The 2003 military action against Saddam Hussein’s regime was supposed to lessen the danger, for the West and especially for Israel, of state-sponsored terrorism. If the military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan were successful however, what followed could rightfully be called a fiasco.
As of this month, for example, oil-rich Iraq has become a parliamentary democracy of sorts. The polls have [...]
Bunul meu prieten Liviu Antonesei mi-a trimis recent unul din editorialele sale, pe care le publica mai nou in Adevarul . Intitulat sugestiv “Monopol pe anticomunism”, articolul descrie modul samavolnic in care “anticomunisti de ziua a saptea” ca Ioan Stanomir sau Vladimir Tismaneanu l-au inlaturat de la conducerea Institutului pentru Studierea Crimelor Comunismului pe istoricul [...]
Latin American countries have made great strides in achieving political stability in recent years. Countries like Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia and Ecuador, to give but a few examples, have solved their differences peacefully, helping each other on the path to economic development.
In 2008, twelve Latin American countries have decided to form a defense alliance, Unasur, dedicated to [...]
Last week’s 70-minute reception of the Dalai Lama by President Obama has greatly increased the tensions between the US and China, apparently putting Hu Jintao’s planned trip to Washington in April in doubt.
Whilst it is hard to gauge what US policymakers hope to gain from supporting Dalai Lama, one thing is clear : God has [...]
Consider for a moment the following scenario. The leaders of Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Egypt and Sudan decide to create an African economic comunity. By putting aside their historical differences, they adopt the necessary institutional framework, prompting a boom in investment, exports and jobs. These developments attract resource-poor, cash-rich Britain. On the basis of its colonial past [...]
In the wake of the attacks on Greece, Portugal and Spain’s credit ratings, it is worth knowing how NY speculators - the same who provoked the 2007-2008 global financial crisis - are now using rumour-mongering and the subsequent investor panic to turn a profit. Pitiful, but true.
In an editorial on the current debt crisis (”Cost of insuring debt is [...]
By now, the scenario employed against Greece, Portugal and Spain by New York-based international financial scoundrels is all too familiar to anyone who recalls the events of the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis. Then, as now, hedge funds targeted a country whose GDP was largely dependent on tourist dollars - Thailand - and had fiscal problems at the time. [...]
Last week’s Davos Economic Forum became a center stage for condemning casino capitalism in earnest. The most comprehensive critique came from French President Nicolas Sarkozy. His attacks on Wall Street bankers’ misdeeds and unreasonable bonus packages were combined with a call for the organisation of a second Bretton Woods conference. The stated objective was to [...]
It’s official : as of Thursday, January 21st 2010, US democracy as we all knew it has ceased to exist. In a highly controversial ruling, the US Supreme Court has done away with the ban on financial contributions by corporations in candidate elections. Thus, the American political system, already antiquated, will drift further away from those of its European [...]
As fewer legal professionals nowadays still take an interest in defending human rights, the city of Toulouse stands out as a shining example to the contrary. The well-known organisations such as Avocats sans frontieres, Cimade, the Institut d’Etudes Politiques and others organise regular events bringing human rights to the top of the political and civic agendas. [...]
