Posts Tagged ‘The Economist’
Where Osama Bin Laden was found
The death of big time bad guy Osama Bin Laden prompted a worldwide celebration.
Now a hangover is settling in.
The raid at Bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan took place a short walk from the nation’s military academy (like West Point). The Economist reports
Local residents say that police regularly swept the area, roughly once a week, checking residents’ IDs and sometimes looking inside homes. It is hard to believe that this house could have escaped scrutiny for long.
Some think it is hard to believe important people in Pakistan did not know the presence of Bin Laden in their midst.
This is a reminder of Pakistan’s uncomfortably cozy relationship with extremist groups.
While the government fights terrorist groups with vigor on one hand, other elements in the government turn a blind eye.
The country of 200 million people is a combustible mix of tribes and religions. Political stability in Pakistan remains elusive with leading politicians, even Prime Ministers living in fear of assassination.
To make things worse, it borders on the tumultuous state of Afghanistan where Taliban extremists use Pakistan’s mountain as hideaways.
To help keep Pakistan from tumbling into civil war, the United States gives nearly $3 Billion in aid to the country. Why?
Pakistan has a large arsenal of nuclear weapons.
Should Pakistan dissolve into chaos, the extremist groups already present in the country may get access to some true terror.
Thanks to the death of Bin Laden Pakistan is currently the center of the world’s attention… and will likely remain a central focus for years to come.
By now most folks are familiar with the controversial map closely linked to Sarah Palin targeting Democratic candidates in the 2010 election.
We found a map (see below) imitating the style of its notorious cousin with a twist. It is the cover of a Seattle weekly called The Stranger. The map does put into sharp focus America’s long history of gun violence and Public figures.
Another weekly, The Economist (above) has chosen to focus on America’s love affair with the gun on it’s cover. The magazine points out:
Around 30,000 people a year are killed by one of the almost 300m guns in America—almost one for every citizen.
Will this love affair ever end? Or is it “Till death do us part”?
Thanks to Wikicommons.
We at US Democrazy had a rare treat this weekend. We got to see the future.
We reported (and tweeted) from fascinating The World in 2011 Festival presented by The Economist magazine.
The event assembled great minds in New York City to share their thoughts on the year ahead. There were three days of events with a celebrated collection of speakers including President Bill Clinton, Admiral Gary Roughead, (Chief of US Naval Operations), Master chef Jose Andres, Grammy award winning artist Loudon Wainwright III.
So what is the future going to hold? Well Alyse Nelson, President and CEO of Vital Voices Global Partnership says we should
Forget India, forget China, even forget the Internet. Women are the emerging market.
For this untapped resources to reach it’s potential change is needed to give women across the world the opportunity they deserve.
The Women’s Economic Opportunity Index, which ranks 113 nations based on a number of factors (ranking the US at #15) found that although many nations have gender equality laws little is done to enforce them.
Echoing this idea, Kah Wala, a candidate for Cameroon’s presidency, argues that globally women are a huge part of the informal economy (i.e. businesses not monitored by the government) but this does not allow them to build wealth.
To allow women to build a future an investment needs to be made so “they can stand on their own feet” in Zainab Salbi’s own words. Salbi is CEO of Women for Women International a program which helps women in conflict zones.
Describing women as the next emerging market got us wondering… What can we do to help our female readers be forces of change in our world?
We at US Democrazy can’t believe how fast the world of modern media is changing. Consider this, you’re reading a blog right now. 15 years ago blogs didn’t exist.
Don’t take our word on the wonders of our age, check out this cool video.
Speaking of social networks, check out our Facebook page.
One of the many new features being launched at USDemocrzy is “Cartoon of the day.” From time to time we will showcase some really cool cartoons we find on the web that provide interesting insights on the issues of the day.
We particularly want to trumpet the artwork of our blog editor KAL from The Economist. This is not because we think the cartoons are any good, but because the price was within our budget (i.e. free).
Please let us know of your favorite cartoons and cartoonists on the web!
Grumble, grumble… We at USDemocrazy are hearing a lot of criticism flying around Washington… More so than usual, it would seem!
Remember yesterday (so long ago, we know…) when we talked about criticism of Obama for being reliant on his teleprompter? Well, in a talk between Lois Romano of the Washington Post and press secretary Robert Gibbs, Romano asks about that dang teleprompter and Gibbs got a little peeeeeeved, trying hard not to show his frustration with the question.
Elsewhere, an Obama interview that aired on CBS’ “60 Minutes” has also been drawing some criticism. You see, our country’s facing some problems right now (just making sure we’re on the same page!), and Obama started laughing in the interview when talking about them. (Nervous laughter, perhaps?) And yet, some people aren’t laughing (shocking!). Obama was just trying to get people to appreciate his “gallows humor!”
Might it be possible to laugh ourselves out of this recession? (Since we know we can’t talk ourselves out of one…) Decide for yourself by watching the video above!
Speaking of criticism… a while back, you may recall some mutterings from Rush Limbaugh about hoping that Obama fails. After taking much flack for it (though it could be argued that he didn’t care a whole lot), Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has given his blessing to the Limbaugh lambast. He criticized those critics who were criticizing Limbaugh’s criticism. He was worried that “political correctness had gone amok.”
All of this criticism, flying in from all directions and landing on D.C., is getting confusing. It is good to know some people are still worried about the job Obama’s doing. The smart guys at The Economist understand the HUGE learning curve Obama has in front of him, pointing out what exactly needs to be fixed by the Prez.
In an age where everyone’s got an opinion, everyone’s gonna be a critic. Some might even say that this recession makes tensions run higher. We’d buy that!
