There have been fresh attacks in the long-festering conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with more than 60,000 refugees fleeing to neighboring Uganda. The roots of the conflict are complex, but there is little question that they are well-established in the colonial histories of Central Africa, as the European powers set up various ethnic groups to rule over, and at the expense, of other ethnic groups. For a good background to the history of the conflict, one can access the site of World Movement for Democracy. The conflict has cost the lives of almost 6 million people and the systematic rape and torture of many women in the region. Despite several attempts to dampen and control the violence, the world has only responded in pathetic and half-hearted ways.
Duplicity is a common feature of world politics, but rarely is it obvious. Diplomats always figure out ways to disguise their true objectives in acceptable language. One Iraqi diplomat, however, has failed this test. Iraqi Foreign Minister, Hoshyar Zebari, claimed recently that Iraq lacked the capability to stop Iran from using Iraqi airspace to send weapons to the Syrian government of President Assad. He invited Western powers to stop the flights themselves. Does the Iraqi Foreign Ministry really want Western powers back on its soil? A close contender might also be the Pakistani Taliban. The Tehrik-e-Pakistan-e-Taliban (TTP) recently announced its support for the rebels fighting against President Assad in Syria. So it is now the case the the US and the Taliban are allies in Syria.
One of the biggest problems facing the global economy right now is the painfully slow growth of jobs. Many are stumped by the absence of job creation because there is plenty of capital available for investment. One partial explanation for the slow jobs recovery is that machines are performing many of the jobs that used to be done by people. There are clear limits to this substitution process, but it undoubtedly has an effect.
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