“You cannot put out fire with flames”
April 7, 2009 2 min. read

This was the Turkish proverb quoted by President Obama in his speech yesterday before the Turkish Grand National Assembly to say that the U.S. does not aim to fight extremism through force. The President’s speech was remarkably general, but at the same time, he made some important gestures towards the Muslim world. In case you […]

Read more
21st Century Capitalism
April 7, 2009 3 min. read

            21st Century Capitalism By Robert L. Heilbroner (W.W. Norton & Co., 1994) “It is my hope that some grasp of what the twenty-first century holds in store for capitalism may enable us to avoid at least some of the pain we might otherwise have to endure,” writes the eminent […]

Read more
Friending World Peace
April 6, 2009 1 min. read

Can the U.S. use Web 2.0 social networks like Facebook to solve crises and promote world peace? That is the obvious question to pose after reading this article in The Washington Post: Alec Ross arrives today at the State Department, armed with a new set of diplomatic tools including Facebook, text messaging and YouTube. Ross […]

Read more
Evaluation: Don't let perfect be an enemy of good
April 6, 2009 2 min. read

Social Return on Investment (SROI) is a big deal for non-profit funders and organizations.  How do you determine the most effective approach to solving homelessness, bettering education, or curbing poverty?  Is it possible to weave a standard method of evaluation through a variety of themes, lens, and perspectives?  Should we even try for one approach, […]

Read more
Obama Announces Food Crisis Initiative at G-20 Press Conference
April 6, 2009 3 min. read

President Obama announced a plan designed, in part, to combat the global food crisis* on the final day of the G-20 summit in London last week.  The initiative allots $448 million to address immediate aid concerns in Latin America and Africa, and allocates another $1 billion for the development of a long-term food security strategy. […]

Read more
Newly Released House Energy and Climate Legislation Contains More Aggressive Measures than Obama Plan
April 6, 2009 3 min. read

Senior US Representatives Henry Waxman (D-Calif) and Ed Markey (D-Mass) today released draft cap-and-trade legislation that would reshape US energy and climate policy through drastic cuts in emissions in the next 20 years and significant increases in renewables by 2025. The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES), intended to “create jobs, help […]

Read more
The Media's Record of Life Lost in War
April 6, 2009 2 min. read

Air Force Staff Sgt. Phillip A. Myers was only 30 years old when he died in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. He was thousands of miles from his home in Hopewell, Virginia when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) wounded and killed him. But as fate would have it, his death and return to his family in the […]

Read more
Rising Powers: Use Military Force and Risk Your Soul
April 6, 2009 3 min. read

Political scientists study the power of states, looking at the linkages between a society’s economic and political strengths and its capacity to use or threaten military force.   The assessment of a country’s power is made relative to other states in the international system.  Yet the use of military force itself is tricky, because it can […]

Read more
IDF chief discounts war crimes violations
April 6, 2009 1 min. read

A top Israeli army official denied statements made by members of the Israeli military that soldiers had committed war crimes in the offensive on the Gaza Strip. Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi discounted allegations raised in February that Israeli soldiers had violated the laws of war regarding actions against the civilian population […]

Read more
The Contentious Eastern European Missile Defense Shield
April 5, 2009 4 min. read

One of the most vocal rising powers – Russia – shone on the world stage this past week.  President Dmitry Medvedev made his way to the G20 Summit in London via Berlin.  He met with several world leaders, agreeing on economics with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, forging a stronger bilateral relationship with Chinese President Hu […]

Read more
The energy around the stimulus
April 5, 2009 2 min. read

The Los Angeles Times captures some of the excitement around the stimulus package and the opportunity for it to create jobs. In the bleak economy, such enthusiasm (in addition to federal funding) can help create opportunities. But the sustainability of the of the government largess is questionable unless it can create a market through incentives […]

Read more
Bestsellers List. . .
April 4, 2009 1 min. read

Capitalism vs. Capitalism By MICHEL ALBERT (4Walls 8Windows, 1993) Very relevant to restructuring of the Global financial architecture and regulatory framework debate that will be driving the discussions at the upcoming G-20 Summit.  I first read this back in the early 90’s but it has seen a revival in the context of current global economic crisis.  It examines the two prevailing […]

Read more

Popular from Press