Новости за 10.03.2024

By June Teufel Dreyer

“This is how the world ends. Not with a bang but with a whimper.” The most famous line from T.S. Eliot’s “The Hollow Men” might fairly be applied to the fate of Hong Kong since 1997.

China’s slow strangulation of the fifty years of liberties it had promised to the Special Autonomous Region have been eroded by fits and starts while the democratic governments of the world look on but are painfully aware that they are powerless to affect the outcome.

By Luiz Claudio Ferreira 

Almost 60 years after the 1964 military coup in Brazil, members of the country’s Armed Forces find themselves under investigation for an attempted coup d’état. In the opinion of three researchers interviewed by Agência Brasil, the Armed Forces are facing a deterioration in their image caused by unprecedented inquiries and the arrests of high-ranking military officers.

To the judgment of these experts, who study the role of the Armed Forces, the investigation... Читать дальше...

By James Anthony

Comparing Great Depression I with the current Great Depression II, the cause has been the same, and the responses have been similar.

But it’s important to not take the parallels too far. The circumstances differ, so the impacts will differ.

First, the similarities.

Same Cause, Similar Responses

Both depressions, like recessions, originated with unsustainable booms. Great Depression I was preceded by the government and financial... Читать дальше...

North Korea’s government under Kim Jong Un has effectively sealed its northern border with China, worsening an already grave humanitarian and human rights situation in the country, Human Rights Watch said in a new report.

By David Hutt

The death last month of William Beecher, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who, among other scoops, revealed the Nixon administration’s secret bombing campaign in Cambodia during the Vietnam War, ought to make us remember two things:

First: Washington has been guilty of criminality abroad, especially when it believes that noble-ish ends justify brutal means. And second, despite those who regard the U.S. government as perpetually conspiratorial, Washington is bad at keeping secrets. Читать дальше...

By Leslie Rubin and Daniel J. Mitchell

The United States is in fiscal trouble. The burden of government spending has increased by nearly $3 trillion over the past 10 years—nearly doubling in just one decade! And that means more resources diverted from the economy’s productive sector, which is bad news whether the spending is financed by taxes, borrowing, or money printing.

To make matters worse, the burden of spending will get even heavier in the coming decades, mostly because... Читать дальше...

By Rebecca Sta Maria

As geopolitical tensions and concerns about the environment deepened, APEC’s 2023 agenda focused on fostering sustainable and inclusive development, highlighting its pivotal role as a forum for constructive discussion to promote international cooperation.

The question, however, was whether APEC, built on the voluntary commitment of Asia Pacific economies to cooperate in managing their large common ambitions for open, sustainable regional development, could... Читать дальше...

Gavin Newsom’s carveout for wealthy donor Greg Flynn is being hailed as the governor’s “biggest blunder since French LaundryGate.” While the scandal shakes out, some key economic lessons should not escape attention.

By John Klar

New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed suit against the world’s largest beef producer, JBS USA Food Company, claiming its false advertising of climate-remediation efforts induced consumers to purchase products that are not environmentally friendly. Essentially, an attorney is leveling climate science allegations against cows and livestock, claiming JBS can never achieve “net zero” in its operations. The issues raised by this case will put bovine grass-munchers center stage. Читать дальше...

There is no doubt that foreign observers are looking at the US and wondering what will come next. On the foreign front, both Russia and Gaza are key vectors of further international attention. Having just completed Super Tuesday, the US is moving toward its presidential election in November 2024. What type of America will international observers see, as both foreign policy challenges and internal discontent and political jockeying continue?

First, a quick notation: Although a new Trump administration is a possibility... Читать дальше...

By J Suresh

The UN Security Council has expressed concern over the deteriorating situation in violence-gripped Haiti as the US increased pressure on the country’s Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, to secure a political settlement. At least 15,000 people have fled the worst-hit parts of Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti.

Armed gangs who control swaths of the country launched a coordinated effort to oust Mr Henry—who was not at the Security Council meeting—attacking the airport... Читать дальше...

Peter Coy used his column to beg President Biden not to use the term “greedflation” to explain the runup in inflation since the pandemic. I am sympathetic to much of his argument, most importantly, the idea that corporations suddenly turned greedy is a bit far out.

Introduction:

The political landscape of District Panjgur in the Balochistan province of Pakistan witnessed a significant shift during the general elections of 2024. Amidst the electoral battleground, two seasoned leaders, Rehmat Saleh Baloch, the Provincial President of the National Party, and Asadullah Baloch, the President of BNP-Awami, emerged victorious on the contested seats. This electoral triumph marked Rehmat Baloch's third win and Asadullah Baloch's fourth, solidifying their... Читать дальше...

Ramadan this year in the Americas starts at sunset March 10. Ramadan is the month when the Sacred Scriptures of Christians, Jews and Muslims were first revealed, as Imam Sadiq said: "The Torah was revealed on the sixth day of the month of Ramadan, the Gospel on the twelfth night of the month, the Psalms on the eighteenth night of the month and the Quran on the Night of Qadr"  (Al-Kafi, vol. 4, pg. 157); so Ramadan is a good time for all those who worship the One and Only God, to seek an understanding... Читать дальше...

A movie called “My Cousin Vinnie” is generally described as one of the greatest movies on legal matters not because of its actors or the way they were dressed or even its beautiful female cast, but for its fairness and how the rule of law prevailed dismissing the murder cases against the suspects. Rule of law simply means that everyone is equal under the law be they powerful, rich, weak and poor, stranger or not. Laws are created through an open and transparent process, and not through the whims... Читать дальше...