A few years ago, my wife and I purchased from our Thai suppliers some rubies that were probably from Burma. We wondered what the conditions were under which they were mined and cut, and if owning rubies from Burma was out of alignment with our values.
This past October, after the brutal squelching […]
Some years back my pal Bill and I used to stop for a glass of wine at Pearl Alley after work. One night seated next to me was the editor of a local cartoon magazine specializing in anything anti-American or pop-revolutionary. The editor mentioned jokingly that things were getting so bad […]
Israeli warplanes attacked a Syrian target on 6 September 2007. The secrecy and lack of comment has perplexed international commentators. The target was at Dayr az-Zawr, in north east Syria.
Syria was first to report the incident, and said their air defences fired at an Israeli warplane that had penetrated Syrian airspace and dropped explosives. The […]
The quality of water in developing countries has long been a hot topic of debate with many people questioning the poor hygiene standards people in these countries are subjected to. However, India has taken a step forward as they have had a revolution in their sanitation sector.
The developing country is getting closer to improving […]
The election of Abdullah Gul as President of Turkey on 28 August 2007 is controversial because of his Islamic background. Now that both the Prime Minister and President have religious backgrounds, his election is widely viewed as a threat to the secular ethos of the Turkish State.
Although Mr Gul, in his accession speech, pledged allegiance […]
In 1974, I found it difficult to teach elegant theories of economics in the university classroom, in the backdrop of a terrible famine in Bangladesh. Suddenly, I felt the emptiness of those theories in the face of crushing hunger and poverty. I wanted to do something immediate to help people around me, even if it […]
The video clips of Saddam Hussein’s execution on 30 December 2006 have further alienated Arab opinion towards the West, and both President Bush and Prime Minister Blair have reviewed their Iraq strategies.
President Bush still argues that ‘victory’ in Iraq can be achieved, but the British do not share his optimism.
Tony Blair and his British […]
For over 60 years the USA and Israel have been close allies. However we have yet to fight a war in the Middle East together to destroy an enemy. The IDF and the US military have both proven time and time again they don’t need anyone’s help to fight their enemies. However will Israel and […]
The execution of Saddam Hussein on 30 December 2006 set the scene for the New Year. The indignity of his fate, which was recorded on film and transmitted around the globe, filled even conservative observers with disgust.
The scandal of his execution demonstrates that the US and UK policy of handing over civil matters in […]
In 1999, when Dick Cheney was CEO of Halliburton, he asked the rhetorical question ‘Where is the oil to come from?’ and then gave the answer ‘The Middle East, with two thirds of the world’s oil and the lowest cost, is still where the prize ultimately lies’. George Bush also has a background in the […]
