NYT (6): Foreign Affairs

"Discontent and upheaval" are on the rise across almost the entire globe; Not all Egyptians are happy with current status as they celebrate first anniversary of revolt; Is Iran "pre-emptively" intimidating and arresting journalists and bloggers in advance of elections?; Scots move closer to independence from UK; Cameron tries to limit power of Human Rights Court; German state court bars publication of excerpts from Mein Kampf.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Thursday, January 26, 2012

NYT (4): Int’l Affairs

Google may have to change their motto ("Do no evil") in wake of new "privacy" policy; Clashes between Tibetans and Chinese forces increase; Libyan interim gov't forces lose town to Qaddafi loyalists; Is new prez of Brazil taking the country backward on the environment?
Posted by Ian Alterman, Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Reagan’s Hand in Guatemala’s Genocide

Posted by Michael Butler, Tuesday, January 24, 2012

NYT (3): Foreign Affairs

In rarity, Haitian police officers get jail terms for massacre; Romanian protests ramp up; Myanmar gov't giving with one hand, taking with the other.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Friday, January 20, 2012

NYT (5): Foreign Affairs

In Syria, fears of civil war grow; In Egypt, ElBaradei pulls out of prez race; In Israel, women chafe at orthodox rule; In Italy, search for survivors of capsized cruise ship continue; In Amazon, a bizarre "upside" to deforestation.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Sunday, January 15, 2012

NYT (5): National News

DHS hired contractor to monitor social media re reaction to Guantanamo plan; "Anonymous" targets media execs; Obama asks GOP for power to shrink gov't; Many Latinos reject Census categories; With eye on mayoralty, Quinn offers living wage bill.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Saturday, January 14, 2012

Rise of the Republican Socialists

Posted by Michael Butler, Thursday, January 12, 2012

How US Policies Fueled Mexico’s Great Migration

Posted by Michael Butler, Thursday, January 12, 2012

NYT Op-Eds (5)

"Few gestures would improve American-Cuban relations as much as handing over the coveted piece of land that houses the Guantánamo Bay detention camp" (Guest Op-Ed); "One Mitt Romney was born with a silver spoon, the other one’s was wooden. Both want your vote" (Dowd); "Egyptian Islamists, the newly elected majority in government, have some big decisions to make. It’s going to be fascinating to watch this play out" (Friedman); "A new study suggests a great teacher is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in increased earning power to students. It’s time to overhaul our education policy" (Kristof); "Don’t worry, people! With the South Carolina primary coming up next, here are the answers to the most important questions that are surely on your mind" (Collins)
Posted by Ian Alterman, Thursday, January 12, 2012

NYT (5): Foreign Affairs

Muslim Brotherhood tries to keep the peace by agreeing to military timetable for handover; Iran defiantly opens second uranium enrichment plant; Karzai demands turnover of Bagram earlier than expected; Did U.S. agents go over the line in helping Mexican drug lord?; Attempted smear of Russian opposition leader backfires badly.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Monday, January 9, 2012

NYT Editorials, Op-Eds, Letters (12)

"Voters, unionized or not, should recognize the new “right to work” push for what it is: bad economics and cynical politics" (Editorial); "An important new study based on capital cases in Connecticut provides powerful evidence that death sentences are haphazardly meted out" (Editorial); "A lab-created bird flu virus needs to be destroyed, or better contained, and future research closely reviewed" (Editorial); "President Obama could cut the arsenal by two-thirds without diminishing its power. It would also save billions of dollars" (Guest Op-Ed); "Street lighting is at risk of being restricted once again to residences and neighborhoods able to afford it" (Guest Op-Ed); "I spent seven and a half years at Guantánamo, without explanation" (Guest Op-Ed); "I was arrested on a bus ride and wound up in prison at Guantánamo Bay" (Guest Op-Ed); "To hear the Republican candidates speak, you’d think Ronald Reagan was the last Republican president — and that he upheld the party’s current values" (Bruni); "When something extraordinary happens, like the uprising and subsequent truly free elections in Egypt, you just shut up and take notes" (Friedman); "The attacks on Rick Santorum and his wife are weird but inevitable" (Douthat); "In New Hampshire, Rick Santorum’s hot politics of aggrievement are competing with Mitt Romney’s cold politics of convenience" (Dowd); "Sunday Dialogue: Do We Live in a Less Deadly Time, or Not?" (Letters)
Posted by Ian Alterman, Sunday, January 8, 2012

Democracy Now: Year of Global Uprisings, from the Arab Spring to Occupy Wall Street: A Special Look Back at 2011

Posted by Mike Blaxill, Tuesday, January 3, 2012

NYT (4): Foreign Affairs

Egyptian military reneges on vow to leave civic groups alone; Dilemma for Russian leaders - whether to suppress protests; Int'l court says Venezuela owes ExxonMobil almost $1 billion; Avian flu may be back in China.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Monday, January 2, 2012

The Guardian: World pays Ecuador not to extract oil from rainforest

John Vidal in The Guardian ..

