Analyses
-
Alexei Navalny / Amnesty International / Foreign Agents / Friedrich Ebert Foundation / Hans-Henning Schröder / Judiciary / Konrad Adenauer Foundation / Memorial / NGO / Patriotism / Politics / Putin / Europe / Focus ArticleBy Hans-Henning Schröder Actions against Russian non-governmental organizations and other opposition figures are the result of a shift in national policy towards promoting patriotism. However, this path, chosen to stabilise the regime, has become more and more of a problem for the leadership itself, argues Hans-Henning Schröder. Since the beginning of February, prosecutors, the ministry of justice, and the tax authority have paid visits to Russian non-governmental organisations, demanding comprehensive access to financial documents, personnel files, and program documents. All over Russia, reportedly close to a hundred of these revisions have taken place. During the second...
-
361 security / China / insurgency / international security / Kuala Lumpur / malaysia / Nicholas A. Heras / Philippines / RAS / United States / Focus Article / Global Security / AsiaIncreased insurgency in Sabah would present the Filipino government with the difficult choice of participating militarily in an election year, or doing nothing and risking the ire of Malaysia. Malaysian security forces have been battling a militant Filipino organization called the “Royal Army of Sulu” (RAS) in Malaysia’s Sabah State, in the northeastern region of the Borneo island. RAS fighters, the majority of whom are ethnic Tausug from the Philippine islands of the Sulu Archipelago that border Sabah, claim fealty to the Manila-based Sultan Jamalul Kiram III. Sultan Jamalul III is one of nine competing descendants of the historical Sultanate of Sulu who claim control...
-
Argentina / Buenos Aires / Joseph Knobel Freud / Julián Chappa / Psychoanalysis / Psychologist / Sigmund Freud / Focus Article / Arts & Culture / AmericasJulián Chappa talks to the great nephew of Sigmund Freud. A glimpse at the Freud family and its legacy. This is the last of a two-part series. Read part one here. Julián Chappa: You have three relatives in Buenos Aires who share the surname Freud. Could you please tell us a litlle bit more about them? Joseph Knobel Freud:I have many more relatives who have the surname Freud in Buenos Aires. Those three are the ones who are directly related to me. In fact, my mother Clara Freud had a sister who had two children that currently live in Buenos Aires. It is fair to say that I don't have a very strong relationship with them, but they are my cousins nonetheless. My mom also...
-
Anti-Semitism / Cairo / Egypt / El-Khamissy / Israel / Jacob Goldberg / Morsi / Palestine / Politics / President Muhammad Morsi / Semitic People / Tel Aviv / Focus Article / Middle EastAnti-Semitism is still the greatest threat to the Jewish people, but the threat comes from within the Jewish state, argues Jacob Goldberg. I was dismayed to read the news a few weeks ago about the new Egyptian government’s cancellation of a screening of a documentary film called “Jews of Egypt.” The film, produced by Haytham El-Khamissy, highlights the life of what was until the 1950s a sizeable and vibrant Jewish community in Egypt. When the screening was cancelled by Egyptian security authorities the day before it was due to take place, El-Khamissy reported on Facebook that no reason for the cancellation was given. In the aftermath of what seems to be a...
-
Buffett Rule / Deficit Reduction / President Obama / United States / Finance & Economics / Focus ArticleDonald Marron, Director of the Tax Policy Center who served as a member of the President's Council of Economic Advisors between 2002-2009, discusses President Obama's deficit reduction proposal. President Obama’s budget identifies a group of policies as a $1.8 trillion deficit reduction proposal. I found the budget presentation of this proposal somewhat confusing; in particular, it is difficult to see how much deficit reduction the president wants to do through spending cuts versus revenue increases. After some digging into the weeds, I pulled together the following summary to answer that question: The proposal would increase revenue by $750 billion over the next decade. Much...
-
Insurance companies are looking for feasible ways to provide coverage to rural populations living below the poverty line. Background Microinsurance is an insurance scheme specially created for vulnerable sections of society - the disadvantaged, those living in rural areas and those living below the poverty line (BPL). Microinsurance can encompass many types of coverage, including property, health and life insurance, and is often delivered to these vulnerable segments of society through intermediaries such as self-help groups (SHGs), cooperatives and microfinance institutions. The microinsurance industry is still developing, and only time will tell whether it will benefit both the insurer...
-
Gandhi dynasty / India / Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act / Manmohan / Narendra Modi / Politics / Politics / Rahul / Focus Article / BRIC / AsiaBy Mayank SinghRahul Gandhi’s façade as a Prime Ministerial aspirant is disintegrating rapidly. His first public speaking foray in nearly a decade of political life only served to lay bare his inadequacies as a leader. In spite of the bravado exhibited by sycophants, Rahul, in his speech at the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) meet, displayed an amazing ignorance regarding the international and domestic issues confronting India. Scion of the Nehru –Gandhi dynasty which has ruled India for a major period since its independence, Rahul is considered a prime minister-in-waiting by loyalists. In 2004, Rahul’s mother and United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson, Sonia...
-
China / Global Power Shift / India / Finance & Economics / Focus Article / BRIC / AsiaBy Sonia KatyalSonia Katyal argues that free trade, innovation and world power are not the legacy of the West alone. The balance of world power is cyclical, and shifts again — but can China and India reclaim a piece of their history? Some find it irksome if not provocative to hear recently shaken corridors of power in the West ascribe India and China’s now visible and rising economic success to essentially being a ripple effect of the values of free trade that the West claims to have solely evangelised. Yes, these values powered the rise of the current capitalist powers for the last two centuries but to allude that the West has exclusive historic title to the promotion of ‘open...
-
Dubai / Sheikh Mohammed Ben Rashid Al-Makhtoum / trade / Finance & Economics / Focus Article / Arts & Culture / Middle EastThe ruler of the Emirate of Dubai has created a model city — a near fantasy land that rightly features many aspects of a global village. Calling Dubai a miracle in its current unique example of an open and modern international city, would not be too far-fetched. The transformation of the small Gulf locality — drenched with the generally inhospitable sweat and dust of the desert — into a coveted international tourist destination in just a few decades is a miracle by all counts. It is an incredible feat for a desert locality to spring to world attractiveness in a mind-boggling short time span. With its countless tourists, Dubai is often comparable to culturally rich...