When inflation skyrockets, business confidence plummets. Economics do not work quite that simply, but the correlation is pretty clear in South Africa right now.
Dave Zirin of The Nation has a fascinating take on the intersections of xenophobia, violence, ubuntu, and sport in South Africa today. Here is a taste: Criticism has been widespread about the lack of response by South African, not to mention Western, leaders. But there is an important, overlooked and–we can only pray–decisive tide of […]
Barack Obama's official position‚ at least according to his campaign website‚ is limited to promoting further economic development in Mexico to decrease illegal immigration. This is a reductionist position on one of the most important financial and political relationships in the world. Nevertheless, this does not mean that Obama does not have a more detailed […]
Just as the demands for increased female leadership in the EU become more vociferous, a new study reveals that enormous income gaps in some of the Union's largest countries are hurting women's chances and having a harmful effect on the economy as a whole. Speaking to German daily, Die Welt, the EU Commissioner for Employment, […]
On May 22, new Russian President Dmitri Medvedev made his first foreign diplomatic visit of his term to Astana, Kazakhstan. This gesture shows to the Astana's government, China, US, and the world that Russia sees great importance in its relations with this CA/CIS power, but also the region as a whole. Medvedev stated; “Astana did […]
Today, Mark Ames, the editor of the embattled Russian dissident paper The eXile (whose plight this Blog has been morbidly following) writes for the first time about the harrowing ordeal in an article for Radar Magazine. It is required reading. In addition to the Limonov factor, he sheds some more light on the possible causes […]
Republican presidential nominee John McCain is well known for his adversarial, even anachronistic, approach to Russia. Straight talk, right? Perhaps. But, asks Mark Benjamin today on Salon.com, could his bluster have had less to do with the Republican base than with the lobbying connections of a close advisor? The architect behind McCain's hard-line Russia policy, […]
It seems that talk of Blackwater and other mercenary organizations in Iraq has subsided over the past year (while searching the New York Times, the most recent articles I found on the subject were Mike Nizza's “The Lede” blogs from 2007). At least that's what has happened in the US; abroad it's a different story. The […]
It was a good weekend to be a South African sports fan as both Bafana Bafana and the Springboks won big international matches. Bafana Bafana defeated Equatorial Guinea 4-1 in a game that serves as a qualifying match for the African Cup of Nations. It also was part of the World Cup Qualifying process, but […]
With an International Donor's Conference being held in Paris next week on Afghanistan's behalf, increasing pressure is being put on President Karzai's ability to run the still unstable nation's government. The donor's aid is expected to target the sector's of agriculture, energy, security and education, but a number of them are demanding that the conference […]
“In his weekly column for the PSP-owned Al-Anbaa newspaper, Jumblatt pointed out that the fourth item of the Doha agreement clearly prohibited the use of arms of violence in settling political differences under any circumstances. Abstaining from the use of arms was the only guarantee of national partnership and Lebanese coexistence, he added.” Read more […]
In spite of May 21 agreement street clashes still take place in Lebanon. During the weekend, pro and anti March 14 supporters fought with “machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortar”, in Beqaa. The government seems to be doing whatever it can to minimize the impact on the population. The problem is that it can do […]
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