Wednesday-Night

(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 […]

We talked about the moon which made me think about Odysseus who must have spent a lot of time looking at it as he was trying to find his way home. We are trying to find our way out of the energy problem and are looking at the moon again. We talked about nations being […]

Although the early days of the campaign were regrettably short on serious exploration of issues and the candidates’ positions, their websites supply considerable information. However until the Democrats unite behind one candidate, we decided to follow the issues in one post, except for Foreign Policy and NAFTA. Later, there will be separate posts for each […]

…the first principle of Arctic sovereignty is: Use it or lose it
- Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Resolute Bay, August, 2007

April 19, 2008
Race to map Arctic is about environment as much as oil: MP
MIKE DE SOUZA, Canwest News Service
Mapping the outer limits of Canada’s continental shelves in the Arctic is essential in allowing the country […]

GETTY IMAGES
Completion of the 670-mile fence on the US-Mexican border would harm endangered species and ‘pristine wildlife habitats’, say environmentalists
 
April 3 2008 (The Independent) The Bush administration is pushing ahead with what critics say is a final act of environmental vandalism in casting aside more than 30 laws and regulations to complete a 670-mile stretch […]

31 March 2008
With thanks to Teresa Chin (Terry) Jones
Research published by SAGE in Political Research Quarterly
The research, conducted by University of Wisconsin’s Kathleen Dolan, examined the National Election Study (NES) data, which provided information about voters’ reactions to female candidates and whether gender affinity was related to the election booth decision. The findings provided […]

This piece published in December 2003 was forwarded to us recently with the comment: This is one of the most chilling articles I have ever read–and it’s five years old (but still true). Bush will long be known for exercising his own form of McCarthyism.
We are surprised that there is not […]

We had promised that Beryl would be with us last week to talk about the new publication, The MetropolitaIn, that he will launch next month. He was unavoidably detained, but assures us that he will be present tomorrow night.
As always, we have the U.S. presidential campaign on the Agenda and certainly this week we cannot […]

March 24
The War, The Media, and Ahmed Chalabi

As the fifth anniversary of the Iraq War is marked, and the 4,000th U.S. troop death is reported, an NBC News investigative producer is taking a look back at the man who aided the American cause for war.
In The Man Who Pushed America to War, NBC News investigative […]

In-depth coverage:
BBC Country profile and related news stories
New York Times World news about Cuba, including breaking news and archival articles
Reuters
wednesday-night.com
February 25
(NYT) HAVANA — Raúl Castro, who has labored in the shadow of his brother Fidel since the days of their revolution, became Cuba’s new president on Sunday, ending his brother’s 49-year rule and washing away […]