A 60-year-old Maori woman was denied entrance to a public bath house in northern Japan because of her traditional tā moko facial tattoo. Japanese bath houses, known as onsen, typically bar anyone with tattoos to keep away yakuza gangsters, many of whom sport full-body tats. Erana Ta Haeata Brewerton had been attending an academic meeting […]
In my previous post, I noted how there isn’t likely to be a dramatic shift in Norway’s Arctic policy even though the Conservatives will now be at the helm of government. Regardless of whether Labour or the Conservatives dominate, oil will still be one of Norway’s top priorities in the Arctic. But questions remain as […]
One person was killed and several others were injured after a day of protests in Cambodia turned deadly Sunday night. Mao Chan, 29, was shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene of Monivong Bridge when a faction of demonstrators confronted military police who had spent most of the day shooting smoke grenades […]
Two recent news items out of China have raised expectations that the new leadership in Beijing intends to push ahead with major market-oriented policies. The first is an announcement that a key Communist Party conclave will gather in November to set out an economic blueprint for the coming decade. The second is that Jiang Jiemin, […]
[Hashim Amla. From Africa is a Country.] A few months ago Niren Tolsi had a fantastic piece in The Con that he later allowed to be republished in Africa is a Country (which added useful links within the piece) about South African cricketer Hashim Amla. Tolsi explores race and identity through the intriguing figure of […]
[Robert Mugabe in his Default Setting. ©The Guardian] And in the least surprising news ever, Robert Mugabe proves not to be gracious in victory. He has announced his new government, and the opposition MDC, which has been part of an uncomfortable coalition for the last five years, finds itself on the outside looking in. Mugabe completely […]
In Norway’s elections on Monday, the Conservative party (Høyre) won the most seats, sweeping Labour Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg from power after eight years. The Conservatives, however, did not win enough seats to form a majority government. As such, headed by new Prime Minister Erna Solberg, they will likely ally with the populist, anti-immigrant Progress […]
A graduate student recently interviewed me for his dissertation on Russia, the Arctic, oil and gas. During the interview, he asked me what I believed was the single most important Arctic resource. The answer could have been oil, gas, minerals, fisheries, or any other number of commodities. I responded that oil and gas are probably […]
The people of the Central African Republic (CAR) may be left to fend for themselves. Despite the increasingly dire humanitarian crisis emerging in the country, conflict in other countries may overshadow the situation so much that the country will be left to its fate. Scores of people were killed on September 9 amidst new clashes […]
Ethiopia’s signing last month of a $800 million broadband network with Chinese telecoms giant ZTE has some pundits again focusing on Chinese economic espionage in Africa. The agreement calls for the establishment of a 4G broadband network in the capital Addis Ababa and a 3G network throughout the rest of the country. The project should […]
In family courts, judges do not tend to take the position of either parent in cases that involve the health and custody of children. Judges take the position of the child as if they were of mature age and speaking to their own personal benefit and well being. We need to be reminded that over […]
Credit: frontporchaustin.org In just the past ten days, irate Palestinian negotiators briefly suspended peace talks after an Israeli army raid in the Qalandiya refugee camp ended with the deaths of three Palestinians, the pro-peace organization Minds of Peace held a public summit between regular Israelis and Palestinians in the streets of Jerusalem and signed a […]
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