A huge topic in academia at the moment is the changing global economic and political landscape. The “Reshaping Power, Shifting Boundaries” theme of the 2012 International Political Science Association conference being held in Madrid in July is a testament of this. Academics from around the world will gather to discuss how power is being reconfigured […]
Sheikh Abdel-Mageed al-Zindani a prominent cleric and staunched opponent to the regime is adding to his many list of alleged crimes, human testing. The Sheikh who is now in hiding since President Ali Abdullah Saleh issued a warrant for his arrest earlier this year for his ties with al-Qaeda militants has been on the American […]
The Civil Coalition of Youth Revolution (CCYR) announced rejection of the Gulf’s agreement which was signed by President Saleh’s regime and the opposition Wednesday in Riyadh. The following is the official statement issued by the group. It should be noted that the great majority of Yemeni are against an immunity clause for Saleh, his family […]
A term that does not yet exist, but may be a simple and direct explanation of how many institutions, governments and companies currently operate is to call these organisations Idiotocracies. An Idiotocracy can be defined as a structure, group of managers or culture within an institution that actively works to undermine and slowly destroy and […]
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Japan will offer Iraq $750 million in his meeting with visiting Iraqi leader Nouri al-Maliki Tuesday. The loans will go toward refurbishing oil refineries and other infrastructure and health care projects. Noda said: “We are proud of having contributed to the development of Iraq through yen loans and technical cooperation. […]
Another sad day for Azerbaijan, a country saddled with more than its fair share of injustice and pain. Rafiq Tagi, who was hospitalized a mere three days ago after being stabbed by unknown assailants, died today in a Baku hospital of complications after initial treatment for his wounds and surgery to remove his spleen. He […]
I recently came across two worthwhile pieces on Persian Gulf states punching above their weight. The first is a New York Times analysis of Qatar, the lil’ oil rich country that could: Qatar is smaller than Connecticut, and its native population, at 225,000, wouldn’t fill Cairo’s bigger neighborhoods. But for a country that inspires equal […]
“One Vision, One Identity, One Community” is the motto of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Was that the case in 2011? The region was predictably under-covered by the US mainstream media. I tried my best to bring unique, insightful coverage of the region as best I could from afar, highlighting a different country […]
One of my pet peeves is when I run into a friend or acquaintance and they say: “Gail, where ya’ been. Haven’t seen you in quite a while”. The implication being if they don’t see me I don’t exist; which brings me to the topic of today’s blog. During the last 20 years or so, […]
So I just received a press release from Senator Rand Paul’s (R-KY) communications director, Moira Bagley, informing the American public that her boss has introduced an amendment to the Department of Defense Authorization bill to formally end the war in Iraq. According to the release: The war in Iraq cannot be considered definitively concluded if […]
If you are a follower of foreign affairs, you are likely aware of the Obama Administration’s decision to table the Keystone XL pipeline deal until after the 2012 election. Because the project is an important bilateral commercial deal with implications for American energy security, I thought I’d briefly comment on it here. This was a […]
The year 2011 saw dramatic changes in Africa’s landscape. The unprecedented sweep of the North African uprising has endangered the lives of in Egyptians, Libyans and Tunisians. Instability caused by election disputes in Côte d’Ivoire and Zimbabwe coasted the lives of thousands of protesting. The long waited independence movement of South Sudan has come to […]
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