As Barack Obama gears up for a long trip to Asia in November, he has the opportunity to ensure that the region continues to see the US as the essential actor – now more open and helpful than before. Asian regionalism is messy and rife with tensions and flash points, and the US has an opportunity to re-assert its role as the stabilizing power in the region.
Economic policy in the aftermath of the financial crisis hasn't been ideal, especially in the US, where banks that were on the brink of collapse are back to business-as-usual, raking in profits and opposing urgently needed reforms. Nevertheless, economic policy has been good enough to prevent an inexorable slide into a 1930's-style depression.
Equating war with individual evil has become ubiquitous – if not universal – in contemporary international politics. But, while such rhetoric makes wars easier to justify, easier to wage, and easier to support, it also makes them harder to avoid, harder to end, and arguably more deadly.
Russia has put down uprisings and insurgencies within its own borders and in the post-Soviet space as far away as Tajikistan, and it can influence US security strategy worldwide. So why do so many Westerners persist in calling Russia "weak"?
TOKYO – Earlier this month, Father Damien was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in Rome. This religious and spiritual ceremony is an opportunity to reflect on Father Damien’s life and the lives of those with whom he is most closely associated – people affected by leprosy.
Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, on November 9, 1989, many revolutionary consequences of that night lie behind us. But the real era of upheaval lies ahead, as 400 years of eurocentrism draw to a close and the limits of our planet's capacity to sustain the demands we place on it are reached.
In a normal world, the dollar’s weakening would be welcome, as it would help the US come to grips with its unsustainable trade deficit. But, in a world where China links its currency to the dollar at an under-valued parity, the dollar’s depreciation risks major global economic damage that would further complicate recovery from the current worldwide recession.
In the US and elsewhere, there is a sense that the long-foreseen implosion of traditional news publishing is accelerating, having reached a kind of critical mass. But a new form of news could be evolving, potentially becoming as powerful as traditional journalism, if not more so.
Twenty years ago, when the Berlin Wall was breached and the Soviet empire was collapsing, only die-hard believers in a communist utopia felt unhappy. But, after the failures of neo-liberalism and neo-conservatisim, we are still waiting for a new vision that will lead to progress, but this time without tyranny.
Many economic forecasters and market bulls believe that “the deeper the recession, the quicker the recovery,” which is true – up to a point: immediately after a normal recession, economies do, indeed, often grow much faster than usual over the ensuing twelve months. Unfortunately, the Great Recession of 2008-2009 is far from being a normal global recession.
By marking the Cold War’s end and the looming collapse of the Soviet Union, the fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago transformed global geopolitics. But no continent benefited more than Asia, as the collapse of communism produced a shift from the primacy of military power to economic power in shaping the international order.
Hated, alienated, and shunned, the Roma have for too long been easy and defenseless targets for Europe's disgruntled racists, with violent attacks escalating in recent months. Only through much stronger efforts can European countries break the nexus of poverty and educational deprivation that traps too many Roma – and leaves them vulnerable to unspeakable abuse.
The hospitalization of King Bhumibol Adulyadej has brought Thailand’s most daunting question to the fore. The country’s wrenching political struggle over the past several years has, at bottom, concerned what will happen after the ailing 81-year-old king’s reign, now at 63 years, comes to an end.
Thanks to the global economic crisis, Europe’s emerging markets have this year experienced their worst output collapse since the great “transitional recession” that followed the end of communism. Nevertheless, financial and trade integration is unlikely to be reversed - though many countries may move more slowly on completing the remaining reform agenda.
The Goldstone Report, accusing Israel of war crimes in Gaza, and the report’s subsequent endorsement by the UN Human Rights Council, exposes serious flaws in the system of international law. Even so, Israel's leaders must now take more resolute steps toward peace if their argument aimed at derailing the report – that it “hinders the peace process” – is to have any credibility.
Комиссия экспертов Ассоциации коммуникационных агентств России (АКАР) представила итоговые оценки российского рынка рекламы за девять месяцев 2009 года.
Лучший выход - проведение гласных консультаций с участием представителей политических партий и нижегородской общественности, имеющей четко выраженную позицию, которую также нельзя игнорировать, тем более что эта позиция обсуждена в ходе публичных слушаний по вопросам внесения изменений в Устав Нижнего Новгорода
Вопрос, который предстояло решить депутатам думы Нижнего Новгорода, связан не только с формой управления городом. Этот вопрос связан и с моральным выбором, с определением нравственной позиции каждого конкретного депутата.
Именно региональная элита должна все те ресурсы, которые выделяет государство на празднование Дня народного единства, осваивать для улучшения имиджа Нижегородской области, а, значит, и повышения ее инвестиционной привлекательности.
Пока оппозиция эмоционально, но малодейственно протестовала против того, как были проведены выборы 11 октября 2009 года, а власть малоубедительно уверяла, что последние прошли честно и законно – россияне определялись со своим отношением к тому, что произошло в этот день.
http://lenta.ru/news/2009/11/03/ocean/ - через несколько миллионов лет проблема с сомалийскими пиратами решится сама собой - они просто уплывут из аденского пролива.
Срыв заседания думы Нижнего Новгорода по вопросу внесения изменений в Устав города - редчайший случай политической активности, самостоятельной политической деятельности и политической ответственности в условиях современной России.
В конце сентября 2009 года миссия экспертов, назначенная Советом ООН по правам человека, с целью установления фактов во время так называемой операции «Литой свинец», проведённой Израилем против Палестины в начале текущ
В ИФРАН работают многие мои друзья - историки философии. Они занимаются изучением и переводом Плотина, Прокла, Порфирия и т.д., работой над Ареопагитом и Максимом Исповедником.
На языке политологии происходящее в Украине определяется как нарастание дезинтеграционных процессов. В связи с умиранием промышленности экономические связи между регионами страны постепенно слабеют.
Merrill Lynch подсчитал, сколько осталось жить рублю. По оценкам аналитиков, Центробанку следует отказаться от поддержки нацвалюты в момент сокращения международных резервов до $300 млрд, что при нынешних темпах расходов случится через полгода
