A Report on the ‘Coalition of the Willing’

Radar magazine’s features section reviews the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ participating in the Iraq war. The 27 countries in the coalition, comprising a mish-mash of about 12,000 troops, are briefly outlined. Their troops commitment, casulaties, and domestic politics are also listed in alphabetical order by nation.
You can read the report here.

Kosovo’s Opportunity for Independence, and US-Russia Friction

Below is an excerpt from the Power and Interest News Report’s intelligence brief on Kosovo independence:
Serbia’s current political weakness, coupled by France’s more pro-U.S. stance resulting from Nicolas Sarkozy’s presidential and legislative wins, offers Kosovo’s nationalists a chance to obtain independence. On June 12, however, Belgrade declared that Serbia would annul every unilateral decision on [...]

Creative Class or Administrative Class? On Advertising and the ‘Underground’

Below is the abstract of an article from the journal, ephemera. The author, Adam Arvidsson, is an associate professor of Media Studies at the University of Copenhagen. Arvidsson offers a critique of Richard Florida’s theory of the creative class.
Ephemera’s latest issue is “Immaterial and Affective Labour: Explored.” Ephemera is a free journal for the discussion [...]

Mexico’s Indigenous Resistance

Below is an excerpt from Guy Warrington’s article at Rabble – “Guerillas in the ethernet“:
For indigenous communities in Mexico, political and social problems have reached the boiling point. The states of Chiapas, Guerrero, and Oaxaca have slipped into rebellion because of grinding poverty, a corrupt political process, and serious human rights abuses. According to Onesimo [...]

Chavez and RCTV: Tilting the Balance Against the Bad Guy

Below is an excerpt from Medialens:
As we have previously reported* Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has long been demonised by the Western media as a “leftist firebrand” (The Independent), “Venezuela’s demagogue” (Washington Post), and as a “militaristic strongman“ (Financial Times).
No surprise, then, that Chavez’s decision not to renew the licence of Radio Caracas Television (RCTV) [...]

Where to Learn About Climate Change

Climate change is something that many of us will want to learn more about, from the basics to the very detailed or scientific analysis.
RealClimate is a website that can help the beginner to the advanced on this topic. It is a “commentary site on climate science by working climate scientists for the interested public and [...]

The Water Politics of China and Southeast Asia

Below is an excerpt of an article by Milton Osborne, published in Japan Focus:
When the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) released its list of the world’s top ten rivers at risk in late March, attention in Australia naturally focused on the fact that the Murray-Darling River system was one of those listed.[1] Very little attention [...]

Hamas Poised to Control Gaza. What Next?

The below excerpt is from Missing Links:
It is clear that Hamas fighters control Gaza and the remaining pockets of resistance will be surrendered within a fews days if not hours, Abdulbari Atwan writes. Fatah leaders have fled to safety in Cairo, and there isn’t any motivation for their people to continue defending positions that are [...]

News in Brief: 14 June 2007

A brief list of news for the day:
Assassination brings Lebanon closer to the brink. “A sign of the times. I arrive home in Beirut from Paris, am just 20 minutes into my apartment when the windows of my office blow open with a single “crack”. A tremendous explosion rolls across the Lebanese capital. Out of [...]