Uncategorized Archives - Page 63 of 274

Prolonging the Gaza Failure

by Fouad Pervez | Jun 21, 2010

The recent Israeli raid on the flotilla bringing aid to Gaza — which resulted in the deaths of nine civilians, more injuries, and near-global condemnation for Israel’s actions — has brought a lot of attention to Gaza in the past few weeks. Unfortunately, much of the discourse has centered on the specific incident itself (such as who fired first and whether Israeli troops were right to protect themselves), and not about the politics and conditions in Gaza overall.

Protesters Speak Out Against U.S. Support for Ethiopian Government

by Beth Goldberg | Jun 18, 2010

Nearly 200 protesters gathered in front of the White House on the afternoon of June 14 to denounce continued U.S. support for Ethiopia’s incumbent regime. Chanting in native Amharic and rallying around the Ethiopian flag, the crowd members were predominantly from DC’s sizable Ethiopian diaspora.

Revolutionaries in Modern Art

by Shaun Randol | Jun 16, 2010

Shepard Fairey may have been a recurring artist over three exhibits on May 15, 2010, but the political threads that ran through each of the presentations were more exciting. “Revolutionary” was the theme du jour. Shepard Fairey’s show is a portrait gallery of revolutionary figures; Chaw Ei Thein’s tortured performance cried out for imprisoned revolutionaries in Burma; and Banksy, the producer of Exit Through the Gift Shop, is a revolutionary figure in the shadowy world of street art.

The Talented Tenth

by John Feffer | Jun 16, 2010

According to the business plan of the 10,000 Women project, an investment of $100 million over five years will create 10,000 female entrepreneurs in the developing world. The money goes to business education – MBAs – for women in the global south who, in turn, are expected to create businesses that employ people and grow the economy.

An Iran-U.S. Grand Bargain

by Richard Javad Heydarian | Jun 14, 2010

Iran’s nuclear program has become the centerpiece of global security discussions for the last 10 years. It is a main sticking point in the relationship between Iran — a key regional player — and western countries, and it has acquired oversized significance in the international war against extremism. Despite Obama’s promise for change, and greater emphasis on multilateralism and diplomacy, the specter of military confrontation between Iran on the one hand and either Israel or the United States on the other persistently looms over the horizon, even though the probability remains low.

Reader Challenge: Is Afghan Mineral Find a Game-Changer?

by Russ Wellen | Jun 14, 2010

Both Afghan elites and the Taliban have be drooling over the $1 trillion in mineral deposits in Afghanistan.

A Bad Week for the Monroe Doctrine

by Conn Hallinan | Jun 14, 2010

In her address to the delegates, Clinton complained that the OAS “has not always lived up to its founding ideals.” Now it is, and Washington is less than happy.

Hostility to Plans for New Mosques

by M. Junaid Levesque-Alam | Jun 14, 2010

It has been said before that Al-Qaeda’s greatest victory was not September 11^th but Abu Ghraib. Indeed, the images of Americans reveling in the humiliation of Arab prisoners enhanced the potency of al-Qaeda’s narrative and won it scores of new recruits. But to achieve this propaganda victory, the terrorist organization first had to accomplish something more basic: provoking a vigorous hatred of Arabs and of Islam among Americans.

Fresh Thinking on National Security

by Miriam Pemberton | Jun 14, 2010

Everyone wants America to be safe and secure. And our government has a wide array of tools for accomplishing that.

60-Second Expert: Kwangju Uprising

by Anna Kalinina, Tim Shorrock | Jun 11, 2010

The 1980 citizens’ uprising in Kwangju marked not only the beginnings of a steady struggle towards democracy, but also the growth of anti-American sentiment in South Korea. Six weeks following the assassination of dictator Park Chung Hee on October 26, 1979, a group of army commanders led by Lt. General Chun Doo Hwan, the chief of military intelligence, took control of the military and were clearly intent on seizing total power. Peaceful anti-government protestors, mainly comprised of students and workers, openly opposed Chun through street demonstrations and direct appeals to the United States. Publically, the Carter administration criticized the authoritarian policies of the South Korean government and championed international human rights. In practice, the actual decisions made by Carter’s administration reveal a different story.