Albright's Advice
September 18, 2008 2 min. read

Would the foreign policy of Barack Obama be dramatically different than that of President Bush? In this video, former Secretary of State and Obama advisor Madeleine Albright offers a to-do list for the next president (FORA.tv – Albright on the US Presidency's Future): Madeleine Albright discusses America's current standing on the global stage, explaining the […]

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Yemen Embassy Attack Should Have Been Much, Much Worse
September 18, 2008 2 min. read

In an immediate response to the attack on the US Embassy in Yemen, local authorities (with much American aid) have arrested at least 30 people in or around the capital. The terrorist attack, which left 16 dead including the assailants, highlights an increasing trend of small-arms, non-sophisticated explosives, and loosely affiliated individuals targeting immediate "soft-targets'. […]

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The Financial Crisis Seen from London and New York
September 18, 2008 4 min. read

The media in the two top Western financial centers, London and New York, differed in emphasis in their reporting of Sunday's dramatic turmoil on Wall Street – including the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers – with the British media tending to highlight the human side, while their American counterparts stressed the enormity of the blow to […]

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UN Watch criticizes Human Rights Council
September 18, 2008 2 min. read

The 9th Session on Human Rights is fond of statements, of pointing out the obvious, the atrocious.  It is its duty to bring world attention to the baser instincts of human nature.  But translated into action these causes often lack the will and sincerity of governments. Yesterday morning, Hillel Nueur of the United Nations Watch […]

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Iftaar Dinner at the White House
September 18, 2008 1 min. read

The White House website informs Americans about yesterday's official Iftaar dinner. President Bush attended the dinner and gave a small speech to commemorate the holy month of Ramadan. Muslim congressmen Keith Ellison and Andre Carson were noted to be in attendance, and the President specifically mentioned the role of Muslims in the United States in […]

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Deadly Baby Formula in China
September 18, 2008 2 min. read

Over the last week news of investigations into China's latest manufacturing scandal has made headlines and once again shaken parents. Shocked consumers are no longer outraged by toxic toys, but toxic infant formula! The scandal first broke last week as China detained 19 as Toxic Formula Sickens Hundreds of Infants on Monday in connection with […]

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Karadzic Hearing
September 18, 2008 1 min. read

Agence-France Press reports indicted Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic repeated his allegations that he was offered immunity by Richard Holbrooke to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) today, asserting that Holbrooke acted on behalf of the entire United Nations Security Council and, therefore, that his immunity offer should be considered binding. Despite […]

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U.S. Arms Sales
September 17, 2008 2 min. read

The United States is the largest arms merchant in the world, selling to great powers and small countries alike. According to this report in The New York Times, business is good: From tanks, helicopters and fighter jets to missiles, remotely piloted aircraft and even warships, the Department of Defense has agreed so far this fiscal […]

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How Can Public Diplomacy Fix This?
September 17, 2008 4 min. read

An international poll released last week shows that there is no consensus outside the United States about who was behind the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. From the press release: “A new WorldPublicOpinion.org poll of 17 nations finds that majorities in only nine of them believe that al Qaeda was behind the 9/11 terrorist […]

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9th Session of Human Rights Council
September 17, 2008 2 min. read

The 9th Session of Human Rights Council discussed  the issue of Darfur.  Yesterday morning Sima Samar,the UN special rapporteur for Sudan, presented her report. Her findings reveal Sudan's human rights have eroded since the surprise attack against Khartoum on May 10th. Government crackdowns against supposed dissidents are widespread. Violence against children and women continues unabated […]

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Hamas's 'war on terror'?
September 17, 2008 3 min. read

Palestinian media sources report that Hamas-allied security forces killed seven members of the Army of Islam (AI) group in a shootout in the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City yesterday. The shooting involved members of the Daghmoush clan, killing the brother of AI's leader Ibrahim Daghmoush. The total body count was reported to be 11, according […]

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More Groundbreaking Work on Efficiency
September 17, 2008 3 min. read

There are two important reports just out on energy efficiency.  One is from the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the other is from American Physical Society.  There is also a major building energy conservation program getting underway in the UK.  (I have written about the critical subject of energy efficiency here, here and here since […]

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