World Politics News   Articles for World Politics Course

The National Resource Council has issued a report on “tipping points” in the climate change debate.   The climate change debate has usually taken place in the context of long-term gradual change (usually in terms of “by the end of the century”).  The NRC, however, has raised an alarm about how abrupt climate change can take place, sometimes in a matter of years.  These abrupt changes are not events that are global, but are seemingly local (like the melting of the North Pole ice cover).  These “local” events can occur quite quickly and have definite systemic effects.

The protests in Ukraine have continued, but there is a sense that President Yanukovich will likely not change course or resign.  Ukraine is highly dependent on supplies of Russian natural gas, and, with winter coming, the Russians have a very strong bargaining chip on whoever runs the Ukrainian government.  Maintaining a sustained protest in the face of such significant leverage will be very difficult.  President Yanukovich seems to be very confident of his position since he left for a three day diplomatic trip to China.

One of the legacies of the nation-state system is that everyone needs to be a citizen of “someplace.”  Even displaced people and refugees have a citizenship based upon their place of birth (even if they do not have a home).  There are some exceptions to this rule (occupied territories have a somewhat ambiguous status), but it is a useful fact of life for most people.  There are, however, some problems with citizenship–the most obvious one is the fact that citizens are expected to pay taxes.  However, if one is rich enough, there is a looming possibility to avoid paying any taxes at all:  the “Freedom Ship.”  If you can buy your way onto the Freedom Ship, you can perpetually avoid taxes:  just choose a state that will grant you citizenship that does not impose taxes on you if you do not reside in the country (the US will try to track you down no matter where you are, but the US is an exception to the rule.  If you are an American citizen, you will have to also renounce your citizenship to avoid paying taxes).  Apparently, Benjamin Franklin was only half right:  you still can’t avoid death, but you can avoid taxes.