27 August 2011
18 Killed in Boko Haram Attack on Abuja UN Building
Boko Haram, a Nigerian extremist group that advocates the enforcement of shari'a (Islamic law) throughout Nigeria -- including the predominantly non-Muslim portions of the country -- has claimed responsibility for Friday's suicide bombing of a UN building in Abuja, the Nigerian capital. 18 people were killed in the attack. While Boko Haram, which claims to have ties with al-Qaeda, has stepped up its attacks over the past several years, this is the first time it has targeted foreigners living and working in Nigeria:
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/08/201182772443978495.html
This week's issue of The Economist profiles Boko Haram, describes the poverty and corruption that spawned the group, and argues that the Nigerian government's lawless and indiscriminate response to past acts of Boko Haram terrorism has served only to create greater support for extremism:
http://www.economist.com/node/21526939
Note: Since this item was posted, the death toll in the Abuja attack has risen to 23.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/08/201182772443978495.html
This week's issue of The Economist profiles Boko Haram, describes the poverty and corruption that spawned the group, and argues that the Nigerian government's lawless and indiscriminate response to past acts of Boko Haram terrorism has served only to create greater support for extremism:
http://www.economist.com/node/21526939
Note: Since this item was posted, the death toll in the Abuja attack has risen to 23.
Fox: Negotiate Truces with Mexico's Drug Cartels
Yesterday, former President Vicente Fox called on the Mexican government to consider negotiating truces with Mexico's drug cartels in an effort to stem the violence that has claimed more than 35,000 lives since 2006. He also suggested that such truce agreements might include provisions giving gang members amnesty for at least some past offenses. Fox has previously advocated legalizing the production, sale and distribution of drugs in Mexico in order to take the drug trade away from gangsters. (Mexico has already decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana, cocaine, LSD, heroin and methamphetamines for personal use).
Fox's comments constitute an implicit criticism of the war on narcotraffickers being waged by his successor, President Felipe Calderón. Fox's criticism of Calderón is remarkable because both men are members of the same political party, the conservative Partido Acción Nacional (PAN):
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jSoar4E5QiHsS876wkZ5j7JCv-tQ?docId=720c8f80f8584df1b51df5d77fd00f50
Fox's comments constitute an implicit criticism of the war on narcotraffickers being waged by his successor, President Felipe Calderón. Fox's criticism of Calderón is remarkable because both men are members of the same political party, the conservative Partido Acción Nacional (PAN):
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jSoar4E5QiHsS876wkZ5j7JCv-tQ?docId=720c8f80f8584df1b51df5d77fd00f50
20 August 2011
Socialism with Chinese Characteristics: Reincarnation
Sixteen years ago, the Chinese government (run by the officially atheist Chinese Communist Party) determined that five-year old Gyaltsen Norbu -- the son of two Communist Party members -- was the reincarnation of the 10th Panchen Lama (the second-highest ranking leader in Tibetan Buddhism) and is, therefore, the 11th Panchen Lama. The Dalai Lama (the exiled leader of Tibetan Buddhism), however, recognized six-year old Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as the 11th Panchen Lama. Three days later, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was taken into custody by Chinese officials; he has not been seen since.
Recent attempts by the Chinese government to buttress the position of its choice of Panchen Lama within Tibetan Buddhism underscore the profound political significance of its dispute with the Dalai Lama over the course of the Panchen Lama's reincarnation:
http://www.economist.com/node/21526388
Recent attempts by the Chinese government to buttress the position of its choice of Panchen Lama within Tibetan Buddhism underscore the profound political significance of its dispute with the Dalai Lama over the course of the Panchen Lama's reincarnation:
http://www.economist.com/node/21526388
Political Intrigue in Iran
In 2009, hardline conservatives apparently rigged the presidential election in Iran, giving incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad an unexpected first-round victory. The conservatives then stood together as peaceful protests against the election results erupted around the country, silencing those protests with gunfire, mass arrests, the widespread abuse of those arrested, and the execution of some of the leaders of the protests.
