What do the US health-care imbroglio, global financial crisis, etc. etc. have in common: management of financial risk — hedge against it, segment it, try to change the rules, or let someone else pick it up. Rules may not be enough.? We may have to go further into the basics of

The article version of this post was published by Chowk [http://www.chowk.com/articles/age-of-obama-beginning-of-the-end-of-racism-akber-choudhry.htm] . Almost a year after Obama’s historic election, the strange wave of euphoria that swept around the world is finally morphing into some long-awaited rational discourse. What was it at the time? What

26 May 2009 – The State Services Commission (of New Zealand) today announced the government has concluded negotiations with Microsoft on a pan-government agreement for the next three years. It became apparent during discussions that a formal agreement with Microsoft is no longer appropriate. Great! Time for Oman ITA to take

A recent article in the New York Times about Oman [http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/world/middleeast/15sultan.html?ref=global-home] : “The challenge now is to open the system and be more transparent and more accountable,” said Salim al-Mahruqi, a former Omani diplomat who runs the Culture Club,

Two Questions: The US Fed kept interest rates low as inflation was ‘under check’. Which inflation? The CPI did not include inflation in asset prices, so they were probably following a wrong indicator. and thus inflation was rampant during the bubble. Monetary policy and other fiscal measures are supposed to

Corrupt countries do not admit they are corrupt, and the concept of corruption is a bit relative among various world cultures. So, I often thought, do we weed out the not-improving corrupt from the incorrigibly corrupt. One day, while reading about the prosecution of Chinese officials, it hit me — at

The once almost-holy status of ‘free markets’ is finally coming down to reality. Many so-called markets are hobbled by asymmetrical information, derivative product markets, barriers to entry. In the credit card market, the market is fragmented due to unusual and inconsequential product differentiation. Plans, cashbacks, points schemes, etc., may sound

Sometimes, I end up asking young Arab workers to gain more training and experience, and apply their mind to an issue and develop critical judgment, instead of simply following instructions. To most young Arabs, knowledge is the piece of paper they get from a college or the instructions they get

(Juan Cole – Salon): > The Gaza War of 2009 is a final and eloquent testimony to the complete failure of the neoconservative movement in United States foreign policy. For over a decade, the leading figures in this school of thought saw the violent overthrow of Saddam Hussein and the institution

The 787-billion economic stimulus bill has to be praised for its audacity, and the confidence that it will work. In any case, it will be a test case of Keynesian economics for some time to come. At the policy level, there are two clear and welcome shifts: * The government will

President Obama may one day order an attack on Pakistan, which would be absolutely abhorrent to me; or he may support the Palestinian cause even less — an issue I care about. This election is not much about issues as it is about a direction – a direction in which we may

Two things I still remember: his very tight shirt collar, and the strange look as I extended my hand. In late 2000, I met U.S. Senator John McCain at Newark Airport, New Jersey. It was a Friday afternoon and I was on my way back to Toronto. He was

“Pakistan, welcome to Hyderabad” was the sign held up by a bevy of schoolgirls, still in uniform, who had come to see the one-day international match being played in Niaz Stadium. Of course, the Pakistani national cricket team were there, but Pakistan itself was at the party too. Women and

This brutal killing has shocked the world. It was heinous and unpardonable crime, but I do not call it murder for that is a legal term and the motive and pre-meditation have to be established by a court of law. Some of us have gotten carried away, on both ends

This article opens up a contradiction that is hard to fathom: Link to IHT Article [http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/12/18/africa/pakistan.php] By Carlotta Gall Tuesday, December 18, 2007 . . . . ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s military and intelligence agencies, apparently trying to avoid acknowledging an elaborate secret detention system,

(from The New York Times, September 30, 2007) Freedoms Watch, a deep-pocketed conservative group led by two former senior White House officials, made an audacious debut in late August when it began a $15 million advertising campaign designed to maintain Congressional support for President Bushs troop increase in Iraq. Bradley

Jose Padilla . . . believed he could separate plutonium from nuclear material by rapidly swinging over his head a bucket filled with fissionable material.– (David Johnston, “At a Secret Interrogation, Dispute Flared Over Tactics,” New York Times, September 10, 2006) With habeas corpus a thing of the past, with arrest and detention

At QeRN, we have been following this story for some time now. As their book is about to be published, we take a look at the latest twist in their saga. The following is a piece by the blogger 'Gary' and a reproduction of a letter by Walt

August 14, 2007, The Financial Times The US government is on a burning platform of unsustainable policies and practices with fiscal deficits, chronic healthcare underfunding, immigration and overseas military commitments threatening a crisis if action is not taken soon, the countrys top government inspector has warned. David Walker, comptroller general

'Devastating' Moyers Probe of Press and Iraq By Greg Mitchell The most powerful indictment of the news media for falling down in its duties in the run-up to the war in Iraq will appear next Wednesday, a 90-minute PBS broadcast called "Buying the War," which marks

Reported by Daily Times and Dawn LAHORE: An additional district and sessions judge on Thursday accepted an application by SP Khalid Abdullah and Inspector Jamshed Chishty to acquit them of the charges of kidnapping and raping Sonia Naz. Earlier, notices had been issued to Sonia Naz on several occasions, but

March 25, 2007, The Washington Post **How a three-word mantra has undermined America ** by Zbigniew Brzezinski The “war on terror” has created a culture of fear in America. The Bush administration’s elevation of these three words into a national mantra since the horrific events of 9/11 has had

by Francis Fukuyama April 3, 2007 10:15 AM http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/francis_fukuyama/2007/04/the_history_at_the_end_of_hist.html Fifteen years ago in my book The End of History and the Last Man [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_End_of_History_and_

By Terry Jones – The Guardian — March 31, 2007 I share the outrage expressed in the British press over the treatment of our naval personnel accused by Iran of illegally entering their waters. It is a disgrace. We would never dream of treating captives like this — allowing them to smoke cigarettes,

(by Dr. Mohamed Elmasry) . . . . People will readily go to war once they have been impregnated with a sufficient intensity of hate, mixed with the essential ingredient of fear. They will eagerly follow any leader who promises (however spuriously) to protect them from what they are told to hate and/or