Petro-State Corruption On Display
Hugo Chavez, who first came to national attention when he led a military coup attempt in 192, is on his way to buying a massive reelection victory, thanks to high…
Foreign Affairs
A Real Liberal Under Attack in Turkey for Defending Freedom
A True Liberal: Neither Suppress Religion, Nor Impose It A respected friend, Dr. Atilla Yayla, has been dismissed from his teaching position and pilloried in the press in Turkey for…
“Our” Response to Borat
The Borat movie has been banned in the Russian Federation. My Russian colleagues have a response, “‘Our’ Response to Borat” (with “our” referring to the response of Russia) to the…
The New Russia and a New Eurasia
For anyone interested in what’s going on in Eurasia, with a focus on Russia and its relations with all of the other nations of the continent, I highly recommend watching…
A Bit of Media Play
The New York Times ran a cover story yesterday that includes discussion of some people I greatly admire, such as James Shikwati of the Inter Region Economic Network. (Anyone interested…
Ahmad Chalabi
I highly recommend today’s New York Times Magazine essay on one of the sleaziest characters in the whole Iraq story.
Will They Find Him Guilty? Hmmm…..
For another insight into what Iraqis are thinking about the forthcoming verdict in Saddam’s trial, visit Iraq the Model. (It’s not representative of all Iraqis, but it’s written by people…
Advancing Freedom Further
I’m in Tbilisi for our conference on “Freedom, Commerce, and Peace: A Regional Agenda.” It starts tomorrow evening, but many of the participants are arriving tonight (Tbilisi is a great…
Putin Drops Another Shoe
A Chill Wind over Russia Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch failed “to keep their papers in order” and are forced to stop all activities in the Russian Federation. Watchdog…
Which Will Prove to Be Mightier: The Pen or the Pistol?
Tribute to a Searcher for Truth My friend Peter Kurrild-Klitgaard today brought to my attention a moving tribute to the murdered journalist Anna Politkovskaya: “To Kill a Journalist,” by Samuel…