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In moves characterizing the country’s resurgence, Russia continues to regain and assert influence over its neighbors and in America’s backyard. First in Russia’s “near abroad,” both Central Asia and the Caucasus are considered by Moscow to be within its sphere of influence. Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev decided to close the United States air base in […]

You can’t praise Betsy Kolbert enough, in my opinion.  She has been the must lucid, grounded, smart and committed journalist writing about climate change for several years.  In The War on Rachel Carson here from a couple of years ago, I wrote “Nota Bene –   I put Betsy Kolbert in a class with Rachel Carson.  […]

President Obama welcomed Brazil’s President Luiz Ignacio ‘Lula’ Da Silva as the first Latin American leader to the White House to discuss, energy, agricultural and economic trade issues between the two hemispheric partners.

In a stark departure from the previous administration, U.S. President Barack Obama called for the use of international law as a standard for determining the basis for holding detainees at Guantanamo Bay. “As we work toward developing a new policy to govern detainees, it is essential that we operate in a manner that strengthens our […]

“I would take the banana cream pie we are going to make a little later on. You can either feed it to him if he calms down or you can throw it at him.” –Domestic guru Martha Stewart coaches CNBC’s Jim Cramer on how to handle Jon Stewart before Cramer’s humiliating appearance on The Daily […]

This week, an unusual opinion piece appeared on the Wall Street Journal online. Tawfik Hamid wrote, “Islam Should Prove It’s a Religion of Peace.” Looking back over the past few months, I have noticed that a common theme in articles about religion is “proof.” Specifically, the question is: Who is responsible for proving facts about […]

“Children will not fear life if their elders have integrity enough not to fear death.” – Erik Homburger Erikson (June 15, 1902 – May 12, 1994) was a Danish-German-American developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst known for his theory on social development of human beings. Children learn every aspect of life from their elders, including how to […]

Today Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao expressed his worry about the security of Chinese investments in American debt.  The US has taken hard hits from the global financial crisis and Beijing is naturally worried.  Wen said: “To be honest, I am a little bit worried and I would like to … call on the United States […]

Gaffes by the United States in dealing with the world’s rising powers seem to be happening frequently. Joshua Keating writes an entertaining post in Foreign Policy Passport about rescheduling Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s meeting at the White House, misspelling his name and giving DVDs as a gift to British Prime Minister Gordon […]

The International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU), ten of the world’s leading research universities, and the University of Copenhagen, organized a conference that took place in Copenhagen this week.  The scientists, economists, journalists and others gathered heard some startling news in a series of updates on the science of climate change.  The IPCC issued its […]

“The United States doesn’t have friends; it has interests.” That from a US official speaking to a Rwandan human rights activist. That was the line most governments used while sitting idly by during one of the worst genocides of the 20th century.  [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/agYCx2sPg98″ width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]  “Ghosts of Rwanda” is a Frontline documentary […]