Today is the 100th anniversary of an extraordinary event: the Christmas truce between British and German soldiers in the trenches of World War I. The truce was not an official one–it was one unilaterally declared by soldiers who chose to recognize their common humanity rather than the national loyalties which had been driving them to kill each other. Needless to say, the officers did not look kindly upon this fraternization, and stern orders were given to prevent a re-occurrence.
A movement known as Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West (the acronym in German is Pegida) has attracted a relatively large following in Germany. According to some polls, as many as 34% of Germans believe that German society is becoming “Islamicized.” The rise of a number of groups opposed to the Muslim presence in Germany is frightening and far more extensive than is fully appreciated. The German government must become more vigilant in addressing this serious problem of xenophobia.
A group of photojournalists has started a blog called The Ebola Diaries. It is an extraordinary account of daily life in Ebola affected areas, and focuses attention on a truly horrific crisis in terms of all the issues that are faced on a daily basis by those infected and the health workers dedicated to addressing the outbreak. The use of social media in this particular way is a great example of how the new technologies can be harnessed to bring attention to issues largely ignored by the media.
There are many things about the process of globalization that are difficult to explain. The incredible popularity of Christmas in China is one such thing. The Chinese Communist Party does not encourage Christmas celebrations, nor does anyone get the day off. Yet the holiday, stripped of any religious connotations, is a big day in China–the second most popular festival of the year (after the Spring Festival). A good part of its popularity stems from the powerful interest of retailers in stimulating consumption and sales.
The Sundarbans is the largest unbroken stand of mangrove forests in the world, and is situated near the Bay of Bengal between Bangladesh and India. On 9 December two ships collided along one of the river passages in the forest, and released an incredible amount of oil. The resulting ecological devastation was extensive and will be long-lasting. But in addition to the environmental tragedy is the sad sight of Bangladeshi children scooping up the oil so that they can sell it back to the company that spilled it. The damage to the health of these children is likely irremediable.
The Institute of Modern Russia is a New York-based think tank on political developments in Russia. It is a liberal think-tank (in the traditional sense of the world) and thus is not very favorably disposed toward Russian President Putin. It has published, however, a very thoughtful and intelligent article on Putin’s popularity in Russia and how the twin issues of Ukraine and the economy are affecting his ability to rule. One of the more provocative insights of the essay is that Putin seems to have persuaded many Russians that integration into liberal or Western society is not a desirable objective.
News about the Ebola crisis in West Africa has been scarce now that those infected have been contained in the region. But the absence of Ebola in the news does not mean that the outbreak has been contained–it continues to rage in Sierra Leone and over 7,000 have died from the disease in the three most affected countries. And medical staff have been severely depleted. Sierra Leone only had 137 doctors in the country before the outbreak, and 12 of them have been infected by the virus (almost 9%). It appears as if the outbreak is beginning to be controlled, but it remains a tragic concern.
Joe Cocker is dead at age 70.
“Give sorrow words. The grief that does not speak Whispers the o’er-fraught heart, and bids it break.”
– – – – William Shakespeare “Macbeth”
North Korea has vehemently denied any involvement in the hacking of Sony computers. US President Obama accused North Korea of the act, and the suspicion is that the hacking was designed to prevent the release of a movie about the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jung-un. Sony pictures has decided to not release the movie to theaters on Christmas Day, raising serious concerns about future problems that may arise from similar extortion attempts to deny free expression. Obama has declared that the US will respond “proportionately” to the attack, but it is not all clear what that may mean with respect to North Korea. On a similar matter, Facebook has been accused of censorship because it has taken down a page calling for mass protests in support of Russian President Valdimir Putin’s most prominent opponent Alexei Navalny. The suspicion is that Facebook gave in to pressure from Russian authorities.
Tunisia has essentially completed its transition from an authoritarian state to a democratic state as a Presidential election seems to have gone in favor of Beji Caid Essebsi, the candidate for the secular Nidaa Tounes Party. That party already controls the Parliament, and the country that started off the “Arab Spring” in January of 2011 has completed its transition. Tunisia stands as the lone Arab state so far that has gone so far.
Today is the Winter Solstice, which many people regard as the shortest period of visible light in the Northern hemisphere. Curiously, it is not the day of the earliest sunset or the latest sunrise because of the difference between “clock time” and “solar time.” Unfortunately, it is also not the coldest period of the year. We have to wait until January before we can expect temperatures to begin to rise. No matter–we will turn the corner on winter soon. Get those shorts ready!