According to the UN, the "crowdfunding" initiative had last night raised $116m (£75m), enough to temporarily halt the exploitation of the 722 square miles of "core" Amazonian rainforest known as Yasuní national park in Ecuador .. The idea of asking people to pay for something not to take place was widely dismissed by national treasuries as holding the world to ransom. The German development minister, Dirk Niebel, said that the principle of paying for the oil not to be exploited "would be setting a precedent with unforeseeable referrals". However, Germany has now contributed $48m in "technical assistance". The former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi was widely criticised after he wrote off $51m of Ecuador's $10bn external debt as Italy's contribution

.. read more
Posted by Mike Blaxill, Friday, December 30, 2011

Hugo Chávez hints at US cancer plot

from The Guardian ..

"Would it be so strange that they've invented the technology to spread cancer and we won't know about it for 50 years?" Chávez pondered, one day after Argentina's president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner announced she had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer and would undergo surgery in January .. Recent years have seen a series of leftwing Latin America leaders diagnosed with cancer including Brazil's current president, Dilma Rousseff, Paraguay's Fernando Lugo, and the former Brazilian leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva .. [Chavez said] "I repeat: I am not accusing anyone. I am simply taking advantage of my freedom to reflect and air my opinions faced with some very strange and hard to explain goings-on,"

funny when i heard about Kirchner the thought entered my mind, and then Chavez weighs in - he'll soon to be called crazy and irrational in the corporate media without context - anyone remember the Bob Marley story told by former black panther and Marley friend Lee Lew-Lee? - a little radiation can do the trick - its tinfoil hat time again - mab .. read more
Posted by Mike Blaxill, Thursday, December 29, 2011

Argentina Shows World How to Beat the Crisis | Common Dreams

A very interesting lesson. It is surprising that it has not been more discussed vizaviz EU?
Posted by Michael Butler, Friday, December 23, 2011

NYT (5): Foreign Affairs

Situation in Egypt worsens; U.S. just left, and already there is internecine fighting in Iraqi Parliament; Are Medvedev and Putin playing good cop, bad cop?; Not so fast, as Lori Berenson is held blocked from leaving; Vaclav Havel is dead.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Sunday, December 18, 2011

NYT (8): Int’l Affairs

Scientists worry over methane releases due to permafrost thaw; It's deja vu all over again in Tahrir Square, this time with military as target; Syrian protests continue apace; Chinese protesters make now-all-too-common (and believeable) claim - law enforcement as "thugs"; Rare protests in Kazakhstan leave 10 dead; Despite situation in Russia, WTO welcomes it as member; China imposes yet more limits on social media; Lori Berenson to travel to U.S. for first time in 15 years.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Saturday, December 17, 2011

NYT (5): Foreign Affairs

Will al-Maliki be the new Mubarak?; As death toll reaches 5,000 and violence continues, Syria urges populace to vote in "good faith" elections; Libyan Army has first test as it engages rogue militia; Cameron defends EuroPlan decision; Canada withdraws from Kyoto climate treaty.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Out of the Backyard: New Latin American and Caribbean Bloc Defies Washington

Posted by Michael Butler, Monday, December 12, 2011

NYT (7): Foreign Affairs

As middle class that Putin helped build turns on him, and Russian Orthodox Church adds voice to new elections, Prokhorov (yup, the billionaire owner of the NJ Nets) decides to challenge him for the presidency; Pakistan boots CIA from air base; Clegg "bitterly disappointed" with Cameron over economic decision; Noriega back in Panama - and jail; French company at center of phen-fen scandal in even hotter water.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Monday, December 12, 2011

NYT (3): Foreign Affairs

Internecine squabbles begin re how "Islamic" Egypt should be; Is DEA crossing the line between enforcement and enablement in Mexican drug wars?; Creative re-use as Iraq turns army barracks into hotel.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Sunday, December 4, 2011

Foreign Policy (8)

"The Myth of American Exceptionalism"; "What Ails America?" (six short pieces); Two articles on political graffiti; Why Haiti "does not need your old t-shirt"; The slow but significant changes occurring in Cuba; Hillary Clinton on "America's Pacific Century"; The GOP candidates' foreign policy - or lack thereof.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Saturday, November 19, 2011

NYT (5): Int’l Affairs

After massive protest by Islamists against Egyptian military, the latter attacks the former in Tahrir Square; Kuwait protests heat up again; U.N. panel blames climate change for some global weather extremes; Brazil angry with Chevron over oil spill; Somalia famine eases, due to aid and unexpected rainfall.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Saturday, November 19, 2011

NYT Editorial, Op-Eds, Letters (8)

"Washington must press the army to stop meddling and commit to a free and fair vote, which is scheduled to begin in a few weeks" (Editorial); "President Obama and leaders of Congress don't seem to be addressing Occupy Wall Street's concerns. Why?" (Debate); "The Supreme Court will explore the permissible limits of government watchfulness over our daily lives" (Greenhouse); "A public funding system would stop the influence of big money in politics" (Guest Op-Ed); "The Constitution supports the mandate to buy health insurance" (Guest Op-Ed); "This week the ever-unpopular House passed a bill that requires states with strict gun laws to honor weaker ones from other states. What’s a few concealed weapons between friends?" (Collins); "Brazil’s agribusiness interests are pushing for a law that would condemn vast areas of the Amazon rainforest to extermination" (Guest Op-Ed); "Occupy Wall Street: The Next Chapter" (Letters)
Posted by Ian Alterman, Thursday, November 17, 2011