Categories
Geopolitics

Paris Terrorists Take Hostages, Nigerian Islamist Massacre, AirAsia “Pings”

Friday, January 9, 2015 PARIS TERROR SUSPECTS TAKE HOSTAGESPolice have located Said and Chérif Kouachi, the two French brothers suspected of killing 12 people at the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo Wednesday. A major police operation is underway after the pair took at least one hostage at a printing company in Dammartin-en Goële, a […]

Categories
Future

Chinese Moon, National Pride And Asia’s New Space Race

BEIJING — For many Chinese, the successful Dec. 14 moon landing of the Chang’E-3 spacecraft was a moment of particular pride and joy. China has become the third country in the world to independently achieve a soft landing on the Moon and begin a round of lunar prospecting. It is also a milestone in China’s […]

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Society

Intolerable: Why France Must Ban Its Anti-Semitic Showman

Dieudonné M’bala M’bala, a taboo-busting humorist for some, a shocking anti-Semite for others, is currently at the center of a spiraling controversy in France over the acceptable limits of free speech. After inventing and encouraging the questionable gesture known as the “quenelle,” which some say is an allusion to the Nazi salute, the French comic […]

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Geopolitics

The Economics Of Calling Muslim Brotherhood “Terrorists”

CAIRO – Another year down the drain for Egypt’s economy. Three years since the January 2011 revolution, and little has been done to salvage what’s left of the crumbling economy, weighed down by the burdens of political turmoil and mismanagement. Now, a growing fear of terrorism has been added to the many economic ailments. I […]

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Society

In Colombia, Displaced Farmers Start Anew

YOTOCO — “The first thing we did was to look for land, thinking not so much about crop productivity as security…” Efraín Sierra, one of countless farmers forced off his land by Colombia’s long-running civil war, recalls having had to move in the past from the district of Buga when paramilitaries moved in nearby in […]

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Society

A Polish Reporter’s Notes On A Rude And Brutal Russia

Russia’s own Academy of Sciences has declared the country the European leader in aggressive and loathsome behavior. And if you doubt it, just consider the grim statistics.

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Geopolitics

French Manhunt Continues, Ebola Slows, Super Antibiotic

Thursday, January 8, 2014 FRENCH MANHUNT CONTINUES AMID MORE VIOLENCEThe search continues in France for the two gunmen who killed 12 people in the course of attacking the offices of satirical paper Charlie Hebdo with Kalashnikovs yesterday, a terrorist attack that Le Monde describes on today’s front page as “France’s 9/11.” Here are 31 front […]

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blog Ideas Society

Western Culture In Abu Dhabi Breeds Exploited Workers

-Commentary- For years, major sporting events have been hosted in the superbly wealthy Gulf States. Now, renowned Western cultural institutions are following suit. But these high-minded museums and cultural organizations are encountering a familiar problem. In Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, the French Louvre, the American Guggenheim and other branches of […]

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Ideas Society

Education Or Integrity: How Best To Boost A Nation’s Well-Being?

China is asking hard questions about what it takes to make a big nation a great nation.

Categories
Ideas

What’s Really Driving Assad’s Assault On Aleppo

When the Syrian regime drops bombs on the country’s largest city the other target is the negotiating table in Geneva.

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blog Society

Color Of 2014? Radiant Orchid, Otherwise Known As Purple

BERLIN — Purple is intense like no other color. It is opaque, disturbing and seductive. It is also the color of 2014. So says the Pantone Color Institute, which has named “Radiant Orchid” this year’s preeminent hue. Red and blue combine to make it: hot and cold, fire and water, the male and female elements […]

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Society

Defying Religious Conflict, Lebanon’s ‘Romeo And Juliet’ Bet On Happy Ending

Kholoud, a Sunni, and Nidal, a Shiite, got married in a civil ceremony, a first for Lebanon where sectarianism warns against loving the “wrong” neighbor. Now they have a baby boy.

