Last weekend’s St Petersburg International Economic Forum, meant to showcase Russia’s transition from authoritarian raw materials exporter to pluralistic hub of technology and commerce, hit two snags: an embarrassing gas dispute with Belarus, and a giant penis. If the former demonstrated the limits of Russia’s pledge to move away from energy-centric bully tactics, the latter […]
Continuing the topic of partisan (Democratic, Republican, conservative, liberal, realist, idealist, etc.) viewpoints on the US strategy in Afghanistan, here are two different takes on our current policy from within the conservative camp. First is Washington Post journalist George Will, who famously took on a ‘realist’ argument that a large counterinsurgent effort in the country was […]
Matt Waldman in a recently published Paper, “The Sun is in the Sky: the Relationship between Pakistan’s ISI and Afghan Insurgents” explores the extent of the ISI’s links and support to the problem of Afghan insurgency. Though Matt accepts that several endogenous factors are responsible for the emergence and sustenance of the Taliban, his interviews with […]
This was the least eventful day of the trip so far. I bundled up next to a space heater and under a heavy blanket to stave off the bitter highveld chill and watched World Cup games followed by the final day of a US Open that no one seemed to want to win. I did, […]
If last night in Melville represented what seemed to be an American annexation, Saturday night revealed the Africans taking back their rightful territory. Oh, sure, there was still a disproportionate number of tourists, but on a night when Cameroon played (and lost a game it had dominated) the vibe was rather different in those rollicking […]
I’ve been at a B&B in Joburg that did not have internet access, so forgive the retrospective posting: I stayed up all night to watch the Celtics fall ignominiously to the Lakers, and went straight to the airport. My planned car hire showed up 75 minutes late to Lanseria airport (which purports to be a […]
News out of Baku is that the “Azadliq” (freedom) opposition bloc staged a rally on Saturday (19 June) during which as many as 82 protesters were arrested. The rally, which had not been authorized by the Baku city authorities, was organized to protest alleged curbs on freedom of expression, and to underscore concerns that the […]
David Roodman, a scholar at the Center for Global Development has been studying Microfinance for a while now. His work on loan repayment at the Grameen Bank has been an excellent, transparent source where any interested reader can see the latest finding and writing in the much-balleyhooed microfinance business model. His latest writing on Grameen […]
And…. there’s more evidence that violence on the Gaza flotilla raid was premeditated by the activists. The organizer of the flotilla said: “If they board our ship, we will throw them into the sea, Allah willing!” This sentence is strikingly similar to Hamas and Iran’s claims that the Jews will be thrown into the sea, […]
Friday June 11, 2010 Turkey along with Brazil voted “No” to further sanctions on Iran. This decision illustrated Turkey’s precarious situation in the Middle East. Turkey has applied to join the EU and is now a member of NATO, long hailed to be one of the only Muslim countries with a democracy and a western […]
While even the international media had gotten in on the mainstream narrative that Manjur, the BNP backed candidate would lose the Chittagong Mayoral election, he won out in the last count–and by an impressive, incontestable 95,528 votes. Mr. Mohammed Manjur Alam polled 479, 145 to the Awami League candidate, Mr. ABM Mohiudddin Chowdhury’s 383617 votes. […]
Amidst all the horrific ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan, there may have been one welcome victim: the zero sum, Cold War style thinking that had governed Russia and America’s approach to the region. For a few nervous days this week, however, the conflict felt as if it could unleash a major regional and even international war. […]
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