May 2013
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Key Takeaways From Obama Terror Speech →
Drones and drone strikes are here to stay.
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Why are so many diplomatic crises sparked by... →
This won’t be an issue when there’s no more fish to be caught, and that time might come sooner than we expect. Respect territory? How about respecting the environment first and foremost.
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Are We Becoming Argentina? The Republican Party is... →
If the US does somehow becomes like Argentina, one of the bright spots is they might have better chance of winning the World Cup than they do now.
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Bad Reputation Has Obama Blown His Credibility --... →
A master strategist might engage in 3 rounds of reasoning, here in Philippines we’ll be lucky if political leadership will go beyond one round. Recursion in formulating policies? Here it is driven more by need for re-election.
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Trial on Guatemalan Civil War Carnage Leaves Out... →
In that case, don’t stop there and also look into all the other proxy countries where the U.S., then U.S.S.R., China and Cuba were involved in during the Cold War.
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Chinese Hackers Resume Attacks on U.S. Targets →
There is no way the Chinese will stop state-sponsored hacking activities. One only needs to read Sun Tzu to understand why.
AP IMPACT: Honduran police accused as death... →
Not condoning death squads, but there’s guilty satisfaction knowing these hardened gang members feeling the same kind of fear they instill on their victims. They want the law to protect their civil rights but they accord no such respect for the hard working people from whim they extort protection money and the young lives they destroy via their violent gang culture.
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AP Scandal: Chilling Effect →
Civil liberties vs national security. No easy answers and no clear cut formulas either. Middle ground must be found, a zero sum game on this issue won’t benefit either side of this debate.
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If Poverty Ends, Then What? →
Not a problem here, our politicians will ensure there’s poverty so they could get elected by promising the poor to make their lives better. > If Poverty Ends, then what? @foreignpolicy
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Is there a relationship between more women in... →
This fairly seems obvious. Women leaders would have a good understanding of the issues that impact their lives the most and will likely advocate. It may even be the very reason why they run for public office in the first place. An opportunity to institute meaningful change.
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What if Pakistan's 'Old Lion' Returns to Govern? →
Islamist’s don’t need to buy nukes in the black market, they only need to get their brothers in Pakistan positioned to the highest levels of Pakistan’s government and thereby gain access to that country’s nuclear arsenal.
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Kids of Tiger Moms Get Worse Grades and Are More... →
Some clarification required, is the article referring to Asian Americans as a whole or primarily Chinese Americans?
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Blow Back - By Jonah Engle →
Fighting the illegal drug trade is not merely a security issue, it is an economic one as well. Finding ways to curb the huge profits criminal organizations derive from the illicit trade is just as important as taking out the cartels.
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Enemies at the Gates →
US Embassies nowadays resemble fortresses, though its more due to the prevailing situation as opposed to something they prefer.
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Europe's Troubled Marriage: The Bond Between... →
The economic troubles in the Eurozone are far from over.
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Minister No - By Susan B. Glasser →
Russia will continue to play its role in global affairs. Perhaps no longer formidable as the former Soviet Union, but a major global player at the least.
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In Congo, a Force of Child-Soldiers Rises Up to... →
A vicious cycle that will continue to go on for some time. Even if it is in defenses of their communities, it is never good to have young boys carry weapons and engage in combat sacrificing schooling and their youth.
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Unfair Trade →
This article raises a good point about the issue and the debate between free trade and fair trade. I find this stuff a bit hard it comprehend but the authors make a sensible case with their premise. I agree that a major problem are the subsidies to farmers in developed countries, there is no level playing field unless this issue is addressed. In a way, fair trade is trying to find solution that...
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Canadian Foreign Service officers picket embassy →
The reason they can do this is because they stand together and no fence-sitters waiting to see which way the wind blows before committing to the winning side.
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Do hunger strikes usually succeed? →
I agree with the premise of the article that inmates have a better chance of making a hunger strike more effective. Publicity is also key,that means the issue has to be highly relevant and is capable of affecting public opinion.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/28/opinion/sunday/wh... →
“On your birthday, I shall not bow to you. I shall not kiss your hand. Rather, I shall shake it as equals do, and smile at you as you smile at me. I shall speak to you as a friend, no more.”
