Let’s face it – travel is incredibly simple in Japan. The Shinkansen can take you across the country in a single day. Japanese airports are staging points for almost all traffic from the western world. It’s no surprise you see some wealthy Japanese businessmen finishing off their breakfasts of rice and Miso in Osaka, and […]
filed under: News
Lebanon PM vows dialogue
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said Monday that he "believes in democracy and freedom of expression as long as it does not attack others people’s dignities and freedoms." Siniora made his comments during a meeting with delegations from Aley and the Bekaa Valley, who were visiting the Grand Serail to express support for the […]
The Hadley Memo
Was the now-notorious Hadley Memo a White House ploy that backfired or another Bush-league blunder? Either way, it leaves the United States with diminished clout and prestige while the Iraq fiasco worsens daily. Leaked by what the New York Times described as “an administration official,” the memorandum written by National Security Advisor Stephen J. Hadley […]
Double-entendre Pontiff
Pope Benedict XVI’s trip to Turkey, thanks to being under tight security including shutting down major arteries, snipers and security checkpoints in Istanbul and portions of the public transit system in Istanbul went off with nary a hitch, and the main demonstrations during the duration of his stay were either far afield from his itinerary […]
Shaky beams
Acarkent, an upscale housing division in the suburbs on the Asian side of Istanbul, has been racked with scandal the past week as investigations have shown that the lion’s share of the homes on the gated estate were constructed illegally and to the detriment of the local environment. The first dwellings on the compound, nestled […]
Israel, take a break
Last week a gaggle of awkward political bed fellows turned up for the Kadima party’s first annual conference. With no clear manifesto on domestic issues, and no consensus on how to handle the countries many security quandaries, Kadima is symptomatic of the national disorientation that is prevalent in Israel today. Israel‘s political ‘big bang’ saw […]