The past usually informs the future, so with that in mind, it’s worthwhile to highlight the most important events in Europe over the past year and then prognosticate where they might be headed. In any given order, these were the UK moving towards a so-called “Hard Brexit”; the Polish-led “Three Seas Initiative” strengthening into a…
Kim Jong Un, angered by the newest U.S. sanctions, is warning that North Korea’s commitment to denuclearization could be imperiled and we could be headed for “exchanges of fire.” Iran, warns Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, is testing ballistic missiles that are forbidden to them by the U.N. Security Council. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan…
Amid growing climate change concerns what politicians fear most is not standing up to the coal and oil industries but having to tell the people that they need to buy and consume less. As two hundred nations gathered in Poland to discuss climate change the opening comments of David Attenborough went global across the world’s…
We often see “artificial” or “natural” flavors listed among the ingredients on foods we buy, but do consumers know what these terms mean? Action Alert! Recently, the FDA announced that a group of six artificial flavors would no longer be permitted to be used as food additives. They are: synthetically-derived benzophenone, ethyl acrylate, methyl eugenol, myrcene, pulegone, and…
Afghanistan’s opium economy is a multibillion dollar operation which has a direct impact on the surge of heroin addiction in the US. Despite president Trump’s announced US troop withdrawal, the Afghan opium trade continues to flourish. It is protected by US-NATO occupation forces on behalf of a nexus of powerful financial and criminal interests. In 2004,…
As has been the case for years already, the Mideast experienced a lot of geopolitical dynamism over the past 12 months that will shape the year to come. In any order of significance, the region saw the return of unilaterally imposed US sanctions on Iran; superficial but nevertheless promising progress being made on the Syrian…