Since 2009, the reformist opposition in Iran has been weak and powerless. But divisions among the hardliners have surfaced, placing President Ahmadinejad at odds with Iran's religious and political Leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei:
http://www.economist.com/node/21526372
Since 2009, the reformist opposition in Iran has been weak and powerless. But divisions among the hardliners have surfaced, placing President Ahmadinejad at odds with Iran's religious and political Leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei:
http://www.economist.com/node/21526372
The PAN Searches for a Winning Candidate
For most of the 20th century, the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) ran Mexico as a one-party state; the completion of Mexico's transition to democracy is usually dated from 2000, when Vicente Fox, the candidate of the conservative Partido Acción Nacional (PAN), defeated the PRI candidate, Francisco Labastida, for the presidency of Mexico. (The current PAN president of Mexico, Felipe Calderón, was elected in 2006 in a highly controversial election).
With President Calderón's war on Mexico's drug cartels faltering, the PRI is widely expected to win next year's presidential election. An article in this week's issue of The Economist suggests one way that the PAN might improve its likelihood of winning the election:
http://www.economist.com/node/21526362
With President Calderón's war on Mexico's drug cartels faltering, the PRI is widely expected to win next year's presidential election. An article in this week's issue of The Economist suggests one way that the PAN might improve its likelihood of winning the election:
http://www.economist.com/node/21526362
16 August 2011
Demonstrations Force Closure of Chinese Petrochemical Plant
Local officials in Dalian, in northeastern China, have ordered the immediate closure and eventual relocation of a petrochemical plant following sizable street protests against alleged toxic chemical releases from the plant:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/08/14/MN4S1KNAAC.DTL
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/08/14/MN4S1KNAAC.DTL
14 August 2011
Oil Production in Nigeria Leaves Bitter Legacy
Royal Dutch Shell and its affiliates stopped pumping oil in the predominantly Ogoni-speaking part of the Niger Delta nearly 20 years ago. They left behind severe environmental contamination; a recent UN report concludes that it could take 30 years and more than $1 billion to remedy the damage created by Shell's operations in Ogoniland. Meanwhile, Ogoni families are drinking benzene-contaminated water:
http://www.economist.com/node/21525963
Shell continues to pump oil in other portions of the Niger Delta -- and Shell is but one of half a dozen multinational oil companies that pump oil in the region. The environmental practices of the multinationals that operate in the Niger Delta would not be tolerated in most developed countries. For example, the amount of crude oil that has been leaked and spilled in the Niger Delta each year for the past 50 years is roughly equivalent to the amount of crude oil released to Alaska's Prince William Sound in the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill. (Until the 2010 British Petroleum oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, the Exxon Valdez spill was considered the biggest oil spill in history. Exxon was fined $500 million in connection with the Exxon Valdez spill, and forced to spend billions in cleanup costs and in compensation payments to Prince William Sound residents and businesses).
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/17/world/africa/17nigeria.html
http://www.economist.com/node/21525963
Shell continues to pump oil in other portions of the Niger Delta -- and Shell is but one of half a dozen multinational oil companies that pump oil in the region. The environmental practices of the multinationals that operate in the Niger Delta would not be tolerated in most developed countries. For example, the amount of crude oil that has been leaked and spilled in the Niger Delta each year for the past 50 years is roughly equivalent to the amount of crude oil released to Alaska's Prince William Sound in the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill. (Until the 2010 British Petroleum oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, the Exxon Valdez spill was considered the biggest oil spill in history. Exxon was fined $500 million in connection with the Exxon Valdez spill, and forced to spend billions in cleanup costs and in compensation payments to Prince William Sound residents and businesses).
