Wednesday-Night

May 16
Zimbabwe issues a Z$500m banknote, as inflation rockets to unbelievable highs
(The Economist) A BOTTLE of beer may cost half a billion dollars; by next week it could be a billion. Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe reached a terrifying 355,000% in March, with prices doubling roughly once a week. It is probably much higher now. In a […]

In Kenya, fear lingers and many remain displaced
Some 10 weeks after Kenya reached a power-sharing deal aimed at ending the bloodshed and political stalemate that followed the country’s disputed election, many people who had been forced to abandon their homes amid the violence remain too afraid to return home, CNN reports. […]

 
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY, ECONOMICS, TRADE AND APPROACHES TO GOVERNMENT
Remarks by Hon. David Kilgour. J.D.
Canadian International Council/Conseil International du Canada, Victoria Branch
Changing Dynamics in Canada – U.S. Relations
Dunsmuir Lodge, Victoria May 12-13, 2008
According to a legend, in creating the world, God gave to Canada British Columbia, the Gulf Islands, the Rockies […]

Last Wednesday Night’s discussion encompassed lunar-based solar technology, reports by Kimon of exciting developments in the New School of Athens global governance initiative, the environment, the economy and, of course, acclamation of the publishing achievement that has given birth to The Metropolitain. It was a full and challenging evening which we […]

More on Wednesday-night.com
Haiti, among the countries hit hardest by the global food crisis, should return to more homegrown food staples such as corn, experts say. But in this analysis of why the Caribbean country’s food crisis runs so deep, the Los Angeles Times reports that local farmers see such a path […]

See also Tibet and The Olympic Protest Primer

May 11
Don’t coddle Beijing - it must account for its role Darfur: Roméo Dallaire
Many consider it taboo to speak of the genocide in Darfur and the upcoming Beijing Olympics in the same breath. I disagree entirely. I believe the two should be firmly linked in the public’s mind, […]

(Strategic Forecasting Inc.) Kosovo, Russia and the West
2007 saw the resurgence of a long-dormant issue: independence for Serbia’s breakaway province of Kosovo. The tiny region is a key pressure point on the fault line between Russia and the West.
The subject of independence for Kosovo is re-emerging as a serious issue. The West seems intent on […]

(Reuters)FACTBOX: Facts about Lebanon’s Hezbollah
(Al Jazeera) Timeline: Crisis in Lebanon

May 11
Fighting spreads east of Beirut
Fighting between rival militias in Lebanon has spread to the mainly Druze mountains just south of Beirut.
Hezbollah and its anti-government allies, using heavy weapons and small arms, attacked areas held by followers of Druze leader Walid Jumblatt.
May 10
Hezbollah Begins to […]

—–Original Message—–
From: Ricken Patel - Avaaz.org [mailto:avaaz@avaaz.org]
Sent: Friday, May 09, 2008 7:02 AM
Subject: Burma: 100,000 dead
Dear friends,
Staggering new estimates suggest that 100,000 people may have died in Burma’s terrible cyclone. Incredibly, the corrupt and brutal Burmese government has stopped most international aid at the borders and is impeding the relief effort.
In under 24 hours, Avaaz […]

“Israel for ever” Magnificent Photos
Israel through my lens: Sixty Years As a Photojournalist
by Shimon Peres (Foreword), Ruth Corman (Contributor),
David Rubinger (Photographer)

The June 10, 1967 iconic David Rubinger photo above of three Israeli paratroopers who had reached the Western Wall has very special significance to us. David gave us a signed copy […]