March 31, 2009 :: Webb Tisch :: Comments Off
The White House gets tough with automakers and Wall Street ‘takes a dive’. At least that’s the news the CNBCs of the world are pushing. Every time something happens in the world and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) swells or declines, it was direct cause and effect. Nevermind the millions of people who may have milions of reasons to act one way or another and the countless permutations of those interests.
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March 30, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
Trials of those guilty of unspeakable atrocities in the campaign of terror waged by the ultra-totalitarian Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia are finally underway, 30 years after the crimes of the killing fields were committed.
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March 30, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: One Comment
Investigators in several countries say they have uncovered a global “ghost net” of cyber-espionage, with major centers in three Chinese provinces and a foothold in California. Just one of the group’s alleged cyber-spies is said to have created a system that hacked into 30,000 computers per day. The investigation began with a probe into alleged hacking of computers used by the Dalai Lama in exile in India.
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March 27, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you so much. Well, it is great to see all of you. And I am thrilled that all of you here in the White House and everybody who is viewing this online is participating in this experiment that we’re trying out. When I was running for President, I promised to open up the White House to the American people. And this event, which is being streamed live over the Internet, marks an important step towards achieving that goal. And I’m looking forward to taking your questions and hearing your thoughts and concerns — because what matters to you and your families, and what people here in Washington are focused on, aren’t always one and the same thing.
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March 27, 2009 :: Webb Tisch :: Comments Off
Pres. Barack Obama held a live online town hall meeting yesterday, which is reported to have attracted 3.5 million viewers and 100,000 participants. It was a landmark event in the developing media of interactive democracy in 21st century politics. It was an opportunity for the president to reach out directly to the public in order [...]
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March 26, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
Estamos acostumbrados a pensar que sabemos cuál es la forma del mundo, cómo es la situación del ser humano en el universo, qué cosas sufre y por qué, o por lo menos qué cosas no puede aceptar y por qué, y es obvio, siendo seres humanos, todos y cada uno de nosotros vive la tentación de pensar que sabemos, con autoridad, de qué va esto que llamamos la condición humana.
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March 24, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
Pres. Obama tonight held his second prime time press conference, in the East Room of the White House, at 8pm, EDT. The main topic of the evening was the president’s budget proposal and the process of economic recovery. Obama opened with a prepared statement, before taking questions from the press corps. He praised efforts being made around the nation to implement projects that are creating new jobs, and defended his plan for a tax cut for 95% of working families.
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March 24, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
The status of women is not actually “equal” to that of men in any society in the world, despite decades of major advances in many countries both rich and poor. The UN’s annual Commission on the Status of Women seeks to examine in-depth those programs underway, especially in the developing world, to speed the shift toward greater gender equality, setting out a series of global standards in the form of “agreed conclusions”.
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March 23, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
The government of Sudan, based in Khartoum, and under the rule of Pres. Omar Hassan al-Bashir, has expelled more than a dozen international aid organizations from the country, charging that their activities in Darfur helped agents for the International Criminal Court (ICC) develop their war crimes case against Bashir. Bashir has been indicted on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes, and a fierce crack-down on dissent, press and international visitors, has been underway since.
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March 20, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
The converging crises of carbon-induced climate destabilization and unsustainable transport-related costs and land-use are pushing global society toward a moment of major change, in which “fuel” as we know it will be less a matter of resourced-fuel combustion and more a matter of renewable clean electric power storage and delivery. The petroleum industry needs to adjust its business model to operate in a world where burning its prime resource is not the goal.
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March 19, 2009 :: The Editors :: One Comment
Andry Rajoelina, legally 6 years too young, assumes Madagascar presidency, after Marc Ravalomanana is forced to step down. Ravalomanana had vowed to fight to keep his office and had proposed a referendum to let the people decide, but military forces stormed the presidential palace and the president resigned and fled. From Johannesburg, Xinhua reports: The [...]