April 2013
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Summary of Biden Meeting with King Abdullah II of... →
Not surprising, Jordan is likely to play a key role in whatever plans the U.S. has in dealing not only with the post-conflict Scenario in Syria but with the current problems going on there as well.
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Intelligence Lessons From the Boston Attacks →
Intelligence sharing is definitely the way to go forward in terms of accessing how the global threat has evolved. Intelligence services must adapt, and be ale to navigate the new paradigms and environment those changes are creating. However, as pointed out in the article, intelligence sharing requires some measure of trust. That’s a difficult issue intelligence services and operators have to...
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The Roots of Chechen Rage - By Oliver Bullough →
“And that is how the Tsarnaev brothers ended up — via Dagestan and Kyrgyzstan — in Boston, ungovernable men of the mountains, warlike, disorientated, come to fight a pointless and unjustified fight thousands of miles from the mountains they once called home.”
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A one-way ticket to Mars, apply now →
A Dutch company called Mars One began looking Monday for volunteer astronauts to fly to Mars. Departure for the Red Planet is scheduled for 2022, landing seven months later in 2023.
The space travelers will return … never. They will finish out their lives on Mars, representatives from the nonprofit said.
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When governments choose to assassinate →
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TSA Delays Plans To Allow Knives On Planes : NPR →
Now that development is the cutting edge of air travel.
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Road Warrior - By David Rothkopf →
Secretary Kerry is ex-military, maybe he’s just out scoping out his operational environment. Get the feel of it and a clear firsthand picture himself, afterwards, he goes back to work on putting together his team.
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10 Momentous Counterterrorism Operations →
Definitely momentous operations. In terms of impact, I would choose the Colombian operation. It was clever and audacious, and the best part of it all was that it made the terrorists look like complete idiots. There’s no better way to sap your enemy’s morale. No heroic stand or martyrdom for those terrorists in a gunfight with commandos, just utter humiliation.
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What Extremists Are Saying About the Boston... →
It is intriguing that no one has yet claimed responsibility. It’s good to see that the investigators are not joining the “speculation game” and are quietly working on the case.
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The Cuba Lobby - By William M. LeoGrande →
A cautionary tale about politics, bureaucracies, politicians and bureaucrats. This portion of the article is quite telling - ”Today, the larger problem is the climate of fear in the government bureaucracy, where even honest reporting about Cuba — let alone advocating a more sensible policy — can endanger one’s career.” I think Philippine bureaucrats and civil...
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The Economics of War with North Korea - By Daniel... →
Don’t elect the author President. Okay, he does make sense in an economic context or perspective, which is his forte. However, I am not comfortable with the way a decision to go to war is going to be based on dollars and cents; opportunity cost and such factors. It seems to me that the human aspect of going to war, its effects on those who will be caught in the middle of it from a...
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Counter Islamists with citizenship →
Just have a comment on number four. I do agree on the value and necessity of constitutional structures and constraints on government. Likewise, the Armed Forces should at all times safeguard the constitution and institutional safeguards. However, care must be taken as there have been instances where the Armed Forces have used this duty to safeguard the constitution as an excuse to take over...
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The List: The World's Best Places to Be an... →
I think the information may be a bit outdated, Spain and Ireland are currently facing economic woes. That may have been true for those countries a few years back before the onset of the Euro crisis. In Spain, a number of Latin American immigrants have been going back home.
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Adios CIDA, hola D-FAT-D: Development body loses... →
Organize, reorganize, re-tool, downsize, rationalize operations, streamline, etc. - whatever you call it, at the end of the day the bureaucracy keeps plodding along as always. Government is consistent in that regard
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Unfair Trade The Fair-Trade Movement Does More... →
This article raises a good point about the issue and the debate between free trade and fair trade. I find this stuff a bit hard it comprehend but the authors make a sensible case with their premise. I agree that a major problem are the subsidies to farmers in developed countries, there is no level playing field unless this issue is addressed. In a way, fair trade is trying to find solution that...
