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With the aid of hindsight, we can now understand that the Russia-Georgia conflict over South Ossetia wasthe product of miscalculations and misperceptions on the part of both the Georgian and Russian leadership. But to many the conflict reveals much about the current state of international affairs, and provides a base from which the US can calculate its future foreign […]

We were talking about the ocean. Now let’s talk about the earth. More specifically, let’s focus on the soil , that which gives us the food that all of us need. There is a truly terrific piece in the latest “National Geographic,” Our Good Earth. It looks at all manner of good news and bad […]

  In this New York Times op-ed, Prof. Ronald Steel, University of Southern California, argues that the U.S. needs to return to treating Russia as a superpower (A Superpower Is Reborn): The limits of Russia's post-cold-war retreat have apparently been reached, and the reversal of the power equation has gone too far to be sustained. […]

"Bringing Down a Dictator" is a testament to the human spirit. It chronicles the actions of a grassroots movement called Otpor! (Serbian for "Resistance") that miraculously brought Yugoslav dictator Slobodan Milosevic out of power. The organization of Otpor! was ingenious because there was no central command, no official leaders. What they accomplished in a year's […]

An excellent interview on TheWorld website looks at the reconstruction of mosques in Banja Luka , the capital of the Serb-run part of Bosnia. The backdrop of the rebuilding is the capture last month of Radovan Karadzic. The discussion is with Andras Reidlmayer, an expert of Islamic architecture at Harvard, Bedrudin Gusic, the president of […]

I came across an interesting interview (pasted below) with the chairman of the Muslim Brotherhood's political department, which was featured on the group's English language website earlier this month. It covers the organization's views on the prospects for democracy in Egypt, the role of outside actors in promoting democracy, and other key issues shaping Egyptian […]

These photos are too good not to put up here.  They come courtesy of Bill Romatzick.  We met Bill and his wife, Sue, both experienced divers, on our vacation.  The first is the flying gurnard which I spotted in the sand on a snorkel trip.  The second is a sea turtle.  The third is a […]

In despite of numerous, and seemingly successful, efforts to alleviate malnutrition in Sri Lankan children, children continue to be malnurished.  Why are so many children still malnurished, despite numerous health programs in incitives?  Inspite of various successes the country remains in a serious child health crisis, as reported in a newly released survey.  The Demographic and Health Survey 2006/2007, […]

Joanne Tomkinson for Reuters has this piece highlighting some of the criticisms against current chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo.  Tomkinson points to an article in The Guardian where several representatives of Human Rights Watch have criticized the management of Moreno-Ocampo. Supporters of the court fear that Moreno-Ocampo's style of management is […]

It is easy, indeed customary, for contemporary politicians and pundits to dismiss Osama bin Laden as "insane', "illogical', and "evil'. If this were true, the man and his movement would be far easier to dismantle. Instead, OBL is a result of a methodological, organized movement based in decades of Islamic thought. This article outlines the […]

Various news agencies today have reported the success of international activists in ‘breaking’ the embargo of the Gaza Strip. Setting sail from Cyprus in two small boats dubbed ‘Break the Siege’, the activists, who sought to raise awareness of the crisis in Gaza, were allowed to proceed to Gaza's shores after being briefly held up […]

Suzanne Sataline, with the Wall Street Journal, wrote an article today titled, "For Some Evangelicals, GOP Ties are No Longer Binding." In some ways, after several months of analyzing the Christian vote, this kind of article is old news. On the other hand, the interviews and facts, which Sataline includes, portray quite well the changing […]