Politics & Current Affairs

NATO seems to feel a bit slighted by the U.S.-Asia alliance in the security defense strategy for the Pacific Coast. Experts believe NATO should recognize the positives of the alliance and be a team player in order to be effective in security efforts.  

The United States is an immigrant society, but one that does not truly embrace immigration like other countries around the world. Many immigrants that arrive in America to create a better life are often times met with discrimination. 

A global war on tobacco is waging. The pressure is on countries around the world to place stricter laws on tobacco use. One country even plans on prohibiting smoking by 2040. Some believe harsh laws could make the situation worse.

After enjoying ratings as high as 80 percent in the mid-1990s, the Supreme Court today has the support of only 44 percent of Americans according to a New York Times-CBS News […]

As Wisconsin voters stream to the polls today in the Gov. Scott Walker recall election, most commentators are warning that a Walker win would be a disaster for the left. […]

A recent computer virus highlighted by cyber security is believed to be politically influenced for use against Iran. This new information leads cyber researchers to believe governments may possibly be headed into a cyber war.  

The course of anti-semitism from ancient times to now has been written about and discussed, but the authors have come up short in one way or another. The true root of this 2,000-year-old history has yet to be truly contextual, comprehensive, detailed and analytical in a manner that is coherent.

The number of foreigners moving to China for work or school is growing each year. In 2010, more than 200,000 foreigners have been reported living there. But why does China keep expats under a  microscope

While we tend to think high-profile liars like Bernie Madoff are the rotten apples who spoil the bunch, but most good people are quite willing to cheat because they see their transgressions as small. 

Many of our cities still bear the scars from past centuries’ segregation policies. So new urban movements want to take advantage of urban population growth to make the city a better place. 

Europe’s economic troubles are reaching a pivotal point. In Spain, where austerity measures has caused a 0.3% economic contraction from Q4 of 2011, unemployment has risen to a record 25% […]

Mitt Romney’s plan for education, released last week, sounds a number of predictable conservative themes: union bashing, continued reliance on standardized testing, expansion of charter schools and reform or elimination of […]

What is the Big Idea? Halla Tomasdottir guided her financial services company Audur Capital through Iceland’s economic meltdown in 2008. The company not only survived, but its unique “feminine values” […]

What’s the Big Idea? On May 20, Pakistan shut down Twitter for eight hours after the microblogging site refused to remove tweets that linked to a page encouraging people to post pictures […]

Nation building is an “in and out” state of mind that is believed to create success with limited spending. Cultivating will take time, but has the potential to create honest dialogues among the U.S. and the other countries that would lead to missions being better carried out.

The federal government is asking automakers to stop creating in-car devices that can distract drivers from the road. Auto companies such as Audi, Cadillac, Nissan and Ford are among the many that have been including electronic devices with features for drivers to play around with, and now Facebook and Twitter are accessible features.

The Department of Defense and researchers have collected and compiled the data on combat trauma and suicide. On Memorial Day people remember soldiers that paid the price for freedom, yet less than ten percent died on the battlefield. 

The rights of prison inmates are meticulously defined by law while nursing home standards vary widely. Not to mention prison is free and healthcare is provided at a relatively high level. 

Sometimes it’s better to do something – anything – rather than nothing at all.  That’s the lesson of the old parable of Buridan’s ass, where the poor animal is faced with two haystacks and, unable to decide which is bigger, dies of hunger. . .

 Last year, a small number of governments including the United States joined the Open Government Partnership to promote openness and improved engagement with their citizens. 42 new countries joined the partnership at a recent conference in Brazil attended by Hillary Clinton.

What is the Big Idea? Voters in Egypt went to the polls today for day two of the country’s presidential election. Kate Woodsome from Voice of America, Asia curated Tweets, Twitpics and […]

What is the Big Idea? During his presidential campaign, François Hollande voiced his support for gay marriage and adoption for LGBT couples. He said he’d pursue the issue in 2013 if […]

The blind 40-year-old Chinese dissident who escaped from house arrest in April — improbably evading guards, finding his way to the U.S. embassy in Beijing and, after a diplomatic fracas, acquiring a visa to study law in the United States — landed at Newark Liberty airport on Saturday. Less than a month after fleeing his village in Shandong Province, Chen Guangcheng and his family are free in Greenwich Village. The question is whether they are here for good.

The agreement in which Iraq will purchase surveillance drones from the U.S. is the latest in an effort to help keep oil terminals within the Iraqi territory in the Persian Gulf safe.  In turn, it allows the United States to strengthen its ties to the country. 

Women’s equality and health are the focus of Republican criticism. Republicans are determined to weaken the welfare of women.  

The Chinese view social debates among Americans as unethical and immoral behavior. They believe issues such as gay marriage and abortion should remain out of the public eye. 

Financial companies are putting a halt to the type of banking services provided to the clientele of America’s elite. The act is an effort to avoid the possible aid in further tax evasion.

What is the Big Idea? Step into a classroom in North Korea and you will find very little that differs from a classroom in New York City – chalkboard, rows […]

In a case of tiger parenting gone horribly awry, a chilling photo taken in a Chinese high school shows students hooked to IV protein drips while preparing for college entrance exams.

The American democracy increasingly rests in the hands of professional politicians and special interest lobbies. In the age of the citizen scientist, we need a renaissance of the citizen citizen.