Somali pirates are now firing on ships hundreds of miles from shore, extending their range of operations deep into the Indian Ocean.  Flush with ransom payments from past operations, the pirates are able to buy increasingly sophisticated weapons and ships.It’s likely that we will see more of this.  Al-Qaeda was the first modern NGO to […]

Those worried that they were too young to experience the joys of the Cold War can now wrap themselves in the excitement of the contemporary equivalent of Cold War ‘red scares’: fears that communists were infiltrating the American government and other institutions.Today’s version is the “green scare”; fears that radical religious extremists of the Islamic […]

The BBC reports this morning that Sudan’s odious president Omar al-Bashir has suddenly discovered some pressing business at home that will prevent him from attending this week’s Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) summit in Turkey.Bashir, indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the ongoing war in Darfur, had earlier been expected to attend.  This […]

Twenty years ago I was in a cafe in Rio de Janeiro, eating breakfast and looking at the morning paper.In those days, you couldn’t get the English language newspapers until much later in the day in Rio; neither was the internet much use as a news source.So I was drinking some strong Brazilian coffee (“hot […]

Thailand used to be the most stable country in Southeast Asia.  That is no longer the case and its long-running, slowly developing political crisis is taking a dramatic turn for the worse.This is important.  Geopolitically and economically, Thailand matters enormously to both China and the United States.  Any serious unrest there could bring American and […]

The “great game” is what nineteenth century British strategists called the contest in Central Asia between Britain and Russia; it usually came down to competition for the shifting allegiances of various warlords and tribes in Afghanistan.That ‘game’ is still being played with a new set of players, but a new and potentially much more explosive […]

If you go down to paragraph five of this CNN story, you will find the real news: those polled opposed “Barack Obama’s proposals” on health care 53 to 45.The next graph is equally newsworthy: 60% of independents opposed the proposals, a nine point increase in October.No wonder the House margin was so narrow.

A BBC story this morning should be required reading for anyone running a company, a government, or a political campaign.It matters who talks to the press.  An off-the-cuff, arrogant and untested press spokesman brought down the Berlin Wall.By accident.East German Politburo member Gunter Schabowski told reporters that new regulations easing travel between East and West […]

Chinese premier Wen Jiabao pledged $10 billion in new low interest loans to African countries at a summit in Sharm-el-Sheik, Egypt, yesterday, and, according to the New York Times,  offered a slew of other goodies ranging from debt forgiveness to increased foreign aid.Not everyone is happy.China’s push into Africa has been controversial; some are alarmed […]

Over at Taegon Goddard’s Political Wire, a link to video of Richard Nixon’s infamous ‘last press conference.’ Today marks the 47th anniversary of Nixon’s bitter remarks to the press following his failed 1962 bid to become governor of California.One thing to remember about Nixon; we think of him today mostly in terms of the Watergate […]