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Geopolitics

Paris Shooting, AirAsia Tail, Alien Earth

Wednesday, January 7, 2014 DEADLY ATTACK AT FRENCH SATIRICAL NEWSPAPER HQAt least 10 journalists and two policemen were killed after two heavily armed men opened fire at the Paris offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo Wednesday morning. Four other people were seriously wounded in the shooting; the gunmen managed to flee and a […]

Categories
Ideas

What The World Cup Will Do To Brazil’s Economy

Six months from kickoff, two economic assessments, pro and con, as the world’s most popular sporting event lands in the ‘B’ of BRICS.

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Geopolitics Society

A Survivor’s Story: From East Africa To Lampedusa To Sweden

GÄVLE — Under the dark of a freezing arctic night, Jimi arrived at his destination. They welcomed him with a plate of Swedish meatballs, before showing him to a soft, white bed in a room that sleeps eight. “Welcome to Sweden,” says a man of African origins, shaking his hand. Jimi, 25, who is from […]

Categories
Economy

When Foreign Companies In China Start Packing Up

BEIJING — Winter has come to the capital, and Wang Jie (a pseudonym) feels particularly cold. The multinational communication equipment company where he’s worked for 20 years has just announced widespread layoffs in the marketing, sales and service departments. Wang’s name was on the list. When he joined the firm in 1994, he was part […]

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blog Ideas Society

Fear And (Self) Loathing In France

PARIS — A 4G offer? Danger! Bitcoin? Warning! The World Cup draw? It’s a trap! This is the story of a strange country blessed by the gods, with beautiful scenery and heir to a long and rich history. Though full of talented people and worldwide economic powerhouses, everything now seems to be full of peril […]

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Geopolitics

Germany Divided, India Coal Strike, Fasten Your Smartbelts

Tuesday, January 6, 2014 GERMANY DIVIDED AS PEGIDA PROTESTS GROWA record 18,000 people gathered in the eastern German city of Dresden last night for a weekly “anti-Islamization of the West” march, while similar protests are spreading across the country in cities like Berlin, Cologne and Stuttgart. The protesters were met with smaller, opposing rallies denouncing […]

Categories
Geopolitics

Myanmar’s Landmine Victims Make Prosthetic Legs

LOIKAW — Decades of armed conflict in Myanmar make it one of the worst-hit countries for landmines. Six years ago, the Karenni National People’s Liberation Front established a prosthetics factory in Karenni state, near the border with Thailand, to help people who have been disabled by landmines. The special feature of this enterprise? All of the people working at the factory are landmine victims themselves. One of them is Kyaw Win, a former soldier with the Karenni Army who has been fighting a separatist battle with the Myanmar military for decades. While on the battlefield, he stepped on a landmine […]

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Society

In Egypt, Tourism Is A Smiling Question Of National Security

CAIRO — Tayarah, which calls itself a new mixed-media hub, launched in late August with its first video campaign, entitled “Laffah,” with a very specific objective: to bring back tourism to Egypt. The project invited people to film themselves shooting short videos by turning in a circular motion to give a 360-view of their surroundings, […]

Categories
Food / Travel

Home Brewers Flourish As Russian Vodka Prices Surge

GORODISH — In the streets around a village near Moscow, the stores don’t sell official, licensed vodka because they apparently have never obtained a license to. It’s just as well, as government levies on the official drink have caused its prices to surge. But on regular trips to my Gorodish country house, I’ve noticed that […]

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Geopolitics

AirAsia Black Boxes, Boston Bombing Trial, Pharaonic Discovery

Monday, January 5, 2015 AIRASIA BLACK BOXES MAY NEVER BE FOUNDThe AirAsia flight QZ8501 recovery mission has resumed today with improved weather conditions. The Indonesian navy found what could be the jet’s tail section, but officials have warned that the aircraft’s black boxes may never be recovered. Meanwhile, leaked documents published in The Jakarta Post […]

Categories
Ideas

Venezuela, A State Of Emergency

The dire state of the economy and vanishing press freedoms are two key signs that Venezuela is a nation on the edge of disaster.

