The five year Chinese Communist Party Congress, taking place over 5 days, was opened by President Hu Jintao. While the event is carefully orchestrated it is refreshing to note self criticism which one would hardly expect from US or European political leaders. Hu drew attention in particular to the problems of corruption and local governance, …
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Category:9 Regions
We love China, but …
October saw China’s Communist Party Congress, a gathering held every five years to publicise the party’s objectives, endorse policy and make senior appointments. As China prospers and expands its presence on the world stage, this offered an opportunity to reflect on political and social developments at home. While the general commentary is positive, critics highlight …
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EU environment failing: air pollution, biodiversity loss and poor water quality
The European Environment Agency released its fourth assessment report on the environmental situation in 53 European countries, highlighting significant air pollution, biodiversity loss and poor water quality across the region. The irony of the report is that a principal cause of these problems is growing consumption and the demand for transport neither of which people …
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Africa growing with China or the west
This Jamestown Institute article African Perspectives on China offers a summary of the growing relationship of Africa with the rest of the world, especially China. Two main conclusions are apparent: China deals with Africa in a straightforward way (eg access to oil for a railway or factory) which is difficult for western businesses, particularly American …
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Middle East worst case scenario
A number of commentators have discussed a middle east worse case scenario over the past couple of months. The Futurist joined in with their September-October issue. The discussion is interesting and you can see a summary online here. The lead article acknowledges that a regional war engulfing the Middle East is still a “low probability …
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A quick solution to climate change from the US: stop fighting
This linked article by Daniel Kammen at GreenBiz offers simple options to change the US energy consumption profile. His six point plan is: A national commitment to saving money and energy through energy efficiency measures at every step of the economic value chain (some states, including California are fully 40 percent more efficient than the …
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Israel secretly bombs Syria for nukes …
former Israeli prime minister and Likud opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that Israel launched an air strike against Syria on September 6, aafter weeks of refusing to confirm the operation. It appears the rationale for the strike is that Syria had nuclear weapon making materials from North Korea. While this may have been true and …
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Let poor children suffer
Despite the rhetoric being bandied about by Presidential candidates Bush has threatened to veto additional federal funding for a the State Children’s Health Insurance Program which insures children from low-income families. Another sad sign of where the current administration’s priorities are. Our hope for enlightened leadership from the global superpower dims a bit more.
Invest in Kenya: Focus Kisumu
A new African investment guide, Invest in Kenya: Focus Kisumu, was launched by the Millennium Cities Initiative and the Columbia Program on International Investment in Nairobi on September 26. MCI’s first investor’s guide focuses on Kisumu, the first city named a Millennium City. Kisumu, located on Lake Victoria, is Kenya’s third largest city and an …
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Japanese leadership crisis – new PM
September has not been a good month for politics in Japan. At the beginning of September, Agriculture Minister Takehiko Endo resigned only a week after being appointed. He admitted that a private farm group he heads was involved in illegal dealings – it had been paid 1.15m Yen ($9,900) by the state after overstating crop …
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