Threats to Global Health: Politicking in the USA
July 29, 2011 4 min. read

Well, it’s a new week and the same old, same old is happening in Washington. The House Appropriations Committee has released the 2012 State and Foreign Operations Bill and, unsurprisingly but disappointingly, in its current form the bill proposes an 18% cut below last year’s appropriation.  The proposed total on for appropriations is $39.6 billion, […]

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U.S. Aids Famine Relief Effort
July 29, 2011 2 min. read

There are so many events competing for our attention right now, there’s the debt crisis, the Norway attacks and a foiled attack here at home, it’s easy to get distracted. There’s another event unfolding in Africa, a humanitarian tragedy brought on by the perfect storm of drought and civil war.  Even amid all the other […]

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Russia Begs Americans to Re-elect Obama
July 29, 2011 2 min. read

“Today in the Senate, I met with Senators Jon Kyl and Mark Kirk”, announced Russia’s ambassador to Nato Dmitry Rogozin. “I…was transported in a time machine back several decades, and in front of me sat two monsters of the Cold War, who looked at me not through pupils, but targeting sights.” “The meeting is very […]

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Better CAFE
July 29, 2011 2 min. read

CAFE – That stands for Corporate Average Fuel Economy.  What President Obama announced today was a much higher federal requirement, negotiated with the car companies, for more miles per gallon on average for cars sold in the United States.  As we know, Lower Gasoline Consumption = Lower GHG Output.  How much?  Billions of tons of […]

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Dystopia to Myopia – Norway in the Aftermath of 22 July
July 29, 2011 3 min. read

22 July’s heinous, neo-fascist killings in Norway fill us with sorrow for many reasons. Not to detract from the deaths or suffering that occurs on a daily basis elsewhere, but the events that unfolded struck us differently because of their context – Norway seems so peaceful – and the evident, calculated manner in which the […]

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Iran-Al Qaeda: Partners After All
July 29, 2011 2 min. read
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It’s not exactly yellow cake, but the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that the US Treasury Department accused Iran of aiding and partnering with Al Qaeda: The U.S. for the first time formally accused Iran of forging an agreement with al Qaeda, helping operatives move money, arms and fighters through Iranian territory to the terrorist […]

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Five more ways to help the Horn of Africa
July 29, 2011 2 min. read

While the world community finally mobilizes to secure funding to provide aid to the people of the Horn of Africa, I wanted to provide the readers with five more recommendations (in addition to the five from an earlier post) for how you can donate directly to relief efforts. I also encourage you to send me […]

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Is the Tide Turning on Corn-Based Ethanol?
July 27, 2011 3 min. read

  Last month, the Senate voted 73-27 to end a $6 billion per year tax credit to the ethanol industry as part of an amendment to Bill S. 782, also known as the Economic Development Revitalization Act of 2011. This vote was largely symbolic however, as the bill itself has yet and is not expected […]

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Accelerated Iranian Enrichment Tests Countermeasures
July 27, 2011 2 min. read

The New York Times reported on Saturday that Iran is stepping up its enrichment efforts, and that the man in charge is Fereydoon Abbasi, who narrowly escaped assassination along with his wife eight months ago. Abbasi, a nuclear physicist and member of the Revolutionary Guards, which manages Iran’s nuclear program, is in charge of the […]

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$1.6 Billion Needed for Horn of Africa Relief
July 26, 2011 2 min. read

On Monday, the UN’s Food and Agriculture organization (FAO) convened over 200 delegates, representing the 191 countries who are members of FAO, as well as NGO representatives, to discuss a a two-track plan for immediate relief to over 12 million people in the Horn of Africa region.  Part of the action plan was also mapped […]

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Airing tonight: “Mugabe and the White African”
July 26, 2011 1 min. read

Airing tonight as part of the POV series on PBS is the stirring documentary film “Mugabe and the White African.” The film follows the story of Michael Campbell, one of the few White farmers to stay in Zimbabwe following the introduction of Robert Mugabe’s controversial Land Reform program in 2000. Fed up with intimidation and […]

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Links from Around the Web: Egypt
July 26, 2011 5 min. read

Coca-Cola Commercial – Lyrics: We have sworn to erase the impossible/ It should be hope, or no other alternative/ No matter how long they say the night is/ There is no sleep, when it is time for seriousness/ Make tomorrow better, with your hands, you will defy the clouds/ Make tomorrow better, the sun rises […]

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