Spain has been under an EU/IMF/ECB austerity program for several years as it has tried to reduce its budget deficit to less than 3% of its Gross Domestic Product (as required by eurozone rules). Part of the austerity program requires the withdrawal of government supports or subsidies for poorer individuals. One such program was rent controls which are scheduled to expire at the end of this month. The result is that many small businesses are going out of business because the rents are too high. According to The Guardian:
Up to 20,000 small Spanish businesses could be forced to close when rent controls are abolished at the end of this month, according to the self-employed workers union. Many of the closures will be emblematic shops that shape the urban landscape in cities such as Madrid, Granada and Barcelona.
The Camisería Hernando has been in business since 1857 and has occupied the same shop on Madrid’s Gran Vía for 50 years but is closing after the rent shot up from €3,000 to €30,000 a month.
In their place will come larger retail and chain stores that can afford the rents. Soon, many Spanish cities will look just like American cities.
Imperialism takes many forms, and the travels of Chinese Admiral Zheng He suggest that overseas exploration need not inevitably lead to colonization. The Admiral made seven voyages to the Indian Ocean between 1405 to 1433, ultimately leading to the east coast of Africa. His explorations were the only sustained forays abroad made by China, and the Chinese never followed up on his activities after the last voyage. His trading patterns contrast sharply with the European patterns in the same areas.
A lesson for all of us:
The shockwaves from the school massacre in Pakistan continue to reverberate. But the tragedy has also shed light on the issue of terrorism as a serious problem for Pakistani society. Since 2001, more than 40,000 innocents have been killed by extremists. And schools are a particular target–more than 800 schools have been attacked since 2009.
Boko Haram has struck again in Nigeria, this time kidnapping as many as 185 women and girls near the town of Chibok. The attack appears to have been a carefully designed military attack that left many men dead and the village destroyed. The Nigerian government continues to demonstrate its inability to control the insurgents, and the refugee problem in northeastern Nigeria is very serious and untenable.
Russian President Putin gave his annual press conference, and it lasted over three hours. He acknowledged the serious economic crisis facing Russia but blamed the West for deliberately trying to weaken the Russian state. Moreover, he argued that the Russian economy would return to normal in no more than two years. Putin also indicated that he was willing to discuss a peaceful resolution to the crisis in Ukraine, but did not spell out any concrete steps that he would take toward that end.
After more than 50 years, the US has finally agreed to restore ties to Cuba. It is safe to say that the embargo placed on Cuba by the US to undermine the regime of Fidel Castro was probably the most futile policy ever implemented. The reluctance of the US to admit failure, even as some of its most loyal allies (Canada and Mexico) ignored the embargo, was a profound embarrassment. While only the US Congress can fully lift the embargo, President Obama deserves a lot of credit for the decision to restore relations.
Bloomberg News surveyed a number of foreign policy experts and asked them what potential scenarios for 2015 worried them the most. The list of possible problems is truly depressing. What is most likely, however, is that the issue that will concern us the most next year is probably not on this list.
Many of the signatories to the Fourth Geneva Convention which outlines the responsibilities of an occupying power after a war has occurred met in Geneva and issued a consensus ruling that Israeli policies in the Occupied Territories violates the Convention. Israel, the US, Australia, and Canada did not participate in the meeting. The ruling will likely have no effect, but it comes as there is a movement in the UN Security Council to set a time limit on resolving the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.
The Pakistan Taliban (Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP)) launched an attack on a school in Peshawar that killed at least 132 people. The brutality of the attack was without precedent in Pakistani history, and many analysts suspect that this attack will precipitate a backlash against the radical group and strengthen the government’s efforts to isolate the extremists. The attack was in response to government efforts to eradicate the strongholds of the group in some of the frontier areas of the country.
There is still no hard information on the 43 student teachers that went missing in the town of Iguala in Mexico. However, those missing students are just the tip of the iceberg in a terrible situation in Mexico where an average of 8 people a day “disappear.” Sadly, the country suffers from drug wars between various cartels and innocent people (invariably) are the primary victims of this chaos.
Jon Stewart’s brilliance is the perfect antidote to the pablum being spewed by news media all over the world. In this episode he eviscerates those who doubt that the US tortured human beings in the “Global War on Terror.”
Denmark has laid claim to the North Pole based upon an extension of the continental shelf from Greenland, which is administered by Denmark. Denmark will submit its claim to the UN which will adjudicate the matter. Both Canada and Russia have made similar claims. All five countries that abut the Arctic Circle has expressed keen interests in developing what are believed to be significant petroleum reserves in the region. The obsession with territoriality continues in world politics.
At 1 am on Monday, the Russian Central Bank raised its interest rates from 10% to 17%. The move was an attempt to prevent the further decline in the value of the Russian ruble, which has lost more than half its value in recent days. I suspect that the effort will be in vain. Even high interest rates will not entice investors to send money to a rapidly deteriorating economy. The Russian Economics Ministry is predicting that the Russian economy will contract by 0.8% next year.
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