Politics

On Earth Day here in America, we can take notice that we are 5 percent of the world’s population but that we produce 25 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases, waste and consumption. We might also want to take notice of an uglier twin statistic from the London School of Economics: The United States produces…

Just who is the man about to become not only the president of South Africa, but the most powerful man on the continent? Most South Africans call him Jay Zed. Others call him by his clan name—Msholozi. And supporters wear T-shirts proclaiming him “100 percent Zulu boy.” His full name is Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma, the…

The Barack Obama global charm offensive continues unabated as he returns to Washington from Trinidad and Tobago where he spent two days as the main attraction and the great hope at the Fifth Summit of the Americas. In a single weekend, Obama completely transformed the diplomatic landscape of the region, by saying the most reasonable,…

The United Nations World Conference Against Racism begins today in Geneva, Switzerland—without the Obama administration in attendance. The United States decided on Saturday to boycott the conference, just as the Bush administration did in 2001, when it was held in Durban, South Africa, amid a firestorm of controversy surrounding elements of the conference charter viewed…

If you’re running a Latin American country that has fallen out with the U.S. in recent years, or you’re the premier of a Caribbean island nation whose principal exports are tax shelters and LisaRaye, you better come with your “A” game when you meet with President Barack Obama at the Fifth Summit of the Americas.…

In an ideal world, law and politics go together like peanut butter and jelly. But on the occasions when they don’t, things can get a little sticky. Enter President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder, as they release memos in which lawyers for the Department of Justice under President Bush counseled CIA interrogators to engage…

Despite the historic election of President Barack Obama, racism is alive and well. But it’s not just a U.S. problem. Racial discrimination may be the scourge of our time, and if there is any government that ought to understand that, it’s ours. Yet, the Obama administration is debating whether to participate in a United Nations…

When President Barack Obama hits Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago this weekend for the Fifth Summit of the Americas, all of the democratically elected governments of the Western Hemisphere will be there to talk trade, recession and security issues. Well, almost all. The single outcast: Cuba, the undemocratic island nation on which the U.S.…

If you’re an American, don’t start packing your bag for Havana just yet.  The changes in Cuban policy announced by the Obama administration this week are modest—and aimed strictly at Cuban Americans.  The new laws effectively sweep away the stringent Bush rules which had made visits almost impossible. Now, Cuban Americans will be able to…

Port of Spain is not Prague. For one thing, the weather forecast calls for average temperatures around 90 degrees this weekend. But when President Obama arrives in the Caribbean on Friday for the fifth Summit of the Americas, climate will not be the only dramatic change from his recent European travels. Festive will replace formal.…