mexican diet the country is still reliant on imports. Spikes in global corn and fuel prices, not to mention rising electricity prices in Mexico, have many worried about pass-on price hikes. So far, the increases have […]
The Israeli mentality of aggressive, yet sweet, is most certianly refined. Israeli humor, on the other hand, needs a lot of work. The Israeli version of Saturday Night Live, called Eretz Nehederet (Wonderful Country), recently released a clip that is actually humorous and fully encapsulates the Israeli mentality of having no peace partner, the declining […]
Greece, Ireland, now Portugal, then… Spain? Now that would be disastrous. Judging from the amount of denial related to the possibility of a Portugal bail-out, a financial rescue package seems to be a matter of when rather than if. Regardless of denials from Lisbon, Paris, and Berlin of any pressure on Portugal, rumor has it […]
A sizeable amount of natural gas has been found in Tajikistan- 60 billion cubic meters of gas, enough to supply Tajikistan for 50 years. Some of this gas may be available this year to Tajik households, freeing the country from Uzbekistan’s stranglehold on energy supplies. With a few more hydro-electric plants coming on board by […]
As the oil-rich Southern region of Sudan votes on a referendum for independence, George Clooney, Google, the United Nations, and the Harvard Human Initiative have jointly launched a Satellite Sentinel Project to watch the border area that splits north and south Sudan. According to a press release, the aim of the Satellite Sentinel Project is […]
I took a bit of a break over the last twelve days or so for some traveling, including to the American Historical Association’s annual meeting. regular posting will resume soon, especially with today’s referendum in Sudan. I wish you all a happy New Year and hope for the best for all of us in 2011.
Even as Washington refrains from commenting substantively on recent developments in Cuba, Fidel Castro continues to provide timely reflections on occurrences in the United States (not to mention internationally), underscoring his persisting importance as a public figure. The juxtaposition is striking: the open, transparent, democratic administration of the United States sneakily avoids the topic of […]
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