Categories
Society

Parents Fight Back As Egypt Targets Brotherhood Schools

CAIRO — In the sunlit reception area of Jana Dan International School in Cairo’s Maadi neighborhood, golden-framed certificates line a prominent wall. Next to international accreditation and state inspection documents is a notice to staff: “Please refrain from discussing politics at school.” Through the halls and into a large courtyard flanked by the swimming pool […]

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Geopolitics

Could Kerry Failure Turn Israel Into ‘Pariah’ State?

The deadline of John Kerry’s diplomacy efforts are coming. What is going to happen if he returns to Washington humiliated? Calcalist founder Yoel Esteron’s pessimistic outlook for Mideast peace.

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Society

Hit It! – Pharell Williams, David Bisbal, Other Tops On World Music Charts

Here are some of the songs topping the charts from music hot spots around the world. Worldcrunch Pick: It’s the first Friday of 2014, so to celebrate the new year, here is Jimi Hendrix and his unique version of “Auld Lang Syne”, bidding farewell to the 1960s at the Fillmore East in New York, on […]

Categories
Economy Ideas

Brazil 2014: Best Of Times, Worst Of Times

As the Brazil’s “commodities supercycle” grinds to a halt, Dilma Rousseff’s economic policy has failed to find a new path. Is World Cup excitement enough to avoid a national bust?

Categories
Society

Why India Isn’t Taking Care Of Its Elderly

Protests are on in New Delhi demanding a bonafide old-age pension. Right now, most Indians don’t qualify for benefits, and those that do only get $4 a month.

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Society

Inside The Heartless World Of An Apple Call Center

Jeanne was looking for work when she came across a telemarketer offer for an Apple contractor in Barcelona. She took the job without hesitating. A few months later, she is a broken woman: constant surveillance, timed breaks, aggressive customers … The pressure is constant. BARCELONA — My story begins several months ago. I wanted a […]

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Eyes on the U.S. Society

A Chinese Take On The American Way Of Tipping

NEW YORK — Because of several successive business trips plus my holiday in the United States, I have been living from one hotel to another for more than two weeks. Obviously I’m also obliged to dine out. What this means in terms of personal finances is that even before paying the hotel or restaurant bills, […]

Categories
Geopolitics

IRAN FILES: Dissidents’ Fate, Ahmadinejad’s Future, Thieves

Fate Of Dissidents In Rouhani EraIranian President Hassan Rouhani has yet to release two leading dissidents, Mirhossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karrubi, from house arrest, which broadcaster Deutsche Welle“s Persian-language outlet characterized as “disappointing.” Both detainees were reformist candidates during the 2009 presidential elections and backed massive protests after incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected amid what […]

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Geopolitics

Turkey’s Spiraling Corruption Scandal, A Timeline Of Events

Over the past two weeks, an alleged corruption scandal has engulfed Turkey. Follow the rapidly changed events in these hectic days as Prime Minister Erdogan fights for his political life.

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Economy Society

A Way Out From Our Hyper-Stimulated Advertising Age?

The modern consumer is bombarded by advertising that exploits our “addiction” to visual stimuli. But after the holiday rush, can we still become discerning buyers?

Categories
Geopolitics Society

Farewells: O’Toole, Kalashnikov, Mandela

A controversial French general, colorful British criminal and one of the great leaders of the past century were among those to whom we said Farewell over the past month.

Categories
Future

Yogi Bear Diet: Can Grizzlies Help Us Fight Obesity?

Yogi Bear on the cutting edge of obesity research? Dr. Kevin Corbit, a scientist for the pharmaceutical giant Amgen, is convinced that by studying the behavior of the brown bear — an animal that can weigh up to 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds) and consume up to 58,000 calories daily — we can understand a lot […]

Categories
Geopolitics

Lebanon Blast, Israel Strikes Gaza, London Beats Paris

BLAST HITS EAST LEBANONAt least five people were killed and 42 wounded as a car bomb exploded this morning in Hermel, a Hezbollah bastion in eastern Lebanon near the border with Syria, The Daily Star reports. The blast, which appears to have been the work of a suicide bomber, occurred as the trial in absentia […]

Categories
Geopolitics

2014: What To Look For Next Year, Country By Country

A wide and swift look around the world at the events that are likely to shape 2014.

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