The “squeeze Iran” and “confront Iran” positions are strongly encouraged by the increasingly powerful Zionist Christian Fundamentalist community. About 5,000 people from across the United States attended the third annual Washington-Israel Summit, organized by Christians United for Israel (CUFI). There, the “Iranian threat” loomed as a pervasive theme.
Nicknamed the “Bird’s Nest,” the iconic Beijing National Stadium for track and field events is constructed of over 42,000 tons of steel. As the largest stadium ever built for the Olympic Games, it includes a gourmet restaurant, a four-star hotel, and an underground shopping center. It seats 91,000 spectators.
While overall levels of violence in Iraq have significantly dropped from their peak in 2006, every day seems to bring news of yet another ghastly suicide bombing, only now the bomber often comes in a black abaya, the full-length robe worn by many Iraqi women. For the one deadly number that has risen substantially since the U.S. military "surge" and widely touted adoption of a new "hearts and minds" counterinsurgency strategy in early 2007 has been the dramatic increase in suicide bombings carried out by Iraqi women.
I hate malls, maybe more than anything else in this world. But I knew I was in for a mind-blowing experience the second I heard there was a brand–spanking-new mega-mall in the heart of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Opening in 2004, “Bashundhara City” is eerily and aptly named. It features 20 floors (eight for shopping, the rest for offices), 2,500 stores, a multi-screen movie theater, a Gold’s Gym, a swimming pool and yes, even an indoor amusement park. It claims to be “South Asia’s largest shopping-cum-recreation complex.”
The 1998 Orioles-Cuba baseball games did not, as we know, lead to Washington’s lifting of its embargo or travel ban. Baseball diplomacy led to the defection in 2002 of Cuba’s star pitcher, Jose Contreras, who had held the Orioles to two runs in nine innings. But instead of joining the O’s, he signed with the New York Yankees for millions of dollars. Even in the 21st Century, Dollar Diplomacy still functions.
In March 1998, the Baltimore Orioles flew to Cuba to play its national team in Havana. In a well-pitched game the O’s won 3-2, in the 13th inning. Two months later, the Cubans routed the birds in Baltimore. During the games, talent agents from various teams from both leagues took detailed notes about the Cuban players. Indeed, such careful studying, if practiced by U.S. diplomats in Havana, might actually teach Washington policymakers something about the nature of Cuba. But given the history of U.S.-Cuban relations, this may happen when fish learn to sing opera.
When sudden food price increases started to make headlines last summer, an estimated 852 million people were already living with crippling hunger, which the United Nations defines as continuously getting too little food to maintain a healthy and minimally active life. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates another 50 million people were added to the count in 2007. For people living with hunger, a long-term solution won’t come quickly enough. Many of them will need emergency assistance. Clearly, the UN and donor nations need to plan and invest more strategically to ensure a more food-secure future.
Mexico is engaged in one of the most pivotal debates in its modern history: the future of its oil industry. The question is whether oil operations should remain in state hands or be privatized. Mexico exported 1.1 million barrels of oil per day to the United States in 2007, making it the third-largest supplier of oil to the United States, after Canada and Saudi Arabia. Yet the U.S. media has paid scant attention to the debate over what will happen with Mexico’s most important industry.
The potential for sport to be used in an effective manner for political protest is growing as sport gains greater prominence on the international stage. Increased political and commercial interest in mega sporting events – like the Olympics – is testament to that, as is the dramatic rise in the attempt to use of sport to further social development initiatives, particularly in low-income countries.