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March 18, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: 2 Comments
The Sudanese government attempted an artful campaign of misinformation by way of its presentation at the 53rd Commission on the Status of Women last week in New York. The event, hosted by the Sudanese Women Parliamentary Caucus (SWPC), focused on a government-backed study that was designed to show Khartoum to be concerned about violence against women, willing to take great pains to combat it, yet unable to find evidence of many cases in war-torn Darfur.
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March 17, 2009 :: Anjika Sridhar :: Comments Off
Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhary, the former chief justice of the Pakistan Supreme Court, who was dismissed by extraconstitutional means by then Pres. Pervez Musharraf, during the general’s desperate efforts to retain power in late 2007, will be reinstated by Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan’s current president.
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March 15, 2009 :: Denver Lessing :: 2 Comments
The web of interests concentrated in the National Rifle Association and which spends millions of dollars to lobby against gun control legislation in Congress may be inadvertently aiding in the reign of terror being waged by drug cartels in northern Mexico. Recent reports suggest as much as 90% of the weapons used by the cartels come from north of the border.
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March 13, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: One Comment
The Pacific Islands region is comprised of 22 nations, with a combined population of roughly 9 million, more than half of which live in Papua New Guinea. The island nations present a range of complex and unique issues for development and gender-equality efforts, including entrenched social attitudes that limit women’s ability to pursue education and career performance equal to those available to men, benefitting women’s autonomy and society broadly.
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March 11, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: 3 Comments
The best thing China’s ruling Communist party can do for itself, for its people and for the stability of the nation, is take seriously all petitions for redress of grievances, investigate all claims of official corruption, negligence or assault, give weight to collective or individual property claims by punishing officials who steal property, blaze a path toward transparency in banking, ban government cover-ups and establish a zero-tolerance policy for public officials who use their power to punish or intimidate citizens who come forward seeking justice.
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March 11, 2009 :: Riga Listin :: One Comment
Pres. Barack Obama today signed an executive order creating a special White House Council on Women and Girls, saying the cause of gender equality dates back to the founding of the United States, the promise that natural and democratic rights would be acknowledged for all citizens.
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March 9, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: 4 Comments
An array of reports show some 1,200 people living in a growing tent city outside the California capital Sacramento, as more and more people are left homeless by the housing crisis. The UK’s Daily Mail on Friday detailed the community, noting echoes of the Depression era. There are an estimated 2,000 people living in such communities around Sacramento, with foreclosure and jobless rates skyrocketing.
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March 7, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Yesterday, we learned that the economy lost another 651,000 jobs in the month of February, which brings the total number of jobs lost in this recession to 4.4 million. The unemployment rate has now surpassed 8 percent, the highest rate in a quarter century. These aren’t just statistics, but hardships experienced personally by millions of Americans who no longer know how they’ll pay their bills, or make their mortgage, or raise their families.
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March 6, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Kenya PM Raila Odinga denounces murder of human rights advocates… Sudan ambassador to UN says aid groups “spoiling” country, while Khartoum continues campaign against civilians in Darfur… GOP blocks spending bill for “earmarks”, despite requesting over 4,000 of them; GOP leaders propose “spending freeze”, a policy embraced by Pres. Herbert Hoover, which sped the arrival of the Great Depression… Italy to build world’s longest suspension bridge in stimulus plan, linking Sicily to mainland…
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March 5, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: 3 Comments
Saying the nation cannot afford any further delay, Pres. Barack Obama told a joint session of Congress last week, “let there be no doubt, healthcare reform cannot wait, it must not wait and it will not wait another year.” He promised he would begin meetings this week, to begin formulating the strategy that would best achieve the goal of “quality, affordable healthcare coverage for all Americans”.
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March 5, 2009 :: Evelyn Winston Perez :: Comments Off
The indictment of Sudanese president Omar Hassan al-Bashir by the International Criminal Court means the nation of Sudan itself is, under international treaties to which it is party, obliged to arrest and extradite its own president. But the regime of the authoritarian ruler has, unsurprisingly, rejected that obligation and says the indictment is a conspiracy against Sudan by western powers.
