At the UK’s Prospect magazine David Goldblatt has as good a defense of South Africa’s hosting the World Cup as any I have seen. I have been an ardent defender of South Africa being prepared and capable and am pleased to see Goldblatt’s piece so aggressively and capably tackle one of the most pernicious critics […]
Today, the Murmansk International Economic Forum met in the world’s largest city north of the Arctic Circle. The Barents Sea Nations, which are composed of Russia and the five Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden, and Norway, convened to discuss the future of oil and gas development in the region. The Shtokman Field is […]
Like everyone else, I too was taken aback by the fierce opposition to the Kerry Lugar bill. Not sure what the fuss is about, I decided to read about it. So, I read everything that was available on-line about the bill. During my research, I realized that the government of Pakistan has nothing wrong. It […]
Turkey is loving the limelight. Today, another Turkey-related story emerged, this time characterizing Ankara as the hero. Turkish news reported that Turkish authorities thwarted a terrorist plot against Israeli, NATO, and U.S. targets. An elite police squad from Istanbul arrested 32 individuals with terror links in eight different provinces throughout Turkey. Additional information has yet […]
[kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/gFc0zFUA9r0″ width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] This Al-Jazeera video examines the strong trade relationship that exist between China and Iran. As the report shows, oil exports, which account for nearly half of Iran’s revenues , are being cut off from the West, they are being increasingly exported to Asian countries – and a big percentage […]
Pakistan suffers decreased security with weekly suicide attacks, terrorists fleeing NATO forces from Afghanistan into Pakistan and a stagnant if not worsening economy. ALthough the situation is partially a result of Cold War policies in which Pakistan cooperated with the United States against Soviets, today’s post 9/11 context puts both countries back into cooperation with one another. However, the alliance is looked at with skepticism, specifically by way of the Kerry Lugar Bill which many feel, sidelines the military. Zainab Jeewanjee explains.
Before giving Moscow State University a statue of the humanist poet Walt Whitman yesterday, Hillary Clinton should have started by disowning the ideas of his nefarious namesake, Walt Whitman Rostow. Squandering all the promise associated with the cuddly Tolstoy look-alike after which his Socialist Russian-immigrant parents had named him, Rostow spent his life promoting the […]
Robert Mugabe has appointed Gideon Gono, who heads Zimbabwe’s reserve bank, to another five-year term, which, given what happened to the Zim economy under Gono’s watch, has caused something of an uproar. Gono denies ruining the country’s economy, which is probably true inasmuch as Gono was not solely or even primarily responsible for Zimbabwe’s economic […]
First, it was a dispute on the Gaza War between Israeli President Shimon Peres and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Then, an IDF General rebuked Turkish criticisms of Israel by conjuring images of the Armenian genocide. Now, the Turkish military ousted the IDF from a joint military exercise. But wait, its still going. A new Turkish […]
Forget all of the speculation as to whether South Africa will be able to pull off hosting the World Cup next year (it will). More worrisome to the typical South African football fan is the tattered state of a Bafana Bafana club that is heading in the wrong direction with time running out. Since the […]
I am deeply skeptical of online education, especially as it’s being sold both to the public (cheap college in your pajamas!) and to those of us in academia (students want cheap college in their pajamas! We must give it to them!) But certainly the internet can be a very useful tool for learning. I will […]
A lot of international attention has focused on North Korea and Iranian nuclear programs. However, Mark Fitzpatrick has an interesting article in the Japan Times concerning nuclear proliferation in Southeast Asia, specifically as it applies to rumors surrounding Myanmar’s nuclear ambitions. This blog has previously discussed Burmese defectors’ claims that the junta was developing nuclear […]
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