ViewsWeek Views from around the world
It doesn’t take long for some sort of patriotism to escalate into a jingoism of sorts.
January, 2014
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31 January
Five More States May Legalize Marijuana
Far away from the mainland United States, Alaska is a conservative, red state, but with a libertarian, live-and-let-live hue and a history of openness toward marijuana. In order to get marijuana legalization on the ballot in Alaska this year, the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana in Alaska submitted more than 45,000 signatures to election officials on January 8. With only 30,000 verified signatures necessary to put …
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30 January
Pakistan’s Anti-Terror War Challenge
Our major problem is that we cannot seem to separate Counter-insurgency (CI) operations from Counter-terrorism (CT). Terrorism is more urban-based, insurgency normally operates mainly in rural areas. With great sacrifice CI has been a resounding success, a CT policy does finally exist now but it is yet to be translated into reality. Contrast the CI operations in the Al-Qaeda …
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29 January
Why Keep American Crude Oil at Home
Over the past five years, the United States has experienced an astounding energy transformation. We are producing more oil—and using less—due to advances in drilling technologies and more-efficient vehicles, as required under the modern fuel-economy standards developed by the Obama administration. The increase in domestic oil supply, combined with the decline in demand, has also led to a significant decrease …
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29 January
Three Boos for NFL Cheerleader Abuse
Let’s turn now to the wide, wide and cruel world of sports. The big story at this time of year, of course, is the Super Bowl — that multi-multi-million-dollar showcase of super-paid superstars, billionaire owners, taxpayer-financed sports palaces, extravagant corporate skyboxes serving deep-fried caviar, and TV ads running $4 million for a 30-second spot. Behind the scenes of …
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26 January
European Jihadists in Syria
(Photo by FreedomHouse, Creative Commons License) Several Balkan mothers burst into tears at the beginning of 2014 after being told their sons were killed fighting in Syria on the side of various Islamist militias. Mirza Ganic (19) from the Serbian province of Sandzak, who used the pseudonym “Abu Shehid,” was among the last that became a real “shehid” (martyr). The …
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25 January
Debate on Large Dam Divides Georgia
The village of Khaishi sits in the picturesque mountains of the historical Georgian province of Svaneti, some 2,000 meters above sea level. But soon it and a few other nearby villages will be under water, forcing more than 2,000 people to leave their homes, if the long-planned Khudoni dam is finally built over the Enguri river. Locals have sworn …
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25 January
Wall Street As America’s Landlord
Anyone who has ever struggled to get her landlord to fix a broken appliance can imagine how much worse it could have been if she were paying rent to a faceless hedge fund based thousands of miles away. That tenant’s nightmare may be on its way to reality for hundreds of thousands of Americans, as Wall Street firms have snapped …
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25 January
India’s Nagaland Descends into Chaos
The reckless ‘ceasefire’ between the Government of India and the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM), a militia predominantly of the Tangkhul tribe of Manipur, for the last 17 years is pushing the Nagas into a state of civil war. While the protagonists of the ‘ceasefire,’ New Delhi and the NSCN (I-M), are in mutual comfort capering about the mulberry …
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24 January
Danger of Media Consolidation in Peru
Nearly 80 percent of print media in Peru is now in the hands of one media group after the Aug. 23, 2013, purchase by El Comercio group of 54 percent of shares of the Empresa Periodística Nacional (Epensa) which until then ran the 14 regional editions of the newspaper Correo and other national publications. Empresa Editora El Comercio, the umbrella media …
