The Guardian newspaper has an article based on a report issued by the Stockholm International Water Institute that water shortages are going to change the dietary habits of human beings quite drastically by mid-century. Since animal protein uses an unsustainable amount of fresh water, the Institute believes that the world will have to change over to vegetarianism. Fresh water is truly going to be a scarce resource very soon.
Iran is hosting the meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement, and, in the process, is scoring some diplomatic victories. Both Egypt and India have announced that they will attend the meetings despite strong pressure from the United States. The rebuffs serve as testimony to the reduced influence the US has in world affairs: it is still a powerful state, but there is considerable more freedom for other states to pursue their own policies. The US can learn how to adjust to this reduced role. If it does, the world will have to learn how to navigate on its own as well.
The Republican Party continues to work on its platform (which the Presidential candidate often ignores) and it pays special attention to some international agreements that have previously been accepted by both Republican and Democratic Administrations. I suspect that many don’t know or care about these platforms, but they do act as a political barometer on many issues. In this case, it is clear that many Americans are highly suspicious of anything that seems to be international.
I try to stay away from partisan politics in the US–my own views should be irrelevant to all who read this blog. But I do try to stay abreast of how non-Americans view the American electoral process. Those views form a considerable part of how other states react to American foreign policy. The Economist, a highly regarded journal with distinctive conservative views, ran an essay that was surprisingly critical of the Republican nominee, Mitt Romney.
When Hollande was elected President of France, many of us interpreted his election as a swing away from the EU austerity programs favored by Germany. It appears, however, that that interpretation was premature. Greece has asked for more time to repay its debts, but its request was rebuffed by Hollande. The decision needs to be made by September, and it appears as if Greece will not get the extension it desires. That circumstance may force Greece to leave the eurozone.
As the sea ice shrinks in the Arctic Ocean, many states are claiming sovereignty over the now-accessible areas near the North pole. The German periodical, Der Spiegel, has an article on Russian attempts to begin drilling for hydrocarbons in this ecologically fragile area. The US and Canada will not be far behind.
Language is one of the most important components of national identity. The evolution of language is an interesting subject, since it traces the stops and starts of human migration. The New York Times has a great graphic on how the Indo-European languages evolved.
There’s a great deal of difference between weather and climate which leads to a lot of confusion on the climate change debate. Here’s a great graphic that indicates that cooling and warming can occur simultaneously, depending on what time frame one selects for analysis.
The Council of Foreign Relations has published some great observations on the US and its political conventions as made by outside analysts. It’s very revealing to see how others see the American political process since most Americans have a very insulated view of the process.
If you want to know why the world is so focused on an Israeli attack on Iran, you don’t need to look any further than the geopolitics of oil movements. The US Energy Information Agency has just published a memo on “World Oil Transit Chokepoints” which highlights the Strait of Hormuz at the end of the Persian/Arabian Gulf. It is, however, only one of many such problem areas.
The Pew Research Center has released a study on the American middle class, and its results are sobering. The American middle class has shrunk considerably since 1971 and most of its former inhabitants have moved down and not up the income scale. The demographics of the change are an incredible snapshot of American society.
The forced austerity program imposed on Greece is an attempt to secure what is known as an “internal devaluation.” Since Greece’s currency is a shared one, the euro, it cannot devalue the currency it uses in order to change its prices and wages simultaneously. An internal devaluation pushes down wages, but can only affect prices marginally so the society as a whole suffers a great deal. One way to address this imbalance is to sell assets to outsiders (like a port, an airline, or a park). Apparently, Greece is considering selling some of its uninhabited islands to outsiders. You could probably buy one for a “relatively” low price.
There is a lot of speculation about the fate of the euro–the shared currency 17 states within the 27-state European Union. The reporting all tends to assume that the collapse of the euro would be a very bad thing (a point of view that I share). However, there is sentiment that the collapse of the euro might be a good thing for ordinary citizens of Europe. Counterpunch is a good lefty source, and it ran an essay arguing precisely that.
Since March of 2009 there have been 50 self-immolations by Tibetans protesting Chinese rule in Tibet. Such acts are motivated by profound desperation, but there has been only sporadic attention to these protests in the media–the Chinese have suppressed information about them to an incredible degree. Tenzin Dorjee, executive director of Students for a Free Tibet, brings light to this subject in this interview.
The McKinsey Global Institute has done a study of communication in the US since 1900. Its results are staggering: Americans transmit about 12 trillion words per year. Here’s a graph of how things have changed since 1900.
