19
November
2009
Make no mistake about it, Obama’s visit not only marks America’s belated acknowledgement of China as a world power, perhaps the world power unless India catches up (a debatable point), but also that the two countries are showing early, hopeful signs that they realize that their interests are and must continue to be aligned enough to cooperate. The topics they discussed– climate change, the global economy, Asian and Middle Eastern security risks– are no doubt very important to them and world, but perhaps not as important as the very meeting itself. Now Obama’s half-brother (he does have a name, it’s Mark Ndesandjo) is another story…
oneworldmanypeaces
Culture, Current Events, History, International, Obama, Peace, Politics, Asia, Books, Travel, U.S., Americas
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10
November
2009
Where is a Third World War most likely to be sparked? For at least a decade before World War One began, those most concerned knew that the ongoing arms race was leading to disaster, as did those who sat on the sidelines and watched Germany and Japan build up to World War Two. World policy wonks have taken a long sigh of relief after the Cold War ended some twenty years ago yesterday, but in so doing have been all too lax at identifying– and diffusing– actual “hotspots” that are likely to trigger a global conflict on the scale of the World Wars, or bigger if you consider the nuclear capabilities of the countries involved. Here are three possibilities…
oneworldmanypeaces
Culture, Current Events, Economics, History, International, Middle East, Obama, Peace, Politics, War, Asia, Europe, Africa, Law, Travel, U.S., Americas
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5
November
2009
When an insect only seven people have ever seen goes extinct in a place you need a government grant to get to, more than just environmentalists feel a part of our world has gone forever. Understandably so. But what about when a language once used by thousands is down to its last speaker, and the universe of relations and ideas that language conveys will not survive them? Who protests, who runs worldwide campaigns or passes legislation against hazardous, toxic notions like “official languages” and “world languages” that creep onto and kill ways of understanding what it means to be human? A group of fifty linguists meeting at the first-ever Endangered Languages Information and Infrastructure Workshop, funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, realize the tragedy but aren’t superheroes…
oneworldmanypeaces
Culture, Critical Theory, Current Events, History, International, Middle East, Asia, Environment, Europe, Africa, Multilingualism, Science, U.S., Americas
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27
October
2009
Asian states have united to officially oppose the Euro-American formula for global dominance emphasizing “peace and security” with one based on “peace and prosperity” instead, and which has a much better track record historically. The two focal points of their meeting in Hua Hin, Thailand, was on reducing China-India tensions over a dispute about commercial projects in Kashmir and capitalizing on Asia’s relative and growing economic strength worldwide compared to others, like the U.S. and U.K., who continue to struggle with the financial crisis and downturn. This meeting marks a watershed moment in world power politics and world history that should not be underestimated…
oneworldmanypeaces
Uncategorized, Culture, Current Events, Economics, History, Peace, Politics, Asia, Europe, Africa, Americas
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15
October
2009
Tensions between the two most populous countries totaling about one third of world inhabitants were ratcheted up a notch this week, with no resolution in sight. Indian Prime Minister Singh strongly objected to China’s new and ongoing commercial projects in Pakistan and the disputed territories it controls in Kashmir. Within a wider context from China’s point of view, this is only one more step towards total domination of Central Asian natural resources and industry, highlighted by China’s monopolies on most such resources in Afghanistan, to NATO’s and the U.S.’s great dismay…
oneworldmanypeaces
Business, Current Events, Economics, History, International, Peace, Politics, War, Asia, Law, U.S.
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12
October
2009
President Obama has now reached a pinnacle of global popularity cults matched only by Che Guevara. Cults of personality are a constant throughout human history, but in recent times they have been primarily based on nationality, race and/or ideology, a powerful propaganda machine and a perception of merit (think Nelson Mandela, Adolf Hitler, George Washington and Mao Zedong). Obama has now earned himself a place among them and others, and has bettered them in certain respects…
oneworldmanypeaces
Culture, Critical Theory, Current Events, History, International, Obama, Peace, Politics, Asia, Books, Europe, Africa, Religion, U.S., Americas
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29
September
2009
Warning: the following is not for the weak at heart or those easily excitable by all things military. Chinese annual military expenditures have increased 230% since 1998 (guess how this compares to the U.S.), among other freaky facts about national military expenditures around the world…
oneworldmanypeaces
Culture, Business, Current Events, Economics, International, Peace, War, Asia, Europe, Africa, Science, U.S., Web/Tech, Americas
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22
September
2009
The benevolent boulder that was President Obama’s momentous announcement last week that the U.S. will abandon George W. Bush’s planned missile shield in Eastern Europe has already begun a massive series of ripples across all the globe’s oceans…
oneworldmanypeaces
Current Events, History, International, Middle East, Obama, Peace, War, Asia, Europe, U.S., Americas
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15
September
2009
U.S. Admiral Timothy Keating, who heads the Hawaii-based U.S. Pacific Command covering East Asia, is in his own words “very confident, almost certain, that there will be — maybe some discussions about certain aspects of US-Japan military alliance — but writ large no significant change.”
oneworldmanypeaces
Current Events, History, International, Politics, War, Asia, U.S.
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1
September
2009
It is beyond moronic to call any war “serious,” as General McChrystal did in his briefing. Is any war not serious? Was the Afghan war some kind of children’s game before now, and has suddenly become a “serious” matter worthy of adult attention?
oneworldmanypeaces
Business, Current Events, International, Obama, Peace, Politics, War, Asia, U.S.
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