Essay Contest: Food Security in Rural Africa
May 27, 2010 1 min. read

Africa Rural Connect has partnered with World Policy Journal to offer people a chance to write their thoughts about food security in rural Africa.  The organizers are looking for creative yet practical ideas for ensuring food security in rural Africa. Some of the contest details include: Submission length: 800-1,200 words Contest dates: June 1, 2010 […]

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The Bagram Decision
May 27, 2010 3 min. read

Last week the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Maqaleh v. Gates that detainees held by the U.S. in Afghanistan cannot challenge their detention in U.S. courts.  There are many jurisdictional issues at play, some of which stem from the Supreme Court’s Eisentrager decision in 1950, in which the court ruled that German nationals […]

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UN Report Highlights Violators Using Child Soldiers
May 27, 2010 2 min. read

Last Friday Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued his annual report to the UN Security Council took a historic step as for the first time it included a list of violators who use child soldiers. The countries which included Somalia’s transitional government; Congo’s armed forces; Myanmar’s army; and rebel groups in Congo; Myanmar; the Philippines, Colombia; Sudan; […]

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Al-Awlaki's Message to Muslims
May 27, 2010 6 min. read

This past Sunday a video was released by a Yemeni branch of al-Qaeda in which Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born Muslim cleric, called for the killing of U.S. civilians. Al-Awlaki has become a main al-Qaeda recruiter and U.S. intelligence has linked him to the 9/11 hijackers, Nidal Hasan (the alleged Fort Hood shooter), and the Christmas […]

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Feed the Future Initiative
May 26, 2010 2 min. read

Last Thursday, the U.S. Government announced its concentrated efforts to reduce global hunger and poverty in 20 countries through an ambitious strategy document known as Feed the Future. Feed the Future reflects steps taken by the U.S. Government to reach its UN Millennium Development Goal of reducing the number of people suffering from hunger and […]

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"But it's all right now, in fact, it's a gas!"
May 26, 2010 2 min. read

The Rolling Stones knew it years ago.*  Now we’re catching up. I’ve written about natural gas a few times, basically to the effect that it’s got enormous potential as a transition fuel for many purposes as we wend our way, sooner rather than later, toward a renewable future.  This is what the prophetic Barry Commoner […]

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U.S. Expands Clandestine Military Action Abroad
May 26, 2010 2 min. read

Secret directive signed by General Petraeus in September gives U.S. military special forces the power to operate in friendly and hostile states in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Exposed by the New York Times on Monday, this order increases the power of U.S. armed forces abroad and authorizes clandestine military operations against terrorists and […]

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Reductions in child mortality – visually
May 26, 2010 1 min. read

Yesterday, I very cynically posted about the success in reducing child mortality rates that has been achieved since 1990.  Gap Minder (a site that has kept me entertained for hours) has a graph that shows child mortality falling – watch it, I promise you won’t be disappointed.

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Veggie, Low-Carbon Fast Food
May 26, 2010 1 min. read

Otarian is the name of the new chain. I’m all over this.

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Currency, DPRK Top US-China Economic Talks
May 26, 2010 7 min. read

U.S. administration officials arrived in Beijing today (Monday) for high-level talks between America and China, Beijing officials sought ahead of the newly formed annual strategic summit to avoid open disagreement on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) apparent sinking of a South Korean warship, exchange rates, currency reforms and other big issues that divide the two nations.

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The Korea Debate
May 26, 2010 1 min. read

The debate over current tensions on the Korean peninsula raises a lot of questions.  Is Lee Myung-bak to blame for raising inter-Korean tensions previous to the naval incident?  Did he repudiate the Sunshine Policy?  Did the investigation reach the correct conclusion that a North Korean torpedo sank the South Korean ship?  How should we proceed?  […]

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Who bears the burden?
May 25, 2010 2 min. read

$4.1 trillion.  That’s how much the world spends on health annually, which, if you divide by an estimated 6 billion people on planet earth, works out to a bit more than $650 per person.  The United States spends the most per capita on health at a little more than $6000; Burundi is the lowest at just under $3 per person. […]

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