Russia and South Korea: Much ado About Something
October 26, 2011 by John K. Yi
Russia’s Dmitry Medvedev in Seoul for meetings. Image via Kremlin’s Press Office
China and Russia’s close relations have played out on the international stage for the past decade and each signed memorandum or trade agreement has reinforced the strengthening bond of these two odd bed-fellows. But there’s a less public romance developing between Russia and South Korea as well. In recent years, Moscow has invited and courted South Korean businessmen and diplomats, encouraging investment and political cooperation.
Robust trade numbers between the two nations seem to indicate that the relationship is functioning: in 2010, bilateral trade increased by 82.2 percent, hitting more than $11 billion, and major South Korean brands have become ubiquitous in the Russian market.
Iraq War Declared Over, But War Party Persists
October 26, 2011 by Ramzy Baroud
President Obama with Iraq advisors at the White House. Pete Souza/White House
In a White House Statement on October 21, US President Barack Obama pledged that his country would finally withdraw forces from Iraq. “After nearly nine years, America’s war in Iraq will be over,” he said. Providing some context to Obama’s announcement, a CBSNews.com report published on the same day stated, “The war in Iraq has meant the death of more than 4,400 U.S. troops and comes at a cost of more than $700 billion.”
The US media is now failing to process any facts aside from the losses suffered by the US, who wrought war and destruction on a country in urgent need of peace and humanitarian assistance. For over a decade prior to the war, Iraq was reeling under US-led UN sanctions, which left the country’s infrastructure in a state of near collapse.
Poverty: A Social Burden or a Challenge?
October 26, 2011 by Iqbal Ahmed
Slums in Jakarta, Indonesia. Photo by Jonathan McIntosh
What is poverty? It points to a cycle of human behavior, suggesting that the poor remain in poverty because of their adaptation to the burden of unfulfilled needs.
Sudhir Vankatesh, the author of “Gang Leader for a Day,” said of Oscar Lewis, “Maybe there’s something in the way they live, in their lifestyle…that certain behaviors get transmitted from generation to generation.”
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