Regions

  In revving up for next week's planned WTO trade liberation talks (opening Monday in Geneva), US trade officials stated this past Thursday that China will critcally impact the direction and outcome of these talks, voicing concerns that China has a “particular obligation” to make concessions on matters of trade.  One issue of particular importance is the benefit China […]

On July 18th, the Mexican Navy intercepted a mini submarine that was transporting more than 5 tons of cocaine. This is a significant operation that highlights the ability of Mexican armed forces to combat drug trafficking by air, land, and sea. Bilateral cooperation between the United States and Mexico contributed to the capture of the […]

Forget Barack Obama: Medvedev is already the world's first metrosexual leader. Joel Stein recently wrote of the effeminate US Democratic presidential candidate in the LA Times: “He's well-dressed. He eats arugula (rocket) — which he buys at Whole Foods… He is, as we mentioned, quite thin. He may only be half-black, but he's three-quarters gay”. […]

There were two finds in Mexico this week that I thought really interesting: 1) the Mexican navy for the first time caught a drugs submarine from Colombia carrying 6 tons of cocaine (see BBC video here) 2) a cemetery outside Monterrey that was thought to contain only Mexican soldiers from the Mexican-American war was found […]

Tarek Mitri, the Information Minister announced that the cabinet already has a draft of the statement that is due to present to the nation, in the immediate future. In spite of its division, the cabinet has to come out with a unified vision of the national and political objectives, to pursue for the good of […]

Today marks Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela's 90th birthday. The great man is slowed but still robust, with his characteristic grace and wit still intact. As South Africa muddles through, the country's leaders would do well to dwell on Mandela and his meaning, not merely his undeniable symbolic power, and not even the mythology that surrounds him […]

Here are a few interesting items to keep you cool this weekend. The Central Asia plus Japan Dialogue fourth representational level meeting took place in Tashkent on July 15. For Japan the meeting was ‘aimed to deepen the multifaceted interaction with Central Asia and Uzbekistan, provide for stability and regional security, enhance the trade and […]

The recent spat with America and Britain over Zimbabwe and Russia's continued intransigence over the US AMB shield in the Czech republic have dashed the hopes of many in the West that Medvedev would make a qualitative departure from Putin. The Guardian's Luke Harding put it just so: Medvedev's hardline comments in one of his […]

The complaints this week from the Mexican Congress about being spied on by the nation's intelligence agency (CISEN) provide an interesting find.  Although CISEN's Director, Guillermo Valdes, came under fire from the allegations, his findings allege that drug money is threatening the country's institutions, along with the strong possibility that drug money was directly involved […]

With what can only be called a victory for the Taliban, US forces abandoned their makeshift base in the Kunar Province, which was ambushed days ago. In this context, Today I want to bring to your attention two outstanding articles which provide a greater understanding of the Afghanistan/Pakistan border Pashtun people, culture, and security situation. […]

At MESH you can read an interesting exchange of views on the topic. From 2005 to 2008, the U.S. Government provided over $1 billion to Lebanon, including nearly $380 million in assistance to the LAF. During this time, Washington's generosity toward the LAF made Lebanon the second-largest recipient of U.S. foreign military assistance per capita, […]

40+ hours, one lost piece of luggage, three movies, several television shows, two read books, several newspapers, and virtually no sleep later, I arrived back home last night. I am catching up on life and will resume posting soon. [Crossposted at the FPA South Africa Blog and at dcat.]