Impressions from Kapil Sibal's Talk at CSAS, UC Berkeley
October 4, 2010 3 min. read

Defending the official policies (or the lack of it) while interacting with an audience in the U.S. can be challenging for a Minister of the Indian Government. Kapil Sibal, India’s Minister of Human Resource Development and Education, needs to be given credit for putting up a great show as a representative of the Government of […]

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Woodward Primes General Powell as Next Secretary of Defense
October 4, 2010 1 min. read

In his interview with Larry King, journalist Bob Woodward has come out and said outright that Colin Powell is the best candidate for Secretary of Defense after Robert Gates steps down from that role in 2011. General Powell, as Woodward has pointed out numerous times, is a walking embodiment of the history of American wars […]

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Time to Hurry up and Wait for the Kurdish Bloc
October 3, 2010 2 min. read

Maliki’s political endurance hangs on the support of the Kurdish faction.

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Georgia slowly moving to jury trials
October 3, 2010 5 min. read

According to the Global Post and other sources, Georgia has finally adopted jury trials, at least for cases of aggravated murder – and for now, only in Tbilisi. This is reportedly part of a larger program to introduce jury trials more broadly, weaken the role of judges in Georgian trials, where they are more like […]

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Pool Side Follow Up
October 2, 2010 1 min. read

After having posted on the Kefer Soussah square project the other day I felt like I should also pass on some pics I snapped from inside the Tishreen National Sports Complex taken the same evening. The complex has been under construction for at least the past year…trust me, I would know, I work out there. […]

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Weekend Fish Wrap
October 1, 2010 2 min. read

A few interesting links for your weekend consumption. First is a long post on the Syria Comment Blog. The post deals with changing norms surrounding the rights and place of women in Syria. Very interesting reading, especially early on. You can find it here. Second are a pair of articles from the New York Times. […]

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Georgia loses four servicemen in Helmand Province
October 1, 2010 3 min. read

My apologies for being away from the blog for so long, but I was in Afghanistan for three weeks and just returned. I had been working as an observer during the recent parliamentary elections, and was sent by Democracy International, an NGO based in Bethesda, Maryland. While Afghanistan is somewhat outside my normal baliwick, I […]

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Credibility Problem
October 1, 2010 1 min. read

I hope the Israelis are taking notes from this article in the Jerusalem Post. It describes exactly the too many things wrong with Mr. Abbas, and explains why he is irrelevant with friends and foes alike. His erratic policies and ability to negate every decision he has made are the reasons he cannot be a […]

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Sadr Breaks Stalemate by Backing Maliki
October 1, 2010 2 min. read

The New York Times is reporting the Sadrist bloc has made a stunning reversal to support erstwhile opponent and political bugbear, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, for another term at the helm of the Iraqi government. The Sadrists’ 39 seats would prove the critical tipping point for the incumbent premiere.

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Brief Update on Landslides
October 1, 2010 1 min. read

Mudslides in the southern Mexico have killed at least 32 in recent days. In the worst disaster, on Wednesday a landslide killed 16 in the state of Chiapas. On Thursday, subsequent mudslides in rural highlands of Oaxaca state killed 11, including a pregnant woman and children. Other casualties are being reported. In recent weeks Mexico […]

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Ayodhya Verdict: Faith Is Not a Zero Sum Game
October 1, 2010 5 min. read

The Lucknow Bench of the Allahbad High Court delivered its verdict on the contentious Ayodhya Entitlement dispute on September 30. It was a rare occasion when the issues of divinity and faith were awaiting clarification by a judicial body. Most Indians were more anxious about the fallout of the judgement rather than the actual verdict. […]

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