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Freedom House will have a live webcast of the unveiling of it’s annual press freedom report on May 1 at 10a.m. EST. The report, which shows declines in press freedoms in every region for the first time, will be released two days ahead of World Press Freedom Day on May 3. Media are invited to […]

The United Nations has called World Press Freedom Day (May 3), a day to “celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom; to evaluate press freedom, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty“. 2009’s celebration and evaluation will […]

The Financial Times had a great series of articles the other day in a special report on Energy-Efficient Buildings.  The FT team on this, led by environmental reporter Fiona Harvey, covers topics from design, climate-proofing, and microgeneration to supply chains and waste reduction.  Look at the interactive graphic, as an amuse gul:  a blueprint for […]

Thomas Wright, an expert on international relations, says the “great dramas of the 21st century will play out in Asia rather than Europe.” Mr. Wright is the executive director of studies at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and previously served as the senior researcher for the Princeton Project on National Security. I interviewed Mr. […]

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has had its fair share of criticisms throughout its short existence.  The accusation of double standards is a common one.  Why does the ICC seem to focus all its energy on Africa?  What about Israel, what about North Korea, what about torture during the Bush Administration? The ICC is a […]

“I’m confident in the future but I’m not content with the present,” said President Barack Obama on his 100th day in office. Two public events were organized to mark the “Hallmark holiday” and Obama emphasized that the administration is “off to a good start, but it is just a start.” When Obama was elected President […]

  No one, including British economist John Williamson himself, could have predicted the viral-like application of one of his own political theories when he first introduced the term “Washington Consensus” in 1989. What was once simply applied to a grouping of commonly shared “policy instruments” used by Washington-based financial institutions like the IMF, World Bank […]

Swine flu is all the rage in the press these days it seems.  And Mexico is suffering.  The entire country has been placed under a virtual economic shut down as public assemblies have been banned and many open areas quarantined.  Exports are now looked at with caution and US trade is likely to decline significantly.  […]

The U.S. government is working to understand and combat the “swine flu” outbreak, it must also contend with the impact that swine flu fears are having on exports of U.S. pork products.  So far, countries including China, Croatia, Ecuador, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Philippines, Russia, South Korea, Thailand, Ukraine have announced full or partial bans on pork […]

To mark the 60th anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army Navy, China paraded its naval fleet in the northern port city of Qingdao last week. China flaunted its ambitions as a global power by displaying nuclear submarines, destroyers, an amphibious-assault ship and fighter bombers. To allay fears of China’s burgeoning military might, the official theme […]

As a complement to the UNFCCC process that is building toward agreement in Copenhagen in December (I fervently hope), President Obama called for a series of meetings of the world’s major economies.  These economies include the world’s largest contributors to climate change, including the top four of China, the US, Indonesia and Brazil.  (Remember that […]

According to developing reports, six of the nation’s largest banks have failed the Federal ‘Stress test’ and may require additional capital to remain in business. The Gov’t rather than giving more bailout aid is considering converting Preferred shares into common equity shares, thereby effectively “Nationaling” the banks by making the Federal government the largest single shareholder in each company.