It is abundantly clear that if we are going to conquer our climate change demons, then we’ve got to radically reduce the burning of coal on our splendid but increasingly stressed planet. Carbon dioxide is still the primary driver of warming and coal is still the primary source of carbon dioxide from fuel combustion. Of […]
Two decades after achieving independence from the Soviet Union, Lithuania is still struggling to achieve energy independence. It appears to have taken some significant steps in that direction recently. First, it managed to get the foreign shareholders of Lietuvos Dujos, a Lithuanian natural gas company, to agree to divide the utility into three separate […]
It’s a pretty provocative title, no doubt about it. Unfortunately, “The very best predictor of how insecure and unstable a nation is not its level of democracy, but the level of violence against women in society” is just not quite catchy enough. Sex and World Peace was published in April of this year (available here), […]
Recently I’ve focused on democracy issues on a pretty grand scale: the nation of Egypt’s first open presidential elections, Greece’s struggle to form a government and how it might impact the global economy. Yet one of the remarkable things about democracy is that you don’t need large numbers to make a difference. Sometimes all it […]
Upon hearing of Flame, the recently discovered computer malware sometimes described as the most insidious and sophisticated ever, one’s first thought is bound to be of Stuxnet. Upon discovery of that virus a year and a half ago, analyses by top cyber-security firms soon yielded smoking-gun proof that Stuxnet was custom-made to knock out uranium […]
One of the biggest international news stories of May, which will continue into June, directly concerns democracy. Last week the Egyptian people voted to elect a president for the first time. This landmark event has been anticipated since last year’s Arab Spring, when hundreds of thousands demanded change in leadership and how the government operated. […]
Charles Taylor was sentenced to fifty years in prison today by the Special Court for Sierra Leone in The Hague. The former Liberian President was found guilty on eleven counts last month including acts of terrorism, murder, rape, sexual slavery, outrages upon personal dignity, cruel treatment, other inhumane acts, conscripting or enlisting of child soldiers, […]
At the beginning of May, I analyzed the unfolding Chen Guangcheng diplomatic controversy with the valuable input of guest contributor and Atlantic fellow Helen Gao. Today, I look ahead to what Mr. Chen’s future may hold. A little over a month ago, dissident Chen Guangcheng was living under house arrest in a farming village in […]
Posted by contributor Andres Santamaria. Sudan and South Sudan continue to clash, with each side seeking to control lucrative oil fields near their border. However, as the crisis persists, there are many efforts to relieve some of the humanitarian problems that have emerged in South Sudan, according to Action Against Hunger. “Nearly half the population […]
Someone wished me a “happy Memorial Day” in passing and I wondered if they understood what the holiday was really all about. What is it really all about? The photo above was taken at the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial in France. According to the American Battle Monuments Commission, the cemetery contains the largest number […]
Last week’s print edition of the Economist reports “the best story in development,” which describes huge declines in child mortality across Africa. Too often, good stories about Africa are buried in the back pages of newspapers and magazines. In this case, the headline is sensationalist but true. The trends of child mortality in a majority of African […]
Grumbles have been filtering out lately, from the CIA and other agencies running covert ops, that The Rule is lately being violated, sacrificed to the needs of self-promoting administration officials (Leon Panetta? 60 Minutes?) who simply cannot keep their mouths shut, cheerleaders jazzed by pre-election jitters who rush to claim kudos for their boss via contacts with the mainstream press–oblivious to the blowback suffered by US intelligence or the foreign nationals who do risk, despite the financial benefits, prison sentences or execution on their own turf.
Such is the case with Shakil Afridi, the 48 year old Pakistani physician recruited and paid (well, no doubt) by the CIA to help in the identification of Osama bin Laden prior to the assault on the dictator’s compound by US special forces. Clearly, Afridi did the US a great service. And the mainstream press recognizes this, all, without exception, on fire with righteous indignation about Pakistan’s decision to allow Afridi to be tried in Pakistan for treason and sentenced to 33 years in prison.
Isn’t Pakistan our friend?
Grow up…
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