What Happens After the US Passes a Debt Limit Deal?
Seniors and the elderly are going to pay for this new “American Austerity”, those who can least afford it. Lets face facts: if there are no revenue increases, there will have to be cuts in pretty much every part of the US budget. If there is no cut in military spending, it will be you and me, the average American taxpayer who will feel the cuts. Sadly, nothing good will come out of any of this.
The Shifting Nature of Chinese Intelligence Operations
The People’s Republic of China, from its very inception, has placed a high premium on intelligence gathering and covert operations. The focus of Chinese intelligence activity has taken on a new shape. There has been a shift away from a sole concentration on militarily technology related espionage and the advent of a more broadly commercial focus.
Has Palestine Had Enough Of Fayyad?
Salam Fayyad, the western-educated economist/Prime Minister of the West Bank, has been the point man for western backed development efforts throughout Palestine. With the controversial vote on Palestinian statehood approaching and the reconciliation of Fatah and Hamas nearly complete, Fayyad may soon find himself a victim of the inconsistencies and contradictions in his national strategy.
Human Rights in the Context of International Relations
In the struggle for public justice, international human rights provide not just legal resources as based on positive law, but also political means anchored in public legitimacy. Additionally, human rights function not merely to protect people with regard to the freedoms and entitlements they have already acquired, but in their emancipatory struggles for socio-political transformation as well.
It’s too hot and it’s getting even hotter here in DC!
And this is where it gets difficult for me to admit. In my ignorant understanding of economics, the idea of a balanced budget does not seem like a bad idea. You make sure you can pay for what you use. The questions I want answers to are what are the benefits and what are the costs associated with a balanced budget?
Follow the Money: DPRK Style
After a stalemate of slightly over three years, diplomats are resuscitating the Six Party Talks, negotiations started in 2008 between the United States, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Russia, and China in an effort to denuclearize North Korea, officially the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), and mitigate the brinkmanship of the Kim Jong Il regime.
The Linked Challenges of Global Climate Change and Local Peace
The UN Security Council recently met to debate the risks of climate change to global peace and security. Yet, practical measures to address these goals remain superficial, off-target & isolated. Now is the time to shift our focus from direct environmental impacts to broader threats at a local level.
Debunking a Phenomenon: the “Arab Spring” Misconception
The so called “Arab Spring” has been a popular notion in American media. US academics, journalists and politicians speak of the most recent Middle Eastern revolutionary movements as a single and similar wave of reform that they deem as one that could be defined along racial lines. Not only is this approach methodically flawed, but it also overrides a sense of remarkable national pride for individual nations.
Politicizing Famine Relief in the Horn of Africa Will Cost Lives
Humanitarian assistance is supposed to be provided impartially, on the basis of need and without concern for the politics of who is right. Civilians should not be punished for the sake of making political points or achieving a military victory. What is needed now is a singular focus in getting the access and supplies needed to prevent mass starvation. Politics can wait.
Turkey in the Unpredictable Middle East
Mastery of style and charismatic personalities are constants of Turkey’s celebrated leaders and incumbent Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is no exception. But what counts for an effective foreign policy is not noise but outcomes. With the right ingredients, Turkey will be in an enviable position to fully utilise its strategic geography, NATO membership and web of relations to advance Turkish interests in the region.
