John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Amidst the swirl of the presidential primary season in the United States and thus the blurring of the international news focus, Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been on a political campaign swing of his own throughout Latin America. But while the Islamic Republic relentlessly pursues the nuclear genie, and […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Though it’s the birthplace of Christianity in ancient times, the modern Middle East is increasingly hostile to Christianity as civil conflict, Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism grow in scope and strength. Although most regional states have a small but successful Christian minority ranging from Egypt to Iraq, only Lebanon, Israel […]
John J. Metzler NEW YORK — It’s once again time to peer into the foggy crystal ball and try to decipher the future political trends and events. Indeed, after the roller-coaster year of 2011, it’s hard to imagine that 2012 could hold some equally disquieting social, political and economic turmoil. But few predicted the sweeping […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Author, playwright, and former President of the Czech Republic Vaclav Havel has died at age 75. Havel, as literary figure and a political dissident, confronted the tyranny of the former Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and oversaw the country’s peaceful transition to democracy and a free market economy. Havel was a […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Recently UN member states turned their attention to the need for Financing for Development, or put more plainly, stressing the still pressing need for development assistance to assist the plethora of poor nations. Fortunately foreign assistance donor states have not significantly cut their budgets, but rather sharpened their focus […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — With the historic visit of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Burma, the highest profile American diplomatic contact in fifty years, the United States has entered a high stakes geopolitical chess game in Southeast Asia. Burma, a political pariah state has long been courted by China, coveted by India, […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — After the heady and often dizzying political changes optimistically described as the Arab Spring, many of these same Middle Eastern states may be heading for what sadly looks like an Arab Winter. The seasonal political shift was predictable, but the end results remain in flux. The three great Middle […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — George Orwell would have laughed at the very notion. Russian Premier Vladimir Putin has won a curiously-awarded Peace Prize for his military attack on Chechnya in 1999, and his “iron hand and toughness” in dealing with separatists near and far, the old fashioned way. For his bellicose actions, Putin […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Here we go again. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has warned that the Islamic Republic of Iran is developing the scientific technology needed to create a nuclear weapon. The UN watchdog agency presented an incriminating report at the organization’s Vienna headquarters which clearly states that Teheran appears to […]
By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Norway, Australia, the Netherlands, and the United States are among the best places to live according to the Human Development Report 2011, the UN’s annual rankings of states based on health, wealth, education and gender rights. Rounding out the top ten include New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, Lichtenstein, Germany […]