Recent news headlines like these have led American politicians to worry about the stability of a Pakistan equipped with nuclear arms: Squandering US$10 billion from precious reserves in less than 10 months, the country goes begging for $10 billion more… Standard and Poors downgrades the country’s credit rating to junk… Double digit inflation shoots by […]
Make Net Neutrality a Reality
After numerous deaths in committee, failed amendments and missed opportunities, network neutrality is returning to the foreground as a key priority of President-elect Barack Obama's technology agenda. Senators Byron Dorgan and Olympia Snowe have also stated their intention to reintroduce legislation on the issue. With a new administration and a new Congress, the time has […]
According to the Case-Shiller Index, median housing prices doubled from 1987 to 2000 in major housing markets, including L.A., Miami, D.C. and San Diego. In less than half that time, from 2001 to 2006, housing prices in L.A. and Miami almost doubled, while prices in D.C. and San Diego shot up 1.5 times. Overall, nationwide […]
As the United States forms a new government in the coming days, developing nations anticipate a change in the approach to international development. Can President-elect Obama increase the impact of foreign assistance? During the campaign, Obama said he would double the amount of U.S. foreign aid to $50 billion by 2012. Yet, the question is […]
As 2008 draws to a close, we may witness the completion of 670 miles of border fence between the United States and Mexico as authorized by the U.S. Congress. Advocates in the Department of Homeland Security and within Congress may consider this venture to be a success and merely a phase of a larger scale […]
Diplomacy should be our nation’s first line of defense. Engaging foreign leaders and attempting to prevent misunderstandings between nations is a true preventative approach to international conflict. Diplomacy is valuable even when incapable of resolving conflicts on its own. The Bush Doctrine attempts to prevent war with war and rejects the inherent value of discourse. […]
Mouths in Need
This week on Dialectica: Leadership. Host/Co-Producer Rebecca Taylor sat down with one expert in leadership from each of three domains to get a good understanding of the topic from multiple perspectives. Co-produced by James Tanner. Our three speakers are: Ron Kessler, an executive coach and long time leader in the Austin business community, gives some […]
The most biologically diverse place on earth is a portion of the Amazon rainforest known as Yasuni. Environmentalists have targeted the region for an innovative and internationally recognized conservation project, and the populist President Rafael Correa seems to be on board. However, Correa has many obligations to social movements and businesse alike under Ecuador’s constitutional […]
Austin’s Chief of Police, Art Acevedo, has made the following statement about undocumented immigrants: “The vast majority of these people are not criminal aliens, they’re economic aliens. They are not a threat to our public safety.” Chief Acevedo has a point. Over the past 15 years, the United States has experienced the largest wave of […]