John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Shadows of the Cold War returned to the UN during the recent elections for President of the General Assembly where a previously agreed to candidate from Lithuania was challenged, and subsequently defeated, by a Russian-backed contender from Serbia. What was originally expected to be a consensus vote selecting a […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — The world needs a good party and reason to forget, even fleetingly, the conflicts, crises and economic doldrums which have befallen us. Thus Britain’s Diamond Jubilee for Queen Elizabeth II brings us that wistful respite but more importantly a lesson; that tradition trumps trendy, and often celebrity too. The […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — When it comes to media censorship we think of the usual pantheon of dictators and autocrats who unashamedly shut down news outlets, stifle the free flow of information, and throw journalists in jail. And it’s in countries like North Korea, Cuba, and Islamic Republic of Iran where print and […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — A generation ago many Central American countries faced death and destruction from aggressive left-wing insurgencies battling governments in places like El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. Today while these countries have evolved into reasonably representative democracies, a new tide of violence “born of transnational organized crime and drug trafficking,” plagues […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Despite the persistent economic headwinds which are expected to slow economic expansion this year, “growth in the Asia and the Pacific area remains better than in any other region; continuing as an anchor of stability and a new growth pole for the world economy.” That’s the guardedly optimistic prognosis […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Tone, tenor, and style separate Nicolas Sarkozy from Francois Hollande as much as clear political ideology divided the two contenders for the French presidency. But sentiments like voter discontent, backlash and anti-austerity describe the mood French voters were in when they elected the Socialist candidate. Francois Hollande’s victory with […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — There’s been a significant drop in ship seizures and hijackings by Somali pirates in the troubled waters off East Africa. Despite last year’s spike in piracy with 28 vessels captured in the first half of 2011, there were only three ships seized in the second half of the year […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is on the road to Burma to witness a “critical moment” in the isolated Southeast Asian state’s slow but sure transition to a more open political system which may bring democracy, or could legitimize the long-ruling military regime. Recently, British Prime Minister David Cameron visited […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — In the bizarre ritual of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, a recent rocket launch was intended to put the icing on the dynastic cake of the centennial birthday celebrations of the late dictator Kim Il-Sung. The world press had been invited to the reclusive neo-Stalinist state, and the […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — America’s political standing has dipped so low in Egypt, that in a recent Gallup poll, more than eighty percent of respondents said they neither want military aid nor economic assistance from the United States. Moreover as many shades of Islamic political parties dominate the landscape, many people in this […]