Weekend Humor
March 7, 2009 1 min. read

It will be difficult to “reset” relations between the former Cold War foes if the United States and Russia can’t communicate. In an effort to jokingly symbolize a fresh start, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a fake reset button as a gift to her Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in a meeting […]

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The Hope For The Future Is In Our Hands
March 7, 2009 1 min. read

Our children are our only hope for the future, but we are their only hope for their present and their future. -Zig Ziglar The hope for the future truly lies in our hands, as we shape and mold the world around them, we enable the worlds children to thrive. Life is fragile and delicate, we […]

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Inspecting private food inspectors
March 7, 2009 1 min. read

Recent food safety scares in the U.S. have sparked an investigation by The New York Times* into an over-reliance on private (or third-party) food inspectors to certify the safety of food processing plants.  In some cases, as in the Peanut Corporation of America scandal, the inspectors were hired by the companies being inspected, leading to […]

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Winds of Change in U.S. Foreign Aid Policy?
March 6, 2009 2 min. read

Countries hit heavily by food shortages often rely greatly on foreign food aid to prevent starvation.   The United States is the leading donor in food aid worldwide, but its food aid policies have come under heavy criticism by analysts.  Often this criticism comes as a result of the practice of “dumping,” as described in […]

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The ICC More Harm Than Good?
March 6, 2009 4 min. read

On Tuesday, March 3, 2006, the International Criminal Court (ICC), issued international arrest warrant for the President of Sudan, the warrant was issued for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The arrest warrant was immediately met with defiance by, President Omar al Bashir, and his government denounced the warrant, claiming it was only a ploy […]

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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
March 6, 2009 4 min. read

Henry Waxman has been My Man ever since the Acid Rain Wars of the 1980s. He has been quietly but forcefully reconfiguring the House Energy and Commerce Committee to achieve an optimum environmental effect with the critical energy and climate change legislation that will be forthcoming this year.  In an article from ClimateWire in yesterday’s […]

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Clinton opens many windows for Rising Powers
March 6, 2009 2 min. read

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets today with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva.  US-Russia relations are looking positive.  Yesterday, NATO and Russia restarted relations after they were cut off over last summer’s Georgia conflict.  This week, Russian President Medvedev turned down a proposal by US President Obama suggesting an exchange for a […]

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Gender issues at heart of Iran's political landscape?
March 6, 2009 3 min. read

The political landscape and fight for equal rights of women in Iran is one that demands patience, perseverance, and strength.  Indeed, this is the country that issued a fatwah against Salman Rushdie on a fateful Valentine’s Day in 1989.  Shortly afterward the Japanese translator of The Satanic Verses was stabbed to death.  The Italian translator […]

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Resetting U.S. – Russian Relations
March 5, 2009 1 min. read

Thanks to Vice-President Biden, “pressing the reset button” is now the new catchphrase for describing U.S. – Russian relations. How that button gets pressed is the topic of breezy as well as in-depth analysis from any number of popular publications. This BBC News report offers a topical breakdown of U.S. – Russia relations, focusing on […]

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Green Stimulus
March 5, 2009 3 min. read

In “Climate of Change”, I celebrated the first Obama budget proposal, along with the economic stimulus package and the renewables tax credit package from the autumn, as just what the doctor ordered for the push to decarbonize the economy and create hundreds of thousands of green jobs. Two of the world’s most eminent economists, Joseph […]

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Is This the End of China's Boom?
March 5, 2009 2 min. read

Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao spoke optimistically about China’s flagging economy during his annual address to the National People’s Congress. Wen outlined extensive measures to enable continued economic growth. In anticipation of new investments Asian markets moved higher on Wednesday, but the Premier did not specify any spending beyond previous commitments. China’s leaders have long […]

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NATO Warms to Russia
March 5, 2009 2 min. read

Foreign ministers at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) agreed to resume high-level relations with Russia during a meeting today in Brussels. NATO severed normal ties with Russia following the country’s invasion of Georgia (an aspiring NATO member) last summer. Moscow subsequently recognized the independence of two breakaway regions – Abkhazia and South Ossetia – […]

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