Looking for Vulnerabilities
on Nov 20, 2009 in Geopolitical It's been said that the Chinese are not innovative enough to be leaders, preferring instead to copy others' ideas or to focus on the least creative, lowest margin aspects of the value chain. In some areas, however, China is actively...

Not Enough to Go Around
on Nov 19, 2009 in Resource Constraints In what some view as an interesting twist of fate, environmentalists have become increasingly enamored with a technology they once ranked alongside coal as one of the biggest threats to the future of our planet: nuclear energy. Not surprisingly, thei...

Back Together Again
on Nov 18, 2009 in Geopolitical By most accounts, Russia seems dead set on challenging the existing world order. Whether that mission proves to be the pathetic encore of a fading star or leads to the frightening reincarnation of America's Cold War nemesis remains an open...

Media Appearance: Russia Today
on Nov 17, 2009 in Media and Appearances I was recently interviewed by U.S. international correspondent Anastassia Churkina for the Russian TV channel, Russia Today. For those who are interested, here is the video (via YouTube):...

Keeping Us Going
on Nov 17, 2009 in Social Although I see challenging times ahead, that doesn't mean it's all downhill from here. Most of us will forced to reassess our lives and figure out what really matters, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. We will also gain a...

A Better Shot than Most
on Nov 16, 2009 in Geopolitical In discussions about which country may eventually supplant the U.S. as the world's leading superpower, the arguments invariably center on who has -- or will have --the necessary combination of economic power and military strength. It's not enough to...

Reminder of an Earlier Debate
on Nov 15, 2009 in Resource Constraints The wrangle between those who've been raising concerns about a disaster-in-the-making in the energy sector, and public authorities who suggest there is little to worry about, reminds me of the "debate" that took place in the lead-up to the...

Kafkaesqe South of the Border
on Nov 14, 2009 in Geopolitical According to Wikipedia, "Kafkaesque" is an eponym used to describe concepts, situations, and ideas which are reminiscent of the literary work of Prague writer Franz Kafka, particularly his novels The Trial and The Castle, and the novella Th...

The Generational Mismatch Heightens Tensions
on Nov 13, 2009 in Social In a post last month, "The OTHER Economic Crisis," Washington's Blog discussed an important economic issue that is not on the front pages of most mainstream publications: You know all about the subprime, alt-a, option arm, and commercial re...

Bridges Going Nowhere
on Nov 12, 2009 in Empire's End I've noted the sorry state of our nation's infrastructure at Financial Armageddon and When Giants Fall. On the one hand, the widespread deterioration is symbolic of our nation's relative decline in global standing; on the other, the costs of righting...