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March 5, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
There is an irresponsible analysis of economic outlook speeding over the airwaves these days, implying that if the stock market doesn’t “respond” favorably to a given political announcement then that is 1) a “vote” of no confidence in said policy, and 2) proof that said policy is obviously wrong. This analysis is a vicious disservice to the American people: markets respond to thousands of variables, which in combination represent countless numbers of interests large and small, problems large and small and long-term outlooks more and less long-term.
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March 4, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
The International Criminal Court has issued a warrant for the arrest of Sudanese president Omar Hassan al-Bashir, on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Bashir is charged with waging a deliberate, sustained campaign of violence and terror against civilians.
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March 3, 2009 :: Severino Villalonso :: Comments Off
Raúl Castro, brother and replacement of Fidel Castro, who headed Cuba’s revolutionary government for nearly 50 years, has replaced two top officials who were long-time aides to his brother and potential successors. The move is being called a clear indication that Raúl Castro is now the true leader of the Cuban state, not just a place-holder for his ailing brother.
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March 3, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Pres. Barack Obama today visited the Interior Dept., noting it was once called in jest “the Department of Everything Else”, a government agency with responsibility for nearly 1/5 of the entire land area of the United States. He professed his intention to task the Interior Dept. with taking major steps to help build green infrastructure for an energy economy based on solar-voltaic and wind-turbine-generated energy.
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March 3, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
Among the institutional biases we are now seeing come to the surface, as turbulent waters jostle the status quo, we find the unhealthy bias of so many on Wall Street toward big, unwieldy institutions, a bias rooted in economic principles too few of those carrying the bias fully understand. Big businesses can benefit from “economies of scale”, which can be good for the bottom line and bring prices down for consumers, but we are seeing too many too-big businesses that don’t fulfill this promise.
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March 3, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Zimbabwe has released a top human rights activist whose detention was illegal, according to activists, the opposition and foreign governments. Zimbabwe power-sharing arrangement still under strain as Mugabe regime seeks to guard against prosecution for past crimes. After a sustained series of bombings across Pakistan, an attack by gunmen in Lahore, this time targeting a [...]
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March 3, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
The Amazon Kindle is a nice device, and it handles its job well, but it is just a very clumsy start to what will be a technological convergence few in mainstream media (and publishing) are anticipating, though it may not be far off. The page-perfect, for lack of a better term, e-reading device will make portable electronic reading easier and more comfortable than ever, packing huge amounts of data, as well as wireless downloading and even browsing capability, into an ultrathin tablet touchscreen.
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March 2, 2009 :: Riga Listin :: Comments Off
The United States and the Russian Federation are reportedly planning lengthy and in-depth discussions in Geneva, starting Friday, to improve relations and strengthen bilateral efforts in a number of areas. Security in Europe, the Middle East and the far East will all be on the agenda, as will nuclear non-proliferation and negotiation with Iran to halt its nuclear program.
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March 2, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Insurance giant AIG to receive its 4th rescue package from the US government, after announcing quarterly losses exceeding $60 billion. The firm has received $150 billion in financial rescue to date. The president of Guinea Bissau has been assassinated. The small western African nation, among the world’s poorest, has a turbulent history of military coups [...]
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March 2, 2009 :: Denver Lessing :: 2 Comments
The Obama administration is looking at the severity of the banking crisis with a mind to settling the issue of survivability and recoverability of banks, case by case, based on facts in evidence. The first step will be to gather evidence, through a series of ‘stress tests’ designed to examine what resources troubled banks have to weather oncoming storms, then plan according to the results of those tests.
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March 2, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
The hardest thing to understand about the current, and deepening, economic crisis, is that it came about largely because some of the most experienced, well-staffed and prestigious financial institutions in the world gambled on untenable projects of unlimited expansion, without ever producing sound mathematics to back up the projections. Philosophical exuberance replaced philosophical underpinnings, and the dynamo of financial speculation greased the wheels of commerce in a way that masked underlying shortfalls.
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