Sometimes international visits by politicians can be of limited value. So called fact finding and trade missions amounting to nothing much more than a nice sinecure and reward for a faithful party man. However, in the instance of Senator Jim Webb and his action packed two-week , five-nation trip t
Some recent discussions with contacts around the world reminds us that there is much of value in the current technological era - infinite global connectivity, revolutionary channels of communication, real time collaboration breaking down intellectual property borders, virtual worlds inducing
If one was of a cynical frame of mind, one could argue that the recent incursion by Israel into the Gaza was meant to be such a massive and brutal display of force as to intimidate. Perhaps, Israel felt that by letting the IDF run riot in the Gaza for a little while, that the spirit of Palestinian r
08.29.2009 | Middle East, Palestine | Clarity Staff Reporter
If you believe all the players in the Middle East, they all seemingly want nuclear power, but not one of them desires nuclear weapons. Regardless, they all did a lot of jockeying this week to present their relative positions. Firstly there was the policy reversal by Iran allowing inspectors
There was a recent story that slipped through the press mainly unnoticed, that made us do a double take. In a case of either stunning duplicity or mind-blowing idiocy, the Defense Department is pursuing a weaponry acquisition route far more controversial than their original path, while presenting i
Often, there is a very thin line between national security and xenophobia. Some, both inside and outside of Israel, think the new "Palestinian Authority Only" stamp process for foreigners entering from Jordan into the West Bank that then denies them access to Israel, is discriminatory. Many fo
08.26.2009 | Israel, Middle East, Palestine | Clarity Staff Reporter
The West is trumpeting the recent Afghan election - threats, IEDs, suicide bombings and assassinations aside - as a sign that Afghanistan is making progress as a free and democratic nation. Despite the evidence to the contrary, we are fed frequent stories that a functional democracy is underway th
In examining the question of US foreign policy, the focus is often directed on the value sets of the President of the day. However, the question should become not whether the particular man in office is flawed in his Presidency, but whether the world view the US pursues is valid. For exa
There are only just over 4 million people in Moldova. It is a small land-locked country in Eastern Europe, and one of the poorest. Despite these limitations, it has managed to produce two ex-citizens that regularly hit the front pages, and generally not in a popular light. Israeli Foreign Ministe
08.23.2009 | Americas, Europe, Russia | Clarity Staff Reporter
If you were following the normal rules of business planning, a feasibility study for running a micro-brewery out of the West Bank probably wouldn't fly, even if the owner was a Palestinian Christian. There would be several impediments. Muslims don't drink alcohol. The location is in the midst o
We are big fans of economic rationalism, however there are times when a blind pursuit to save money has too great a real cost. Unusually low bids on a project usually mean sloppy delivery. At question are the methods being used by an English archaeological firm, Oxford Archaeology, to exhume the bod
Many developing countries are under strain due to interest and repayments of past loans from the major powers. Often these loans were a last ditch effort for survival at the time of internal crisis or war. Cambodia is no different. It ran up massive debts at the time of the Vietnam War and the K
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