Over the last few weeks I have noticed a transformation in the actions and rhetoric of Brazilian statesmen. None of Brasilia’s undertakings seem to be remarkable or abnormal when examined individually. Yet when viewed in the aggregate, it is hard to miss the new trend found within Brazil’s dealings with the outside world. A selection […]
TOP BILLING: Beijing’s Secret Succession Battle Willy Lam. Wall Street Journal. 24 September 2009. The Hakka People, China’s Leadership Caste “Curzon” ComingAnarchy.com 3 October 2009. Few people possess as much power as the ruling elites of the Chinese Communist Party. For American statesmen and diplomats, few topics have as much importance as the internal divisions […]
OBAMA’s WARMartin Smith. Frontline. 1 October 2009. This video was first brought to my attention by a post over at War News Updates. The editor of that site linked favorably to the summary of the video over at Danger Room, where Noah Shactman states, “It’s best televised look I’ve seen yet at how these marines […]
The security blogosphere is buzzing with talk of the Obama administration’s decision to scrap planned missile defense architecture in Eastern Europe. The majority of commentators have been content to play the role of cheerleader, offering no substantial analysis of the reasoning behind this decision or the diplomatic consequences of its implementation. As I read the […]
Today the White House briefing room released a press report on American missile architecture in Europe. The portion of the report pertaining to this post reads as follows: Fact Sheet on U.S. Missile Defense Policy: A “Phased, Adaptive Approach” for Missile Defense in Europe White House Office of the Press Secretary. 17 September 2009. Throughout […]
Tomorrow I shall be moving from my current home in Minnesota to the state of Hawaii. It could be a while before I have proper access to the internet and the time to write up a new post. I ask my readers not to expect anything new over the next week or so. I will […]
TOP BILLING: The Ultimate Burden Bob Herbert. New York Times. 24 August 2009. Bob Herbert writes a disquieting Jeremiad against the American people for allowing their best men to have their limbs and faces torn off without giving a damn. By far the best opinion editorial I have read this year from the New […]
Obama Addresses Nation as Military Offensive in Yemen BeginsScott Rayman. New York Times. 10 January 2011. WASHINGTON (REUTERS) — American forces unleashed a punishing air attack Sunday against military targets and Al-Qaeda camps inside Yemen, striking at terrorists blamed for the Black Friday attacks that murdered hundreds of Americans across the American Southwest. “The perpetrators […]
Japan has a new ruling party. In a landmark election the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) gained a majority in both houses of the Diet for the first time in its history. Yet the significance of this election has much less to do with the DPJ and much more to do those whom they knocked […]
What stops population growth?Lecture by Hans Rosling. Gapminder Foundation 1 January 2009. An intelligent lecture that uses dynamic graphics to disprove a few population-related myths. Well worth the ten minutes it takes to watch. H/T to Dot Earth.