In a new scientific study that is sure to cause a stir a longitudinal study concludes that more intelligent people are statistically more likely to exhibit social values and religious and political preferences that are deemed to be progressive by current definition. Specifically, liberalism an
Read Full StoryAfghanistan is a complex theater enough due to its inherent nature; but adding to the level of difficulty is the chain of command challenge. We have reported on this before in relation to NATO, where the chain of command is riddled with what are called “National Caveats.” These are the spe
Read Full StoryIndia, like many other developing countries, faces the dual challenge of poor roads and overflowing trash landfills. Poor roads are a challenge both economically and in terms of human development. Fast, efficient transit corridors are an integral enabler of societal advancement. Now an entrepren
Read Full StoryThe debate around health reform in the US is partisan and vitriolic. It has been cast as a battle between the evil of big government versus the efficiency of the free markets. Any reform is demonized as social tinkering, and the fact of the matter that a bloated, over-expensive system with compa
Read Full StoryTime moves on and more once-secret historical information gets released. It is always enlightening, and sometime frightening to read what goes on behind the scenes in international relations, and how often we have come as a race to the brink of extinction before some saner mind takes charge. The
Read Full StoryGift registries are common at key celebration points in life. Weddings, christenings, graduations and more – milestones marked by friends and families signing up to your gift registry and sharing your joy. The latest trend however strikes us as ironic; a fast growing gift registry segment is t
Read Full StoryLast week we covered some of the initiatives that “moderate” Muslims are undertaking to marginalize the jihadists that undermine the religion. The concept of fatwa has much abused of late. There are non-clerics issuing Fatwas left and right, there are even TV stations where viewers can reque
Read Full StoryMartin Kramer has stunned many observers in the Middle East by claiming radical Islam is not a response to Western foreign policy, poverty or domestic governance frustration. Instead he states “…that it was inherent in the demography of Muslim societies such as Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan and t
Read Full StoryAn update to the ongoing saga of the Mig-29 jets that Russia is gifting to Lebanon. If you remember, at first blush this looked like a major act of Russian largesse, the gifting of 10 MIG-29 fighters to Lebanon. This would be a strategic boon for Lebanon situated in a region where neighborhood s
Read Full StoryThere was a certain symbolism in the recent dinner in Damascus between Sheikh Nasrallah. Leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Iran's President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad . The US has been frantically trying to reverse the mishandling of diplomatic relations wi
Read Full Story
In a new scientific study that is sure to cause a stir a longitudinal study concludes that more intelligent people are statistically more likely to exhibit social values and religious and political preferences that are deemed to be progressive by current definition. Specifically, liberalism an
Afghanistan is a complex theater enough due to its inherent nature; but adding to the level of difficulty is the chain of command challenge. We have reported on this before in relation to NATO, where the chain of command is riddled with what are called “National Caveats.” These are the spe
India, like many other developing countries, faces the dual challenge of poor roads and overflowing trash landfills. Poor roads are a challenge both economically and in terms of human development. Fast, efficient transit corridors are an integral enabler of societal advancement. Now an entrepren
03.9.2010 | Asia, India | Stuart Ford
The debate around health reform in the US is partisan and vitriolic. It has been cast as a battle between the evil of big government versus the efficiency of the free markets. Any reform is demonized as social tinkering, and the fact of the matter that a bloated, over-expensive system with compa
Time moves on and more once-secret historical information gets released. It is always enlightening, and sometime frightening to read what goes on behind the scenes in international relations, and how often we have come as a race to the brink of extinction before some saner mind takes charge. The
Gift registries are common at key celebration points in life. Weddings, christenings, graduations and more – milestones marked by friends and families signing up to your gift registry and sharing your joy. The latest trend however strikes us as ironic; a fast growing gift registry segment is t
Last week we covered some of the initiatives that “moderate” Muslims are undertaking to marginalize the jihadists that undermine the religion. The concept of fatwa has much abused of late. There are non-clerics issuing Fatwas left and right, there are even TV stations where viewers can reque
03.5.2010 | Asia, Pakistan | Stuart Ford
Martin Kramer has stunned many observers in the Middle East by claiming radical Islam is not a response to Western foreign policy, poverty or domestic governance frustration. Instead he states “…that it was inherent in the demography of Muslim societies such as Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan and t
An update to the ongoing saga of the Mig-29 jets that Russia is gifting to Lebanon. If you remember, at first blush this looked like a major act of Russian largesse, the gifting of 10 MIG-29 fighters to Lebanon. This would be a strategic boon for Lebanon situated in a region where neighborhood s
There was a certain symbolism in the recent dinner in Damascus between Sheikh Nasrallah. Leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Iran's President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad . The US has been frantically trying to reverse the mishandling of diplomatic relations wi
03.2.2010 | Iran, Middle East, Syria | Stuart Ford
