The death penalty is much in the news of late.  In the US, a grisly milestone was reached (I am personally against the death penalty): 1000 people have been executed since its re-establishment in 1977.  And in Singapore the… Continue reading

    The horrific chemical spill in the Songhua River in China is an environmental disaster of gigantic scale.  Harbin, a city of 3.8 million people, has had to cut all of its public water supplies.  An untold number of… Continue reading

    The statement yesterday by US Representative John Murtha that the US should pull its troops out of Iraq in the next six months has had a significant  effect on the public debate on the war.  His announcement overshadowed… Continue reading

     One of the week’s big stories is the riots in France.  The violence raises questions about how well people with Middle Eastern and African heritages have been integrated into French society.  This goes right to the definition of… Continue reading

    Relations between China and Japan have been deteriorating of late.  Although they are bound together economically, politically and militarily they seem to be moving away from one another.  Tokyo’s announcement earlier this year that Taiwan was a strategic… Continue reading

     It is impossible to avoid the big issue in the US today (about 25% of the readers of this blog are from outside the US and may not fully appreciate how obsessed American political analysts are with this):… Continue reading

     The Valerie Plame scandal (which is all about the public disclosure of a covert CIA agent for political purposes) is soon to reach a climax: there is widespread expectation that indictments could be forthcoming, perhaps next week, and… Continue reading

    In a column today in the Washington Post, Robert J. Samuelson mulls the medium-term prospects of the US economy.  He is rather pessimistic.  A burst of inflation and declining consumer confidence may overwhelm the "wealth effect" of high… Continue reading

     One of the big news stories in the US this week is the nomination, by President Bush, of Harriet Miers to serve a life-time appointment on the Supreme Court.  Bush’s conservative allies have been up in arms because… Continue reading

     Just as the oracle predicted back on August 12th, the New York Yankees won the American League East Division today.  Indeed, it is the eigth time in a row the boys from the Bronx have taken this distinction:… Continue reading