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/17/world/africa/17nigeria.html
11 August 2011
Britain's Riots: Causes and Consequences
After four nights of looting, arson and mayhem, order appears to be returning to Britain's cities. An article in this week's Economist examines the root causes of the riots:
http://www.economist.com/node/21525945
Both Ed Miliband, the leader of the opposition Labour Party, and Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London (and a prominent member of Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative Party) have called on Cameron to reconsider his proposed cuts to police budgets in England. (The devolved legislatures of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland establish the level of spending on policing in those nations, though the Cameron Government has announced cuts to the funding that it will provide to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-14488231
Cameron announced today that a number of tough measures designed to prevent renewed disorder are now under consideration. One proposal, if pursued, would undoubtedly prove controversial; it would prevent people from using social media when they are believed to be "plotting violence, disorder and criminality[:]"
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14485592
http://www.economist.com/node/21525945
Both Ed Miliband, the leader of the opposition Labour Party, and Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London (and a prominent member of Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative Party) have called on Cameron to reconsider his proposed cuts to police budgets in England. (The devolved legislatures of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland establish the level of spending on policing in those nations, though the Cameron Government has announced cuts to the funding that it will provide to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-14488231
Cameron announced today that a number of tough measures designed to prevent renewed disorder are now under consideration. One proposal, if pursued, would undoubtedly prove controversial; it would prevent people from using social media when they are believed to be "plotting violence, disorder and criminality[:]"
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14485592
09 August 2011
Immigration from Mexico to US Down Sharply
Immigration from Mexico to the United States has fallen dramatically, reflecting a falling birthrate and improving economic conditions in Mexico and the continuing lack of employment growth in the US:
http://coloradoindependent.com/95653/mexican-immigration-to-u-s-down-to-lowest-level-in-years
http://coloradoindependent.com/95653/mexican-immigration-to-u-s-down-to-lowest-level-in-years
08 August 2011
Police Shooting Touches off Rioting in Britain
Last Thursday night, London police shot and killed Mark Duggan, a 29-year old London resident of Afro-Caribbean ancestry. While initial reports suggested that Duggan had been killed after he opened fire on police, more recent reports -- apparently buttressed by ballistics test results -- suggest that he was shot by a police officer who was afraid that Duggan was about to open fire. (Duggan was carrying a firearm when he was killed. This in itself constituted a serious offense: gun ownership is highly restricted in the UK and is far less common than it is in the US):
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/a-dead-man-a-crucial-question-should-police-have-shot-mark-duggan-2334133.html
Since Duggan's death, London has been torn apart by three nights of rioting and looting. On Monday night, that rioting spread to other British cities, including Birmingham and Liverpool:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/09/world/europe/09britain.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/a-dead-man-a-crucial-question-should-police-have-shot-mark-duggan-2334133.html
Since Duggan's death, London has been torn apart by three nights of rioting and looting. On Monday night, that rioting spread to other British cities, including Birmingham and Liverpool:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/09/world/europe/09britain.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp
Developing Countries' Share of Global Production Growing Rapidly
By 2020, the dollar value of the combined annual output of goods and services of the world's developing countries (e.g., Mexico, Brazil, Russia, India and China) will exceed the dollar value of the combined annual output of goods and services of the world's developed countries (e.g., the US, Japan, Germany and the UK). Indeed, if one controls global output statistics for purchasing power parity (i.e., if one allows for the fact that $100 worth of production in, say, China represents many more goods and services than $100 worth of production in the US or Japan), the countries classed as "developing" in 1990 already produce 54% of global output:
http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/08/emerging-vs-developed-economies
http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/08/emerging-vs-developed-economies
04 August 2011
Fatal Bullet Train Collision in China Damages Public Trust in Government
On 23 July, two Chinese bullet trains collided, killing at least 40 people. The first fatal accident on China's high-speed rail network has spawned a great deal of public criticism of the Chinese government, which has raced to build and expand the network since 2000. (Japan, for example, has operated a high-speed rail network for 47 years with only a single passenger death. Japan's network, however, is far smaller than China's -- meaning that China has added more miles of high-speed rail in the past decade than Japan has built in a half-century. Indeed, by 2012, China will have more miles of high-speed rail line than the rest of the world combined.)
The rail collision, and the Chinese Government's belated and seemingly unsympathetic response to the anger and sorrow caused by the accident, has -- at least temporarily -- eroded public trust in the Chinese government. Remarkably, this erosion of trust has been the subject of substantial coverage in China's state-run media:
http://www.economist.com/node/21525428
The rail collision, and the Chinese Government's belated and seemingly unsympathetic response to the anger and sorrow caused by the accident, has -- at least temporarily -- eroded public trust in the Chinese government. Remarkably, this erosion of trust has been the subject of substantial coverage in China's state-run media:
http://www.economist.com/node/21525428
02 August 2011
Mass Resignation of Mexican Prosecutors
In her first 100 days on the job, Mexican Attorney General Marisela Morales has fired 462 officials and brought criminal charges against 111 employees. Another 386 officials currently face termination. On Monday, the top federal prosecutors in 21 of Mexico's 32 jurisdictions (Mexico has 31 states and a federal district) resigned; it's not clear whether they were asked to resign or quit en masse to protest the ongoing purge of the Attorney General's Office:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mexico-prosecutors-20110802,0,5475234.story
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mexico-prosecutors-20110802,0,5475234.story