The situation in Syria continues to ramp up great power apprehensions. President Obama warned Syria against moving any of its chemical weapons, pointing out that such moves would affect his calculus concerning US intervention. In turn, the Russians have warned against Western involvement in the dispute. The Russians have a great stake in Syria, and it appears as if they have broached the issue of Assad leaving the country. We will have to see whether the Russians have the ability to move Assad toward resignation. Much would depend on whether Assad would be given guarantees against criminal prosecution, something the Syrian opposition would find impossible to accept. Meanwhile, the violence continues to spread to Lebanon.
The Arctic sea ice is headed toward a record melt this year. The previous record was in 2007 when everything that could go wrong for the sea ice did in fact go wrong. This year is much different–there were no anomalies to explain the quick melt. So this melt is cause for significant alarm among scientists.
There is considerable cultural diversity in the world, a fact that deserves celebration and support. Nonetheless, there is considerable controversy over some cultural practices and the extent to which they can be prevented or condemned. Female genital mutilation (called female circumcision by some) is one such practice. A similar controversy is now arising over male circumcision. One wonders if there are any truly universal moral codes.
Foreign Policy has published an essay that posits an interesting theory of foreign policy, one that suggests that attitudes toward other states are primarily the result of intra-elite rivalry as opposed to the actual behavior of the affected state. This theory is based on the anti-American attitudes in countries, primarily Pakistan. It is hard to tell how generalizable this theory might be, but it is quite different from our intuitive sense of what foreign policy is.
Rock and Roll is sometimes interpreted in a profoundly political manner (in fact, it is always political). Often, however, the politics of Rock and Roll become explicit and, under those circumstances, it is considered subversive. The 1960s and 1970s were the last period in which music identified an alternative politics. With Pussy Riot, it may be the case that a similar phase could be ushered in.
Tensions over the island disputes between Japan and China have increased dramatically over the last few weeks. The Chinese call the islands the Diaoyu; the Japanese call the the Senkaku. This dispute is just one of many that affect relations among the states in East Asia.
India has blamed Pakistan for the inflammatory text messages and videos that sparked a huge movement of frightened people out of the northeast states of India. The religious, ethnic, and tribal tensions in the region were heightened by the messages, but it is not clear what advantage such actions would have for Pakistan. We will have to follow up on this story as more information becomes available.
We haven’t posted many articles lately on the European sovereign debt crisis, largely because there hasn’t been many news reports. The crisis, however, still festers, and European leaders are beginning to pay more attention to a seemingly intractable situation. Greece is ground zero of the crisis, although it is not, by itself, large enough to unravel the European Union. We will be hearing more about how the euro will fare as European leaders return from their summer vacations.
In a move that will rattle both the US and Israel, Egyptian President Morsi has announced that he will go to the Non-Aligned Movement meeting in Iran. Iran and Egypt have not had full diplomatic relations since the Iranian revolution in 1979, and the upcoming visit may signal a warming of relations that will alter the power relationships in the Middle East.
There has been a massive exodus of people from the northeast states of India, as fears of ethnic and religious violence have been stimulated by a number of text messages and web photos. It is not clear that any of these rumors have any basis in fact, although there has been violence in that area of India recently. But the number of people fleeing the region is staggering, and we should worry about the volatility of people’s perceptions. It is very difficult to get accurate information in such circumstances.
Iran celebrated Al-Quds (Jerusalem) day, a tradition started in 1979 with the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is a day to reaffirm the Republic’s commitment to the return of the Occupied Territories to Islamic rule. It was a day filled with anti-Israel rhetoric. Excerpts from some of the Iranian speeches can be found at the Middle East Media Research Institute.
The three members of the punk rock band, Pussy Riot, were sentenced to two year prison terms for their anti-Putin protests in a Russian church. There was relief that the maximum possible sentence of 7 years was not imposed, but the band members will appeal the sentence. Protests against the sentence occurred around the world, as reported by the Russian press. It is unlikely that President Putin will show any additional leniency.
South Africa has established a commission of inquiry to investigate the violence at a platinum mine in which many have died. A strike at the mine began a week ago, and there has been almost daily violence at the scene. Yesterday, police opened fire on the strikers who were apparently threatening more violence (it is always hard to ascertain the true sequence of events in such a situation–my advice is always to wait until the initial reports are verified) and 34 people were killed. South Africa is highly dependent on raw materials for its economic health, so the strike is a very serious matter for the country.
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